A Celestial Event

 We have had a period of unbelievably gloomy weather the last few days - continual fog and mist, the air full of moisture that made the rim brakes on my bicycle scarily useless at times, and a sun that may not exist anymore for all I've seen of it. 

Earlier in the week however, I accidentally saw a wonderful sight in the night sky as I was cycling home from work, and stopped to take photographs. The moon, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus were all in a line across the night sky just after sunset, with Venus just hovering above the lights of the industrial estate of food factories and chicken hatcheries. 

Sadly Saturn was a mite too faint for my camera to pick up. The next mobile phone I get better have a night photography mode on it!

This weekend, I've managed to get some decent walking done, although there hasn't been an awful lot to see apart from bare trees in a clinging damp fog. However, my attempts to find the first flowering plant of the new season in the cemetery have succeeded, and it was not what I expected. 

Was it a snowdrop or a winter aconite? 

No. It was a red dead nettle, which come March will form a vital source of nourishment for early pollinators. 

Of course, at the moment there is nothing flowering. 

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 19.12.21

Celestial Bodies

Lovely close approach of Venus and the crescent Moon tonight, dominating the skies as I rode home and then went shopping later on.

The only thing other than the moon you will see at night that is brighter than Venus, is a supernova. Remember that. You never know when it may happen.

The building works at the old Robin Hood Hotel have required the arrival of a crane, that oerlooks my garden like one of the sinister Deceptacons from the Transformers movies.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 27.02.20

Cycling to Venus and the Moon

The close conjunction of Venus and the thin crescent moon last night captured a lot of attention from casual observers, and many pictures found their way into my twitter feed of this beautiful celestial conjunction in various settings. Over Salisbury cathedral, in a glowing twilight, over peaceful waters and quiet towns and farmer's fields.

My picture is a rather more urban capture from my ride home last night!

Also in the night sky, the dimming of the star Betelgeuse - don't even think of pronouncing it Beetle-Juice no matter how many times Brian Cox says it that way - in Orion has also attracted a lot of attention. Normally one of the ten brightest stars in the sky, this vivid orange-red star is typically easily identifiable as the left shoulder of Orion, the most distinctive constellation in the sky.

But in late 2019, it began to fade, and now in late January 2020 it has become fainter by a factor of 2.5. Now Betelgeuse's eventual fate as a supergiant star has long been thought to be exploding as a type 2 supernova, and there has been much speculation that this sudden fading is a precursor to its collapse and explosion.

I wish so much that this would happen in my lifetime - when it does so it will be as bright as the full moon for a few weeks and as I read today it would be the most significant event in the history of astronomy on this planet. But chances are it may still have the odd hundred thousand years to go.

Spectacular though it would be for us, for any civilisation within 50 light years of the star the resulting radiation from the explosion would destroy it utterly.

At 700 light years, we believe we are safe...

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 29.01.20

Sunset to Coddington

So my Race to the Stones training continued today, with a long walk out to Coddington and back, on another day of cloudless skies and crisp temperatures leading to icy puddles and frost dusted pavements.

I've not been out this way for a long while, and such a trip would not be complete without being held up at a train crossing, luckily it was only the one LNER train thundering through, sometimes I've been held up for over twenty minutes at Barnby crossing!

i've not seen any winter thrushes until today, but in the trees alongside a farmer's field there was a flock of about 30 Fieldfare - I think - flying about, their pale bellies glowing orange in the lowering sun. Lots of sparrows in the hawthorn hedgerows, chattering away in their endless grey squabbles.

I'd timed the walk so I could get to the top of Coddington Hill as the sun set, and for once my timing was on; I had lovely views and was able to follow the sun until the moment it set; not long after Venus began its Evening Star role, shining brightly as I walked down Beacon Hill.

I've made over 20000 steps for the day, Race to the Stones will need probably 70,000 on consecutive days. It's daunting, but I'm looking forward to it.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 20.01.20

Aconites and Running in the Sunset

Horrified at some Christmas pictures I've seen of myself, and with the idea of doing the 100km Race to the Stones in my mind, I'm already looking toincrease my exercise and hence fitness, helped by my new little fitness band that chides me onwards with its little vibrations.

This morning saw me out walking to take photos of the aconites in better light, and not even are they out, some of them are fully open before the year has even ended.

It's remarkable, really.

So, after a bit of lunch and relaxing, I took to the roads like a pro in my new running gloves and old running tights, and did a gentle 7km around the town to take in the sunset over the Trent, which was as beautiful as it always is. The added bonus was the crescent moon and Venus shining down upon me too, out of a golden sky that made the effort worthwhile.

Although I could have just walked a hundred yards down to the river.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 30.12.19

Venus before Dawn

I've noticed Venus high in the sky in the pre-dawn twilight while riding my bike to work in the last couple of  weeks, but I haven't seen it in a truly dark sky setting until this morning at 5am, where it was blazing low down along the road as I pottered about, unable to sleep.

It really is a stunning object at its maximum magnitude.

Earlier on, I'd had a good evening's observing with my binoculars, again spotting Comet Wirtanen which I think is now on the fringes of naked eye visibility, despite what I said a couple of days ago. Too bad moonlight will obliterate it from here on in.

I also observed all manner of star clusters, some like the Mirfak cluster in Perseus which are larger than my binocular field of view, and others that are far less prominent like the three Messier clusters in Auriga - 36,37 and 38.

Comet Wirtanen itself was just about in the same binocular field of view as the most famous star clusters, the Seven Sisters, or Pleiades, in Taurus.

I enjoyed taking in the sights, on what was a much milder evening than a couple of nights ago.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 16.12.18

Moon and Venus on a Bicycle

It was a freezing morning today, which meant I got to wear the neck warmer I bought yesterday and thus set off for work feeling like a Poundland lady ice skating coach from Omsk. It did help though.

I drew the line at the balaclava until it gets colder. It is too gimp like.

My hand thermometer told me about zero degrees and that indeed was what it was. Having read lots of  reports on twitter I wondered why I wasn't seeing Venus. The answer was that I was looking in the wrong direction - Venus in the morning is in the Eastern sky, idiot!

Dawn wasn't far off but it was still a very bright object, with the added bonus of there being a beautiful thin sliver of moon nearby.

Obviously my phone doesn't take great pictures of astronomical objects, but I  hope I've picked up the flavour of my cold, crisp morning.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 04.12.18

Venus and the Moon

Back to work tomorrow, but of course, I'm never off duty, always with my eyes open trying to find interesting things to show you!

As I'm sure many of you have noticed in the early evening after sunset, planet Venus has become an increasingly dominant sight lowish in the south-west; tonight a two day old crescent moon was there to partner it, with mars as a rather fainter bonus a little way away in the opposite direction.

During my 11km tonight, starting at 345 and finishing an hour or so later, I was able to watch a perfectly clear sky darken, and have some magical views over the local landscape.

Initially, as I ran along the cycle path, only the moon was visible, but soon the sky darkened enough for Venus to come into view, and then the two objects dominated the south-western aspect. Mars, at 10 o-clock, was rather fainter and is not visible in these shots.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 02.01.17

The Jewels of the Silmarills Light My Way Home

Obviously being at work, I'm not getting to see very much of interest at the moment apart from the odd crow squawking by the canteen window, although his morning I got buzzed by three low flying Canada Geese hurtling out of the girdle of Venus to the north-east. But on my way home at 630pm, I currently have three beautiful travelling companions who light my way home.

In the west there is setting Venus, gradually leaving its conjunction with Mars behind. In the south scorching Sirius twinkles violently, flashing red and green. And in the East Jupiter rises, the colour of bone.

Set in a sky where the final traces of twilight are painting the horizon with a beautiful indigo-green light, they remind me of Tolkien's Silmarrils, the jewels designed by the Elven king Finwe to capture the light of the two trees that illuminated the Undying Lands for all eternity. At the moment I set off for home, they form a wide triangle, all of them about the same height above the horizon and so adding to the illusion they've been placed there by figures from supernatural literature.

Tolkien's Silmarills ended up being responsible for the genocide of virtually an entire race of Elves and the eventual destruction of a huge chunk of Middle Earth, my personal celestial jewels merely provide a comforting sight as I make my way home, into a wind still faintly tainted with winter's malice.

How stunning they are.

Si