Mythocentric

Never mind Jock. We can all settle back and look forward to the biggy - the Geminids - in December! Expected from December 4th to 17th with the peak on the (Surprise! Surprise!) 13th/14th. Interestingly enough, the Geminids are associated with an asteroid (3200 Phaethon) and not with a comet. View towards Gemini in the south between sunset and sunrise. Regards Bill

Evening Jock! Hows things down your end? I was just going to suggest we all went around to Duncan's to 'discuss' the weather but I've just checked tomorrows forecast (on www.clearoutside.com) which shows zero clouds so I think we should let him off this time! By all reports Duncan they should be starting to tail off by now, which probably means (if I do manage to get out tomorrow) I won't be able to see the stars for the bu**ers zipping around the place. You never know with yon Spode fellow do you? Regards Bill

I blame that lot down south Jeff! They couldn't see the meteors for the rain so they decided to spoil it for us. Typical!!!! Roll on weekend! For some reason I've got my heart set on M13 while the moons dark! Regards Bill

You might like to have a look at www.heavens-above.com as well Andrew which gives times and directions for a number of satellites. You'd be surprised how many of the begger's there are tootling about up there. In fact satellite watching is almost as popular as train-spotting these days! Now! About this rain! I seem to recall Jeff saying that it always rains when he visits Barrow, not that I'm pointing any fingers I hasten to add, but are we witnessing the Curse of the Grainger's here? Regards Bill

Buggrit! It's raining!

Of course you must remember Jeff that the ancient Egyptian's would have been watching from their home planet Mars at that time (according to the ACT mob!). Pretty sparse for around 3 hours of sky-watching as far as meteors were concerned but, as you say, it was a pleasure re-acquainting myself with some old favorites amongst the heaven's. I suspect I might be leaving the camera behind tonight and taking the 'scope instead. As I mentioned previously, when I got back I tuned in to the NASA TV Perseid Watch with the result of 3 (possibly 5) meteors and 11 satellites. It's nice to think that even the experts can have poor results. What tickled me was that they were running a live Q&A on Twitter and every time a satellite appeared it prompted a flurry of tweets from people claiming to have spotted a UFO, and that was despite the Staff not only telling what, but also which satellite it was! Some people never learn! Regards Bill

It is bloody cold and I'm definitely getting (got) old. I'm glad Jeff brought the clear skies with him but I could have done without the easterly breeze which was rattling my trouser legs! Serves me right for deciding to stand on the raised observation platform at the Yacht Club! So guys. Prime time Thursday and Friday between 1 am and dawn! Anyone feeling brave? Regards Bill PS: Just in case anyone's feeling lazy, the Perseids are being shown on a nightly live feed on NASA TV at www.nasa.gov. Not the done thing of course chaps but I must admit it's much more fun sitting here with a coffee and cream scones than standing on the seafront! Handy for Jeff until he gets his neck re-collimated!

Have fun at your dad's Jeff! Just to help you on your way, there's no sign of rain over Cumbria.....so far! In fact it's clearing up quite nicely and I'm getting ready for the Perseids! Regards Bill

Terribly interesting day spent fitting a new graphics board to my laptop and installing new drivers for same. I am reliably informed that all my games will now run up to 38% faster! Well at least they would if I had any which I don't! I must admit that as a life experience it was nowhere near as much fun as sticking your head into a bucket of frogs! Time for beddy-byes! Bill

Don't forget to move the 'scopes before you start converting that chunk of rainforest into baseboards Jeff! Light pollution is one thing but sawdust is a whole other ballgame! :no: Regards Bill

Blimey James, you're putting your neck out there bud! Even BR don't like to admit to that one! Regards Bill

Welcome to Morecambeland Jeff! I sometimes wonder whether it might be worth buying one of those Zarkoff Cloud Guns from FLO but, knowing my luck, I'd probably find myself up to my knees in blooming aliens! OK! I've just found out that life's a confusing bitch! Last week I ordered and received a Celestron X-cel Barlow from FLO. This week I need a T-ring adaptor for my camera, so I enquired about the Hotech 1.25" T-adaptor. Turns out that the SLT 130 doesn't have enough travel to focus a DSLR without a Barlow and they suggest a Celestron x2 Universal Barlow which has a threaded top to fit a T-ring. So! Decisions! Decisions! Do I buy another Barlow or do I buy the Hotech adaptor which will (should) fit into the Barlow I already have? I am seriously in need of some Jeff-type common sense here. HELP!!!!!!! Regards Bill

A bit more information for anyone interested in photographing the Perseid meteor shower. Best nights between midnight and dawn on the 12th, 13th and 14th August. Aim about 60 degrees altitude and around 60 degrees either side of the radiant (Cassiopeia). Basic camera set up, 50mm or wider lens, maximum (widest) aperture with focus at infinity. ISO minimum 800 - 1000 or greater (try to find the best balance between quality and 'grain' in the image!) 30 second exposures. Use large JPEG rather than RAW format which will give you a greater number of images and more chances of success. Because it's a new moon it's expected to be a good show this year. Above all be patient and don't expect good results in half-an-hour! Good hunting! Regards Bill

Hi Jock! You don't actually need a set-up like Jeff's to photograph meteor showers because they are events occuring within the atmosphere! All you need is a camera, tripod and patience! There are a lot of articles and how to's about it on the net including this one http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-resources/astrophotography-tips/photograph-meteor-shower Have fun Bill

I should imagine the difference is Jock, that at full moon we're all hiding under our beds in case the werewolves get us! Regards Bill

Why do you think Don's cutting that hedge down Andrew? Regards Bill

Hi Jock. The superstition dates back into antiquity and as Don said, it's considered bad luck to first see the new moon though glass. The reasoning behind it relates to the worship of the moon goddess and the fact that glass puts a barrier between you and the goddess (when she was at her most potent) which was considered unlucky. As the use of glass in windows became more common the superstition developed to allow for bad fortune to fall depending on which part of the window you looked through. For example, Seeing the moon through a lower pane meant that there would soon be a death in the family! One of my favourite (and most charming) moon superstitions comes from an African tradition which says that if you row out to the middle of a river on the full moon, you will see the moon in the water pulling faces at the moon in the sky! Regards Bill

Nah! I gave up on that after I found out the Chinese have a dragon in the moon at which point it all got a bit confusing! I bet Andrews disappointed about the lack of mice though. Mind you one or two of those little craters around the edge do look suspiciously like holes! Cracking photo though and it does show how accurate my NASA 3D model is. On the subject of books, that NASA volume was actually quite interesting overall given my love of 'heavy metal' (in the sense of military aircraft!). What got me were the two chapters on computer modelling of fluid dynamics, etc apparently written by a computer geek with the intention of setting a world record for the greatest number of acronyms in one essay! What it actually did was set a world altitude record for going right over Bill's head! . Anyway! It was interesting enough to get me started on volume 2 which begins with a discussion on turbulence in the boundary layer of supercritical airfoils.................ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Hummm! One thing I did learn though is that a surprising number of modern aircraft, military AND commercial, are so inherently unstable that they would be very difficult to fly without the use of computer-controlled fly-by-wire systems. I'm not naming any names but the next time you go on holiday and fly by any of the Airbus series, take a good look at the weather before you board! I'll definitely have a look for those Patrick Moore biographies at the weekend! Meanwhile, on the silly side of life, our pals the Alien CT brigade have discovered (Surprise! Surprise!) a series of mysterious pipelines and obvious artificial domes on........PLUTO! YEAH! Regards Bill

Just been reading about NASA's MMS mission which is a group of four spacecraft flying in formation around the Earth to study it's magnetic fields. Whats so unusual about that? It's just more boring space stuff, you might ask! The difference is that these particular spacecraft are keeping formation and navigating by...............GPS! Yep! Just like the one you have in your car! So whats the betting that at least one of them ends up in Milton Keynes then? Regards Bill

Hi Jeff! Currently idling the day away reading NASA's Contributions to Aeronautics Volume 1. Not the easiest book to read but if you have trouble sleeping I'll send you a copy. Guaranteed to knock you out within minutes! Regards Bill

Never mind Duncan (and those others amongst you who have suffered the dreaded Teitel!) I've found the perfect antidote! Regards Bill (currently standing under a cold shower!) :no:

The weather is a problem I didn't consider when I bought it being, as I mentioned earlier, in a major cloud-formation area. However, the only way to deal with a problem is to overcome it! I suspect the colder months may prove to be 'my' time because I've spent countlessly long hours on the Stone Jetty night fishing, and more often than not, looking up at those clear, starry skies which is how I first started to look to astronomy as a pastime again. It's perhaps just as well I have a lot of thermal clothing handy and waiting! The weather is also responsible for some of my least-favourite memories of my Cooper. First was having to keep the distributor dry by wrapping it in polythene because it got soaked in even the lightest rain shower (or heavy dew fall!!!) and killed the electric's! There was a 'glove' available to cover them but you could never get hold of one because they tended to sell out very quickly. Second was the wipers which were driven by one motor via what looked like a spring wrapped around a heavy length of wire and which tended to fall apart at the most inconvenient moments. Witness one day having to drive back from Ribchester in a very heavy downpour which I achieved by leaning out of the side window and wiping the windscreen with my shirt! Aah! The joys of motoring! I hope thats one you're planning to frame Jeff, it's a cracking image! Our Amy is not someone you should watch more than once , unless you have a good anger management councillor, or come to think of it, that guy from APL who presents New Horizons Update. How I sometimes wish someone would superglue his hands to the desk! Anyway I'm off to watch Wainwrights Walk's until I calm down. Thank the saint's for the lovely Julia! Regards Bill

I have a question! I've just been on the NASA, New Horizons website and what I want to know is.....What is it about watching Amy Shira Teitel (the presenter of Pluto In A Minute) that makes me want to go out and kill something? Regards Bill

Welcome back Andrew! I must admit we were getting a bit worried. When we were told you were changing your internet provider I didn't realise you were building your own server!!! Regards Bill

As John said, "Mighty impressive!" Theres a certain cachet between looking at a photograph in a book and seeing one from one of your own gang that says 'Hey! This is real!' It does bring that amazing creation out there a bit closer to home! I'm beginning to wonder whether I should keep PSP for my own graphic's and send my own upcoming photos to Jeff for post-op processing! Jock: I think were going to have to introduce Freddie to my youngest grandaughter Lucy. Three years old and as inquisitive as they come! Her favourite pastime when she's here is 'birdies' and she loves being on the Stone Jetty where we can watch them feeding at the waters edge, sometimes in their thousands, as the tide floods. Mind you! I dread to think how much I've spent on books to answer her when she pipes up with her usual, "What's that one called Granpa!" I like photographing them whem the mood strikes but when it comes to naming them......BLANK!!! You sometimes forget how expensive kids can be. On the other hand, it is rather cute when I tell her and she holds dolly up so that she can see too! Regards Bill PS: Jeff. Don't forget you've still got to find the mice for Andrew! Keep your eyes on the skies!