Observations
I have been a keen astronomer since 2006 my parents bought me my telescope for Christmas. Since then I have bought several other telescopes, completed university courses and even created my own website where I share even more writings and my astrophotos.
Sunny during the day while I'm stuck in the office, get home and the skies cloud over. Typical.
Comet Lovejoy was Discovered in March 2007 by Australian Terry Lovejoy (using only a Canon 350D), this very Green comet is now moving through the constellation of Draco.
A new sunspot has developed on the surface of the Sun. Designated AR953, this sunspot is approximately three times the size of our little planet.
At 8:18 pm the Earth passed between the Sun and the Moon creating the first Total Lunar Eclipse for three years and surprisingly the skies stayed perfectly clear!
I started off photographing the Moon, experimenting with the mirror lockup feature on the camera which lifts the mirror and lets the vibrations dampen off before taking the picture.
Tonight I had the first clear night since I have been able to walk, so didn't waste any time volunteering my father to help carry the equipment to the top of the garden!
Clear skies again, this time without the moon. Amazing what a difference a moonless sky makes to viewing conditions.
I can finally use my new Skywatcher telescope that I had for Christmas, as tonight I finally had clear skies! I have the Explorer 200 model which is a 200mm Newtonian reflector.
