The Plough asterism from Alcor to Dubhe

 

Part of the Plough Asterism.
A two pane composite image captured with a tripod mounted
 un-modded Canon 600d DSLR and A Canon F1.4 f=50mm lens.
Image Credit: Kurt Thrust.

" The weather has been difficult for sometime here on the East Coast. We did not get to see the spectacular displays of the Aurora visible almost everywhere in the UK because of low fog and high level cloud. We did manage to image the huge sunspot group on the Sun's Disc which has been instrumental in the creation of the solar mass ejections and the spectacular auroral displays in the Earths atmosphere. We also managed to image the crescent Moon and the above asterism all through 'hazy' skies."  - Kurt Thrust current Director of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Image credit: Astrometry. net.

The Sun's Disc with huge sunspot group May 2024. 66mm Altair Lightwave doublet refractor with white light filter and QHY5-111462c camera. Image credit: Kurt Thrust

The Crescent Moon with earthshine over fields in Suffolk. Canon 600d DSLR with Canon F1.4 f=50mm lens. Image credit: Pip Stakkert

"Friends of the Jodrell Plank Observatory in Oxfordshire and Cambridgeshire very kindly sent us the following images of the Aurora taken with their smartphones" - Joel Cairo CEO of the Jodrell Plank Observatory.

Professor Ian Morison - RIP

 We were very sad to hear that the astronomer and astrophotographer, Professor Ian Morison died in April of this year. Although we never met this man, his books on the shelves of the Jodrell Plank Observatory are a source of constant reference and in themselves are a joy to read. His online ‘Astronomy Digest’ provided us with the latest reviews of software and equipment, which inspired us to learn and improve. His generosity in sharing his exceptional knowledge and experience, freely within the public domain, speaks well of this man of science.

George Roberts - Jodrell Plank Observatory sponsor.