On November the 5th 1605, a group of English Catholics were foiled in their attempt to assassinate King James I of England and VI of Scotland. Their plan had been to blow up the Houses of Parliament during the state opening, using 36 barrels of...

While my binocular observation of Epsilon Lyrae, almost two weeks ago, offered a beautiful view I wasn’t quite prepared for the stunning sight that presented itself to me last Friday night — 16.10.09 — as I began gazing through the 5 inch...

Lying beyond the glare of the stellar behemoth Deneb in the constellation of Cygnus, making up a glorious cosmic quartet, sits Omicron-1 and Omicron-2 Cygni. An orange K3Ib super-giant, Omicron-2 is an Algol type variable star — an eclipsing binary...

Caught between the rooftops and an advancing blanket of cloud, Sunday’s Harvest Moon managed to reveal itself for a few brief moments as it rose into the sky. Taking place around the time of the autumnal equinox, the Harvest Moon is unique because it...

What started out as a planned observation of Omicron-1 Cygni ended up as an impromptu study of Epsilon Lyrae. With the weather granting the first proper clear skies that I have seen in just over three weeks I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to...