Totally off the Astronomy topic here, but I was having a think on the way home tonight.....
So here is the thought... Solar panels on roofs are becoming ubiquitous, yet they need to be south facing. Why don't we focus light onto them from others roofs with focused, moveable mirrors? An array of mirrors on the roof of each house in the area could easily focus energy from the Sun onto solar panels.
There is also another possibility here - in hotter climes, the energy could be focused onto a tank of water - I wonder how much energy would be required to boil enough water to drive a turbine?
If neighbours worked together and each roof focused a little light onto any solar collectors in the vicinity, would that capture enough energy to do anything useful?
This year, I decided to volunteer at the Herstmonceux Observatory and Science Centre. I figured that this hobby has given me so much enjoyment, it was about time I tried to give something back. Of course, there is the added bonus of being able to play with some seriously impressive engineering as well!
If you haven't been to the Science Centre, I would urge you to make the trip. They hold regular open evenings, and we get 4 scopes running - The 30 inch Thompson Reflector, the 13 inch Astrographic Refractor, the 26 Thompson Refractor, and a Meade LX200 16". I will leave you to join me and compare the views when you come down. You can find out about open evenings on the website at http://www.the-observatory.org/open-evenings.
Anyway - last week, I was lucky enough to be running the Meade LX200 16" in Dome C. Jupiter is coming into opposition at the moment, so it was perfectly placed for viewing and imaging. For once, we were lucky to have clear skies, with only the occasional cloud, and we saw Io and its shadow transit Jupiters disc. The Great Red Spot also made an appearance. I've only been playing with scopes for 10 years now, and this was a rare treat for me. I've seen a shadow transit before, but never with such clarity!! The 12mm Televue Nagler eyepiece I purchased second hand really showed the planet and moons beautifully.
Once the crowds had gone when the centre closed at 23:00, I put my Skynyx 2-1c on the scope. No barlow, just running the camera at F/10. I was able to capture the end of the transit. Here is a short video showing the transit:
Its been an interesting few weeks. My new Starlight Xpress Filter Wheel and Off-Axis Guider has arrived, and I've now got a set of LRGB 2" Astronomik filters to go with it. Waiting for the Ha and Oiii, but for now I am strictly confined to true colour imaging! It couldn't have been timed better - the last few weeks have been warm and mostly clear. I've had chance to shoot a relatively new supernova (SN2011by) in NGC3972, and also been catching up on Globular Clusters with Messier 3, Messier 53 and NGC5053.
NGC3972 and a few other galaxies in Ursa Major. SN2011by is marked. Click for the image capture details and a large version.
Preparation for this months Under British Skies show has also been quite hectic. We've got an update from Nick Howes on his recent grand astro tour of NEAF and NAM. John Zarnecki kindly took some time to speak to Sam Hawkins and I, and Paul Harper and Tavi Greiner interviewed Geoff Notkin, one of the famed Meteorite Men. I've still got to get that little lot edited up before the next show on the 15th!
I have also just uploaded my latest 'Clear Skies' talk, so you can have some fun investigating the night sky. Get it here as a pdf.
Just got back from the Isle of Wight Star Party, had a thoroughly great time as per usual. Stephen, Lucy and Bill did a wonderful job yet again. Good times.
Whilst I was on the island, I captured a few Ha exposures of the Rosette Nebula, and decided to finish it off with some Oiii when I got home. The weather was kind on Monday night, so I was able to grab 14 x 15 minute exposures to go with the 12 Ha exposures I captured on the island.
After a bit of processing, here is how it came out. Very pleased with the result, and it is now entered into the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition at the Royal Observatory Greenwich. Fingers crossed!
You know that feeling that you are just not happy with something? Well, I've got that at the moment. I wanted to put M42 to bed once and for all. Its a lovely target in our Winter skies, but how many images of M42 does a man need?
This year, I have an excuse though. The H18 and the Televue Genesis give me a 2" field of view. That alone is a good excuse to re-visit the area in my book, so I did. So far this year, I've captured 8 and a half hours worth of data, and thats not including the data I threw away! My official standpoint is 'its getting there' - Ha and Oiii have been the focus so far. I have enough data in those bands now, giving a nice and smooth result. But I don't like the way the Running Man Nebula (to the left of the image) is not showing his true colours. There should be more blue evident in the image that the Oiii filter just is not picking up.
The plan? I want to see if I can capture some Blue filter data before the end of the Winter. With any luck, that will combine well with the Ha and Oiii filter data and finally put this one to bed. And as for the rest of the Winter skies? Once this is done, the Vixen will be going back on the EQ6, and its back to capture this years Messier 1 data to see if I can pickup any changes since last year. I've left it a bit late in the season, but beggars can't be choosers!
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