Bin scanned the
Sun through cloud at 10:35 GMT but didn't see any
sunspots. It is possible that I could have missed any faint
ones if they were there but it was my first chance to see anything
for 3 days.
Oct 4th
It was unusually clear, compared to the preceding
days. I started off at 10:35 GMT by looking at a thick waning
crescent Moon through my binoculars. Due to libration, Grimaldi
has almost rotated off but it brought many of the southern craters
into view. The Sun, again, didn't have any sunspots.
Oct 5th
The first action of the day was 06:15 GMT.
Venus and the Moon were both clearly visible in the dawn sky.
Venus showed a 35% phase to my binoculars and the Moon was a great
sight, with Copernicus near the terminator and many of the southern
craters showing. It was a shame I needed to be in work early, as it
was a good photo opportunity.
I checked again when I arrived at work at 06:45
GMT. Venus was still visible to the unaided eye, despite the
Sun having risen.
I went out again at 08:50 GMT. The lunat terminator
had almost reached Copernicus and I could still see a lot of
detail, despite the broad daylight. Unfortunately, I was unable
to see Venus again and there were no sunspots to see either.
I didn't expect much from the Sun at 16:20 GMT.
I could see a lot of granulation, a small filament and miniscule
prominence.The 2nd shot picks up the filament.
I went out for a bin scan at 19:00 GMT. It was
later interrupted by a phone call but I started looking (in
vain) for a new comet. However, I managed to see the Wild Duck cluster
(M11) and went for the elusive M2, which I found and it showed a larger
size than the nearby M15. I was also able to make out the Ring (M57)
and Dumbbell (M27) while seeing Alberio the the Coathanger along the
way, usually difficult targets. The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) showed its
full extent, while the Pinwheel (M33) was just about visible. I saw M52
and had my first glimpse of M103, which seemed quite compact and didn't
resolve into individual stars. Then the phone went ...
Oct 7th
After a complete whiteout on the Saturday, it
cleared on Sunday but unfortunately after the lunar occultation
of Regulus. There were still no sunspots at 08:30 GMT and only small
granulation features smaller than the resolution of the cameras
were visible to the PST.
Oct 9th
After a cloudy spell, it cleared enough by late
afternoon to bin scan the Sun at 16:30 GMT. Still no sunspots,
though.
Oct 10th
After a cloudy spell, it cleared enough by late
afternoon to bin scan the Sun at 14:20 GMT. Still no sunspots,
though.
I went for a bin scan at 20:30 GMT. There was a lot
of mist near the horizon but I could see the Milky Way near the
zenith. I was able to pick out the Usual Suspects double stars but
could not see the Ring (M57). I potted M15, although it wasn't very
clear but M2 wasn't visible, due to extinction.
To the east, I could see all Usual Suspects and M31
showed its full extent. I was also able to see M34, M52 and M103.
The Pleaides showed about 30 stars, despite the low elevation and
extinction.
Oct 11th
I bin scanned the Sun at 11:30 GMT through thin cloud
but still no sunspots.
Oct 14th
After a very cloudy spell, I managed to bin scan the
Sun through thin cloud at 11:00 GMT but there were still no sunspots.
Oct 15th
It finally cleared at 15:00 GMT but I was still unable
to see any sunspots.
Oct 17th
After a complete washout the day before, the sky was
clear at dawn at 06:00 GMT. Venus showed a 50% phase to my binoculars
and I could see Saturn's rings. They were very close together, almost
in the same binocular field of view.
At 07:50 GMT, I bin scanned the Sun. Although it was
clear and I saw limb darkening, I couldn't see any sunspots.
Oct 18th
Bin scanned the Sun at 12:00 GMT but didn't see any sunspots.
Oct 19th
The Sun was rising as I was driving to work. At 06:55
GMT, I arrived and saw Venus with the unaided eye. It looked slightly
smaller than 2 days ago and showed a 50% phase.
I bin scanned the Sun under clear conditions at 08:50
GMT but didn't see any sunspots.
I went out to do a lunar photo shoot at 20:20 GMT. It was
low down in the south west but its main features showed well:
I did some close-ups using the camera's digital zoom:
I did a bin scan around the Usual Suspects but only the
ones near the zenith showed well, although I managed to see M33, M52
and M103 as well.
Oct 20th
Bin scanned the Sun through thin cloud at 09:40 GMT but
didn't see any sunspots.
I looked at the Sun through the PST at 12:40 GMT. I could
see the granulation features quite clearly, even though there were
no prominences, faculae or other features. Unfortunately, it clouded
over before I could take any photos.
Between sunset and 20:00 GMT, I tried to find Comet LONEOS
but apart from a possible smudge that could have been it (inconclusive),
I failed to find it. The conditions weren't that great, even the Andromeda
Galaxy (M31) was poor but I managed to find M13. The Pleiades (M45)
showed a few more stars than the main asterism. The Usual Suspect doubles
all split. A check of the Moon showed Copernicus near the terminator.
I went out for a Moon shoot at 21:00 GMT.
After the Moon shots, I returned outside for a constellation
shoot at 22:25 GMT. Most didn't come out but I managed one of west Pegasus:
After only one shot, I thought maybe its time for a rethink
on these shots.
Oct 21st
I tried a Mars photo shoot at 23:10 GMT. I could make out
an ice cap and some surface markings but low elevation and maybe tiredness
prevented any shots coming out.
I went out at 23:30 GMT to watch the Orionid meteor shower,
my first ever attempt. I was only out for 25 minutes, due to cold and
tiredness. I managed to see a short trail meteor of about 2nd magnitude
at 23:38 GMT and 5 minutes later, I saw a "reverse Orionid" - obviously
a sporadic one that happened to go in the opposite direction. At 23:47,
I saw a bright meteor, about magnitude -1 flash upwards through Taurus
and Perseus, almost reaching the zenith.
I bin scanned the Sun at 10:20 GMT but didn't see any sunspots.
I had a look through my PST at 10:30 GMT. I couldn't see any
big features but the granulation was quite clear. The best result for
the whole disc was obtained by using the blue channel on the 10.1 Mb
camera and leaving the photo in greyscale:
The close-ups weren't great but managed to capture some granulation
and a couple of faculae turn up here::
and some more here:
The following photographs were taken on October 21st but processed
later:
Oct 23rd
Following a cloudy day, I managed a hydrogen alpha photo shoot
at 10:50 GMT:
It was nice to see a prominence for a change.
There wasn't any evidence of sunspots in hydrogen alpha light,
so wasn't surprised when the white light bin scan didn't show any.
I tried scanning for Comet LONEOS at 18:20 GMT but couldn't see
it and thought I'd probably missed it. There was quite a bit of thin
cloud about.
By 21:00 GMT there was a lot of thin cloud about and few stars visible,
so I just concentrated on the planned Moon shoot.
Oct 24th
I bin scanned the Sun at 10:30 GMT through
moving thin cloud but didn't see any sunspots.
Oct 26th
I bin scanned the Sun at 10:30 GMT through
moving thin cloud but didn't see any sunspots.
Oct 28th
I'd missed Comet LONEOS due to bad weather and also missed the Moon's
encounter with the Pleaides. I fully expected Comet Holmes to break up before
I had a look but instead found it visible to the unaided eye at 19:10 GMT.
I checked it with the binoculars and thought that it looked like a globular
cluster but brighter, even brighter than Omega Centauri. I quickly brought
out my Starttravel 80 and used my 32mm Plossl eyepiece to take some shot
before it clouded over again. This is the best shot taken with the Sony
3.1 megapixel digital camera:
I took the constellations shot using the Samsung 10.1 megapixel camera
piggybacked onto the Starttravel 80:
The comet is the lowest visible object.
This was the best photo through the telescope: a full 8 second exposure:
Oct 29th
Bin scanned the Sun in clear conditions at 09:45 but didn't see any
sunspots.
Bin scanned Comet Holmes at 19:15. It had brightened and increased in
angular size but hadn't changed shape or position much.
Oct 30th
I saw the waning gibbous Moon low in the west at 10:20 and Tycho's
rays were still prominent, while the southern craters showed up well, even
in daylight.
I bin scanned the Sun in clear conditions but saw no sunspots. By comparison,
the Big Bear Solar Observatory recorded the Sun as "very quiet".
At 11:40 I did a hydrogen alpha shoot, more in hope than expectancy. I
took both cameras. I also tried the variable polarising filter which blocked
the granulation features visible on an otherwise bland disc. However,
I was surprised to see a small prominence in the 3.1 megapixel shot:
