Amateur Astronomy from Edinburgh2026-08-15T15:01:48+00:00

Forthimage – Amateur Astronomy from Edinburgh

This website is an observing log and a place where I can post my images and observations. You can find more information about the equipment I use on the About/Equipment page and Papers I am co-author of.

Having imaged many of the obvious objects I find it more satisfying now to contribute data to various projects.

I am currently (President after 4 years) Secretary and Webmaster of the Astronomical Society of Edinburgh and some of my pictures are displayed on their Flickr page.

I contribute data to the HOYS citizen science project, ExoClock, BAA Mars and VSS sections, AAVSO, GMN, UKMON, as well as others. You can now see my meteor camera data on the Meteor Camera page. MPC code Y81.
Mark

Recent posts

ISS Lunar Transit 2026-05-25

25 May 2026|ISS, Moon, News|

Text

Object IDISS Lunar transit
Details2026-05-25 19:18:32
Telescope250mm f4.8 Newtonian
CameraPlayerOne Mars-C II
FiltersIR850
Exposure(s)108fps .ser video
CaptureFirecapture
ProcessingSER player, Clipchamp, Wavesharp, Photoshop
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Eratosthenes ASERO scope

28 March 2026|ASERO, Moon, News|

First Moon image from the SCT added to ASERO in Spain that I setup.

Object IDMoon / Eratosthenes
Details2026-03-27 20:28 UT
TelescopeC11 Edge HD, 2x Powermate 5600mm fl
CameraPlayerOne Uranus-C Pro
FiltersL
Exposure(s)11x60s 140fps
CaptureFireCapture
ProcessingAS!4, WinJUPOS, WaveSharp4, Photoshop
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Oval BA 2012 – 2026

18 February 2026|Jupiter, News|

Discovered I had this feature in my archives and how it has changed over the years. It really did seem to be a mini GRS, almost as red as the GRS itself, but recently it has barely any red at all and has faded quite a lot.

Oval BA is a red storm in Jupiter’s southern hemisphere similar in form to, though smaller than, the Great Red Spot (it is often affectionately referred to as “Red Spot Jr.”, “Red Jr.” or “The Little Red Spot”). A feature in the South Temperate Belt, Oval BA was first seen in 2000 after the collision of three small white storms, and has intensified since then.

The formation of the three white oval storms that later merged into Oval BA can be traced to 1939, when the South Temperate Zone was torn by dark features that effectively split the zone into three long sections. Jovian observer Elmer J. Reese labeled the dark sections AB, CD, and EF. The rifts expanded, shrinking the remaining segments of the STZ into the white ovals FA, BC, and DE. Ovals BC and DE merged in 1998, forming Oval BE. Then, in March 2000, BE and FA joined, forming Oval BA.
Wikipedia

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Jupiter 2025-12-30

2 January 2026|Jupiter, News|

First of  the season for me. Got the eADC to work prooperly which makes a hughe difference.

10x60s videos derotated. First time I’ve had detail on one of the Moons.

Bad seeing comparison from a few days later. This shows dramatic difference seeing makes: same amount of data (10x60s videos), equipment and processing. The one on the right had to be hammered with sharpening to get anything much out of it. The one on the left needed only light sharpening.

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