Thursday, 26. November 2009, 22:47:22
moon, astrophotography, orion
The moon called me home again just this side of crazy
And pulled the tides in lee
I walked home in the full moonlight
Late November's starry night
A touch of lunacy
For the first time in a long time I could see
A silver beam of light...Late NovemberClear skies have been rare treasures in this autumn of rain and grey cloud and high wind. But the last two nights have given patches of respite, moments when I remember why I so love the skies at this time of year
Jupiter is still very visible; Mars is rising much later. But the moon is bright even through the haze, and throwing shadows behind me as I walk among the leafless trees in the deepening chill. The large crater in the middle of this photo is Copernicus, named after the 15th century cleric who argued that the Earth revolved around the sun.
The consequences of the Earth's daily spin, as opposed to its annual orbit, can be seen with a little patience
The shots in this sequence were taken about ten minutes apart.
Orion might be the most spectacular constellation...
...but there is plenty else to see. The Pleiades are high over the horizon by the time Orion is fully visible
Here's hoping for some more clear nights!
Saturday, 26. September 2009, 10:42:37
tree pipit, astrophotography, roe deer, fox
...
Tuesday, 11. August 2009, 22:47:42
astrophotography, stopwatch vixen
Plane flying just above Cassiopeia - 30 second exposure
Great Bear - a rather unusual bear with a long tail
There is actually a constellation represented by a fox -
Vulpecula - but it's hard to pick out. So, here is a flesh-and-blood fox instead!
This is the vixen again. Her foreleg seems better, but she's now got a rear leg limp! She'll probably be fine in a day or two; it doesn't seem to have slowed her down much. She's spent much of tonight in the garden.
The dogfox is the more nervous of the pair, but I very nearly obtained a photo of both of them curled up under the conifer this evening. Perhaps tomorrow!
Monday, 10. August 2009, 20:36:50
astrophotography, jupiter, moon, stopwatch fox
...
Night is tardy during midsummer at these relatively high latitides. I am impatient for dusk when I wander the crowded trails. Sometimes, I spy the creatures of the night in their daytime rest, like this scalloped oak moth:
But more often, I have to wait for the moon to rise.
And once it is fully dark, they arrive, usually together. The vixen has been sporting a slight limp in her right foreleg this week, but it is healing rapidly. Both of them seem to enjoy whiling away a few minutes resting on the mound. This is the vixen.
She is so curious; she watches the camera and the house with evident fascination. But some wildlife doesn't stay in the garden. Moths often need to be carried outside, away from the light. I think this is a poplar grey moth, but most Noctua moths are hard to ID with a specialised guide.
And high above, the king of planets is attended by his entourage 
Jupiter is the planet of superlatives. Storms swirl in its gaseous atmosphere that are big enough to swallow the Earth, and amongst its retinue of 63 moons it has one that is larger than the planet Mercury (Ganymede, here visible on the far left). It also possesses the most geologically active body in the solar system - Io, here second from the left, is subject to enormous friction due to Jupiter's massive gravitional pull, and is riddled with hundreds of volcanoes 
To the right of the planet in this photo are Europa and Callisto, but here they are too close to each other to distinguish.
This is my type of nightlife
Tuesday, 4. August 2009, 22:27:24
astrophotography
Luna
I took these photos 60 seconds apart at 200mm
Astrophotography days are good days
even though I still don't have the equipment that I'd like for capturing the heavens.
The moon is close to full, washing out many of the stars, but Jupiter is very bright in the east tonight. As always, I recommend
Stellarium for anyone who wants to identify objects in the night sky.
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