Starship Asterisk*

hehe, I like the 'fox fur' part . . actually I can kind of make out the fox's head, her nose and two eyes, as she runs back into her blue cave with her thick lustrous coat trailing behind her . . . you have to be in awe of the forces that combine to make these unusual patterns. The 'cone' feature lo...

Ann, I don't think you should feel too bad about not being able to see Venus. It has so far eluded me too . . and I have looked and looked, night after night, when the sky has been clear enough. I have used the Stellarium program to check where it should be and I can see what the problem is, at leas...

Not being familiar with HED meteorites, I have to admit 'diogenite' was a completely new word on me (...I mean honestly, where've I been all these years!) . . . could have maybe done with providing us with a link on that word too, but I looked it up anyway. So, I gather that it is quite a commonly u...

When is snow good? When it stays in the countryside Er, hold on one moment there Ann, I live in 'the countryside' and I don't want any of your snow or anyone else's thanks very much! It might look like a pretty picture postcard, but speaking from the experience of having been snowed-in for three we...

Three strings and the truth, yay!, go for it . . . I need to get me some of that 'happy juice'

(..it sure seems to work for those guys!)

Nice post Ann!, as always, clear and informative

No, unfortunately I have not managed to see Venus yet . . . tried, even last night, when the sky cleared, but failed so far!

Very alien, very ethereal . . looks like a view from another world . . . cold beauty!

Janeway3, I think what you are probably seeing is Jupiter, it is one of the brightest points of light in the evening/night sky. I have noticed it's light is even visible through a thin layer of cloud or mist (of which we have had plenty lately!!) . . I'm not far from Cumbria, just over the hills in ...

Gorgeous!

With just a hint of Earthshine too . . . . what a beautiful view!

What a great location and captured so beautifully in this image. What strikes me is how the clarity of the depth of field really shows the Pyrenees in such sharp detail and I like how the light from the La Mongie ski resort, beneath the cloud layer, illuminates those cold clouds with a warm glow. Gr...

Down to the very last bit of colour in the garden here in Yorkshire



these are my last flowers of 2011 . . .






and I thought, "How apt for Asterisk*", for they are . . .

What an amazing looking place! There's a quite unearthly quality in this photograph; could almost be an artist's impression of a Martian-based settlement of the future. Looks like there are two more meteor streaks too, both following the same direction. Impressive how a photo including the brightnes...

Orin, here's one that I didn't get to in time. It kept growing, but not quite the way I intended!


Still, I have had a bumper crop this year, so I'm more than happy.


But time to clear out the greenhouse I think!

Woa!, pure psychedelic! . . yeah baby, groovy! So when we went to the moon at the end of the sixties and into the early seventies, it looks like we didn't just leave a few items of spent space-junk lying around, we left the hippy culture behind up there too, it just went to the farside . . who knew!...

I always enjoy seeing The Pleiades, it's one of those constellations I regard as an old friend. When I was little, before I knew what it's proper name was, I always referred to it as 'the tennis racquet', that's just how it appeared to my young eyes . . don't shoot me but, if I'm honest, it will alw...

lucky shot.jpg Hey Beyond, my lone bat would like to meet your lone bat!!! . . . maybe they could flit around together in happy harmony :) This was a lucky capture just a few minutes ago as dusk was falling. Can't believe I caught it in focus! I think you can even just make out the moth he/she was ...

Inspirational image! Makes me wish I could paint!

I'd just like to say, Ann hath a way with words!

Can't fail to be impressed by how such a turbulent maelstrom can appear to be so downright beautiful.
The link to the full res version is simply "wowsa-rama!"

Light the blue touch-paper and stand well back! . . . now, that is some squib!

Woo-hoo-hoooo!

Great choice! Uncanny how those dust clouds form shapes that look so ghostly. Also intriguing how the formation on the right hand side of this view looks like something has punched a hole right through the nebula allowing the starlight to shine through like a beam.

With the spooky outline of that broken tree's silhouette against the glowing aurora, this makes a really apt picture for the hallowe'en weekend. Of course, if there could have been an owl or something sitting on one of those branches too . . well even better, but hey, I'll take it as it is! Well don...

cassiopeia.jpg I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for those active aurora opportunities . . . no chance tonight though, very dull and wet here in Yorkshire. But last night the clouds parted for a while and the stars became visible. I took my very first ever astrophoto of the night sky! It's a first, an...

Was it a blue or perhaps an ultraviolet filter? The first link provides some more information; it says they took the picture in visible blue light. I believe that would mean that if Titan has more red hues in it's colouration then it would appear darker in such an image. These Cassini images are al...

autumn cyclamen 400.jpg Small, but perfectly formed . . autumn Cyclamen cheerful little splashes of late colour for the borders; they peep their delicate heads out of the leaf litter around this time of year, every year! Last cut of the lawn for this season at the weekend; the mower now put away un...