Another night of good observations with Saturn. Just love the shadow projecting onto the rings at the back of Saturn.
Observing Saturn – 8th November 2022
Observing Saturn – 30th October 2022
Lunar eclipse – 8th November 2021
Another clear night to watch the second lunar eclipse of 2021. Here are some pictures that I took on the night.
Lunar eclipse – 26th May 2021
A beautifully clear evening to observe yet the first of two lunar eclipses in 2021.
Observing Mars – 10th October 2020
Well it’s that time when Mars makes it’s closest approach so I got out and made the most of it. A bit challenging with the new telescpe and mount but it showed me that it is more than capable of capturing good quality images. You can definitely see the polar caps as well as other surface features.
Total Solar Eclipse – 2nd July 2019
I left my decision to travel to Chile for the 2019 total solar eclipse to only a couple of months out. I felt very fortunate to be able to book myself onto an organised Intrepid Tour with renowned eclipse chaser Dr John Mason and felt confident that his expertise in picking a viewing site would guarantee success.
I flew out of Sydney to Santiago about a week out from the eclipse and this gave me the chance to experience a day in Santiago before joining up with the rest of the tour group. We were convenient split across a number of buses for the journey up to La Serena where we enjoyed day trip up to the Elqui Valley to experience the local food, wine and finishing the evening off at under the stars at one of the local observatories high in the Chilean mountainsWe then had one final day to prepare and relax in back in La Serena and I made the most of this by walking around the town and enjoying the atmosphere that was building.
The next morning we all boarded the bus for the journey up to the planned observing site. It turned out to be a local football pitch and part of the payment to the local team was that they would each receive a jersey of their favourite team, Manchester United.
We were then kept well fed with deliveries from local suppliers and it was a great chance to chat with people from across the globe. Then around mid-afternoon people started taking up their positions prior to the main event. Everything went perfectly to plan, not a cloud in the sky and even though it was winter in Chile, it was very mild. I captured some amazing pictures and can’t wait to do it all again.
And here are some photos from the main event. Click the image to load a larger version.
Observing Jupiter – 4th August 2018
Some good visibility of Jupiter this evening. Here is one of the processed images.
Observing Saturn – 4th August 2018
One of my best nights observing Saturn. Fanastic definition in the Cassini division. This is certainly one of the best images that I’ve taken of Saturn.
Total Solar Eclipse – 21st August 2017
After experiencing my first total solar eclipse in 2012 I had to wait till 2017 to experience my second. I was able to convince a friend who is currently living in the US to join me on a journey to Alliance, Nebraska where we experienced clear skies and 2 and a half minutes of totality.
I was quite shocked by the beauty of the event as the 2012 TSE in Port Douglas was partly obscured by clouds. I then set myself a goal to see as many as possible.
Jupiter and Venus Conjunction
Located in the western sky was a beautiful Jupiter and Venus transit, appearing on ly 0.3 degrees apart. Jupiter upper right with the moons out to the left and right and with Venus in the lower left.
