Titan and 28 Sgr 1989

In September 2019 we moved to North Oxfordshire. A fiberglass observaatory was installed on 23rd February 2021

https://in-the-sky.org/ .. .......SpaceWeather.com ........Interests and Biography

History: Knowl Hill Observatory (Berkshire, England) was a private 3m diameter dome made from 10mm and 3mm plywood sheets. It was built in 1991, opened March 21st 1992 and decommissioned on 2018 December 15th. photo.  The design was based on articles in Sky&Telescope magazine. A sage green fiberglass dome (by Pulsar Observatories) was installed at the owner's location in N. Oxfordshire in March 2021. photo

KEY: Astronomy forecast: red = bad, orange = OK, and green = good.
Total cloud cover in shades of blue from white = bad, to dark blue = good.

Joining the UK discussion group on occultations.
A discussion group now at https://groups.io/g/UKoccultations was started in 2013 to bring local occultation observers into contact, and to share insight, result and news. The membership is not limited to UK observers. You are welcome to join in...

2023
March 23/24

2023
March 23/24

I use the alert monitor on this web page linked to Universiy of Lancaster. At 11.30 pm the alert status was red ( Red-Alert !). I rushed outside with camera and tripod and observed the red flow mixed with cloud in the sky above Banbury (which is 9mile north of me). Over the next 2 hrs the glow weakened but extended to overhead. At no time was i able to see the colour by eye or even suspect an aurora was in progress !

2023
January

Anti-tail in the plain of the orbit, and rapid movement when only 0.3 AU away.
DSLR 200mm F2.8 lens. 10x60sec stacked as RAW and processed.

2022
Apri 20th

Several nice spot groups comings over the West limb of the Sun.

The image was taken through a Lunt Herschel Wedge attached to a SkyWatcher 80mm F5 short-tube refractor. The wedge removes the harmful infrared radition (heat). The light is then filtered with a 10nm continuum filter (green) to improve contrast, and imaged with an Image Source USB video camera. Old technology by current standards, but it works. Alternatively a full apeture solar filter could be used in place of the wedge.

Technical details: Camera with MagniMax barlow (x1.6) exposure 1/500th at 30 frames/sec, low gain and 500 frames taken as AVI, stacked and sharpened in RegiStax5. Final image is here.

2021
Oct 17th

We dont see halos partcularly often. I saw the ice ring when i stepped outside to check on the sky conditions. The Moon was full and bright at 11pm and due South when i took the shot.

Refraction of light through hexagonal ice crystals is thought to produce the phenomenon leading to a ring 22 degress in diameter. In instances of stronger refraction the halo can be coloured like a rainbow. I couldnt see any colour this time. Photo taken with a wide angle lens focal length 11mm

2021
Oct 16th

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The title is not a London postcode (SW1). The object is the 29th Comet confirmed after (1P)Halley. Discovered by Schwassmann and Wachmann (to give the name in full) in 1927. It recently underwent a large outburst when cryogenic gasses errupted. The reason so far is not clear, but its the largest erruption seen for 40 years. Its still not bright enough to see with the the naked eye because it has no tail. P = periodic i.e. it orbits the Sun. 29P is unusall because theorbit is between Jupiter and Neptune and roughly circular.

2021
July 14

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An Exoplanet transit was successfully recorded (Third attempt). HAT-P-23b was measured from 2300 to 0230 BST on the night of July 14/15. A QHY174m-gps CMOS camera was used on my 30cm F/4 Newtonian and 105 exposures of 20sec at 2 min intervals were analysed by HOPS Ver3 (Anaconda). During the sequence controlled by SharpCap software, the image position was nudged to keep in centre. For best data the stars were defocused slightly The light curve data was uploaded to the http's://www.exoclock.pace/. Read the mission details and observations. This star has been observed many times by the project, but it was good to cut-my-teeth at last!

2021
Jun 10th

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We don't often get a partial solar eclipse visible from the UK, and when we do its often clouded out ! The June 10th eclipse was seen through cloud cover with dark glasses. Some cloud shots were also taken with DSLR and Tele lens, but this image was taken through a small 3" refracting telescope fitted with Lunt Herschel wedge and continuum filter (Narrow band, in the green). The wedge removes all the harmful heat (IR). There is an internal filter but this is supplemented with the dense green filter.

I held a mobile phone at the eyepiece. I took a load of shots. Most were no good but this is a better one. Its in focus.

2021
April

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This Pulsar 2.7m observatory has been in use for several months now. It was a long awaited installation that was ordered before the COVID-19 pandemic. Repeated lock downs interrupted its fabrication and installation. The main problem was finding a builder to make the base for it. This was laid in Feb. 2021. The dome is motorised. Its a beautifully Sage green. After 14 months from order, the guys at Pulsar Observatories installed the dome.

I'm keeping a diary describing a few problems that have occurred since and how they were fixed. This includes telescope use and some improvements. You can read my diary here.

2021 Feb. 3rd

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I used this binary star to test the telescope and camera in a project with another observer. The two components are separated by 4.7 seconds of arc. This is quite wide and easy for this telescope to resolve. Its usually atmospheric turbulence that limits the ability of a telescope to see very fine detail (or the eye to behold it). Now we have software to improve the images. The resolving power of my 11" aperture telescope is 0.4" (Dawes Limit) but this is rarely achievable. I should be able to resolve two stars with 1/4 this separation. We will see.

2020 Dec 19th
Evening

The Winter constellation of Orion is a well known "landmark" on the celestial sphere. With a suitable filter and camera, the glowing hydrogen gas over the whole area can be recorded as red patches. To the eye only the more familiar Orion Nebula can be seen which is the bright pink blot near the bottom of the image. The arc structure is part of "Barnards Loop".

Details: Canon 60Da, Astronomik CLS clip filter, 35mm F2 lens with 30sec exposure. Nine exposures added in software.

2020 Dec 20th
Evening

The much awaited "Once-in-800-year" "Christmas" conjunction was photographed on thr 20th. Cloud spoiled the best view on the 21st. Still a very nice alignment between clouds. You can see Jupiter (below and brighter) together with Saturn above - as seen from Steeple Aston

DSLR and 50mm standard lens on a tripod with 6sec exposure

2020 Nov 6th
2358UT

I was lucky with the weather again. The Moon was in cloud when i set off but cleared a few minutes before the graze commenced. This was the third prediction (second this year) observed from the South Leigh area, Oxfordshire. https://youtu.be/50Dh-TJXlYc The location was selected to give the best results. Analysis shows good agreement between observation and expected shape

Prediction software and the Observation reduced by IOTA-Japan

2020 Sept 13th

The furthest object seen by the naked eye, is 2.5 million light years distant and approaching us at 300 km /sec. At 1 trillion suns, it is more massive than the Milky Way (abt twice). This image was taken through a small telescope with 5min exposure. The colour difference (centre vs edge) is caused by age differences of the stars. Younger stars are blue and populate the spiral arms. Dark streaks are caused by cold dust clouds that will eventually form new stars.

2020 Sept 11/12th

2020 Jul 10-20th

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over the Church .........................now in the evening.....................with Noctilucent cloud

2020 Jul 10th

The Exoclock project web site provided an opportunity to measure the exoplanet transit by Qatar-1b of a 12th magnitude star high up in Draco. Sky conditions were good and the whole transit was during darkness from ca 11pm to 2am BST. I captured 1350 images at 7 sec intervals. There were some problems with the image but these could be worked around. The Light drop was 2.5%. Instrument:: Celestron 11 at F5.5, QHY174m-GPS camera. The light from the star is diminished slightly when the Jupiter sized exoplanet passed in front. The transit method is used to support professional researchers interested in the evolution (orbital time) of these remote planetary systems. An amateur astronomers can now do this with help, and the right equipment.

2020 Feb. 5th

I was invited to create an account for the Telescope Live network of robotic instruments. Some free credits are given to new subscribers. I used some of these to image interesting galaxies. Here is one of Centaurus A (Southern hemisphere), which is a radio emitter now known to be a very active galaxy with large amounts of dust - as can be seen in the image. This was taken through the CHI-1 instrument in a single 2min exposure.

2019 Dec 29 and 30th

Got a cracking view of the crescent Moon near Venus this evening, looking SW. Then on the 30th it was clear for long enough to obtain 25 exposures of 40s each of comet PanSTARRS 2017T2. These are stacked to give a clear image with a short tail about 0.1 deg long. Here is a link to the BAA gallery: Comet

2020 January

Not a particularly good start to the year, but I have imaged Comet 2017 T2 a few times (not very bright) and recorded three negative asteroid occultations out of 27 events that were clouded out. I was able to test a new camera, the QHY174m-GPS. Here is one of the first images of a negative asteroidal event using my Celestron-11. The target star is indicated and the sky was hazy.

2019 Nov 29

The focal reducer works at F/3.5 to F/4, and an occultation by asteroid (105) Artemis was recorded this evening. I also took some images of comet 2017T2 and found the object quite faint at mag 9.5, There is a short tail in the image of about 0.1 degrees. It's expected to be brighter in Spring 2020.

2019 Nov 21

An ADM Losmandy D-series saddle plate arrived (made in the US) via First Light Optics, so I can now mount a C11 on my EQ6. With the dew shield, the balance point needs 3 x 5 kg counter weights. Good job a bought a spare a couple of years ago. I have now measured the spacings for the focal reducer and hope to test the telescope on stars. I have also drilled two holes in the Celestron finder bracket so that I can use my SkyWatcher finder.

2019 Nov 10

I collected a used F/10 C11 XLT today for £1150. This included a dew shield, F6.3 focal reducer and eyepieces. Weight of the OTA is 12.5 Kg. The instrument has had some use over the years (10 may be) based on the paint scratches. Optics look clean. C11s are reputed to be good, but I've not got it mounted yet. It is FASTAR compatible for imaging a F/2.

2019 Nov 07

This evening was clear with a Gibbous Moon to the S/SW. An unexpected lack of serious cloud prompted some occultation observing. (563) Suleika occulted UCAC4 553-028752 (second of three predictions) and a very small flux drop of 0.1 magnitudes was expected. The video is noisy and awaiting further analysis before the report is completed. See the light curve ==>
I recorded three events in 3 hrs, and got to bed at 2.45 AM. Temp was +2 C

2019
Oct 26

There were a couple of clear Moonless evenings, so took some snaps of the sky. Here we have the Milky Way and the horizon South West. Camera on a tripod at high iso,exposure 10 to 20sec. They were stretched bit to bring out some detail.

2019 Oct 9th, 2240UT

Trimmed the polar alignment and tested the goto functions of the mount. Found the 11th mag star in Taurus a few degrees north of the Pleiades. Moon (86%) was in the South but this wasn't problem since the sky was clear (not forecasted though). The star was recorded by video at 25 fps, but there was no occultation. Two other observers (Maidenhead and Reading) also report no event.

2019 Oct 8th, 2300UT

We are gradually moving in and making a new home for ourselves. The location promises a much darker sky, but this night we set up to observe a Jupiter Trojan Antilochus occult a 12th mag star in Pegasus. The EQ mount was polar aligned and connected to the laptop, but cloud moved in and no observation was possible. At least it was all working OK. [Trojan asteroids orbit ahead and behind Jupiter by about 1/6 of an orbit (60 degrees)

http://www.asteroidoccultation.com/2019_10/1008_1583_61692.htm

2019 Aug 27th
0415 UT

A Northern limit prediction (CA 10N) for this bright 3.5 mag star offered 12 contacts at a crescent phase. Conditions were perfect with Earthshine and a little ground mist. It was an early start for me at 2.30BST, arriving at the site by 4 am to leave an hour to set up. I had planned to observer near a farmer's gate, but when I arrived the gate was open, so I set up at the edge of field. (Red X) 001 49' 8.4" W, 52 17' 26.7"N and away from the road. All contacts were non-instantaneous YouTube at 50 fps. The first disappearance light curve is show =>. The best video graze i have obtained to date.

2019 May 9th

The Northern limit prediction at CA 1 deg offered 4 to 6 contact. From the camp-site the evening started clear. The lunar limb was Earth lit and the star obvious at magnitude 7.2. Video was set to 25fps. Graze contacts were expected to be recorded with ease despite the proximity of the 26% ill cusp. The OTA was 20cm F/4 with 2x Barlow. Cloud began to encroach from below and the recording was spoiled. One D event was seen, and a second obtained when the video was stretched in Virtual Dub. The report was reduced by Mitsuru Soma. See diagrams >>>

2019 April

A good number of Lunars have been timed in Taurus, Gemini and Cancer (M44) using the 8" and video [ 48 in total ].

I have uploaded the M44 sequence here: https://youtu.be/bD-4hmdg1DI
You might have to open the movie a new window to view it.

Looking forward to a Lunar Graze in Wales on May 9th.

2019 January

Horizon is improved in the South. The mounting is now drift aligned on the pole, and I can operate with the laptop in a garden shed via a 3m USB cable. Dew formation is now a problem with the 20cm Schmidt Newtonian in winter. I am limited to about 1.5 hrs, which is just enough time to mount the OTA and finder, make electrical connections, sync on a field star and make the observation by video or do some imaging. I have ordered a heated dewshield to replace the DIY cardboard one.

2018 December

2018 broke my asteroid oberving record starting in 2010, with the most reports in a single year of 70, with 8 positive events. ALSO an end to observing at Knowl Hill Observatory. The house and observatory was sold December 19th. The 30cm F4 is in storage and I will be using tthe EQ6Pro and 20cm at a rented house nearby.

2018 Sept 23

A routine observation of low probability involving a 20Km diameter asteroid.
1) The occultation was not a full disappearance, but a 0.4 mag drop. This was explained by the asteroid occulting an "unseen" companion of a multiple system.
2) There is an unexplained difference in two observations that suggest a multiple star was involved.
I measured a rotation light curve (0.5 rev,) and comapared it to a publish curve. They are similar. More observations of the asteroid would be nice. There is a page on this website with more detail. The light curve was from FITS images, measured with Astrometrica.

2018 Sept
03

Probably a SN. At mag 16 in this image on 2018 Oct 03 from 2237 to 2242 UT ( 15 x 20s ) as FITS. ATIK 428ex (2x2bin). TEC at -10C. Measured on a single frame with Astrometrica and UCAC4.

via TA early warning e-mail

2018 Aug
13/14

Again clear but after maximum. Forecast was for a sky clearing which was correct ! Set up 70D and 11mm (remote) and 60Da with 35mm lens pointing at Ursa Minor (bulb). 11 shower members counted and 5 images with meteors, although none were spectacular (mostly mag 1 and 2). A good catch. The one image in the narrow field camera had a greenish colouration
70D: 273 frames, 60Da: 194 frames

2018 Aug
10/11

2018 May 7th

2018 May 5th

2018 May 2nd

2018 April 21st

2018 April 14 - 2350h

2018 Mar 13th

2018 Feb. 22

2018 Feb 12

2017 Nov 25.0

Knowl Hill

A mag 8-10 (est) bolide lit up the ground at 0000hrs on the 24/25th at midnight. This was reported to the UKMON network and BAA. Richard Fleet recorded it with his 8 camera station at Wilcot (SW). I was outside observing occultation at the time. There was no noticeable persistent train.

The brightest meteor I have seen since the great 1998 Leonid fireball display.

2017 Nov 17

Imaged with an ATIK 428EX (2x2 bin) at -15C. Stacked with DSS (FITS output) and tweaked with AstoArt5. Instrument: 30cm F4 with Baader MPCC auto guided with SkyWatcher 80mm F5 and PHD2.

After much prior testing and planning, a x2 Barlow and W25 filter were used to image the event with WAT-910HX video camera. Integration time was 0.64s. The recording was to the HD (A2D dongle) using OccuRec software in AAV format. The fades were about 6-10s and the duration about 142 sec. FITS files were sent to Paris Obs (Bruno Sicardy). I have a movie to summarise the event:

After a number of high-profile (bright stars) were clouded out recently, this prediction for a 0.3 mag drop was successfully recorded in good conditions. The smallest light drop in some time, is shows that the video limit is about 0.2 to 0.3 magnitude, providing the duration is long enough. This was 7.4 sec. and a 0.25 width path shift is suspected towards the NW. More on the asteroids page.

Asteroid (3122) Florence - size 7km. passed the other side of the Moon in this NEO approach to Earth. Aracebo radio telescope discovered two moons and one appeared to be a contact doublet. The image wa about an hour in length with images taken 1 min apart

While planning for the Triton/stellar Occultation on Oct 5th 2343-2353 UT, I captured some video with WAT-910HX at 0.64s integrated frames. Triton is there at Mag 13.5. The occulted star will be Mag 12.3, so the occultation should be detectable. I used a 5x Teleview Powermate to give 6m focal length. See "Next Event" menu for more info.

Asteroid (690) produced an 8.4s occultation. The D-R was gradual and small depth of 0.7 magnitude in poor visibility.

CTA 102 about 5 mage brighter at 12. 30cm F/4 and DSLR. 10x50s stack

Mortimer SQM 21.4 [The Isles of Silly are darker at 21.6]. Took a tripod and modified 20D. Its dark. Here is Au riga, Perseus and M45. California Neb at center - 50mm f2.8 lens.

Canon 70-300 L lens and Milar filter. One of a long series taken at 1456UT, 1/800th sec, F/11, ISO-100. Hand held.

Diotima was at low elevation in Gemini near theta in the NW. The asteroid was monitored in frosty conditions (-2.5C) as it occulted a faint star at 4am. I was rewarded by a 29sec dimming as can be seen in the blue line.

Two step events and one fade were captured by video at 50 fps. These were my first records of instantaneous events during an occultation by the Moon. The light curve is from 70 Tau by analysis of the AVI with Limovie. The step duration was 400ms for near equal components separated by 0.1 sec arc.

14 observations from the UK campaign. This is just the RAW data plot

http://www.euraster.net/results/2015/20150930-Sapientia_crd.gif

Traveled South to observe a Lunar Graze Occultation during the umbral phase of this eclipse. Four events were timed by video.

Robin Oldman's 60Da
-Test

Estimated magnitude at 4.6 based on two stars: viz Nu Tau and 40 Tau
Diameter of the coma 12 min arc in 10x50Bs. Nice comet but not Naked eye. Faint tail 0.3d at 10-o-clock detected in images.

From inside the predicted track, but was a MISS. Asteroid detected before mid event time.

(4513) Louvre occults
4UC 506-0189844
(in Strong Moonlight)

20D (Mod) 50mm EF at F/4 (1600iso) CLS-CCD, 5 x 2m stack

(744) Barcelona and
4UCAC 744043860

Two events in good clear condition on night 24/25. (154024) and (186)Celuta both-ve. 13th Mag Celuta was followed for 35min and video frames extracted. See pic
:http://ocultacions.astrosabadell.org/IBEROC/20141025_040781_summary.html

Two events monitored. The first was obstructed, the second involved 4 Cnc and this was recorded through a tree - No occultation. Clear sky (SQM 20.1) after storms.
http://ocultacions.astrosabadell.org/IBEROC/20141022__39263_summary.html

Cloud prevented this 60s event (max) being monitored. A brief clearing 45 min before allowed set up, and the field was videoed before cloud returned. http://www.asteroidoccultation.com/2014_10/1018_476_33153.htm

Sony DVcam
TRV33E doesnt display video-in ?

Asteroid Occs clouded out !

Adrian Jones (Maidenhead) successfully recorded a 2.2s event while I was at ESOP XXXIII in Prague. My video was used on his 190mm Mak-Newt. What a great result for him, and an example of local collaboration.

21h 46m 04.52 using WAT-910HX and GPSBOXSPRITE2
- added toOccult4 report.