Visit to Peter Vasey's Observatory, 06-Apr-10
On 6th April 2010, members of Luna visited Peter Vasey's observatory at Hexham in Northumberland. Peter is one of the foremost astrophotographer's in the UK and his work has featured in numerous magazines and publications, and also on the Sky at Night TV programme. Although the weather wasn't very suitable for observing, Peter gave us a guided tour of his facility and showed us some of his work, which included breathtaking pictures of nebulae, star clusters and the occasional comet. David Hughes also interviewed Peter for BBC Radio Newcstle. You can listen to an edited version of interview over in the Press section.
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| Peter Vasey's Observatory | Peter explains stepper motors | ||
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| An amazing observatory! | Luna members! |
Sundogs, 3rd March 2010
Luna Chairman Dave Newton took these excellent pictures of Sundogs on the morning of 3rd March 2010 as he walked along Scotswood Road in Newcastle.
A Sundog is an atmospheric phenomenon that creates bright spots of light in the sky, often on a luminous ring or halo on either side of the sun.
Sundogs may appear as a colored patch of light to the left or right of the sun, 22¡ distant and at the same distance above the horizon as the sun, and in ice halos. They can be seen anywhere in the world during any season, but they are not always obvious or bright. Sundogs are best seen and are most conspicuous when the sun is low.
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Sundog, Scotswood Road, 03-Mar-10 |
Sundog, Scotswood Road, 03-Mar-10 |
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Sundog, Scotswood Road, 03-Mar-10 |
First attempts at photographing Jupiter, August 2009
This summer has not been particularly good for observing. The Perseids were a bit disappointing but at least Jupiter is now visible most evenings in the southern part of the sky.
Here's a couple of rough photos of the giant planet taken from the front of the Houghton Astrophysical Research Institute.
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Jupiter, 08-Aug-09 |
Jupiter and moons, 18-Aug-09 |
Noctilucent Clouds over Sunderland, 17-Jun-09
An interesting display of Noctilucent Clouds over Sunderland tonight. They first appeared around 45 minutes after sunset, say 10 pm BST, and persisted for around 90 minutes. Lots and lots of fine detail, twisting filaments and beautiful, curving arcs. These images were snapped between 2315 hours BST and 2330 hours BST.
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All images 8 second exposure, f2.8, unguided.
The Moon and Saturn, 20-May-09
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| 1st May 2009 (i) | 1st May 2009 (ii) | 2nd May 2009(i) | Copernicus, 03-May-09 |
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| Saturn, 03-May-09 |
All images 10" Dall-Kirkham, unguided. Prime Focus f2.8 @ 1/250th to 1/350th second exposure.