Happy New Year

So 2007 is almost over. And what a year it has been for me lol

If you'd told me at the beginning of the year where I would be at the end of 2007, I would truly not have believed it.

And who knows what 2008 will bring. More change, no doubt! But its exciting!

Here's to an amazing and exciting 2008 - for all of us.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

A common theme from anyone in the UK who has seen my recent Canada pics, has been "We dont get proper snow anymore in England!"


Its true. Its pissing down today! Not Christmasy weather at all! So here's some snow for you all!

Ho Ho Ho and a Happy New Year

Twilight

"No sudden, sharp boundary marks the passage of day into night in this gorgeous view of ocean and clouds over our fair planet Earth. Instead, the shadow line or terminator is diffuse and shows the gradual transition to darkness we experience as twilight. With the Sun illuminating the scene from the right, the cloud tops reflect gently reddened sunlight filtered through the dusty troposphere, the lowest layer of the planet's nurturing atmosphere. A clear high altitude layer, visible along the dayside's upper edge, scatters blue sunlight and fades into the blackness of space. This picture actually is a single digital photograph taken in June of 2001 from the International Space Station orbiting at an altitude of 211 nautical miles."

They followed a star

Happy Christmas, dear readers!

I hope you all had a good one, and Santa brought you all that you wanted :)

I got what I wanted for Christmas too; a Christmas with ALL my family. Looks like 2008 may turn out all right as well.

Peace on earth and goodwill to all men!

Space, above and beyond

There's been some fantastic astronomy pictures published in my absence. Here's just a few of them. (Please) click to enlarge.

1. My favourite moon Europa

2. The International Space Station

3. Alborz Mountains in Moonlight

4. Comet McNaught at dawn

5. Saturns rings and its moon Tethys.

But boy, it was cold

We soft English are not used to really cold weather. But it was only minus 10.


They told me it gets to minus 40 in February! I dont know if I could cope with that lol

And the somewhere French speaking was......

Quebec! And a fantastic time was had!


I stayed in Montreal for a few days with my mate, then upto Lac Oiumert and Mont Tremblant for some skiing and even a Scandinavian Spa, complete with hottubs outside (at minus 10 and snowing!), and cold plunges that included the river at 2 degrees if you feel up for it lol And sauna that was at 94 degrees Fahrenheit!


A beautiful and interesting part of Canada. And most definately more French than not, lol. I couldn't recommend it more!

Bonnes fêtes

I'm off away for 12 days to somewhere cold and French speaking lol!

Hopefully should get some nice skiing done too, and lots of tasty food eaten. I'm in need of a break after all the fun of the past couple of months. Should be nice :)

Will be posting photos when Im back.

Lighthouse in fog

This fantastic picture is of an lighthouse on a foggy night

"This spectacular sky is mostly human-made. Once a year, the Light Station at Pigeon Point near San Francisco, California, USA is lit as it was over 100 years ago. During this time, light generated by five kerosene lamps pours through 24 rotating Fresnel lenses, warning approaching ships to stay away. Early last week, light emanating from the Pigeon Point Lighthouse was particularly picturesque because of a thin fog, also blurring the distant Moon"

The wreck of the SS Thistlegorm

The Thistlegorm was a merchant navy transport ship that was sunk of the coast of Egypt in 1941.

The Thistlegorm set sail on her last voyage from Glasgow on 2 June 1941 destined for Alexandria. She was carrying supplies to relieve the 8th Army in preparation for Operation Crusader. As Germany controlled the Mediterranean sea during this period, the ship had to sail in a convoy around the Cape to the Red Sea. In September, Captain Ellis anchored north of the Straits of Gubal at what is now known as Shag Rock near Ras Muhammad National Park.

The Suez Canal at that time was closed as a result of a ship collision. For two weeks the ship stood moored at this supposedly safe position awaiting instructions to proceed through the canal. Thistlegorm was a sitting target for two German bombers returning from Crete. Allegedly they were searching for a large troop carrier when they ran low on fuel, turned home, and stumbled upon the Thistlegorm. They dropped two 1000 lb (450 kg) bombs directly onto the ship. These bombs penetrated No 4 Hold detonating much ammunition. The explosion killed nine crew members and was so forceful that it launched two railway locomotives stacked on deck into the air. They currently stand upright alongside the wreck at a depth of 33m / 108 feet.


Thistlegorm sank immediately, leaving no time for the crew to operate the lifeboats. Instead, they jumped into the water and were later rescued by the HMS Carlisle, another British ship moored nearby.

We dived the Thistlegorm in 2000. It has become a very busy dive site now unfortuntely. I suppose the thrill of sitting on a motorbike or in a jeep at 30 meters is too much for poeple.

Something for the weekend

There were a bunch of quality photos available today, so I thought I would put some up for you.

I keep intending not to publish anymore photos of Auroras, yet I keep coming across fantastic photos of them; and each one better than the last! lol

There is another fantastic close-up of Comet Holmes. And a wonderful shot of Earthrise! Taken my a Japanese probe that is orbitting the Moon right now. Beautiful :)

Have a nice weekend!

Palenque

When travelling some of the most memorable places are places that you weren't expecting to be so good; or didnt even know they existed until you get there.

Some of the great sights can even be a little underwhelming sometimes!! Perhaps because you already know them so well, it can be a little "Oh, ok then" and move on.

I knew nothing about Palenque until I read about it in Lonely Planet, and we decided to stop there on our trip across Mexico. Palenque is a ruined Mayan city, deep in the lush Mexican rainforest. There were not many people there, and it was scorching hot. It didnt take much imagination to imagine you were playing Tomb Raider or something.

Palenque is one of the most beautiful and exotic places I have ever visited! :)

Long exposure

This fantastic photo is a 30 second exposure on the night sky in Arizona. The photgrapher was able to capture, far more brighter than usual - Venus, the Moon, and the International Space Station flying through the sky.

The exposure is how much light is allowed in to the camera. The weaker the light source then the longer the exposure. When they took the famous Hubble telescope Deep Field shots, they pointed Hubble at an empty patch of sky, and just left the lens open for a whole day. This is what they were able to see after that much exposure.

Comet Holmes

We have a comet going through our solar system at the moment - Comet Holmes.

http://www.earthsky.org/article/see-comet-holmes-this-weekend

With the vast array of telescopes and cameras available to us now, we have capture some amazing shots of it.

Enjoy!