Tim Trott's Blog
The weblog of an amateur Astronomer, Photographer, Programmer and car enthusiast.
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Thursday 27th December 2007
Due to cost overruns the UK’s funding agency for particle physics and astronomy, STFC, is recouping £80M with deep cuts to UK physics operations in these areas. These include ending the UK’s involvement in the International Linear Collider - the next generation of particle physics experiment. This risks relegating the UK to second tier involvement in future research and critically damaging the country’s standing within the community. Furthermore UK Astronomy will be seriously hit with up to a 25% cut in grants. This is incompatible with the government’s stated aim of making Britain a world leader in science.
A review of this decision has recently been announced and we urge the Prime Minister to press for another solution to this problem before UK physics is set back by decades.
Sign the ePetition: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Physics-Funding/
Write to your MP: http://www.saveastronomy.co.uk/
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This post is filed under Astronomy by Lonewolf at 6:58pm
Wednesday 31st October 2007
Happy Halloween everybody! I thought this year I would do something to celebrate, so what do you think of my first ever, hand carved, Jack o Lantern? I was really pleased with my first attempt, I think next year something a little more adventurous…
The second photo was made with a single 5 second exposure: 4 seconds at 18mm then a fast zoom to 55mm for the final second. This had the effect of creating strange eery light effect from lantern.
Halloween is date of astronomical interest as well. October 31st is a cross-quarter date, which is approximately midway between an equinox and a solstice. There are four cross-quarter dates throughout the year, and each is a holiday: Groundhog Day (US Only, Feb. 2nd), May Day (May 1st), Harvest Day (US Lammas, Aug. 1st), and Halloween (Oct. 31st).
In the old calendar, Halloween marks the start of Winter, so lets get ready for those cold frosty (clear) nights!
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This post is filed under Astronomy, Photography by Lonewolf at 8:38am
First Clear Night In Ages - And A Comet!
Monday 29th October 2007
It was a nice cold, clear night tonight, and I was finally able to go out and see what all the fuss was about over this exploding comet I’ve been hearing so much about. Comet 17P/Holmes mysteriously exploded a few days ago, creating a large bright aura around the nucleus. Possibly formed by vapor erupting from vents on the surface, the exact cause is a mystery to astronomers, but it does make an interesting sight in the sky.
I was extremely (and pleasantly!) surprised at how easy it was to find in the sky. With the constellation of Perseus moving into light polluted territory, I was amazed that I could see it through binoculars, and the view through a small telescope was fantastic. Once I knew where to look, it was clearly visible with the unaided eye. I took quite a few pictures as this is the first actual comet I have been able to photograph, let alone observe, so this comet is a little special for me! I have selected two photos to share here; a wide angle shot showing the Perseids where the comet is marked with red pointers. The second is a closeup with my baby Skywatcher and camera mounted at prime focus.
It wasn’t long however until the Moon decided to put in an appearance, which greatly reduced the visibility of the comet. Still, I had loads of pictures and I took the opportunity to photograph the Moon some more.
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This post is filed under Astrophotography, Light Pollution by Lonewolf at 11:42pm
Monday 22nd October 2007
…But only one more week to go! Its been five weeks, and the plaster is starting to get on my nerves, itching underneath, joints painful and stiff, and to top it off I have the flu.
Haven’t done any astronomy as its been cloudy or misty lately, but I am about to start an Astrobiology course with the University of Central Lancashire, taught via distance learning in the same way as the Astronomy course. Should be interesting and i’m looking forward to starting.
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This post is filed under Astronomy, Car Crash, Injury and Recovery by Lonewolf at 7:55am
Thursday 27th September 2007
Time for a quick update, the pain and swelling from my wrist operation are subsiding now which is good, and i’m sleeping better at night which is also good. Central heating has been broken all week, and last night was particularly cold. The cold doesn’t usually bother me, but this morning my fingers on be bad arm were freezing cold! They’re ok now though.
Last night was the Harvest Moon, so called because its brightness and high position in the sky mean that farmers can stay out well into the night to continue gathering the crops. Early evening, the Harvest moon is typically very orange, due to the Earths atmosphere, and last nights was no exception. Unfortunately I missed the shot I was hoping for (stupid clouds getting in the way) but I was able to get this one a bit later on. Still orange, but not as much as when it was touching the trees.
A few nights ago I was able to get my baby telescope (StarTravel 102) out to view the three quarter moon. My dad helped me out with all the equipment and I was able to take a few pictures through it at prime focus. The pictures never look as good on screen as they do through the eyepiece, I was a little disappointed with them as they just look ‘flat’. If anybody gets the chance to look at the moon through a telescope - do it! It is totally different than looking at pictures, or even binoculars.
Finally, I would like to thank my new laptop (HP TX1250 Entertainment Tablet) for helping me write this post! - My operation makes typing a little difficult and slow, but my new laptop has a swivel screen, making it a tablet with touch sensitive screen and with Vista’s handwriting recognition I can write reasonably fast. 
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This post is filed under Astrophotography, Car Crash, Injury and Recovery, Computers by Lonewolf at 12:17pm
Saturday 15th September 2007
Its been a while since I have done any astrophotography, mainly due to all the clouds and lack of a summer this year! But anyway last night was a surprisingly good night. For some reason the sky was particularly clear and dark, and I could even just about make out the summer milky way in the sky! That was the first time I have seen it!!!
M31 was my target for the night, so I set about looking for it - and there it was! Visible by averted vision!!! The skies where I live are usually very light polluted which make finding DSO’s difficult, let alone imaging them.
These images were taken with my unmodified 350d mounted on an HEQ5 with a 70-300mm IS lens. The mount was not accurately polar aligned due to a tree being in front of Polaris. I used the drift method, which was good for 45 second exposures, however I used 30 second exposures because I broke my remote switch and couldn’t use the bulb setting. This image of M31 was created using 15×30 second exposures aligned and stacked with Photoshop.
My first attempt was nearly a year ago and can be seen here: http://lonewolf-online.net/pictures/dso_m31/img_6858/
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This post is filed under Astrophotography, Light Pollution by Lonewolf at 1:45pm
Monday 13th August 2007
Last Night (12-13th) was the peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower, its typical that it was cloudy so I have yet to see a Perseid. I did hear one though, crackling across the sky.
Fingers crossed for a clear night tonight, but with the MET Office issuing severe weather warnings of heavy rain and gale force winds, I think its unlikely :(.
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This post is filed under Astronomy by Lonewolf at 7:59am
Sunday 12th August 2007
Tonight I had a very good nights astronomy, starting with my first visual of Jupiter this year. I have had to wait a long time to see Jupiter this year because its altitude is very low. It has only just come round the back of the houses in the estate. I only get about a half hour to observe before it disappears behind some tree’s.
I used my baby telescope, the StarTravel 102, with a 25mm eyepiece I can see Jupiter as a bright round object and I can make out a moon. With the 10mm eyepiece I can see Jupiter a bit more clearly, and identify Ganymede and Io. Finally with the 10mm eyepiece and 2x Barlow lens I can see the light ring around the northern hemisphere and just about make out the lower ring. The great red spot was not visible to me today. I could also see Europa and Callisto clearly as well.
After Jupiter had gone behind the trees I turned round to see Arcturus shining bright. This orange star is magniture -0.03 and shines bright in the western skies.
I also observed the International Space Station fly overhead. I even managed to track it with my scope, and was amazed to be able to see some faint detail. With a 25mm eyepiece I believe I saw what looked like a large elongated dot, with two lines either side. This is the modules with solar panels either side. I was not able to view the space shuttle Endeavour at that magnification.
Throughout all this I was joined by a frog (which had a lucky escape), some bats and a hedgehog rummaging around for some food.
Unfortunately I did not see any of the Perseid’s.
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This post is filed under Astronomy by Lonewolf at 12:34am
