More photos from Friday 3rd April 2026, this time showing some faint #MoonRays poking through the band of cloud. It's only the second time I've photographed them, but our meteor cameras have caught them a few times. Oxfordshire, UK Canon 1100D + 18-55mm lens #LunarCrepuscularRays

As I was photographing moon rise on Friday 3rd April '26 I spotted a lovely right side #parasalene (#moondog). Photos taken with 2 Canon 1100D cameras, one with a 300mm zoom lens, one with an 18-55mm lens. #Oxfordshire, UK #AtmosphericOptics

I spent some wonderful hours over Easter Saturday and Sunday building my #LEGO #ARTEMIS #rocket. It's the 1st Technic kit I've ever built; I loved every second! The rocket launches, the boosters separate and the lunar module deploys! It's absolutely awesome 😁

On 18th March I drove over to Weston on the Green again to photograph the paras doing jumps from around 1,000 feet from an A400M. This is a small selection of almost 200 photos I took that afternoon! I used a Canon 1100D + Sigma 300mm zoom lens

On 25th Feb '26 I photographed the #EyesOfClavius #ClairObscur effect. This animation shows how much the Sun had risen over #Clavius between 18:01 and 19:40UT. #WilliamOptics 70mm refractor, #ZWO #ASI120MC camera, #Televue #Powermate5x. #Oxfordshire, UK

Lunar images I took on 25 Feb '26 when the Moon was 64% #WaxingGibbous. I love this lunar phase because the lighting is great over so many of my favourite regions. #WilliamOptics 70mm #refractor, #ZWO #ASI120MC camera + #Televue #Powermate 5x. #Oxfordshire, UK

I'm just making the final edits on my talk for the Society for the History of Astronomy Spring Conference on Friday 24th April. I'm so excited to be talking about astronomical depictions in the 16th century illuminated manuscript '#DasWunderzeichenbuch' (#TheBookofMiracles)😁

Sunday was the 5 year anniversary of capturing this #InternationalSpaceStation #LunarTransit. We were in lockdown at the time but our house was below the transit centre-line & the #ISS passed over #Copernicus #WilliamOptics 70mm refractor #ZWO #ASI120MC camera. #Oxfordshire UK

Yesterday was the 5 year anniversary of capturing this #InternationalSpaceStation #LunarTransit. We were in lockdown at the time but our house was below the transit centre-line & the #ISS passed over #Copernicus #WilliamOptics 70mm refractor #ZWO #ASI120MC camera. #Oxfordshire UK

#ZodiacalLight is a faint cone of light caused by sunlight reflecting off #InterplanetaryDust. Imaged from #Oxfordshire 15 Mar '26. #Canon1100D + 10mm & 18mm lenses. 20 & 18 images stacked in #Sequator with & without LP removal. More details in the VLOG I shared yesterday #AtmosphericOptics

video thumbnail. Mary holding a panel that contains a photo of zodiacal light. It is a pale white triangle extending up from the bottom right to top left

NEW VIDEO!! join me as I go on a hunt to capture the #ZodiacalLight from Oxfordshire, UK (4 weeks late!). Here's the link:
youtu.be/lLivbTBE85U?...

A real #sunset treat on Fri 20 Mar '26, a #SunPillar + #UpperTangentArc! Tangent arcs change shape dramatically with changing sun altitude so this was a deep V-shape that was sunset pink colour. Photos taken from #Oxfordshire, UK with a #Fairphone4 mobile phone camera #AtmosphericOptics

Last Saturday evening I was out on a mission to photograph something else, but while I was there I shot a few car headlight trails below the starry sky. All taken with a Canon 1100D and 18-55mm lens. #Oxfordshire, UK

photo of Mary and Mark sitting in the cinema

Amaze amaze amaze! I have been so excited to see #ProjectHailMary for so long that I was nervous I would be disappointed when I finally saw it but I absolutely loved it! The film and the score was also brilliant. If you can get the cinema to see it, please do🥰

55 minute #StarTrails timelapse, taken from #Oxfordshire, UK on 15th March 2026. #Canon1100D with 10-18mm wide angled lens. Each exposure was 30 seconds. Music by Dave Simpson

Thanks so much Darren. I never get bored of shooting star trails :)

55 minutes of #StarTrails pointing towards the celestial equator, taken on Saturday 14th March 2026 from #Oxfordshire, UK with a #Canon1100D +10mm wide angled lens. 98 x 30 sec at ISO-1600 f/4.5. Stacked in #StarStaX

Thank you so much :)

Timelapse of me creating my friend's wedding gift. It's a pastel drawing of the Moon as it looked on the couple's wedding day, a 12% Waxing Crescent. I used Stabilo CarbOthello pastel pencils on black paper.
Music is by Dave Simpson #MoonArt #SpaceArt #AstronomySketching

This was a wedding gift for a friend - a pastel drawing of the Moon as it looked on the couple's wedding day, a 12% Waxing Crescent. I used Stabilo CarbOthello pastel pencils on black paper #MoonArt #SpaceArt #PastelArt #AstronomySketching #AstronomyDrawing

Friday 13 Feb at 8pm GMT/UT I'm 'Zooming' over to Mid Kent Astro Society to do my Shadows in Space talk. The Zoom meeting is open to non-members for a £5 entry fee paid via BACS. If you want to join on Zoom drop me a message and I'll send over the instructions.

image shows pencil sketches on white paper of lunar crater Tycho and the Whirlpool Galaxy alongside a 3D printed model of Tycho

Today I did some astronomy sketching with an after-school science club for yr 7/8 in a local high school. First outing for my new 3D printed model of Tycho, one of our drawing subjects. It was great to see so many pupils in science club, and they produced some amazing work

There's just 2 days left to listen to my BBC Radio 3 appearance on 7th Feb, talking about music that's been to the Moon. Here's the link; skip to 1 hour 54 minutes into the show to catch my bit: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

This photo popped up on memories from 5 years ago. 10 hour 35 minute #StarTrails from Oxfordshire, UK. This was part of my big project to combine star trails from over a full year to create a full circle 24hr star trails but this was a single imaging session #Canon1100D 10mm lens

Thank you. We visited last Saturday and had a wonderful time :)

I love this drawing!

Photo of Tom Tower at Christchurch Cathedral in Oxford

Cover of the order of service from Dr. Chapman's funeral. It features a photo of Allan with a vintage microscope

Today I attended the funeral of wonderful Dr. Allan Chapman at Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford. It was a sad day but a really beautiful service, and so full of love. It was nice to see a few familiar faces from the astronomy world there #AllanChapman #RIP

Poster is a photo collage featuring pastel drawings of the lunar surface, solar prominences, the Crab Nebula, Tarantula Nebula and a slim crescent Moon with earthshine

Tomorrow I'm doing my Astronomy Sketching and Art talk for Horsham Astronomy Group (I'll be on Zoom). I've completely re-written this talk from scratch because I've created a lot of new artwork since I last did it. I can't wait to share the pictures and stories of my #SpaceArt

Chris - I shared the link to my blog in January where you can can download the full PDF that has all the times for 2026 for several clair obscur effects, including the eyes of Clavius. There's a quick reference table for the whole year that you can print out and pin on the wall.

Calling astrophotographers!!! Garith Yang from UCL is conducting a research study into how aircraft and satellites intersect with astrophotography practices and how they shape a photographer's perception of the night sky. Take part by filling in this short questionnaire: tinyurl.com/yncd593j