December: So far so bad
So far December is looking like a pretty bad month for me. In the first week of the month I was away for a few days (down in London, even if I'd had clear skies the light pollution and the need to be up bright and early each morning meant that no real observing could take place anyway). That trip also meant that I had to miss the occultation of the Pleiades. Since then the weather has been pretty awful — even though we've had a couple of clear nights recently they've both been quite misty and hardly worth the bother.
I look forward to December, especially given that it gets dark nice and early, but it's starting to look like a wash-out for me. The forecast at the moment doesn't look too promising for the Geminids either (something I wanted to have a crack at, having finally acquired the meteor shower bug thanks to the Leonids).
So far it's even been a bad month for solar observing (something that is made all the more annoying given that sunspot 930 has been putting on a nice display — I have managed to view it twice but I've not had the chance to put those logs online yet).
6 comments:
Tell me about it! I live in North London and the light pollution is a nightmare. The sooner this waste of energy is addressed the better it will be for all. I’m just beginning with solar observing, but so far, so good.
North London is where I was staying (Barnet to be exact).
Where I live the skies are pretty good but, over time, I kind of get used to them and start to think they're pretty awful (we do have sources of rather bad light pollution in the village: pub, church, that sort of thing). Then I go somewhere like London and I'm reminded of what really polluted skies look like and count myself lucky.
What sort of setup are you using for solar observing?
I need to sort out my new focuser properly so the few clear nights I've had in Cambridgeshire have been wasted too. Hopefully I'll be able to get out with my little APO over the next few days but I'm not holding my breath.
The local forecast is currently suggesting clear nights for Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Fingers crossed...
I use an 8" Meade LX90LNT UHTC for everything, but for solar use, I've just bought a Focus Master Lens Cap, a 70m solar filter and an LX Solar Finder. I’ve not had much chance to use it yet, but live in hope.
I live in Barnet, so can sympathise with your recent light issues!
Wow! Sounds like an impressive setup. Puts my little Solarscope to shame.
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