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... Read More

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... Read More

The ragged remains of a 7000 year old supernova explosion make up the Veil nebula in the constellation of Cygnus. A 72 minute exposure (144 x 30 seconds) over two nights was enough to pick up some of the intricate details of this huge and complex structure. The Western Veil or... Read More

Cutting through the Milky Way, the constellation of Cygnus is home to some of the best sights in the night sky; the North America Nebula, the Dumbell nebula and another one I plan on tackling soon, the Vail nebula. At the heart of the constellation, bright star Gamma Cygni (Sadr)... Read More

This year saw perfect conditions for the annual Perseid meteor shower. With the Moon out of the way, and clear skies for the main event. The aim was to do better than last year, and if possible capture a rare fireball. I used the super wide angle Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 to give... Read More

The short nights of spring reveal a view unobstructed by the Milky Way, with slim pickings for wide-angle astrophotography. But there are some distant giants to be seen. The Pinwheel galaxy is one of them. The massive galaxy stretches 180,000 light-years edge to edge. Despite... Read More

Comet Lovejoy continues to shine as it journeys through the Solar System. Early last week the comet passed the Owl Cluster in Cassiopeia, making for another great photo opportunity. With one of Cassiopeia’s brightest stars ‘Ruchbah‘ (right of shot) guiding the... Read More

Solar eclipses are rare events. If you’re lucky, you may see a handful in your lifetime. This morning was one of those times where the planets aligned (quite literally!) as the Moon transited the Sun for a partial solar eclipse. From my vantage point in York in the north of... Read More

Last night a solar storm hit Earth producing one of the strongest auroras of this solar cycle. Unfortunately for me, a misty evening drowned out much of the show. All but for 20 minutes when the silent display flared up strongly enough for me to catch a glimpse… Read More

After giving up on it a couple of weeks ago, I decided to have another try at the Flaming Star nebula, this time under better conditions… Heading a few miles out of town to darker skies makes a huge difference for such a faint subject. The darker background not only make... Read More