DO NOT LOOK AT THE SUN WITH THE NAKED EYE!

It is important that the appropriate protective equipment is used to watch this event by using approved Solar Filters or alternatively try to use eyepiece projection (although this will be a difficult method with the sun at such a low altitude)

Of course we are at the mercy of the weather needing a clear horizon. Below are the timings for the event in the UK

Another galaxy! This is the first time I've imaged a Barred Spiral Galaxy. The bar can be seen running right through the core of the galaxy

The clear skies have made me return to this beautiful galaxy. One of the Bodes galaxy pairs (imaged below) only this time with a longer exposure to bring out more detail and colour. Unfortunately several of my exposures for this one were ruined due to some strange tracking errors deep in the night! Still a good result with just 18 exposures though.

A wonderful sight on the evening of the 26th March

A slightly more challenging galaxy to image this time. Its the first time I've attempted imaging this galaxy. This spiral galaxy is thought to be around 46 million light years away making it the most distant object I have imaged to date (possibly with the exception of NGC4565).

The next of my revisited images is the Leo Triplet. I've managed to get an improved image once again. Three galaxies all in the same field of view located in the constellation of Leo. An imagers dream as they are reasonably bright and very photogenic.

Another shot at the Bodes galaxies but I wont apologise for targeting the same object twice! This time with the larger 250px Telescope.

No telescopes involved here. This image was taken with a Canon 1000D camera and 70-300mm Sigma lens (set to 135mm). Mounted on top of my mount to track the sky, I took a series of very long exposures to capture these two very large nebulas. The famous 'Perseus Double Cluster' can be seen to the lower left of the image.

I've revisited this object, this time with my smaller ED80 telescope to get a wider view of the Bubble Nebula and surrounding area. The cluster of stars to the right is M52. All of my images in 2011 & 2012 have been with the ED80 but my first ever image of the bubble was taken with my larger 250px telescope.

Another beautiful photogenic nebula this time located in Monoceros (a constellation located to the left of Orion). The cluster of stars in the centre is easily visible in binoculars. The giant red molecular cloud however is difficult to see even in a telescope

One of the most beautiful parts of the sky, the Horsehead & Flame Nebula located on the edge of Orion's Belt. The red glow comes from vast amounts of gas that is being Ionised by a nearby star Sigma Orionis (Seen at the far top of the image). The bright star in this image is called Alnitak (the left hand star of the three stars that make Orions Belt). This star is easily visible to the naked eye, even from light polluted areas. The Nebula however is impossible to see even in a modest telescope.

My first image taken with my new modified camera. The Dumbbell Nebula is the remnents of a star that has come to the end of its life and shed its atmosphere. I'm pleased with the results of this camera and look forward to re-taking more of the deep sky targets

Having tried some harder targets lately, I seem to be spending more and more time on them and not getting the same pleasing results. So i've decided to revisit all of my previously photographed deep sky objects throughout the coming Winter and Spring. With an improved camera and better knowlege, the images should be of better quality. I'm looking forward to returning to the brighter, more easily targeted deep sky objects again! Of course there will be a couple new targets thrown in as well

A seasonal list of my planned deep sky targets can be found Here. Keep checking back on this page to follow my progress.

Main Image Click image to enlarge

Zoomed in image Click image to enlarge

This large nebula will not fit in my camera's field of view in full so this is the 'Mexico' region of the Nebula. It is so faint that I have had to break a personal record with the longest combined exposure time I have ever taken. DSLR camera's are not good at picking out this type of nebula so I am very pleased with the result.