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A cold night imaging crater Copernicus and friends

Last night the atmosphere was particularly clear and steady here, so I took the opportunity to image some of my favourite lunar craters. All of the images below were captured using a Meade 203mm aperture Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope and a Philips SPC900NC webcam. I also used a red (Wratten #23A) filter in front of the webcam to filter out some of the wavelengths of light that are more detrimentally affected by atmospheric undulations.

The images below are all mosaics. Each mosaic pane was made by taking a short video with the webcam and then sifting out the best 250 frames to be stacked and processed together into one more detailed image. Then each of the panes are arranged together to create the final mosaic image you see below. For example, the Clavius & Tycho image was made by stitching together 16 individual panes.

The floor of crater Copernicus in shadow & the ghost crater Stadius. Credit: Will Gater
The Tycho, Maginus, Clavius & Moretus region (click to enlarge). Credit: Will Gater
Crater Plato, the Vallis Alpes and the Montes Teneriffe. Credit: Will Gater

Thursday, 2 February, 2012 | Categories: astronomy | Tags: , , | Leave A Comment »

Exploring the dark skies of Mid Wales

Back in November I spent a wonderfully quiet week staying near the town of Rhayader, in Mid Wales. The Welsh countryside around where I stayed is renowned for its wildlife and dramatic scenery, but the reason I went there – of course – was for its dark night skies. Unfortunately of the seven nights I was there only one was clear enough to get the telescope out.

Below you’ll find a few of the images I captured over the course of that evening. As you can see, thin patchy clouds and haze enhanced the small amount of light pollution visible, so I didn’t experience the skies there at their absolute darkest; which I guess means I’ll just have to go back and visit again next year.

Venus sparkles above the vibrant glow of twilight. Credit: Will Gater
Jupiter shines through thin mist against a starry backdrop. Credit: Will Gater
The magnificent Orion rises over the skyline. Credit: Will Gater
The Triangulum Galaxy. Taken with a Canon 550D on a William Optics 66mm refractor, autoguided by a Sky-Watcher SynGuider & an 80mm refractor. Credit: Will Gater
The constellation of Auriga (and several bright star clusters). Credit: Will Gater
The Crab Nebula (M1). Taken with a Canon 550D on a William Optics 66mm refractor, autoguided by a Sky-Watcher SynGuider & an 80mm refractor. Credit: Will Gater

Saturday, 17 December, 2011 | Categories: astronomy | Tags: , | Leave A Comment »

An astronomical autumn on Dartmoor

Autumn is easily my favourite season for astronomy, partly because of the return of the dark skies but also because of the wealth of objects visible in the sky around this time. On the one hand some of the stunning summer sights are still visible low in the west, while at the same time the grand winter constellations are beginning to appear over the eastern horizon.

This autumn I’ve managed to get to my favourite dark sky site, on Dartmoor, a few times – though, admittedly, the imaging conditions haven’t always been great. Below are a few of the astro-images I’ve got to show for those trips.

All were taken with an unmodified Canon 550D DSLR camera. The wide field images were captured with the DSLR on a tracking mount. The close-ups were taken with the DSLR mounted on a William Optics ZenithStar 66mm refractor on an HEQ5 Pro mount. The whole setup was autoguided by an 80mm refractor and a Sky-Watcher SynGuider.

The Milky Way in Cygnus, Cepheus & Lacerta. Credit: Will Gater
The Double Cluster (NGC 869 & NGC 884). Credit: Will Gater
The Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy, M33 & the Double Cluster. Credit: Will Gater

The Hyades star cluster Credit: Will Gater

The Dumbbell Nebula. Credit: Will Gater

Friday, 18 November, 2011 | Categories: astronomy | Tags: , | Leave A Comment »

So You Want To Be A Scientist 2011

Last year I wrote about a new BBC Radio 4 competition called ‘So You Want To Be A Scientist?’ that invites members of the public to submit ideas for a scientific experiment they’d like to carry out. One of the finalists in last year’s competition was amateur astronomer John Rowlands who investigated the summertime atmospheric phenomenon known as ‘noctilucent clouds’. The competition is back this year and the team behind it are once again keen to hear your ideas for experiments.

If your idea is one of the handful selected by the judges you’ll be paired up with a professional scientist to complete the experiment you’ve proposed. When the results of your study are in you’ll then have to present your research at the Cheltenham Science Festival; a panel of expert judges will then select their favourite experiment, with the winning citizen scientist being declared the BBC’s Amateur Scientist of the Year. You’ve got until 31 October to get your ideas in, so get thinking — you never know what you might discover.

Thursday, 13 October, 2011 | Categories: astronomy | Tags: , | Leave A Comment »

A Draconid meteor drops from the sky

The Moon & clouds spoilt the peak of the Draconid meteor shower. Credit: Will Gater

After watching the clouds rolling in all day here I decided that the only way I’d have a chance of observing the peak of the Draconid meteor shower tonight would be if I followed the few gaps there were in the clouds by car. So, as the Sun was setting, I set off on a drive around Somerset looking for patches of clear sky. Unfortunately every time it looked as if I’d get a glimpse of the stars the clouds closed up obscuring everything. With complete cloud cover overhead I set off home thinking that was the end of the night.

Thankfully when I was about 15 miles from home the clouds broke and Jupiter and the Moon appeared to burst out of them in front of me. In an incredible stroke of luck there was a big lay-by about 100 metres ahead, so I pulled over and parked up. With small swathes of clear sky appearing overhead I set up the camera and began taking 20 second exposures at ISO 800.

Gaps in the clouds afforded brief glimpses of a starry sky. Credit: Will Gater

Before the clouds closed in again I saw four Draconid meteors including a relatively bright one which I managed to photograph (below). It was a lot of effort to capture just one meteor on camera. Hopefully next time the clear skies will come to me so I don’t have to go chasing after them.

A Draconid meteor shoots across the sky (click for a wide-field version). Credit: Will Gater

Saturday, 8 October, 2011 | Categories: astronomy | Tags: , , | 2 Comments »

Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2011 results night


Video courtesy of Sky at Night Magazine. Remember to select the 720p HD option.

Two weeks ago I, and the rest of the Sky at Night Magazine team, travelled to Greenwich for the 2011 Astronomy Photography of the Year awards night. You’ll no doubt have seen many of the winning images splashed across the pages of newspapers, websites and blogs over recent weeks.

This was arguably the most difficult year to judge so far, with an astounding array of superb images submitted from all over the world. Above is the video we made on the awards night, which includes an interview with the overall winner Damian Peach whose stunning image of Jupiter, Io and Ganymede you’ll see below. I’ve also embedded below an excellent video profile of Damian, which was made by Lonelyleap Film for the Royal Observatory, Greenwich.

The overall winning image — Jupiter with two of its moons, Io & Ganymede. Credit: Damian Peach

Video courtesy of Royal Observatory, Greenwich/Lonelyleap.

Thursday, 22 September, 2011 | Categories: astronomy | Tags: , , | Leave A Comment »

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