The weather had been poor and the
day had been dominated by cloud and rain. I did a dusk bin scan at
18:30 GMT. The Moon was almost full, with a small hint of eastern
terminator. Tycho's rays were dominating the landscape, as usual.
Jupiter showed 2 moons each side. Some stars were visible through the
murk but it didn't look promising.
Oct 7th
This was the first action in
Prague. While walking around the city, I took some shots of Jupiter
above the buildings.
I later added one of the Moon:
At 20:10 GMT I saw a waning
gibbous Moon approach the Pleiades. Tycho's rays still dominated the
landscape and Grimaldi was quite far into the disc, due to favourable
libration.
Oct 10th
Bin scanned a waning gibbous Moon
at 10:35 GMT. Tycho's rays were no longer visible but the crater itself
and the nearby Clavius and others all showed well. The Appennines
looked great near the terminator and libration still favoured Grimaldi.
Oct 12th
I bin scanned the Moon at
07:15 GMT. Copernicus showed well near the terminator and so did the
southern craters. The Moon was still visible at 12:00 GMT but was low
down and the southern craters were no longer visible through the
extinction and bright sunlight. I did a hydrogen alpha shoot and there
were prominences at the top and bottom of the solar disc but not large
ones.
Oct 13th
The lunar phase had changed
quite considerably from one day to the next as I bin scanned it at
07:00 GMT. Copernicus was no longer visible and the southern craters
were all but invisible. Grimaldi was difficult, as its favourable
libration had come to an end.
A bin scan revealed some small prominences again.
Unlike the day before the close-ups didn't come out.
I went out for a bin
scan but conditions had deteriorated by 19:30 GMT. It was even hard to
make out Jupiter's moons as the planet faded in and out of view. At
least the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) was well-placed and Melotte 20 stood
out well. The only other objects visible were the double stars in the
Usual Suspects.
Oct 16th
I went out for a bin scan at
21:40 GMT. It looked quite clear but views of the Andromeda Galaxy
(M31) and M13 showed that transparency was poor. Jupiter showed 2
moons. Melotte 20, the Pleaides (M45) and Hyades showed quite well and
the Perseus Double Cluster was well-placed but appeared faint.
Oct 17th
I tried a PST shoot at 10:30
GMT but was only able to capture the full disc before cloud moved over.
The disc looked very quiet but a bit of manipulation of the photo
brought some prominences out that I'd missed visually.
Oct 24th
It had been a full week since
I was able to see anything at all. It was partially cloudy when I went
out for a bin scan at 21:50 GMT. Jupiter was low and I could only make
out 2 moons. The Pleiades (M45) and Hyades showed very well. The
Andromeda Galaxy (M31) was showing well overhead and I even saw some
dust lanes. M34, the Perseus Double Cluster and Melotte 20 all showed
well. M36, M37 and M38 were not well placed but I still managed to see
them, although far from their best.
I returned almost straight out
with my Startravel for a photo shoot. I warmed up with the Pleiades
(M45) , intending to try for some more difficult targets later on but
my shots were only able to catch the main asterism before it clouded
over.
Oct 25th
Bin scanned the Sun at 10:35
GMT with lots of moving cloud, yet the active region was well visible
and I was able to make a drawing.
Oct 26th
Again, thin cloud was the
order of the day when I bin scanned the Sun at 10:45 GMT. What was
amazing was that the sunspot pattern had changed again!
Oct 27th
It was a cloudy start but it
finally cleared around lunchtime to reveal sunspot rotation.
I was hoping to do a lunar
photo shoot in the evening but all I was able to get was the
conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter with just the camera at 18:30 GMT.
Oct 28th
If anything conditions for
solar viewing were even worse than the previous days but I still
managed to see the sunspots, which were near to rotating off.
As often happens, it cleared
up later in the day but I was too busy with work to snap the Sun! It
had got a bit worse when I took some snaps of the Moon, starting with
the full disc, which I was quite pleased with.
I then did a close-up of Plato and Sinus Iridum.
Next up was Copernicus.
Clavius and a few well-known neighbours came out quite well.
The final shot was Plato amongst the Alps.
Oct 29th
At first, it was clouded out
so I was unable to check for sunspots but it cleared enough in the
afternoon to record the sunspot group, altohugh not enough to snap the
Sun with my PST.
Oct 30th
The sunspot group appeared
right on the edge as seen through my binoculars under poor, cloudy
conditions.
The final action of the month
was another Moon shoot, starting with the full disc.
To the bottom right is the
much elongated Schiller, although the whole region is rich in craters.
Now would a gibbous Moon shoot
look complete without Tycho? No Way!!!
But then there's Plato and the
Appennines at the north.
