Category Archives: Articles

NGC6883 and NGC6871 open clusters in Cygnus

This pair of open clusters has a Milky Way backdrop and they are surrounded by faint emission nebulosity.  They can be found in the constellation Cygnus lying just underneath the Crescent nebula region.  Image taken 19th August 2009 using the … Continue reading →

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A galaxy group in Bootes

I have no idea why I took this image of a galaxy group in Bootes on January 29th 2011.  I also have no record of it in the logbook.  I ran an astrometry check on it to find where it … Continue reading →

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Patrick Moore party 5th February 2011

A very lively party at Sir Patrick’s last night, all the usual suspects present.  This was a double celebration of the 700th Sky at Night, and Sir Patrick’s birthday (which was the day before).  Sir Patrick had supposedly invited 70 … Continue reading →

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Things are not always as they seem.

For some reason an incident that happened when I was 19 years old entered my mind twice today (early signs maybe?).  Perhaps this account will be of some use to somebody out there, you never know,  it might even save … Continue reading →

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A video clip of the Paramount ME in action.

I connected up the Paramount ME to its 48V power supply which in turn goes to a 1000W uninterruptible power supply (UPS) in my attempt to protect the delicate Paramount motor boards and electronics from anything nasty coming down the … Continue reading →

Posted in Articles, Equipment, mini-WASP Array, Projects | 2 Comments

Now the Paramount is in the study as well as the pier.

The Paramount has now been brought up to my study and is sutting on the Aluminium pier ready to be fired up.  Must admit I hadn’t planned for my study to be taken over with Astronomy equipment – but needs … Continue reading →

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The all-Aluminium pier for the Paramount and mini-WASP array

I have just brought the massive all-Aluminium mini-WASP pier in from the shed.  I will set it up in the upstairs study with the Paramount on top to give a dry run for the computer and all the electronics.  The … Continue reading →

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First video diary entry for the new mini-WASP imaging array

Thought I would begin a video diary on the mini-WASP array project at this time even before the hole has been dug in the ground for the obligatory concrete block.  As we are all aware – any new observatory project … Continue reading →

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Prototype 18 ultra-bright white-light LED array for photographic applications

This image shows a prototype illumination rig I have just built using 18 ultra-bright white-light LEDs and powered by a computer PSU.  The idea is to create a compact, high-power, flicker-free light source for photographic applications.  This prototype array (I … Continue reading →

Posted in Equipment, Projects | 2 Comments

Black border around screen/monitor

Now here’s a really annoying one you may have been putting up with for quite some time with no apparent solution. As you know on my super-duper-computer system I run 3 screens (one via an adapter which seems to create … Continue reading →

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