Phil's Astronomy Amateur Page

I mentioned the other day, that I'm so 'cream crackered' after early starts and busy days, that I often fall asleep watching TV before 10pm. Sad, I know.... being the wrong side of 50 probably doesn't help either.

What I didn't mention was that I tend to wake up in the wee small hours - generally between 2 and 4 am, normally because I'm feeling a bit chilly or possibly because a particularly loud program has just come on the TV and disrupted my slumbers!
It's about then that I decide "Well, off to bed for a couple of hours, then..." so proceed to turn off the TV and put out the lights. However the last thing I do without fail, is take a look out the front door to see what's in the sky.

Very often it's just cloudy up there, but the last couple of days it's been very clear and the sky has been peppered with beautiful bright stars and there, in prime position south-south-east, is my favourite constellation, Orion.
To be fair, the whole quadrant of sky is beautiful, possibly the best of the year in my opinion, but the Celestial Hunter takes pride of place and I can hardly wait until January before he's in that position at a more human hour - like about 22:00hrs - when I can get the camera out and try to image M42, the nebula in his 'sword'.

Down at Orion's left foot is Sirius (Canis Major), brightest star in the northern hemisphere and high to his left are Castor and Pollux (Gemini).

High to Orion's right are the Pleiades (the Seven Sisters plus mum and dad and a load of relatives too - around a hundred stars in all in a hazy open cluster) and in between them and Orion, the Hyades, a smaller cluster right next to Aldebaran, Taurus's eye.

About 30 degrees above Orion is Auriga and to the right, Perseus. Keep going another a bit further and you're in Cassiopeia and just below, Andromeda where the spiral galaxy M31 just beckons you to show some interest.

If you have the good fortune not to suffer light pollution, you'll see that these constellations (with the exception of Orion and Taurus) are all pretty much strung out along the Milky Way. Sadly it's not a sight I've enjoyed since I was a kid. No, I tell a lie - Back in 1981 in rural Gloucestershire, following a wedding reception in the village hall, a group of friends and I walked back to our digs across fields, by torchlight. That was a fantastic experience and the Milky Way was there in its glory.

28 years later though, and I doubt even Dumbleton skies are free of the curse of the streetlight.
I do, when I get the chance, though, take a ride up to Box Hill (Headley, in fact) just south of Dorking, where Ewell AS hold their viewing sessions once a month. In fact it was as a member of said club that I was introduced to this site, but circumstances prevented me from attending more than 3 or 4 meetings and that was the end of my liaison with Ewell. Which was a shame really, because they are a good bunch and being a solo astronomer isn't always the best way to go - you can always learn - or teach - something new.... I really ought to make the effort and get over there again.

If you're interested in visiting or joining a club locally, why not check out my astronomy clubs guide? At the moment it's limited to UK but I will be expanding it to Canada/USA when I summon up the energy to take on such a huge task!

And next time you wake up in the night, don't just turn over and doze off again - have a look outside - you may be pleasantly surprised by what you can see :o)