I hadn't bin scanned the Sun or made any observations for a
while but had checked the Big Bear Solar Observatory for sunspots and
there hadn't been any.
At 20:00 GMT, I tried to find Mercury and failed. I identified
a low object in the north west as Aldebaran and realised that Mercury
was to the right, lower and behind a bank of clouds. Saturn was visible,
however and showed its ring shape.
At 21:20 GMT I did another bin scan. Of the famous deep sky
objects, only the Beehive (M44) was clearly visible. Melotte 20 was
low and poorish, as was Melotte 111 and the Persues Double Cluster.
I decided to try a constellation shoot, though. Only Leo and Cassiopeia
came out.
May 4th
I checked the solar image on the Big Bear Solar Observatory
and saw a small sunspot. Although it was clear enough to see limb darkening
at 15:00 GMT. I could not see it using the binoculars.
May 6th
Bin scanned the Sun at 07:10 GMT in clear conditions but didn't
see any sunspots.
I did a hydrogen alpha shoot at 08:00 GMT. The disc was quite
bland but there was a large prominence at 9 o'clock.
No other photos showed any more detail.
I bin scanned the sky near the north western horizon at 20:30
GMT. Having seen the Moon and Mercury close to each other. I sprung into
action and snapped the conjunction. This was using my Startravel 80 with
a wide angle view.
This one was with my 9x50 finderscope.
I managed to get one of Mercury showing its phase.
... and finally, the Moon:
May 15th
First action from Tirana was when I bin scanned the Sun at 05:45
GMT through thin cloud but there were no sunspots visible.
I arrived at the customer premises early and saw a large prominence
with many of the staff at 07:00 GMT (9 am local time).
I had another go at 15:00 GMT.
I snapped the Moon at 19:20 GMT in twilight. Plato was visible and
Tycho's rays were becoming prominent.
I only had binoculars to snap it with.
May 16th
I checked the Sun with the PST at 06:00 GMT but the prominences had
gone and only some surface features were visible.
May 17th
After a disappointing evening and following day, it cleared a bit
around sunset and I was able to snap the Moon at 17:45 GMT.
May 18th
I checked the Sun with the PST at 06:15 GMT and there was minor prominence
activity around the 12 o'clock position.
May 19th
Although visually, the prominences seemed fainter than the day before,
I managed to get a decent snap.
However, the attempted close-ups showed no more detail than the main
disc shot.
May 20th
Bin scanned the Sun at 06:10 GMT but didn't see any sunspots.
May 22nd
Bin scanned the Sun at 10:00 GMT through thin moving cloud
but didn't see any sunspots.
May 23rd
I went out at 22:50 GMT. There was lots of cloud, making it almost impossible.
Even Saturn was difficult, with the best view with the Mak being with the
12mm CEMAX eyepiece at 128x magnification. I could clearly make out the
rings and some surface detail but the photo barely showed the rings.
My next stop was Albireo, which even split in my 9x50 finderscope but it
needed the Mak to get the photograph to work:
Mizar split comfortably at 128x magnification but the photos with Alcor
didn't come out.
I saw Epsilon Lyrae but it only split into 2 stars and I even caught a
glimpse of a faint Ring Nebula (M57).
May 24th
The Sun was very quiet when I did a hydrogen alpha shoot at 08:30 GMT.
May 30th
Bin scanned the Sun at 19:00 GMT through cloud. I couldn't make out any
sunspots but think it was clear enough not to have missed any major ones.
I went out at 22:30 GMT with my binoculars. There was a lot of haze and
cloud about and even Saturn looked dim, although I could make out the rings.
Melotte 111 didn't look that inspiring and I couldn't see M3 or M51. M13
was visible but not that impressive and was the only "fuzzy" deep sky object
visible. I saw the usual double stars, such as Albireo.
I was debating whether to bring the Mak down to snap Saturn but cloud moved
rapidly from the west.
May 31st
I caught a hydrogen alpha view between a break in the clouds at 10:25 GMT
but only minor granulation features were visible.
