Author Archives: james

My 10″ Dobsonian ‘build’

Posted on August 20, 2012 by james

I’ve quoted the word ‘build’ because in some respects this turned out not to be. However, there’s a fair bit of woodwork involved, so I reckon it still counts… Some months back I wrote that I had obtained a 10″ … Continue reading →

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Solar PV Generation Update, August 2012

Posted on August 3, 2012 by james

Well, at last we’ve had a little sunshine this summer, though ten days in July is a pretty poor showing even so. Can’t complain though; it’s a whole lot better than May and June. Generation for July was 407kWh. Lower … Continue reading →

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Nginx Rate-limiting with a Whitelist

Posted on August 2, 2012 by james

I recently needed to deploy a rate-limiting solution for a site where certain IP addresses would be white-listed and not subjected to the rate limits. Google found me an example in a blog that turned out not to work, though … Continue reading →

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Another Attempt at a Cygnus Widefield Image

Posted on August 1, 2012 by james

The evening after my previous attempt the sky looked better so I set up again mostly with the same kit (EQ3-2, 450D, 18-55mm lens at 18mm & f/4.5, but this time I used APT to control the camera from the … Continue reading →

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My First Widefield Shot

Posted on August 1, 2012 by james

Quite a few “firsts” this week. Makes such a change to have so many nights of clear sky. This night the sky clarity wasn’t great, but I wanted to try a widefield shot and wasn’t too worried about the outcome … Continue reading →

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My First SPC900 DSO Images

Posted on August 1, 2012 by james

We’ve just had a full eight days of clear skies and I finally managed to get around to testing my LX-modded SPC900. For the test I used my ST120 on the motorised EQ3-2. This is my first ever attempt at … Continue reading →

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Paper Planet Models

Posted on August 1, 2012 by james

I found a set of “nets” for icosahedron models of planets and moons recently and made one each of Jupiter with my daughter. They’re quite tricky to make the final joins on — you really need delicate slim fingers, not … Continue reading →

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A Very Late Swarm

Posted on July 23, 2012 by james

Yesterday (22nd July) morning I received a phone call about a bee swarm in a local garden. The swarm was in a holly bush right next to the path to the front door of the house and the owners have … Continue reading →

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Observation Report, 22 July 2012

Posted on July 23, 2012 by james

Having had an excellent night two nights ago I had six Messier objects left to find and set myself the goal of finding M7 this week on the basis that whatever happens in August, between the Moon and the turning … Continue reading →

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Observation Report, 20 July 2012

Posted on July 21, 2012 by james

With almost horizon-to-horizon blue skies yesterday evening I gambled on putting out both the 127 Mak on the EQ3-2 so I could polar align it for any solar imaging that I can find time for, and the ST120 with its … Continue reading →

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