by Cath Adams
WOW 6: 7th to 17th July 2023
I arrived at Brow Farm Campsite on the evening of Tuesday 11th July, already at camp were Duncan, Steve, Jon and Annabelle.
This is my first ever camping holiday, I have only ever stopped in a tent for one night before, here goes!
As darkness fell we were treated to beautiful clear skies!
Using my iPhone 13 with Night Cap Camera App I captured star trails and an ISS pass.
At this time of year we don’t have proper Astronomical Darkness but as it got later the sky darkened and we were treated to some wonderful views of the stars in the early hours of 12th July 2023.
Here are some of my photos taken with my Cannon 550D with the nifty fifty lens, ISO 6400, exposure length 12 seconds.
Wednesday 12th July 2023
As well as Astronomy there are many things to do in the local area, Duncan, Jon and I went off for a spot of bird watching. We found a lovely place called Dolydd Hafren, the bird hides were set in a lovely location, to reach them we walked through a meadow full of butterflies, insects and gorgeous wildflowers.
BBQ Time!
WOW is a great opportunity for socialising with other members as well as the opportunity to do observing and imaging under amazing dark skies.
We had a lovely BBQ on the evening of Wednesday 12th July, many thanks to Jon and Duncan for being our chefs!
After our BBQ we all went off to get our equipment ready for a night of observing. Sadly there was a lot of cloud around on Wednesday evening so not much astronomy was done. I did manage to see an ISS pass but not much else!
Thursday 13th July 2023
Today we ventured out on a trip to The Spaceguard Centre in Knighton, Powys.
The Spaceguard Centre has telescopes that scan the skies for near earth objects, asteroids, the centre run by Jay Tate.
We had a tour of the centre, led by Jay Tate, where he explained all about the work that he does and how this contributes to science and research. Sadly work is not yet completed on the Green Dome, so we weren’t able to see inside this, but on the plus side it gives us another reason to have a return visit!
I think it’s fair to say that everyone enjoyed their visit to the Spaceguard Centre.
Friday 14th July
Friday was a rather wet day so a few of us went into Shrewsbury for the day and had a wander around the market and various antique shops, we also went around the museum, which was fascinating.
Friday evening wasn’t great for Astronomy, but I still managed to capture some photos!
Cassiopeia over the campsite. The ISS and a Satellite.
Saturday 15th July
The afternoon gave some nice breaks in the cloud to allow us the opportunity to do some Solar viewing and imaging.
Using the Society’s Coronado Telescope we were able to view and capture some images, I used my iPhone 13 to take the images shown below.
Sunday 16th July
Solar Sunday! I was very excited to get my use my Dobsonian to view the Sun, I have a filter on my Dobsonian made from Badaer Film, here are some photos that I took using my iPhone 13.
We also had the Society Coronado Telescope out for members to use. Here are some photos of the Sun through it.
Sunday night was a super night for Astronomy, we had plenty of spells of clear skies.
Here are a few images I took with my iPhone 13.
I had a wonderful time at WOW, I never thought I’d be a camper but I really enjoyed it! In total I think we had 15 members and their families attend, I hope to see lots of you at the next WOW in September, if you’re not a camper there are pods you can hire on the campsite and there is an Air BnB just round the corner too.
Cath Adams – Secretary, Wolverhampton Astronomical Society.