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Harold Siddons

@garuda.ph

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Amateur astronomer / photographer / sci-fi writer / 3D print maker
✨🪐📷🔭🌌🌙
🌍 West Berks, UK

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92% partial solar eclipse from here. At maximum, there was a definite dip in brightness in the environment around us that felt strange and otherworldly.

I've seen comments from people who were disappointed, but we know even a 99% eclipse can't compare to totality, not that I've seen it myself.

I couldn't get the lens I brought to focus. I hadn't used it before, and I think I know what the problem is, or maybe it's a complete dud. Should have tested it beforehand!

So these images were kindly shared with me by someone else who had set up at the same spot. Very much appreciated!
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Images by Steve Butcher
using a Dwarf Mini
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#solareclipse #astronomy #astrophotography #eclipse taken in West Berkshire, England, United Kingdom by @garuda.ph

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4

2 months ago

Startrails with some noctilucent clouds. I didn't have any other lens with me for those so I stuck to what I planned...

Thought this might work with the road light trails but definitely should have moved to the left a bit. That's what happens when you concentrate too much on camera settings!

This is almost 2 hours of Earth rotation on a nearly Full Moon night. I stacked fewer selected frames of the road light trails and the NLCs for a nicer final image.
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Canon 7D
EF-S 10-22mm
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#startrails #astrophoto #longexposure #noctilucentclouds #nightphoto taken in West Berkshire, England, United Kingdom by @garuda.ph

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2

4 months ago

Our galaxy... This was shot very nearly one year ago. When I originally posted it the colour balance wasn't quite right. So here's a redo with a hint of sharpening as well.

With some post work you can get by on an APS-C sensor using this old lens, but on full frame I have to crop out a fair bit. The 6D is an amazing camera in low light, even if it is quite old at this point. I have the Samyang 24mm f/1.4 in the wishlist to eventually pair with it.

Many lenses suffer in the corners on images with stars because points of light are so unforgiving of less-than-perfect optics. Just look at the corners on the Milky Way image from Artemis II. Literally the first thing I checked when I saw that pic 😂

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Canon 6Da
Miranda 24mm
Walking Way soft focus filter
Skytracker Pro
Tracked sky blend taken in Wiltshire, UK by @garuda.ph

101

2

6 months ago

We have seen so many amazing images from Artemis II. But, perhaps surprisingly, this is my favourite one!

An exterior view of an orbital solar eclipse shortly after the flyby, with the Moon partially lit by Earth. Beyond that is the zodiacal light — sunlight reflected off interplanetary dust.

I was listening to the live feed as the crew described seeing the structure of the Sun’s corona as it set, and then several impact flashes on the unlit part of the Moon. Just incredible.

Following live has been fantastic. How long before we hear a crew describe Valles Marineris or Olympus Mons rising out of the haze from Mars orbit?
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Artemis II "Integrity" solar array wing camera
Credit: NASA
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#moon #nasa #zodiacallight #artemisii #eclipse by @garuda.ph

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3

6 months ago

Earth's shadow falls upon the Moon. There was about a 30-second gap in the clouds!

From here, totality ended just after moonrise. The sky had earlier been somewhat clearer but alas, after this brief sighting it went completely overcast.
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Acuter Mak 80
Canon 550D
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#moon #canon550d #lunareclipse2025 #astronomy #nightsky #luna #telescope #lunareclipse taken in United Kingdom by @garuda.ph

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5

a year ago

Jupiter and Venus rising up this moonlit morning 11-Aug-25. The two brightest planets.

Their separation was about 1.5 degrees or three Moon-widths.

They'll be closer tomorrow morning but some cloud is forecast. We'll have to see what happens.

Also, don't forget the Perseids! Evening viewing may be best for this year, while the Moon is still low in the sky.
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Canon 6D
Tamron Adaptall-2 35-70mm
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#astrophotography #stars #6d #sky #vintagelens #astronomy #photooftheday #planets taken in West Berkshire, England, United Kingdom by @garuda.ph

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a year ago

Some nice noctilucent clouds this morning. About 3:30AM! Probably the best display I've seen for a few years.

These ice clouds are found at an altitude approximately eight times higher than where an airliner will typically cruise.

NLCs are only visible from certain latitudes in the summer months. They are bright because at their high altitude they're lit up by the Sun while it's still below the horizon.
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#nlcs #sky #noctilucentclouds #noctilucent #dawn #clouds taken in West Berkshire, England, United Kingdom by @garuda.ph

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a year ago

Is it just physical processes occurring over and over? So clinical, cold and precise and with no feeling...

Or are there personalities and intelligence, creativity and art, relationships and societies? With warlords and peacemakers, history and languages. Who knows?

Shot a few days ago using an astromodified Canon 6D and a vintage lens. Luckily, I've moved and this spot is only a 15-minute drive now!
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Canon 6Da
Miranda 24mm
Walking Way soft focus filter
Skytracker Pro
Tracked sky blend
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#astrophotography #nightsky #milkyway #stars #life #canon6d #vintagelens #nightshot taken in Wiltshire, UK by @garuda.ph

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6

a year ago

Skinny 2.5% Crescent Moon from yesterday evening. Earthshine coming into view as the sky darkens.

Tricky to find! I had to use a zoom lens first to centre it in the frame and then switch lenses. It's the same setup as was used to shoot the eclipse, minus the solar filter.
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20:03-20:48hrs
30-Mar-2025
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Pentax Q7
Ohnar 300mm f/5.6 mirror lens
Skytracker Pro
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#moon #pentaxq7 #mirrorlens #sky #crescentmoon #moonphotography taken in West Berkshire, England, United Kingdom by @garuda.ph

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2 years ago

Pretty good conditions with just a few clouds for the partial solar eclipse this morning. A maximum of 32% coverage from this part of the world.

I was at the gramps so I got a chance to use a small solar/lunar travel setup for the first time. I put a solar filter in front of a 300mm mirror lens mounted on a Pentax Q7 camera. This gives about 1,400mm FF equivalent with a weight of less than 1kg.

The lens was supposedly designed for 35mm film cameras, but it vignettes terribly when I tried it on even a crop sensor DSLR. But with the very small sensor of the PQ7 it seemed to work well. Fitted together, I think they look the part too!

I used the daytime feature of the PS Align Pro app, initially mounting my phone on the tracker to get a fairly good polar alignment.

The only issue I had was with the shakes as the wind picked up occasionally. I think I'll make a new filter holder that doesn't catch the wind so easily, and which looks more sophisticated than the envelope it came in!
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Images from 10:08-11:53hrs GMT
29-Mar-2025
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Pentax Q7
Ohnar 300mm f/5.6 mirror lens
Skytracker Pro
Baader solar film ND5.0
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#solareclipse #pentaxq7 #vintagelens #astrophotography #eclipse taken in West Berkshire, England, United Kingdom by @garuda.ph

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2 years ago

A little over an hour of "Comet TA".

It's usually nice and dark here, but not with the bright Supermoon🌕 rising behind me and what looks like flares in the distance at one point.

With a wide-angle lens, it was easy enough to point the camera between Venus and Arcturus and find it.

I did do some telephoto shots too, maybe they will turn out okay...

C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS)
19:15-20:38 BST
17-Oct-2024
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Nikon 1 J2 (2.7x FF crop factor)
EF-S 18-55mm at 18mm
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#comet #timelapse #astronomy #nightsky #astrophoto #amateur #longexposure #nightscene #nikon1 taken in West Berkshire, England, United Kingdom by @garuda.ph

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16

2 years ago

Supermoon glimpses through the clouds.

100 percent illuminated, shortly before the penumbral stage of the eclipse started and thicker clouds rolled in.

5x and 10x playback.
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Tamron 500mm SP mirror lens
Canon 550D
Magic Lantern FPS Override
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#moon #nightsky #luna #clouds #timelapse #fullmoon #astrophotography #moonvideo #canoneos #night #astronomy #supermoon #harvestmoon #cloudlapse taken in West Berkshire, England, United Kingdom by @garuda.ph

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5

2 years ago