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Peter Lewis

@peterlewis55

Londoner. Lots of varied interests including natural wildlife of all kinds, astronomy, global travel, opera, music, culture, sport and entertainment. Family Man. I share my photos. Politics free zone.

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Latest posts by Peter Lewis @peterlewis55

I love seeing images of the Trapezium. So many overblown shots which hide these gems.

06.03.2026 17:07 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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This morning's sunrise through the Saharan dust.
@stormhour.com @photohour.bsky.social

06.03.2026 09:23 πŸ‘ 22 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Thanks, hopefully it'll be a good weekend all round!

06.03.2026 09:00 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
93.5% waning gibbous Moon. Slightly filtered through a heavy sky containing dust particles from sand blown over from the Sahara.

93.5% waning gibbous Moon. Slightly filtered through a heavy sky containing dust particles from sand blown over from the Sahara.

Good morning World! For the record, here's last nights Moon at Midnight! Waning through the Saharan mist.
#astronomy #astrophotography @stormhour.com @photohour.bsky.social

06.03.2026 08:07 πŸ‘ 109 πŸ” 9 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Yes, 5 uninterrupted hours certainly helped last night.

05.03.2026 17:26 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

M51 is very high so not impacted by moonlight. 5 hours of uninterrupted shooting from midnight.

05.03.2026 12:20 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I targeted areas well away from the Moon. Fortunately the mist never returned.

05.03.2026 11:55 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

There are fewer tickets available for UCL games as more tickets are allocated to sponsors etc. Also, the demand will be higher than normal given the opposition.

05.03.2026 10:45 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

It's good they allocated more to the ballot as that gives a fairer chance to those who can't sit on their computer in a queue all day.

05.03.2026 10:37 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
The M81/2 Group is one of the closest galaxy groups to our own Local Group, located approximately 12 million light-years away.

Messier 81 (Bode’s Galaxy): A massive, "grand design" spiral galaxy and the group's brightest member. It contains over 200 globular clusters and a supermassive black hole.

Messier 82 (Cigar Galaxy): An edge-on "starburst" galaxy. Its exceptionally high rate of star formation is triggered by tidal interactions with M81.

The M81/2 Group is one of the closest galaxy groups to our own Local Group, located approximately 12 million light-years away. Messier 81 (Bode’s Galaxy): A massive, "grand design" spiral galaxy and the group's brightest member. It contains over 200 globular clusters and a supermassive black hole. Messier 82 (Cigar Galaxy): An edge-on "starburst" galaxy. Its exceptionally high rate of star formation is triggered by tidal interactions with M81.

The Whirlpool Galaxy is a "grand-design" spiral galaxy located in the constellation Canes Venatici. It is one of the most studied and photographed objects in the night sky.

M51 is famous for its gravitational interaction with a smaller companion galaxy, NGC 5195 (M51b). This interaction has triggered intense star formation along its prominent spiral arms.
Composition: It contains an estimated 100 billion stars and has a supermassive black hole at its core.

The Whirlpool Galaxy is a "grand-design" spiral galaxy located in the constellation Canes Venatici. It is one of the most studied and photographed objects in the night sky. M51 is famous for its gravitational interaction with a smaller companion galaxy, NGC 5195 (M51b). This interaction has triggered intense star formation along its prominent spiral arms. Composition: It contains an estimated 100 billion stars and has a supermassive black hole at its core.

Wow! A completely clear night and TEN hours of continuous 'shooting' at some cracking galaxies (described in ALT). The Dwarf3 smartscope was quite hot at the end!
#astronomy #astrophotography @stormhour.com @photohour.bsky.social

05.03.2026 10:30 πŸ‘ 106 πŸ” 11 πŸ’¬ 5 πŸ“Œ 0

Arsenal could end up playing them 5 times!

04.03.2026 23:55 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Well done Newcastle. A repeat at the weekend?

04.03.2026 23:41 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Still a bit of atmospheric colour as it begins to rise in the east.

Still a bit of atmospheric colour as it begins to rise in the east.

Tonight's Moon on the rise. 98.1% waning gibbous!
#astronomy #astrophotography @stormhour.com @photohour.bsky.social

04.03.2026 20:34 πŸ‘ 78 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

There's many safe ways to photograph the Sun but that normally involves a decent white light filter and good zoom on a camera or, in this case, a long focal length scope. Phone cameras these days can be very sophisticated.

04.03.2026 18:03 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Used my 8 inch telescope, attached a solar safety filter and my phone.

04.03.2026 17:56 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Since August 2024. It's definitely nicer here than other places not worth mentioning!

04.03.2026 17:12 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

It's been pretty good so far since Meteorological spring arrived!

04.03.2026 16:41 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Good afternoon from Sunny London! I spot some spots!
#astronomy #astrophotography @stormhour.com @photohour.bsky.social

04.03.2026 14:47 πŸ‘ 44 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 1

πŸ™‚πŸŸ 

03.03.2026 22:59 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

It's certainly the reason we're still here. A defence shield against all sorts.

03.03.2026 21:33 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Yes, the Moon is always fascinating. Always changing yet always the same!

03.03.2026 21:26 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Indeed. Lovely undulating clouds

03.03.2026 20:42 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Sure is, thanks.

03.03.2026 20:37 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Captured by a Dwarf3 smart scope. 320 x 0.5 second exposures and stacked.

Captured by a Dwarf3 smart scope. 320 x 0.5 second exposures and stacked.

The orange colour of my last post has long since gone as the waning gibbous Moon (99.6%) gains height.
#astronomy #astrophotography @stormhour.com @photohour.bsky.social

03.03.2026 20:35 πŸ‘ 45 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 0

🀣

03.03.2026 20:18 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Very nice. No blood red moon over here but orange comes close!

03.03.2026 20:11 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Tonight's rising ex-Wolf Moon! Still very full but actually a 99.7% waning gibbous! A glorious deep orange glow at the moment but the colour will soon fade
#astronomy #astrophotography @stormhour.com @photohour.bsky.social

03.03.2026 18:33 πŸ‘ 66 πŸ” 13 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 0

If only you had a triple word score with that in scrabble!

03.03.2026 17:56 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Neither than I though I smile and embrace it these days rather than get all snotty about it and insist to all and sundry it's a 'perigee-syzygy'!

03.03.2026 16:10 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I bet you hate the term Supermoon, an astrologer creation adopted by the media to support efforts to raise awareness amongst the 'proletariat' πŸ˜‰

03.03.2026 16:05 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0