With the longest days upon us the night never reaches true astronomical darkness all night. The sun only gets 18 degrees below the horizon even at 1am! As a result, deep sky imaging and viewing takes a back seat until then end of July. So what is there to do during this month of 'astronomical drought'?

First of all, your telescope is certainly not rendered useless at this time of year. Double stars can look quite interesting even in a lightish sky, most especially the colour contrasting doubles like Alberio. For the hardcore astronomers out there, you can wait up to have a look at the gas giant Jupiter which rises around 1am in the South West.

For those without telescopes, there is a phenomenon unique to this time of year.. Noctilucent clouds (NLC's) are clouds that shine during the night (usually in the Northern sky). They are so high up in the stratosphere that sunlight reflects off of them even in the dead of night. They take on an 'electric blue' kind of look with quite strange wrippling formations. Due to the sun's current very low activity, it allows noctilucent clouds to form more often making this year a bumper year for NLC's. Some great photos and animations of them are being posted up already this year on Spaceweather.com.

NGC4565 Edge on Galaxy click to enlarge image One of my favourite galaxies to photograph. NGC4565 in the constellation of Coma Berenices is a reasonably bright galaxy and quite large, making it one of the easier galaxies to photograph. The edge on view is quite stunning with the dust lane clearly visible cutting through its core
The Leo Triplet Galaxies click to enlarge image Three galaxies in Leo which can all been seen in the same field of view. Nicknamed the 'Leo Triplet', these three galaxies are officially known as M65 (top right), M66 (bottom right) and NGC3628 (Left). This improved photo includes exposures taken this time last year and a whole bunch of new exposures totalling a little over one and a half hours exposure time	M81 Spiral Galaxy click to enlarge image A spectacular spiral galaxy in Ursa Major. One of the brighter galaxies in the Northern sky, this galaxy has a companion which is just out of frame (a photo of both together can be seen in the gallery) 18x5 minute exposures.
The Pinwheel Galaxy click to enlarge image This pretty 'face on' spiral galaxy is thought to be around 20 million light years distant. I cannot even see this galaxy through my telescope, however long exposure photography brings it out quite nicely as long as you know where to point the camera!	The Whirlpool Galaxy click to enlarge image A well known spiral galaxy probably made famous by its perfect flat on view and neighbouring companion that appears to extend off from the main structure. Hubble has famously taken some very stunning photo's of this galaxy. There have been many estimates of its distance from us ranging from 15 to 31 million light years!

I probably take too many images of this region of the moon. Its a little obsession of mine, so bear with me! The Alpine valley and mountain region. The moon phase was such that the shadows from the mountains looked quite spectacular so I had to take some shots using the webcam. This is a composite of 4 images stitched together. (Taken at 720x magnification approx)
 

I have finally imaged 'the ringed one' this year. Mighty different to last year and before isn't it. The rings have closed right up taking some of the beauty out of the view. The rings will briefly completely disappear through August then the slow opening of the rings will begin. Its still a fantastic sight through a scope.
 

The Pleiades (also known as the 'Seven Sisters') is the closest star cluster to our solar system, easily visible to the naked eye. The cluster can be seen up high in the Southern sky during late winter. In this photo you can see clouds of nebulosity in behind the stars. These are very hot, young stars hense their blue colour.

The International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) will be a global celebration of astronomy highlighted by the 400th anniversary of the first use of an astronomical telescope by Galileo Galilei. The aim of the Year is to stimulate worldwide interest, especially among young people, in astronomy and science under the central theme "The Universe, Yours to Discover". IYA2009 events and activities will promote a greater appreciation of the inspirational aspects of astronomy. Click the Logo to visit the UK website for more info on upcoming events

On 1st December, the three brightest objects in the night sky converged in a small area of the South Western horizon putting on this stunning show for all to see. Brilliant Venus (below the moon) had just come out from behind the moon during this event. Jupiter can also be seen obove and to the right. On the right hand picture a widefield shot shows the trio with St Mary's church in the distance

My latest photo of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). The most distant object visible to the naked eye and the closest galaxy to our own. Various shots ranging from 2-5 minutes in length totalling 2 hours of exposure time.

Bright Summer Stars Up Close
(All taken through a telescope)

Arcturus Click image to enlarge The brightest star in the summer sky, (forgetting Jupiter), and the 3rd brightest in the whole sky which shines at visual magnitude -0.05. This star is a red giant and is clearly contrasting in colour to Vega (shown to the right).	Vega Click image to enlarge Vega, the brightest star of the summer triangle hangs directly overhead over the summer months. Its the 5th brightest star in the whole sky shining at visual magnitude 0.03. This star is much younger and hotter than Arcturus hence is showing as blue/white in colour.
Albireo Click image to enlarge Albireo is arguabley the most famous double star in the night sky, mainly due to the sheer contrast in colour of the pair. Visually these stars are even more contrasting in colour than this photo makes out. To the naked eye it appears as a single star in the constellation of Cygnus, they can only be seen as a pair through a telescope.

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Jupiter 2008

Finally I got round to snapping a picture of Jupiter this year. Taken with webcam and Skywatcher 120mm telescope (taken near Slapton, Devon)

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Solar Eclipse 01 Aug 2008

A picture of the partial solar eclipse at 10:15am on 01st August. The moon can be seen taking a 'bite' out of the sun which covered around 20% at maximum as viewed from Bridgwater.

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Earthshine in May

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

A clear and warm spring evening showed off a wonderful crescent moon on the 7th May 2008. The above left picture showing the crescent moon and the above right picture is an over exposed image (3.2 seconds) taken right afterwards to illustrate 'Earthshine'. During a crescent moon, the Earth is in such a position that sunlight is reflected off of the Earth surface on to the dark side of the moon making it visible. The bright crescent phase is normal, direct sunlight being reflected off the moon. This effect is easily seen with the naked eye although the features of the dark side of the moon are rarely seen in as much detail as in an over exposed photo.
 

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International Space Station - 3rd Attempt

My third attempt at capturing the International Space Station was once again successful. Out of a 2 minute movie containing over 2000 frames only a mere 2 frames had captured the station in full. Unfortunately 2 solar arrays were not reflecting any sunlight however Shuttle Atlantis is docked there somewhere but can't pick it out in either photo.

Overhead shot

Eastern sky shot (setting)

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International Space Station - 2nd attempt
** Published in Astronomy Now Magazine - February 2008 Edition **

My shot from Bridgwater ISS - 12 December 2007

NASA shot from space Latest NASA photo of the ISS

My second attempt at capturing the International Space Station via webcam has been very successful. The above left photo was created from a movie taken with webcam attached to dobsonian telescope. The space station passed directly over the Southern UK which made it pass in a dead straight line from West to East right overhead. This made it easier than last time for me to keep it in view as I only had to move the telescope in one axis to keep up with it. I am delighted with the results. Above right picture is a current photo from NASA as a comparison

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Crescent Moon & Venus