Here you will find a selection of recent images I've taken ranging from wide field sky shots to latest planetary and deep sky images. After a while older images will be transferred to the main image gallery. The most recent images will be at the top.

Monthly quick link:

January	February	March	April
May	June	July & August - very little taken	September
October	November	December
COAA-April-May		Northern Lights Flights

December 2008
 

Very little done due to the weather and flu but I did manage to get Venus moving away from Jupiter in bright twilight on Dec 3rd from home.

The Moon was slightly further to the left of Venus and Jupiter but I caught it here with the Equinox 80ED.

November 2008
 

November 1st and Messier 1 imaged with the MN 190 Astrograph and 5 x 2 minute exposures.	Most of the Sword of Orion centred on M42/43 the Orion Nebula taken with the MN 190 on Nov 1st and is a sum of 5 x 2 minute exposures.
Early morning of November 17th and a great Lunar Halo visible over the bund at our back. This was taken with just the Canon 300D and its 18mm lens and is two images merged to get the whole halo.	The almost Last Quarter Moon taken with the MN 190 on Nov 19th
Venus and Jupiter were slowly converging towards a Dec 1st conjunction and in late November during the Northern Lights flights I managed to get two evening views before the flight talks took place. This view was taken from Near Coventry on Nov 25th from our Hotel car park.	This view was taken from our Hotel car park at Newcastle Airport on the 30th. This was the closest I managed to photograph them as the next evening (Dec 1st) at Manchester Pete Lawrence and I set up but were beaten by the clouds :-(

October 2008
 

M45, the Pleiades taken with the William Optics FLT 98 and Canon 300D. Sum of 21 x 4min exposures. Taken on Oct 6th.	The Veil Nebula taken on Oct 22nd with the Canon 300D and my Equinox 80ED refractor.
The Dumbbell Nebula M27 taken on Oct 24th with the Equinox 80ED refractor and the DBK webcam. It's a sum of 25 exposures each 93 seconds long.	The Andromeda Galaxy and companions (M31, M32 & M110) taken with the Eq 80ED and Canon 300D. Sum of 20 x 2 minute exposures
Wide field view of the Sword of Orion taken with the Eq 80ED/Canon 300D on Oct 28th after the Andromeda Galaxy image and is a sum of 10 x 2 min exposures.	Oct 31st and I had the Skywatcher MN 190 Astrograph to review for the mag so managed some images to see what it could do. This is the Veil Nebula and is only 3 exposures of 2 minutes each showing almost as much detail as my last effort using my Equinox 80ED refractor and 10 times more images!
This is also using the MN 190 Astrograph and again is just 3 x 2 minute exposures of the M27, Dumbbell Nebula.

September 2008
 

Early morning of September 20th and the Moon lay close to the Pleiades star cluster. This is a composite of two images, one taken over exposing the moon but showing the Pleiades and the other a short exposure showing just the moon then both combined  to give the view seen here of the event. This was taken with a William Optics FLT 98 which I was reviewing for the Sky at Night Magazine.	Evening of September 20th and it's clear still! This is the Coathanger cluster taken with the FLT98
This view is with the FLT 98 and is a single frame processed of M13 taken with the Canon 300D on the 20th	This viewtaken on the 20th  is using the FLT 98 is also single frame processed of M27 (Dumbbell Nebula) taken with the Canon 300D
September 29th and this is a view using the FLT 98 to image M81 and M82

June 2008
 

Hardly any time to image anything but did get this nice view of Albireo in Cygnus using the 10" Newtonian and the DBK 31AF03.AS web cam

May 2008
 

May 31st and the Space Shuttle Discovery STS 124 lifted off and I managed to image it coming over the UK with the added bonus of the External tank lying below it as a bright orange dot. Here then are the 3 images i took in quick succession as Lorraine and I watched spellbound as they apssed over.	Initial sighting at around 21:23:58UT
Discovery and the ET pass above Spica in Virgo
May 18th/19th Images taken using the Equinox 80ED and the DBK 31AF03.AS Webcam
The almost Full Moon - montage of two images using the DBK 31AF03.AS webcam and just the Eq80ED	Despite the Moon (see left) this is my view of M13 using the webcam/Eq80ED and a sum of 20 x 1 minute exposures with some image enhancement using PSP. Slightly bad luck that the 2nd companion star was just too near the edge of the frame (RHS).

COAA - April/May 2008

The following images were all taken at COAA (Centre for Observational Astronomy in the Algarve) from April 27th to May 12th using several instruments and cameras which included some images with the 1/2 metre, 12" and 8" reflectors and Bev's modified Canon 300D and my DBK 31AF03.AS Webcam. I was also able to use COAA's PST - something which I've not done before. Many thanks to Bev and Jan at COAA for the use of the equipment and their help during our holiday.
Solar System
Prominence taken on May 4th at 15:10UT with the PST	Prominence further round the limb taken on May 4th at 15:12UT with the PST
A composite view using a tuned view of the Solar Granulation and a view of a dramatic arching prominence taken on May 6th at approx 15:47UT
Composite of Jupiter and three of its moons captured using the DBK and the COAA 8" Reflector on May 8th at 02:21UT (03:21BST)	Jupiter and Io taken with the COAA 12" Reflector and the DBK & 2X barlow on May 5th at 04:10UT
Composite of Jupiter and three moons with a shadow transit of Ganymede crossing the disk with the GRS also visible. Taken with the 12" and DBK on May 11th at 04:54UT	Close up with a 2X barlow showing GRS and shadow transit better.
Composite of Saturn and four moons taken with the 8" and the DBK on April 27th at 22:25UT	Composite of Saturn and four moons taken with the 12" and the DBK on April 29th at 21:30UT
Saturn taken with the 12" and 2x barlow and DBK on April 29th at 22:00UT
Deep Sky
Open Cluster H12 in the tail of Scorpius taken with the COAA 8" and a modified Canon 300D.	NGC 6231 an open cluster just south of H12 in Scorpius
NGC 6242 an open cluster in the tail of Scorpius also taken with the COAA 8" and a modified Canon 300D.	A wide angle view of Scorpius and Sagittarius taken using the Vixen mount and Canon 300D and is a merged and processed image using two images, one of 4 minutes at ISO 400 and the other of 3 minutes at ISO 200. The bright 'star' at right centre is Jupiter.
Two views of the globular cluster M4 in Scorpius. This view is a sum of 5 x 2 min exposures using the DBK webcam and the 8" reflector taken on May 8th - this is one of my first efforts at using the DBK for deep sky imaging - lots still to master :-)	This view is with the same 8" reflector but now using the modified Canon 300D. It is a sum of 5 x 2 min exposures at ISO 400. Note the difference in image scale using the two different types of imaging device.
The following 3 images were taken with the COAA 1/2 mtr Reflector	NGC 2903 Galaxy in Leo. 10 x 2 minute exposures at ISO 800.
Messier 65 and 66. 11 x 2 minute exposures at ISO 800.	Best image I've taken of M104, the Sombrero Galaxy. 9 x 2 minute exposures at ISO 800.
The next set of images were also taken with the COAA 1/2 mtr Reflector/Canon 300d Modified and were a series of short exposures capturing some of the objects Bev & I showed to a Swedish family staying at COAA for a couple of days.	Messier 37, open cluster in Auriga. One image at ISO 800 and 64 seconds exposure.
The Eskimo Nebula (NGC 2392) in Gemini. A single 9 second exposure at ISO 800. This image is cropped from the original luminosity enhanced to show more detail.	A cropped and slightly enhanced image of the Cigar Galkaxy, M82. Single image at ISO 800 and 66 seconds exposure.
Another view of M104 - a sum of 2 x 55 second exposures at ISO 800, cropped and enhanced.	A nice view of M13 the Hercules globular, single image at ISO 800 and a 71 second exposure, cropped and enhanced.
M51 the Whirlpool galaxy in Canes Venatici. Single image at ISO 800 and 63 seconds exposure, cropped and enhanced.	M97, the Owl Nebula in Ursa Major. Two images at ISO 800, 62 & 83 seconds exposure. Images summed, cropped and enhanced.
This final set show how using the modified Canon 300D can bring out the HII regions to better effect - all these images were taken using the COAA 8".
Messier 16, the Eagle Nebula. Taken on May 12th. Single image at ISO 400 and 87 seconds exposure. Image enhanced.	Nearby M17, the Omega or Swan Nebula taken on May 11th. Single image at ISO 100 and 296 seconds exposure. Image enhanced.
M8, the Lagoon Nebula taken on May 9th. A sum of 9 x 30 second exposures at ISO 800, with slight enhancement.	Finally my best image so far of M20, the Triffid Nebula taken on May 11th. A sum of 6 x 90 second exposures at ISO 400, with some enhancement.

April 2008

April  17th First image taken using the 10" Reflector and a DBK 31AF03.AS Webcam
The Moon from Tycho to Gassendi. This is a sum of two sets of data from a 3 minute avi I had to split before Registax could deal with it so I still have a lot to learn in order to get the best out of the DBK.	Labeled version
April  10th Taken using the 10" Reflector and Canon 300D DSLR
M5 cropped from original. Sum of 11 x 90 second exposures	M81 cropped from original Sum of 12 x 90 second exposures
M82 cropped from original. Sum of 12 x 90 seconds exposure	M97 cropped from original. Sum of 10 x 240 seconds exposure

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