Peter Lewis

3+14+11 for me!

Yes, but it is latency, ie speed of response as you ping to the site which gets you into the FCFS state. Very fast broadband is made of a number of factors more than the advertised speed.

Assuming it's a random queue position, no difference, anyway, it's less about speed, more about latency and stability.

Here's the Stellarium graphic to compare

I'm back! So is a brief clear patch so here's Jupiter this evening and all 4 Galilean Moons (l to r) Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa
#astronomy #astrophotography @stormhour.com @photohour.bsky.social

Thank you. I've just spent a beautiful afternoon with my family.

Sunrise from a day ago, just after the Saharan dust arrived and just before the clouds and rain! #loveukweather

It's a fabulous evening target this time of the year.

I love seeing images of the Trapezium. So many overblown shots which hide these gems.

This morning's sunrise through the Saharan dust.
@stormhour.com @photohour.bsky.social

Thanks, hopefully it'll be a good weekend all round!

93.5% waning gibbous Moon. Slightly filtered through a heavy sky containing dust particles from sand blown over from the Sahara.

Good morning World! For the record, here's last nights Moon at Midnight! Waning through the Saharan mist.
#astronomy #astrophotography @stormhour.com @photohour.bsky.social

Yes, 5 uninterrupted hours certainly helped last night.

M51 is very high so not impacted by moonlight. 5 hours of uninterrupted shooting from midnight.

I targeted areas well away from the Moon. Fortunately the mist never returned.

There are fewer tickets available for UCL games as more tickets are allocated to sponsors etc. Also, the demand will be higher than normal given the opposition.

It's good they allocated more to the ballot as that gives a fairer chance to those who can't sit on their computer in a queue all day.

The M81/2 Group is one of the closest galaxy groups to our own Local Group, located approximately 12 million light-years away. Messier 81 (Bode’s Galaxy): A massive, "grand design" spiral galaxy and the group's brightest member. It contains over 200 globular clusters and a supermassive black hole. Messier 82 (Cigar Galaxy): An edge-on "starburst" galaxy. Its exceptionally high rate of star formation is triggered by tidal interactions with M81.

The Whirlpool Galaxy is a "grand-design" spiral galaxy located in the constellation Canes Venatici. It is one of the most studied and photographed objects in the night sky. M51 is famous for its gravitational interaction with a smaller companion galaxy, NGC 5195 (M51b). This interaction has triggered intense star formation along its prominent spiral arms. Composition: It contains an estimated 100 billion stars and has a supermassive black hole at its core.

Wow! A completely clear night and TEN hours of continuous 'shooting' at some cracking galaxies (described in ALT). The Dwarf3 smartscope was quite hot at the end!
#astronomy #astrophotography @stormhour.com @photohour.bsky.social

Arsenal could end up playing them 5 times!

Well done Newcastle. A repeat at the weekend?

Still a bit of atmospheric colour as it begins to rise in the east.

Tonight's Moon on the rise. 98.1% waning gibbous!
#astronomy #astrophotography @stormhour.com @photohour.bsky.social

There's many safe ways to photograph the Sun but that normally involves a decent white light filter and good zoom on a camera or, in this case, a long focal length scope. Phone cameras these days can be very sophisticated.

Used my 8 inch telescope, attached a solar safety filter and my phone.

Since August 2024. It's definitely nicer here than other places not worth mentioning!

It's been pretty good so far since Meteorological spring arrived!

Good afternoon from Sunny London! I spot some spots!
#astronomy #astrophotography @stormhour.com @photohour.bsky.social

🙂🟠

It's certainly the reason we're still here. A defence shield against all sorts.

Yes, the Moon is always fascinating. Always changing yet always the same!

Indeed. Lovely undulating clouds