Phil's Astronomy Amateur Page

Good question. The answer is probably a tentative 'yes', but not because there's necessarily any less to look at now than at other times in the year - it's probably because it gets dark so late in the summer, that people just can't afford to stay up that long to enjoy it. Given that in winter it gets dark really early, which is fab, it's so darned cold by comparison, that really only leaves spring and autumn for your 'average' viewer; Still handy for kids who need to get to bed at a sensible time and for older people whose blood freezes easily if they stand still too long.
And I'm slowly but inexorably sliding into that second category...

The reason it crossed my mind is that this afternoon I popped down to my 'local' astronomy shop, Astronomia in Dorking, for some Baader film for making a Solar filter. The plan, after so many years, is to do a little bit of Solar viewing and I can't afford a Coronado PST, as much as I'd like one. Making a blocking filter for my little Bushnell is the cheapest way I can accomplish this. (It still costs £18 for an A4 sheet, though, which they didn't have in stock...)

I have to say that Astronomia is a very nicely laid out shop with various 'scopes set up in the windows and on the floor - good job, very attractive, but I don't suppose at 16:30hrs on a Tuesday there's ever going to be a queue to get in the door.

Anyway, I was passing the time with the guy, Matt, who commented that things weren't very busy since the Solar Eclipse-followers had been in June/July for kit to take to China with them. (This was in response to my question on the subject, I have to say). Which is a shame really.

If he'd said that things were pretty good, I'd probably have inquired as to what people were actually buying (and I'll explain why, another day). Do they want reflectors, refractors, catadioptrics or just binoculars? The answer was going to be academic so the question was left unasked.

I spotted a flyer that had apparently been left this morning by a lady from the local WEA Astronomy Group (Workers Educational Association?) advertising astronomy meetings around midday, locally. I took a note of her number just out of interest - it may be worth popping down to see what it's all about... I'm always on the lookout for people who might benefit from information on my website, philanthropist that I am.

I gave Matt my contact details: webmaster@simpleamateurastronomy.com - well, I hadn't mentioned that I was publishing my own website as well as this blog and thought I'd let him work it out - so that he could contact me when the Baader film came in.

In the meantime I have plenty to do, including catching that elusive image of Jupiter with the Bushnell and a cheap webcam, just to prove it can be done, really! Trouble is the laptop charger has gone to meet its maker and I don't have a backup. I do however have a spare desktop PC but do I really want to cart it all outside right now, for a few minutes 'work'? Do I cocoa....

That's the trouble, you see. Sometimes the effort involved in getting your gear together, outweighs the impulse to go outside and observe, and that's bad. And that's also why big telescopes aren't always a good thing for beginners, or should I say those who don't have permanent observatories set up: With all that weight to hump around, it's too easy not to bother.

I know, being the owner of a 10" reflector on an HEQ5 mount... That's why it's nice to have a little 'scope around to drag out quickly if the urge grabs you.

So what's on telly, then?