Astrophotography

Astro imaging has come a long way since I started this blog many years ago. Equipment and software has improved to the point where galleries on sites like astrobin are beyond incredible! I haven’t been very active with imaging recently, to say the least. But I still have a...

Comets like NEOWISE don’t come along often, so it’s worth making the extra effort to get a better view. My views to the north are hampered by the bright city lights of York, so set off at midnight to my nearest dark sky site in the Yorkshire Wolds. The elevated view...

Comet Neowise C/2020 F3 taken last night at 1:45am local time. I haven’t seen such an amazing, naked-eye comet since the great comet Hale Bopp in 1997! Image details: Nikon D5500, Nikon 180mm f2.8 @ 180mm/f2.8. Total of 13 minutes exposure time (39 x 20 seconds) at iso 200....

Living in northern Europe has some serious disadvantages for astrophotography. We mostly miss out on seeing the galactic core, with all its incredible sights. Light pollution is pretty bad. We’re also forced to down tools as twilight veils the night sky for a couple of...

With the whole world battling through the coronavirus pandemic, most nations are in lockdown mode. If you’re reading this now, maybe you’ve found yourself with some free time on your hands. Time to do things other than work. More time to indulge in old pastimes. More...

Recently I was lucky enough to take a winter break on the Dominican Republic on the Caribbean island of La Española. At just 18 degrees above the equator, this is by far the furthest south I’d ever ventured. On the last night of the trip we decided to stay up until 5am to...

I finally had a chance to photograph Comet Catalina after what seems like a solid month of cloud. By chance this happened to be a night when the comet passed close to the Pinwheel galaxy (M101) forming a brief but beautiful conjunction. Catalina is already an attractive comet,...

Orion rises over the jagged slopes of Helvellyn in the Lake District. The figure standing in silhouette on England’s third highest mountain is dwarfed by the constellation. Taken from the lower slopes of Striding Edge, a friend wilfully volunteered to stand on the edge of a...

The Pacman nebula is named after the classic 80’s arcade game character, but to me it looks much more like an angler fish! The little nebula (officially named NGC 281) sits alongside the bright yellow star Scheder, inside the familiar W constellation of Cassiopeia. A...