Bin scanned the
Sun at 15:10 but didn't see any sunspots in the poor
conditions.
Mar 3rd
Saw the Moon at 06:50 and checked it
with my binoculars. Grimaldi was further in than usual from
the limb, due to libration. No large craters were visible and
the ray systems had gone.
Bin scanned the Sun in clear conditions
at 07:50 but didn't see any sunspots.
Mar 4th
Bin scanned the Sun in clear conditions
at 10:45 but didn't see any sunspots.
At 12:30 I went out with the PST to do
some photos. The solar disc was very bland, with just granulation
features and a sunspot that wasn't visible in "white light"
earlier.
I rechecked the Sun at 16:25 but saw no
new activity.
I hoped to get started earlier but I checked
at 20:15 and it had cleared. Manchester United and Lyon had
to wait while I put my planned observing programme into practice.
I used my Mak with the 32mm Plossl and 2x focal reducer to give
a magnification of 24x and field of view of about 1.7 degrees. First
stop was M78, which wasn't visible in the finderscope and was rather
difficult. It just looked like a fuzzy patch and only its shape suggested
that it was a nebula and not a galaxy.
M79 wasn't as well placed as it could have
been were it clear earlier. Like M78, it was more an object
to cross of the list before you die but, rather than appearing
elliptical, it seemed to have a wisp appearance, more like a
galaxy.
Next was the Beehive (M44). I've seen it
loads of times through binoculars but never bothered with
the Mak until that night. It was marvellous and I could almost
get the whole cluster into the field of view. Although it wasn't
the prime objective of the night, I made a mental note to do some
holiday snaps of it.
Next was M67, also in Cancer and, frankly
a disappointment. It looks better in binoculars but the extra
magnification of the Mak made it look too sparse. Maybe it needed
a clearer sky or larger aperture to bring out its fainter members.
My next stop was the Crab Nebula (M1). However,
while trying to find it I spotted a great open cluster, which
I identified as M35. This was every bit as good as theBeehive and
its apparent size seemed much larger than its published 28 arcminutes,
possibly due to the rich Milky Way background. The Crab itself was
disappointing, showing nothing that I hadn't previously seen in binoculars.
My next stop was Leo for M65 and M66. They
were more affected by a streetlight than the other objects
I'd seen and were still quite low down. Was it a couple of smudges
on the optics? No! They moved when I moved the telescope. Although
disappointing, I could tell that they were galaxies, reminding me
of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) through binoculars when near the horizon.
I tried to finish off with the Whirlpool
(M51) but maybe it was fatigue or cold that made it invisible,
rather than the conditions.
Mar 5th
Bin scanned the Sun in clear conditions at
08:10 but didn't see any sunspots.
I did a PST photo shoot at 12:10. The solar
disc was very bland, with only granulation features visible.
Mar 7th
I went out for a hydrogen alpha shoot at 08:40.
There were a couple of small prominences visible, although the
disc was quite bland.
I also checked the Sun in "white light" but
no sunspots were visible.
I was hoping for another go at lunchtime but it
was too cloudy. I went out at 16:15 and it was much better.
Went out at 21:00 to do a constellation shoot.
First up was the Cancer region:
The next one shows the Plough with Cor Caroli:
Then there was Cannes Venacti (the hunting dogs):
Then Orion:
Then Perseus:
Leo also contained Saturn:
The last one showed Canis Minor:
I returned out at 21:00 on a mission! I first spied
M37. It was clearly visible in the finderscope and, through the
Mak it was a fine sight. Some of the stars resolved but most of them
still formed a misty patch. Moving along to M36, the view was similar,
although not quite so spectacular, although M38 was somewhat sparse
and disappointing.
The Beehive came out, although not that well but
it was a fine sight visually:
Mar 8th
Despite a bad weather forecast, it was clear enough
to bin scan the Sun through thin cloud at 11:00. I didn't see
any sunspots, although it was clear enough to see limb darkening
and the rain came soon afterwards.
Mar 9th
Bin scanned the Sun thtough thin cloud at 11:10 and
had the same result as they day before.
Fortunately, it cleared enough by 13:00 to attempt
a hydrogen alpha photo shoot. I managed to see a small prominence,
although the disc was quite bland.
I rechecked the Sun at 14:35 and noted new prominence
activity.
Mar 16th
Due to bad weather, this was the first action for ages.
Only the Moon was visible at 20:30 and much of the view was ruined
by cloud. I managed to take some half-decent shots, though:
Mar 17th
Bin scanned the Sun at 10:10 in clear conditions but didn't
see any sunspots.
Mar 18th
Bin scanned the Sun at 13:00 in poor conditions and didn't
see any sunspots.
To say that the evening conditions weren't any better and
that only a determined fanatic would attempt a viewing would be spot
on! There was zero chance of seeing anything bar the Moon. Most photos
were rubbish, although some of the visual views of Tycho, in particular,
were rather good.
Mar 19th
Bin scanned the Sun at 09:05 in clear conditions but didn't
see any sunspots.
I did a hydrogen alpha shoot at 09:40 and there were some
nice prominences:
The first set of pictures from the new camera sufferred from
overexposure. This was the best.
I tried the new camera again at 13:10. I managed 2 decent
shots before the cloud came.
Mar 21st
Despite the weather forecast, there was a period of bright
sunshine, so at 11:55, I managed to do some Sun shots.
I did another shoot at 16:10. Not much had changed apart form
the effect of the Earth's rotation and the session was cut short as
cloud drifted over from the west.
I did a lunar shoot at 23:35. Unfortunately conditions were
very poor, so the hoped-for shots of Saturn just didn't happen. You
will notice the effect of passing cloud on the lunar landscape.
Mar 22nd
After a bad morning, it cleared enough to do a solar photo shoot
at 16:20. The Sun was quieter than they day before.
I went out for a night view/shoot at 22:35. There was thin cloud
scattered by moonlight. I took lots of Moon shots.
Saturn showed best at 205x magnification, using the 12mm CEMAX
eyepiece and 1.6x Magni Max. I could see the rings closing nicely and
2 cloud belts. Unfortunately, the best shot was this one:
I finished with some constellation shots. First was Auriga and
Gemini, featuring a guest appearance from Mars.
Then there was Leo, featuring Saturn
Mar 24th
Bin scanned the Sun through moving thin cloud at 15:10 but didn't
see any sunspots.
At 20:30 I went out for a bin scan and constellation shoot. There
was lots of moving cloud but a few clear patches in between. The Hyades
and Pleiades (M45) showed well and the Beehive (M44) was spectacular before
I lost it to cloud. Although it was low in the west, the Orion Great Nebula
(M42) looked better than it sometimes does when better placed.
I took my first look at M48 in Hydra, which is a sparse, open cluster
which didn't look particularly special.
The conditions weren't great for constellation shooting but the
Taurus one showed that there's a lot of potential in the camera for doing
them. In alphabetic order, they are Auriga, Orion, Perseus and Taurus.
Mar 25th
Bin scanned the Sun at 08:05 through thin cloud but didn't see any
sunspots.
Mar 26th
After a mostly cloudy day, it was partly clear when I went out at
22:10. As it was late, I decided not to do any photo shoots. My first task
was to confirm the observation of M48 for my publishing project. It was
rather reminiscent of M41 on a bad night, with about 4 main stars and a
few other faint ones drifting in and out of view. M35 was surprisingly difficult
but the trio of open clusters in Auriga all showed, with M37 the pick of
the bunch. I finished off with the Beehive (M44), which didn't disappoint
and Melotte 111, which I made a mental note of as a photographic target.
Cloud moved over from the south east but I had started to become too tired
anyway.
Mar 27th
Bin scanned the Sun in a clear sky and saw the first sunspot for ages.
I went out at 08:20 to do a hydrogen alpha shoot. Although no prominences
were visible, there was a huge filament, as well as the sunspot and some
faculae.
I rechecked the Sun with the PST at 17:30 but it was cloudy and I couldn't
see any changes apart from rotational effects.
Mar 28th
It was rather showery, unlike the day before, but I managed to catch
the Sun between clouds:
I wanted to look at the open star clusters M46, M47, M48 and M50 but this
was thwarted by early evening cloud. the sky was partly clear at 22:50. Feeling
a bit too tired and cold to attempt telescopic observations, I did a constellation
shoot and bin scan. M35 showed well, as did the Beehive (M44) but the Auriga
open clusters M36, M37 and M38 didn't show, neither did M65, M66 nor M34.
Melotte 20 looked surprisingly good and the Perseus Double Cluster was visible,
although hardly at its best. Melotte 111 showed well and the rest was obscured
by varying densities of cloud.
The first constellation was Gemini:
The Cancer shot conatined a large chunk of western Hydra:
The only other one to come out properly was Coma Berenices, home of Melotte
111:
Mar 29th
Bin scanned the Sun through a gap in the cloud at 07:40 and noted that
the sunspot had moved.
Mar 30th
I bin scanned the Sun in the morning and found that the sunspot had rotated
again.
The hydrogen alpha view was comparatively disappointing with the sunspot
just showing and no promoinences.
Mar 31st
Bin scanned the Sun through thin cloud from Birmingham Airport and noted
that the Sunspot had rotated again.
