Today, 11th November 2008, is Remembrance Day. A day to remember the sacrifices of those who have gone to war or suffered from war. A day to remember those who have been killed, injured or affected by war.

While the day has always been important to me, it has taken on extra significance this year due to my recent interest in World War 1 and World War 2 history. This year, I’ve read many books and watched many movies and documentaries about World War 1 and World War 2, especially ones related to the ANZACs involvement in those theatres of war. Knowing more now about what they went through, what they sacrificed and how millions of others sacrificed during war, gives this day extra significance to me personally.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hi all

With the forecast predicting clear skies for the next few days, I took the opportunity to get up early this morning and image Saturn – my first image for this Saturn season.

It’s also my first planetary image in what feels like months (I think it literally has been months), so I eased back into it with a shorter focal length than normal – also partly because Saturn is so dim and so low that it wouldn’t be likely to support high-resolution just yet.

The seeing was quite acceptable given the low altitude, reminds me why I love imaging in the early mornings. It was almost a non-event, as clouds greeted me when I first went outside at 4:40am. I waited them out until about 5:10am when I was just starting to pack up, when they finally started clearing. I captured 1 complete run, and then packed up as it was time to get ready for work. Clouds came back shortly after, so I was lucky to get any image at all.

With the rings closing up this year, it’s really going to be a challenge to capture any ring detail like the Cassini Division – and it’s much fainter than normal too.

licence:

First Saturn for the season