North Atlantic Skyline » stars http://johnsmyth.ie/blog Despatches from the West of Ireland. Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:06:18 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Nimmo’s Pier http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2011/03/03/nimmos-pier/ http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2011/03/03/nimmos-pier/#comments Thu, 03 Mar 2011 22:55:44 +0000 John Smyth http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/?p=3415 Nimmo's Pier in Galway
Nimmo’s pier at the Claddagh in Galway, with the constellation of Orion above. Picture taken tonight.

Though the water in the harbour appeared still tonight [the lock gates were closed], there was actually a current , as this timelapse movie of moored boats demonstrates.

]]> http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2011/03/03/nimmos-pier/feed/ 0 Cromwell’s Fort and the Stars of Orion http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2010/10/20/cromwells-fort-and-the-stars-of-orion/ http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2010/10/20/cromwells-fort-and-the-stars-of-orion/#comments Wed, 20 Oct 2010 05:37:35 +0000 John Smyth http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/?p=3124 Cromwell's Fort and the stars of Orion
The very faintest tinge of pink in the sky heralds the dawn in this picture. Around 5.30 am in the morning a couple of weeks ago, I stood on the coast road that overlooks the harbour on Inishbofin island hoping that the sea fog would blow away. Sometime after 6am, it began to fade, revealing the stars above. In the foreground (left of picture), Cromwell’s Fort – once a jail used to incarcerate priests during the jihad against the Catholic population of Ireland in the 1700s – as well as the lighthouse that marks the entrance to Bofin Harbour. Above, the constellation of Orion as well as, just above the fort, Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky.

]]> http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2010/10/20/cromwells-fort-and-the-stars-of-orion/feed/ 0 The Final Frontier http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2010/09/24/the-final-frontier/ http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2010/09/24/the-final-frontier/#comments Thu, 23 Sep 2010 23:39:50 +0000 John Smyth http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/?p=3057 The Final Frontier
Ok, so it’s not the captain’s chair from Star Trek’s Enterprise, but if you want to explore the Galaxy, a fold-up chair on the beach in Salthill isn’t a bad way to start (and a bit cheaper than the Hubble telescope). To the right is the diving board at the end of Salthill Prom, and just above the chair is the outline of the Milky Way, just about visible over the glare of the streetlights from the Prom.

]]> http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2010/09/24/the-final-frontier/feed/ 0 Solar power http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2010/09/02/solar-power/ http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/2010/09/02/solar-power/#comments Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:08:28 +0000 John Smyth http://johnsmyth.ie/blog/?p=3034 Solar power
Despite a rising moon, the sky was still clear enough on Sunday night to see the faint outline of the Milky Way, which was visible from the windfarm outside Spiddal (as well as from other parts of the Galaxy).

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