Our members' methods of making observations range from simply looking up at the sky to using quite sophisticated equipment. Many of them record their observations, either with cameras or by drawing what they have seen, and many images have been published by national magazines and on national and international websites. Here is a small selection.

If you are inspired to creates some images of your own, or if you already have some that you would like to share with us, we would be happy for you to contact us.

Please send your images - and your comments - to web-at-ldas.org.uk (Replace "-at-" with "@")

Click on any of the photos for larger versions

The Sun Safety note : NEVER look at the sun without using proper eye protection - This can cause serious damage to your eyes and even blindness.
The whole sun, showing sunspot groups 16 September 2005 Phil Bishop	Sunspots follow an 11-year cycle, building up numbers to a maximum and then they become fewer until there are none visible at the solar minimum. Although we are now past tha latest minimum, hardly any sunspots have been seen, which has caused debate among astronomers as to why this is so.
Sunspot group. 19 March 2005 14:27 Phil Bishop	Sunspot group. 19 March 2005 14:59 Phil Bishop
The Sun, showing a major prominence. 29 August 2009 Dale Holt	Detail of the prominence. 29 August 2009 Dale Holt This was seen by Jerry Stone and others during a Public Astronomy Session in Hitchin town centre. Jerry reported that it was the largest prominence he had directly seen.
The last sunspots of the year. 150mm refractor, 84x magnification, White light solar filter 20 December 2009, 13:30 Dale Holt	Dale captured the re-emergence of some sunspots on the first day of the new year. 150mm refractor, 84x magnification, White light solar filter 01 January 2010 Dale Holt
The Moon
The Moon, showing the craters near the South Pole. 10 May 2008 Ian Dunbar	The famous walled plain, Plato, with its lava-filled floor. 6 December 2008 Ian Dunbar
The magnificent crater Clavius and the surrounding area. 6 December 2008 Ian Dunbar	Close-up of Clavius, 140 miles (225 km) across. 7 December 2008 Ian Dunbar
The crater Julius Ceasar, with shadows cast by the rising sun. 9 November 2009 Dale Holt
The Planets
Some sketches of Mars by Dale Holt 11 October 2005 05:45 Dale Holt	Mars 19 October 2005 22:00 Dale Holt
Mars 6 November 2005 21:40 Dale Holt	Mars 6 November 2005 22:45 Dale Holt
Mars Simon Kidd	Mars Simon Kidd
This amazing view of Mars rivals those made by professional astronomers just a few years ago. 4 January 2010, 00:59 Simon Kidd	Jupiter at 234x magnification, showing the shadows of two of its moons - Ganymede (centre) and Europa (left) - with the Great Red Spot just above the centre of the disk. South is at the top. 20 August 2009, 00:30 Dale Holt
A staggering view of Saturn, not taken from the Hubble Space Telescope, but by Simon Kidd from his back garden in Welwyn!	For a short time, Jupiter and Neptune were close enough in the sky to be seen in the same field of view in a tlesecope. Dale captured this amazingly rare event. 350mm Newtonian reflector, 80x magnification, 1.2º field of view 22 December 2009 Dale Holt
Deep-Sky Objects
M57 - The Ring Nebula in Lyra 16 June 2008 Ian Dunbar	M27 - the Dumbbell Nebula in Vulpecula 3 July 2008 Ian Dunbar
M51, The Whirlpool Galaxy, in Canes Venatici 26 April 2009 Ian Dunbar	The Horsehead Nebula (left of centre) and the Flame Nebula (below the star) - famous features in the constellation of Orion.   Ian Dunbar
Miscellaneous Images
This is a 15-second exposure showing the track of the International Space Station as it passed overhead, providing a great bonus to the visitors at our Public Star Party. 12 September 2009, 20:15 Jerry Stone

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