John Talbot

Solar halo and weather station

Beautiful 22 degree halo this afternoon. Really bright above the Sun. South Oxfordshire, UK. #solar #halo

Noctilucent clouds in 3rd July 2025

Noctilucent clouds on 3rd July 2025

First noctilucent clouds I’ve seen this year. They’ve been more elusive than recent years. This was before dawn on 3rd July from south Oxfordshire, UK #astronomy #astrophotography 🔭

Timelapse of the Moon passing through the Pleiades this evening and then going behind my house. Taken using a DWARF II smart telescope in Oxfordshire, UK. #astrophotography #astronomy 🔭

Partial eclipse of the Sun.

First time trying to image an eclipse from a moving train!! Projected through a hand held monocular somewhere in the London suburbs #astrophotography #astronomy 🔭

I didn't see it live myself and only found about it due to posts on social media. I then remembered it might have been caught on my camera so quickly downloaded images to make a short video!!

Falcon 9 second stage fuel dump seen on my AllSkyCamera this evening in Oxfordshire, UK. Video runs from 19:52 to 20:06 UT. #astrophotography #astronomy 🔭

Wish I'd seen it. Only heard about it after it had gone!

Falcon 9 second stage burn.

Lunar eclipse 14th March 2025

Had a fortunate break in the cloud to get an image of the partial phase of this morning’s eclipse in south Oxfordshire, UK. Unprocessed image using a DWARF II #astrophotography #astronomy 🔭

Venus and Mercury on 9th March from Oxfordshire, UK.

Venus and Mercury on 9th March from Oxfordshire, UK. I've been clouded out the last two evenings so this is the closest I'll be able to get them. The star top right is Algenib in Pegasus. A 6s exposure on an Omegon clockwork mount with a Cinesoft Subtle filter. #astrophotography #astronomy 🔭

5-day old Moon

Tonight's 5-day old Moon taken with a DWARF II smart telescope from Oxfordshire, UK. A stack of 100x1/250s exposures. Levels adjusted but no other processing. #astrophotography #astronomy 🔭

Venus and Mercury on 3rd March 2025 from Oxfordshire, UK

Venus and Mercury on 3rd March 2025 from Oxfordshire, UK. Taken on an old Sony Cyber-shot compact camera on a pocket tripod. There's not always a need for big expensive DSLRs! #astrophotography #astronomy 🔭

Venus, Moon and Mercury on 1st March 2025.

Venus, Moon and Mercury on 1st March from Oxfordshire, UK. The only clear shot I managed of Mercury due to the cloud near the horizon. #astronomy #astrophotography 🔭

Jupiter, Ganymede and Io

My latest attempt at Jupiter from last night. Ganymede (top left) has just emerged from behind Jupiter and Io (bottom right) has just transited Jupiter and is casting its shadow. 300mm F/4 Newtonian with 2.5x PowerMate and ASI662 camera with contrast filter. #astronomy #astrophotography 🔭

I love mine as a quick and easy option for some imaging and to practice processing. Great for holidays and day trips 😀

Could say that about any imaging. I’ve imaged M42 with all sorts of cameras and set ups, some more automated than others. Processing the gathered data is always different and where the skill lies. The DWARF II gives satisfying results for beginners in a portable package.

No.

Messier M42, Orion Nebula, taken with a DWARF II smart telescope.

The DWARF II smart telescope is a surprisingly capable little thing. Here is an image of M42 taken a couple of nights ago from my very light-polluted back garden. This is 100x15s exposures, stacked within the device and some post-processing in PixInsight. #astronomy #astrophotography 🔭

Jupiter with Callisto and Io taken through a 127mm Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope

I've never been much of a planetary imager so I thought I'd try and improve! Jupiter this evening using a 127mm Maksutov-Cassegrain and a ZWO ASI662 camera. Best 5% of 5000 frames stacked in AutoStakkert and processed in PixInsight. Io (left) and Callisto visible too. #astrophotography #astronomy 🔭

Needs a picture of Venus as well...

A mosaic of the Moon taking with a ZWO astro camera through a 12" F/4 Newtonian telescope.

Finally got a clear night to try my new ZWO ASI662 colour astro camera. This is a mosaic of 28 images using a 12" F/4 Newtonian telescope. Best 100 frames from 200 in each video stacked in Siril, stitched in Microsoft ICE, post-processed in PixInsight. #astronomy #astrophotography 🔭

An Announcement from Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden An announcement...

Nicko McBrain is stepping back from touring with Iron Maiden. Tonight will be his final gig. It's been a privilege to see him with the band the past 36 years during which time I've seen them live around 25 times. I wish him all the best for the future. www.ironmaiden.com/an-announcem... #ironmaiden

I see mistaking Venus for a UFO season is upon us once again. The other place is full of out of focus videos of Venus and comments like "then another appeared in the East", i.e. Jupiter, as well...

Waning Moon taken with a DWARF II smart telescope.

Autumn is an ideal time to image the waning Moon as the ecliptic makes a steep angle with the horizon so it's high in the sky at a sensible time. This was taken last night with a DWARF II from Oxfordshire, UK. A stack of 50 x 1/500s images post-processed in PixInsight. #astronomy #astrophotography 🔭

Open cluster Messier 35 in Gemini taken with a DWARF II smart telescope in April.

This one of M35 was taken in April with a DWARF II smart telescope. A stack of 100x15s exposures at gain 80 with IR pass. Post processed in #PixInsight 🔭

Comet 2023/A3 on 22nd October

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) on 22nd October from south Oxfordshire, UK. Stack of 25x15s exposures at gain 80 using a DWARF II smart telescope. Slightly cropped and tweaked in post-processing. #astronomy #astrophotography #comet #dwarfii 🔭

Original Iron Maiden singer Paul D'Anno dies, aged 66 The band's first singer appeared on two albums before being replaced by Bruce Dickinson.

Very sad day. Paul will forever be the voice of my teenage years. Killers was the first LP I ever bought. Original Iron Maiden singer Paul Di'Anno dies www.bbc.com/news/article...

Abingdon Marathon finishing photo

Marathon #9 completed at Abingdon today. Chip time 4:37:41. Considering my lack of training I’m extremely happy with that 😀 #running #marathon

Real. That’s the anti-tail, dust left behind in the comet’s orbit and illuminated by the Sun.

Comet Tsuchinshan- ATLAS

Finally clear skies in south Oxfordshire, UK. Managed to get a shot of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) using my DWARF II smart telescope. This is 30x15s at gain 80. Got the anti-tail plus a bonus tree in the corner. #comet #astronomy #astrophotography 🔭