A recent trip to the Spanish island of Menorca gave me a chance to see Sagittarius at the heart of the Milky Way. This rich region of sky is barely seen from the UK. Despite a full moon, and Sagittarius hanging low above the Mediterranean, on the final day I couldn’t resist... Read More

This is easily the best astro shot I’ve managed to date. Taken using a combination of the cross filter and the new didymium / red enhancing filter which really draws out the nebulosity in Cygnus. The North America nebula, Pelican nebula and Butterfly nebula can all be seen... Read More

Rummaging through some old camera gear, I found a neglected looking cross filter from back in my old film camera days. I guess it’s more of a novelty effect filter, but I was intrigued as to what it might do to my star shots. It polished up nicely with a microfibre cloth,... Read More

Looking to test the newly improved ‘barn door’ tracker to its limit, I dusted off my old Sigma 75-200mm/f3.8 with 2x tele-converter. But with a hefty 600mm 35mm equivalent focal length, I was prepared for the worst. After less than a minute of polar alignment, and... Read More

First attempt at shooting with the home made ‘barn door/scotch mount’ star tracker – I’m amazed how well it works! This single 3 minute exposure was taken using a borrowed Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 lens in the amazingly clear skies of the North York Moors. The... Read More

The current solar maximum is on track to become the weakest in over 100 years. That is pretty disappointing news (and slightly worrisome!) if you’re a fan of auroras, solar flares and sunspots. But despite the low activity, I have put the bargain £12 sigma and 2x... Read More

It’s been many years since we last had clear skies for the peak night of the Perseid Meteor shower. Thankfully that run came to an end last night, when skies were as clear as the come around these parts. Making use of the D7000’s ability to take a long series photos... Read More

We only get a hand full of night time lightning storms each year, so I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to test out the new Nikon D7000 on one of my favourite low light subjects. It turned out to be a spectacular storm and some of my best lightning shots to date. Click... Read More

At the mercy of the weather for the last couple of weeks, I finally managed to grab a shot of comet PANSTARRS C/2011 L4 with a clear sky. Luckily for me, the clear night coincided with the comet gliding past the Andromeda galaxy. Still quite low on the horizon, it was only just... Read More