I decided that I wanted to try a Bahtinov mask for focus tests on the 3 inch refractor, after having

Yesterday’s image of M44 Praesepe, or the “Beehive” cluster. This was taken using my old 135mm Pentax fitting lens, with

After a reasonably successful test of eyepiece projection using my old 3 inch refractor, I decided to try again with

Yet another clear evening! A new adapter for my old Pentax fitting lens had arrived, so I was keen to

Yet another unexpected clear evening – these weather forecasters need to get their act together. I’m not complaining about the

An unexpected clear evening (the weather forecasts are hopeless at present) meant a happy couple of hours testing the telescope

After playing around with odd astronomical photos over the last few years (lunar eclipse, comet Neowise, various planetary conjunctions) I

Mars was passing fairly close to the Pleiades this year so a clear night gave an opportunity for a photograph,

A nice clear night meant a chance to try out my nice new camera / telescope drive (alt-az) as a

This is described in most places as the “Great Conjunction” because it doesn’t happen very often. The closest approach of

At last there was a clear evening with a chance to take a photo of the comet. It’s not so

Mercury was difficult to see except by using binoculars. I didn’t know I even had it in the photo until