Comet 17/P Holmes part 2

Clear again tonight so I tried photographing the comet again.

This image has shutter speed of 4 seconds, focal length 250mm, aperture F/5.6. Cold out tonight -2 centigrade.

Comet 17/P Holmes

Last night I was finally able to see Comet 17/P Holmes. I manged to take this image through a thin cloud cover.

I nearly missed the comet. It is located right on the left edge of the image. The comet was almost at zenith so it was very difficult to set up my camera on the tripod. The image was taken with a Canon  EOS 350D  Digital camera. Focal length was 75 mm, aperture was F/4, and shutter speed just shy of 6 seconds.

Taking images of the comet is not rocket science. If I can do it then anyone with a camera and tripod can do it too.

The comet is also a splendid view in binoculars.

Books read this year #19

Book: 19
Title: Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident

Author: Eoin Colfer
Genre: Fantasy, Young adult.
Why did you get this book? I liked the first book in the series.
Did you enjoy the book? Yes – once I got into it.
Was the author new to you? No. I have previously read the first book in the series.
Would you read something by this author again? Yes. I expect I will read the next book in the series.
Are you keeping it or passing it on? I borrowed this book from my daughter so I will return it (and borrow the next book in the series hopefully).
Anything else? Artemis Fowl (child criminal mastermind) is, this time, obliged to team up with the fairies in order to get their assistance in rescuing his kidnapped father.
Number of pages: 288
Total pages for the year: 6989

A day off to visit the past

Today I took a day off work. So did my two daughters. We spent several hours at Eidsvollbygningen. This is one of the most well known buildings in Norway.

A view of the entrance on the West side.

The Eidsvollbygningen is now a museum.

This is the place where the Norwegian Constitution was drafted over a period of six hectic weeks by 112 men before being adopted and subsequently signed and dated on 17th May 1814. These 112 men, elected from all levels of society, declared Norway an independent state, and chose a King to rule it. The Constitution was based on ideas from the US and French Constitutions.

This Constitution, still in force in Norway today, has been subsequently amended (mostly recently in 2006) in order to bring it more in line with the times we live in.

The South West corner.


The South side.

In seven years time Norway will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Constitution.

Jake the Peg

It must be forty years since I last saw this:

My age is showing. Don’t you just love YouTube.

Free Burma!

4th October 1957 – Sputnik 1 launched

Sputnik 1 the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth is launched by the Soviet Union on 4th October 1957.

I do not remember this. My interest for space and astronomy woke up a little later.

MSNBC writes:

Fifty years ago this week, Sputnik Chief Designer Sergei Korolyov watched as a modified Russian missile launched into space from Kazakhstan’s lonely steppes carrying a very special payload.

and this:

But 50 years later, it emerges that the momentous launch was far from being part of a well-planned strategy to demonstrate communist superiority over the West. Instead, the first artificial satellite in space was a spur-of-the-moment gamble driven by the dream of one scientist, whose team scrounged a rocket, slapped together a satellite and persuaded a dubious Kremlin to open the space age.