Rising Star Observatory

Rising Star Observatory Hi my name is Neil Wilson FRAS
Here you'll find a selection of images captured from my back garden.

This took some work to put together.It’s an animated GIF of Wednesday’s solar eclipse (12th August), created from 47 ind...
14/08/2026

This took some work to put together.
It’s an animated GIF of Wednesday’s solar eclipse (12th August), created from 47 individually aligned frames captured through my Lunt LS60 solar scope.
I captured the entire eclipse, but aligning all 220 frames would have taken too long.

Today’s Sun, captured with my dedicated solar scope and Dwarf 3 smart scope ahead of Wednesday’s solar eclipse.Sunspot a...
09/08/2026

Today’s Sun, captured with my dedicated solar scope and Dwarf 3 smart scope ahead of Wednesday’s solar eclipse.
Sunspot activity was minimal today. Fingers crossed for clear skies on Wednesday evening.
Caution: Never observe the Sun without the proper equipment and knowledge. These images were taken using specialised solar telescopes.

Tonight’s (21/07/26) Lunar X and V events
21/07/2026

Tonight’s (21/07/26) Lunar X and V events

The 11% Waxing Crescent 🌙 tonight with the planet Venus above it. Unfortunately, the moon was too low in the sky to capt...
17/06/2026

The 11% Waxing Crescent 🌙 tonight with the planet Venus above it. Unfortunately, the moon was too low in the sky to capture with my main scope so this was taken with the Dwarf 3 smart scope.

My target last night (23/04/26) was the Pinwheel Galaxy (Messier 101), a vast "grand design" spiral galaxy about 21 mill...
24/04/2026

My target last night (23/04/26) was the Pinwheel Galaxy (Messier 101), a vast "grand design" spiral galaxy about 21 million light-years from my back garden. Situated in the constellation Ursa Major (The Great Bear), it appears almost exactly face-on, giving an impressive view of its sprawling spiral arms.

As the nights grow shorter, it's becoming harder to find time for imaging. Last night's target (21/04/26) was Messier 51...
22/04/2026

As the nights grow shorter, it's becoming harder to find time for imaging. Last night's target (21/04/26) was Messier 51a, also called 'The Whirlpool Galaxy.' Situated in the constellation Canes Venatici, M51a is about 31 million light-years from Earth and is made up of roughly 100 billion stars.

NGC 2261 Known as Hubble's Variable Nebula. NGC 2261 is a variable nebula located approx 2500 light years away in the co...
07/04/2026

NGC 2261 Known as Hubble's Variable Nebula. NGC 2261 is a variable nebula located approx 2500 light years away in the constellation Monoceros.

Last night's target was IC 410, popularly known as the Tadpole Nebula, is a dusty emission nebula and active star-formin...
18/03/2026

Last night's target was IC 410, popularly known as the Tadpole Nebula, is a dusty emission nebula and active star-forming region located approximately 12,000 light-years away in the northern constellation of Auriga

My first attempt at planetary imaging with a mono camera and RGB filters.
06/03/2026

My first attempt at planetary imaging with a mono camera and RGB filters.

I've been honing by processing skills. This is a close-up of the centre of the Soul Nebula (IC 1848) that I captured ear...
30/01/2026

I've been honing by processing skills. This is a close-up of the centre of the Soul Nebula (IC 1848) that I captured earlier this month.

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