There was lots of cloud about at 07:50
and I wasn't able to see Venus but both the Sun and Moon
were visible through clear patches. The Sun was a clear
but featureless disc and the Moon showed extrordinary detail.
Tycho's rays were no longer dominating the lunar landscape but the
southern craters looked tremendous, while the lunar Appennines looked
great near the terminator.
It had been a cloudy evening and it
finally cleared enough for me to have a look at Comet Holmes
at 22:30. It had grown in apparent size, although I didn't
think it had become briighter.
Nov 2nd
I bin scanned the Moon at 10:15. It wasn't
quite as spectacular as the day before, with much of the
Appennine mountain range plunged into darkness. Clavius was
on the terminator, which was quite interesting. No sunspots,
though.
The evening was the observing session
of the Wiltshire Astronomical Society. As there were no bright
planets visible, my choice of instrument was the Skywatcher
Startravel 80. I arrived, only to find that the ED version was
already out and there were a couple of other refractors in the same
aperture range, so it stayed in the boot. The ED version of my Startravel
definitely showed brighter images of Comet Holmes, which had grown
in apparent size but with lower surface brightness, the Perseus Double
Cluster and Pleiades. I found the same model of Maksutov as my
own, with the owner asking to see a galaxy. I went back to the car and
we fitted my 9x50 finderscope and 32mm Plossl. We saw the central
part of the Andromeda Galaxy quite clearly, although M32 was only
just visible. We also saw M33 before it became too cloudy. The telescope
view was very different to the binocular view and it was clearly
visible in the finderscope. The central part was more wispy, with just
a hint of the spiral arms, while the binocular view sometimes shows
the arms as being detached.
We saw some Taurids but I only saw one
myself.
Nov 4th
It was one of those evenings when you see
a clear patch of sky, go to get a telescope or binoculars and
then the opportunity goes. I finally got out at midnight and
saw Comet Holmes near Melotte 20. It was definitely both larger
and brighter and looking more like a planetary nebula. Melotte
20 itself looked quite superb near the zenith. I also bagged the Andromeda
Galaxy (M31) and Pinwheel (M33) but neither were impressive. The Orion
Great Nebula (M42) looked poor, no doubt due to extinction, but it
was like seeing an old friend again. I tried to estimate the magnitude
of Betelguese but moving thin cloud saw it appear brighter than Rigel
one minute and fainter than Pollux the next. Mars was reasonable well
up but the conditions didn't encourage me to get a telescope out.
It was a very foggy day, so I never got to
bin scan the Sun until 15:30 but I didn't see any sunspots.
More in hope than expectancy, I attempted a solar hydrogen alpha
shoot just after.There were some granularity features visible
but it was quite bland. However, one of the photos threw up a prominence.
The third image combines the first two, using
subtraction:
Nov 6th
Bin scanned the Sun in clear skies at 09:15
but didn't see any sunspots.
Nov 8th
Bin scanned the Sun through moving thin cloud
at 10:15 but didn't see any sunspots.
After a heavy afternoon downpour, it cleared
enough in the eastern part of the sky at 21:20 do do a bin scan.
Comet Holmes was closing in on Melotte 20 and had grown in apparent
size. Whether it had faded or just spread its light over a larger area
I don't know. I didn't see the reported tail. The Pleaides looked really
good and M31 was showing structure and there was a wispy shape where
I knew M33 to be, too. M36, M37 and M38 were all visible, although not
yet at their best.
Nov 9th
Bin scanned the Sun in a clear sky at 08:40 but
didn't see any sunspots.
Although I didn't process the results until much
later, I did a solar hydrogen alpha shoot at 12:40. I could only
see one prominence visually, although many more came out in the
photos:
Nov 10th
Bin scanned the Sun through thin cloud at 13:00
GMT but didn't see any sunspots.
Nov 11th
Bin scanned the Sun through thin cloud at 13:30
GMT but didn't see any sunspots.
Nov 12th
I opened my hotel curtain in Hilversum, Holland
at 07:10 local time (06:10 GMT) and saw Venus shining in a clearish
sky. Its phase appeared about 70% but that was probably due to the
"Pugh Effect" which becomes more noticeable when it has receded from
its closest approach.
Nov 14th
It was clear again in the morning and I could see
Venus just before sunrise. I didn't check it with my binoculars,
as I didn't expect a pahse change over 2 days.
I bin scanned the Sun at 08:30 local time (GMT) but
didn't see any sunspots but did a hydrogen alpha shoot. I could
see the Sun distorted due to its proximity to the horizon but could
only see granulation features.
Nov 16th
After some really cloudy and wet weather, it finally
cleared enough by 21:10 local time (20:10 GMT) to do a lunar bin
scan. Mare Tranqualitatis was clear of the terminator and some
of the southern craters were becoming visible.
An hour later, I was out on the balcony looking northwards
and eastwards. Comet Holmes was very close to Alpha Persei and
looked simply huge, as if it was about to "swallow" Melotte 20,
which was quite a sight in itself. The Pleaides and Hyades were very
good and I could see M36, M37 and M38 in Auriga. M35 was quite elusive
but I found it. The Beehive (M44) was above the hirizon but too low
and lost in the streetlights. The Orion Great Nebula (M42) looked good.
I watched out for some early Leonids but didn't see any.
Nov 17th
Bin scanned the Sun at 09:10 GMT but didn't see any
sunspots.
I did a hydrogen alpha shoot at 12:00 GMT. The Sun was
very quiet and I could see one facula and 2 small prominences close
together. Neither came out in the full disc shot but I managed a
close up of the prominences.
At 14:00 GMT, I did another shot of the prominence.
Nov 18th
I checked the Sun at 09:10 GMT and there were no features
in either "white" or hydrogen alpha light.
I tried again at 12:00 with no result.
At 14:10 GMT, I finally spotted a small pair of prominences:
I snapped the Moon at 16:20 GMT, using just binoculars:
Nov 22nd
I managed to see the Sun through moving cloud at 09:20 but
didn't see any sunspots.
Nov 23rd
Bin scanned the Sun at 11:05 in clear conditions but didn't
see any sunspots.
I checked Comet Holmes at 19:00 GMT. It looked to have dispersed
somewhat and looked more like nebulosity surrounding Melotte 20. The
Moon looked close to full with Tycho's rays dominating.
Being cold, I just nipped out with the Startravel 80 at 22:00.
Unfortunately, there was mist spreading the moonlight, so the comet
was no longer visible. The Moon, however, showed well:
Nov 25th
Bin scanned the Sun through thin cloud at 11:00 but didn't see
any sunspots.
Nov 26th
Bin scanned the Moon at 19:10 local time in Budapest (18:10 GMT).
The gibbous moon was waning and Tycho's rays were becoming less prominent.
An hour later I took a shot just using binoculars and one with just
the camera, showing Mars to the bottom left:
Nov 27th
Bin scanned the Sun in a clear sky at 06:50 GMT but didn't see
any sunspots.
At 17:00 GMT I saw Comet Holmes and it had moved away from Alpha
Persei. It was larger and much fainter than before.
I did a photo shoot at 19:30 GMT. The Moon had shrunk in phase and
was scattering light around the thin cloud. The Hyades showed well but
the Pleiades were disappointing.
First photo is the Moon with Mars.
Here's the traditional Moon shot:
Nov 28th
I did a hydrogen alpha solar viewing during the morning break and saw
a large but faint looping prominence:
I did a photo shoot from the hotel at 20:00 GMT.
The Moon wasn't the greatest but I managed the faint imprint of the
Orion Great Nebula in the centre of the picture:
Nov 29th
Checked the Sun with the PST at 07:10 GMT but even granulation features
were hard to see.
Retried 2 hours later. The granulation features were clearer but there
were no prominences. No details were discernable in the photographs.
I could just make out a prominence (at the one-o-clock position) from
the photograph at 10:10 GMT. The 2nd photo shows disc detail:
Nov 30th
After a loudy and wet day, I rounded off the month by capturing the Moon
rising over a church at 22:00 GMT. Unfortunately, none of the lunar feature
shots came out:
