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I managed to grab a few shots of comet Lovejoy (C/2013 R1) as it flew past the Beehive cluster (M44) in the constellation of Cancer. Lovejoy is one of four bright comets currently visible in the early morning sky, including the much anticipated ISON. Unfortunately I don’t...

Orion is one of the most recognisable and celebrated sights in the winter sky. The constellation has been documented, worshipped and woven into fable and legend for thousands of years. The supergiant stars Betelgeuse and Rigel are two of the brightest in the sky, and the vast...

Since testing out the new Nikkor 180mm f2.8 lens on the Andromeda galaxy, we’ve been cursed with almost 3 solid weeks of cloud and moonlit nights. This is pretty typical, as anybody who’s just bought some new equipment will tell you. The stars finally came out for an...

First attempt at imaging the Andromeda galaxy with the new Nikkor 180mm f2.8 ED Ai-s lens. I was able to grab just 2.5 minutes of exposure time before the clouds rolled in, but the resulting image stacked in Deep Sky Stacker blew me away! The lens is incredible. It can be shot...

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...

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...

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...