15
NOV
2014
The Pleiades

The Pleiades

The open cluster of the Pleiades is a captivating sight in the winter sky, with nebulosity visible even to the the naked eye. Longer exposures reveal the electric colour of the blue hot stars at the cluster’s heart. These bright stars make it tricky to capture the fainter...
15
SEP
2014
Twistleton night scene

Twistleton Scars

The Summer Triangle rises above Twistleton Scars in the Yorkshire Dales. The Milky Way bisects the scene with the great Andromeda galaxy visible in the top left of shot.
02
SEP
2014
M17 omega nebula 180mm f2.8 ed

Omega nebula & Eagle nebula

The Omega nebula, also known as the Swan nebula (although it looks more like a snail to me) in Sagittarius is a tricky one from this latitude (54° north) as once the summer twilight passes and it’s dark enough to take photos again, it barely gets above the horizon. I had a...
20
AUG
2014
comet jacques 2014 heart soul nebula barn door tracker

Comet Jacques – C/2014 E2

Comet Jacques is now perfectly placed for Northern hemisphere observers. Visible all night for the next month or so, it’s path takes it directly along the spine of the Milky Way. This should make for some interesting conjunctions, and some good photo ops in the coming...
26
JUL
2014
noctilucent clouds UK july 2014

Noctilucent Clouds

Living in northern Europe has a few drawbacks when it comes to astrophotography. The high latitude means we struggle to see many of the best constellations. And for a couple of months a year, the summer sky stays blue throughout the night, making astrophotography impossible. But...
19
APR
2014
M51 whirlpool galaxy

Whirlpool galaxy & comet PANSTARRS

Spring is a great time to for viewing galaxies in the northern hemisphere. The Virgo supercluster arches overhead in a vast swathe through the constellations of Virgo, Leo, Coma Berenices and Canes Venatici. Many famous and recognisable galaxies occupy this region, but none may...
06
MAR
2014
rosette nebula barn door tracker

Rosette nebula

I was a bit hesitant to image the Rosette nebula as it sits quite low in the sky, and is even fainter than the tricky Horsehead nebula which I had difficulty capturing a few months ago. So I didn’t expect much of a result when capturing the images with my DSLR/barn door...