I
managed a bin scan in clear conditions at 07:50 GMT
but still no sunspots.
I also saw a waning gibboust Moon high in
the West. The ray systems had gone but the southern craters,
dominated by Tycho and Clavius were clearly visible, despite
the bright sunlight.
Sep 2nd
Early evening was clouded out but I went out
past midnight BST (00:10) or 23:10 GMT. Was it still Sep 1st
or Sep 2nd? I'm as confused as you are.
I started with a bin scan at 00:10. The Moon
was bright and Tycho's rays had faded somewhat since my latest
look. I had my first sight of the leiades. I also saw M11, M15
and M2 quite clearly but M29 and M39 were lost in the Milky Way
background. I also checked the visual doubles.
I used 2 cameras, 3 eyepiece combinations and
loads of optical zoom combinations and whacked up a personal
best 29 photos.
I then went after the Messier Catalogue for
an upcoming writing project. After a lot of fiddling, I found
the Wild Duck Cluster (M11). It was quite hard to see against
the background Milky Way but I could make out the flying duck shape,
just about. The globular clusters M2 and M15 looked larger than with
the bins but I couldn't see any additional features, nor outer stars.
The Pleiades looked great but I couldn't get the main asterism into
the 1.7 degree field of view. Mars was low and shimmering a lot, showing
some albedo features and a disctinctly gibbous phase.
The final piece of action was at 00:30 GMT with
10x21 bins. The Hyades were great and it was nice to see all
members in the same field of view. I could see the main 8 Pleiades
plus 4 fainter members. The Moon looked great and I was able to
see too many craters to count but there was noticeable chromatic
aberration, especially towards the edge of the field of view. The
Usual Suspect doubles all split, although Alberio was rather borderline.
Sep 3rd
Bin scanned the Sun through thin cloud at 08:35
GMT but didn't see any sunspots.
It cleared up so I did a quick 10x21 bin scan
at 20:40 GMT. I was able to see parts of the Milky Way with the
unaided eye, so it was particularly clear. Jupiter even showed a
moon. I was able to see all doubles and although Alberio split, I
couldn't resolve any space between the components. The Andromeda Galaxy
(M31) showed quite well and I was even able to see misty patches where
M11, M13, M24 and M33 were. Melotte 20 showed up very well. It was
probably as good as it could get with the small binoculars.
Sep 4th
At 05:20 GMT, Venus was hanging low in the east,
so I managed a quick bin scan with the 10x21 binoculars. Although
there was some scattered light (not unusual when viewing Venus),
I could clearly make out a thin crescent.
I bin scanned the Sun on arrival at work at 06:50
GMT but didn't see any sunspots.
I went out for some fresh air at 08:00 GMT and took
a look at the Moon. At the last quarter stage, libration had made
Grimaldi very difficult but the southern craters and Appennines
were well placed near the terminator. I tried again for Venus, more
in hope than expectation.
Sep 5th
After a cloudy day, it cleared enough at 16:40 GMT
to allow a nice view of the Sun but, unfortunately, there were
still no sunspots.
Sep 6th
Bin scanned the Sun in clear conditions at 07:40 GMT
but didn't see any sunspots. I also saw a waning crescent Moon high
in the sky. There aren't usually many craters visible on it and Grimaldi
was difficult, due to libration.
Sep 7th
I woke up early. Although there was a fair bit of cloud
about in the pre-dawn sky, I managed to see the Moon and Venus with
my binoculars at 05:00 GMT. There were a surprising number of craters
on the terminator and a lot of earthshine. Venus showed a 30% phase.
It clouded right over soon after dawn but I was able
to get a clear look at the Sun at 11:55 GMT. I could see limb darkening
but no sunspots.
I did a hydrogen alpha photo shoot at 17:00 GMT. The
Sun was quiet, with no surface action but there was a nice prominence:
At 21:00 GMT, I had returned from walking Charlie and
seeing the stars of Aquarius for the first time. Shows how bad light
pollution is. Although I was tired from a hrd week, the night was
too good to miss. Having read "Astronomy Now", I decided to track down
M52 in Cassiopeia. That was an adventure in itself, as the whole region
was alive with Milky Way stars and I had some "false pots" by finding
some fainter clusters on the way. Once found, I realised it was a far
easier target than I'd previously imagined. I also potted M34. I had
a quick scan round the Usual Suspects and I saw the full extent of the
Andromeda Galaxy (M31). I also checked out some of the fainter deep sky
objects visible, including M10, even though it was well down. The Wild
Duck (M11) looked about as good as it's ever been. I couldn't see M29 or
M39, as they wer elost in the Milky Way background.
I returned an hour later do do a constellation shoot
(in order: Aquila, Cassiopeia Cygnus, Summer Triangle):
Sep 8th
Bin scanned the Sun through thin cloud at 09:15 GMT but
didn't see any sunspots.
Sep 12th
I finally managed to see the Sun from Hilversum (Holland)
after some cloudy weather on both sides of the English channel.
Although the Sun was low down (it was local time 18:30, 16:30 GMT),
I could see limb darkening but still no sunspots.
Sep 13th
It was clear enough to do a bin scan of the Sun at 10:45
GMT. Although there was thin moving cloud, only faint sunspots would
have been missed.
It was actually clear in the evening at 22:00 local time
(20:00 GMT). Street and security lights made viewing difficult and
the Wild Duck cluster (M11) was invisible but I managed to see M13 and
the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) amongst the usual binocular double stars.
Sep 14th
Bin scanned the Sun at 06:45 GMT in great conditions but
still no sunspots. I also tried to find Venus but without success.
Sep 15th
Bin scanned the Sun at 09:05 GMT back in England. The conditions
were very clear but still no sunspots.
The hydrogen alpha view at 14:00 GMT wasn't much more promising,
with only some granulation features and a single prominence, although
some more showed in the photos:
I went for a bin scan at 22:45 GMT. The summer constellations
were well to the west and the Wild Duck cluster (M11) was low but I was
unable to find it. I was able to pick out both globular clusters, M13
and M92 in Hercules. I found M29 against the Milky Way but missed M39.
All regular suspect doubles were visible and split easily but I missed
M2 and M15. In the east, I saw M52, M34, the Pleiades and Hyades well
but didn't see the open clusters in Auriga (probably low elevation). Mars
showed a definite disc but I didn't see any surface detail, nor did I
expect to.
Sep 16th
I went out again at 23:15 GMT to do some constellation shoots,
having uncovered the technique of using the histogram function the
right way. First up was Cygnus:
Second up was the Plough, not bad considering the low elevation:
I managed to catch the main asterism of Ursa Minor but only
just:
I'd tried the Square of Pegasus a few times but this time,
I got it:
I caught Cassiopeia and Perseus together:
The next Pegasus shot even caught some of Aquarius:
Although Lyra didn't come out as well as I hoped, I caught
parts of Draco and Hercules:
Bin scanned the Sun at 11:35 GMT through thin cloud but didn't
see any sunspots.
Sep 17th
Bin scanned the Sun through thin cloud at 08:05 GMT and there
were still no sunspots.
Sep 18th
Bin scanned the Sun in a clear sky at 06:50 GMT and there were
still no sunspots.
Sep 19th
Bin scanned the Sun through moving thin cloud at 11:40 GMT and
there were still no sunspots.
Sep 22nd
Bin scanned the Sun through moving thin cloud at 09:00 GMT and
the words "Maunder Minimum" sprung to mind.
At 18:55 GMT, I went on a dusk patrol with the binoculars. There
was a great lunar landscape with Tycho's rays starting to show. I caught
what I expected to be one of my last views of Jupiter when I saw 2 moons.
Spica and Antares were both low and only showed to the binoculars. As
Deneb and Vega were visible, I scanned for Alberio and it split, although
the secondary component was barely visible.
I returned at 19:20 GMT with the Maksutov and 2 cameras. I could
see all four Galilean moons but could only just make out the equatorial
bands but with 103x magnification, I could just make out a third band.
Un fortunately, my attempts to photograph the planetary disc and moons
failed.
However, I had more success with the Moon:
The following shots were taken with a telescope magnification of
308x, using optical zoom on both cameras to get really close up:
Unfortunately, the very high magnification shots had the light spread
out over so large an area, I couldn't capture any detail, suggesting a
lower maximum magnification of around 1000x.
Sep 24th
After a wet Sunday and Monday morning, it cleared by mid-morning enough
for me to bin scan the Sun at 10:15 GMT. Still no sunspots, though.
The evening was more of a "scratcher's night". There was lots of cloud,
of all thicknesses scattered by moonlight and it was moving too quickly
for any hope of a photo shoot. Nevertheless, at 21:00, I went out for a bin
scan. The Moon was low but showing lots of craters near the terminator and
Tycho's rays were becoming more prominent.
Melotte 20 showed well but I could only see the main asterism of the
Pleiades. I couldn't see M11 through the clouds to the west but the Andromeda
Galaxy (M31) was visible through thin cloud. The only other object I saw
was Mizar/Alcor.
Sep 25th
I bin scanned the Sun in a rare clear sky at 06:55 GMT but still no
sunspots.
Sep 26th
I bin scanned the Sun through thin cloud at 13:35 GMT but still no
sunspots.
Sep 27th
I bin scanned the Sun in a rare clear sky at 07:15 GMT but still no
sunspots.
Sep 30th
I bin scanned the Sun through thin cloud at 12:45 GMT but still no sunspots.
