Some more Astronomy!

It was a beautifully clear night here in Broadland and I managed some decent images of the Moon, ISS and M42, the Orion Nebula. An intriguing observation: a bright 'star' appeared to the east (left) of Sirius. It remained stationary for perhaps ten seconds before vanishing.

Astronauts and UFOs

If there's anyone out there who won't  be watching the soccer international, you might enjoy my Zoom meeting, relating the various opinions / experiences of some of the many Astronauts and Cosmonauts I've met about the reality of the UFO phenomenon. It's tonight, THURSDAY, MARCH 25th at 7.30pm

Here's the link: ZOOM MEETING

The International Space Station

Last night the ISS was a very bright mag. -3.5. It passed through Orion and Leo, so, after grabbing a couple of time-exposures of it, I turned on my camera's GPS for a few more shots of the Orion Nebula, M42

Moving on to the Moon, the complex crater Clavius was well-lit, as was the dark-floored Plato. When I examined the latter closely, a pale object can be seen to the right of the crater. A meteorite impact? A release of gas or vapour? Or something else...

Common Cranes, Buzzards and other odds and ends...

Today's local walk around added a couple of year ticks: Common Crane and Little Egret. Both would have been absolute stonkers thirty years ago, but I still enjoy seeing them even 'though they've lost the cachet of rarity. Lots of Buzzards, of course: one bird on wires close to the road allowed some close-ups for a change.

The ubiquitous Chinese Water Deer lack any degree of timidity and I could walk within twenty metres before they moved away.

A Sparrowhawk comes to visit!

We often find the results of our local Sparrowhawks' hunts scattered across the lawn, but we don't often see either of them. Today, however, the large female spent a couple of minutes in our Gingko tree...

Some Astronomy! Vesta, the ISS and the Cassiopeia nova.

Last night delivered the fourth clear skies in a row, enabling me to complete a sequence of images that show the asteroid Vesta moving against the starry background. The nova in the well-known 'W' of Cassiopeia is still brightening, and finally it was great to watch the International Space Station slide past the Moon...

A garden year tick and some excellent raptors!

Although I've seen a few during exercise walks, Siskin hasn't appeared on the garden list this year - and not for four or five years. Although these photos were taken through the office window, they reveal a handsome male in all his finery.

Neighbour Peter e-mailed to say he'd twice seen Hobby over the fields north of our gardens: I'm almost certain I did too, but was in the middle of a phone call and couldn't check. I did, however, watch a beautiful Red Kite circling around the same area until it was driven off by corvids...

Chiaroscuro

There are a couple of interesting examples of chiaroscuro (contrast effects) on the Moon at first quarter: the Lunar X & Y. dark crater floors and illuminated peaks and rims create the impression of letters of the alphabet. A similar piece of misleading lighting once caused Sir Patrick Moore to believe he'd discovered an artificial bridge on the Moon.

Line of Duty: that's Sunday nights sorted!

Has it really been two years???? Last night's first episode of the new series of 'Line of Duty' was immediately back to its compelling best. Only trouble is: no 'press now for next episode' when you're watching live TV!

Water deer? They certainly are!

Chinese Water Deer are a familiar sight in the Yare Valley: more frequent than Muntjac, even. I knew they like splashing around in marshy meadows and reed beds, but I hadn't realised what excellent swimmers they are! This one swam right across the Yare with no trouble at all!

Asteroid 4-Vesta and a nova in Cassiopeia

In this composite image of two photos taken on Friday, March 19th and Saturday, March 20th, you can plainly see how the little planet has moved against the background stars of Leo. Knowing where it was, I could just make it out with binoculars: with the telescope, of course, it was easily visible.

Novas, as many of you may know, are stars that suddenly increase in luminosity. Novas bright enough to see with binoculars or the naked eye are very rare: before last night I'd only seen one in seventy years! The current example is near the 'W' shaped constellation Cassiopeia, which is visible as soon as it gets dark in the south eastern sky. Fingers crossed the Nova continues to brighten: watch this space!