Joy of Spring

I’ve been suffering a bit from workload these past 1.5 years. One of the consequences is not being able to get out with the telescope as much as I used to. However, last Wednesday, a clear dark sky coincided with, well me just saying “sod it” and going stargazing. I am glad I did.

Io shadow transit and some fuzzies.

On 2nd February I actually got out with the telescope. Although the sky didn’t stay clear for long, I did manage to visit a couple of familiar friends, and also captured a shadow transit on Jupiter, which is always exciting.

Kies Pi, the Pleiades and Jupiter

This autumn has not allowed me much time at the telescope. However, I did manage a couple of brief hours in December.

Autumn skies, new season: black holes, globular clusters, and open clusters

I’ve had two wonderful evenings out under the autumn sky this past week. It’s so great to be back outside at night. I really think that the sky is a great outdoor cathedral. I sketched the Cygnus X-1 star, two Messier globular clusters, and two Caldwell open clusters.

Mars, secret deep galaxies and clusters

After the weather forecast promised clear skies on Friday, it was cloudy. On Saturday the forecast was for cloud: but it was clear. So out I went.

February planetaries, clusters and galaxies. NGC 2371, NGC 2438, NGC 3166

Yesterday, on a clear, dark but cold and wobbly night, I tried to track down some faint fuzzies.

Io shadow transit, planetary nebulae and clusters

On 15th Jan I had the family out watching Io’s shadow (and Io, but that was too hard to spot) transit across Jupiter’s face. This happened to coincide with a Great Red Spot transit too, though I was the only one to spot that as it quickly went out of view.

Planets, nebulae and clusters.

I’ve got a couple of nights’ stargazing to catch up on. On 12th Jan I was out in imperfect conditions (slight fog and a bright rising moon) looking at secret deep objects.

Open clusters of the Hidden Treasures list: NGC 1528, 1545 and Collinder 69 (Orion’s Head)

The clear skies that often follow the passage of a rain front frequently generate excellent observing conditions. However, yesterday the moon was half full, meaning that I was restricted to fairly bright objects. I took in three gorgeous open clusters.

Secret deep clusters and nebulae: NGC 1807, 1817, 1931, IC 417 and Stock 8.

More deep sky last night, and given the constellations that are prominent at present, this meant open clusters and nebulae. Once again I hunted down some of the Secret Deep objects.