Clear last night (although with a nearly full Moon) and managed to get a very seldom imaged iridescent reflection nebula appropriately named “The Butterfly nebula” in Orion. O.K. it’s a picture of the Morpho Rhetenor butterfly wing (structural colour) but … Continue reading
Great day today (no – not the weather!) – put the side panels on the mini-WASP array, and Brian May sent me a copy of his new book “A Village Lost & Found”. This is a beautiful publication and you … Continue reading
I bolted the mini-WASP telescope frame to the Paramount versa-plate to get a feel what the finished system will look like. The funny-looking device sticking out the front of the frame is a counterbalance arm for the weight of all … Continue reading
Just had two new publications for 2010 come through the post this morning – the Astronomy Now 2010 Yearbook & Patrick Moore’s 2010 Yearbook of Astronomy. Why? Because Noel & I managed to get an “Astronomy Now readers’ pictures of … Continue reading
I have just spent the WHOLE of today resurrecting an old computer which will be the main computer for the mini-WASP array. Lots of silly little things have fought back hard and it’s only just started to give in now … Continue reading
I have just unpacked the beast – it is the most solid piece of engineering I’ve come across in the field of astronomy – I just hope I can put it to full use. I think a fully-loaded mini-WASP head … Continue reading
UPS have just delivered the Paramount 🙂 Will now unpack – taking piccies as I go. It’s come all the way from Germany!!
Well it wasn’t a two week wait to see what happened – I crumbled just a few days after the last mini-WASP report and ordered up a Paramount ME from Kieron at SCS Astro – it is due to be … Continue reading
It’s been about a year since my last report on this project, and that last article actually said very little 🙂 I am on the point of putting my hand in my wallet (you cannot begin to understand the amount … Continue reading
I was recently asked about a problem in maintaining polar alignment due to a heavy scope being cantilevered all over the place on a wedge. The standard Celestron wedge (which I use) would also give you problems as the heavy … Continue reading
