Harvest Moon Rising

Central heating has been broken all week, and last night was particularly cold. The cold doesn't usually bother me, but this morning my fingers on my bad arm were freezing cold!

Last night was the Harvest Moon, so called because it's brightness and high position in the sky mean that farmers can stay out well into the night to continue gathering the crops. Early evening, the Harvest Moon is typically very orange, due to the Earth's atmosphere, and last night was no exception. Unfortunately, I missed the shot I was hoping for (stupid clouds getting in the way) but I was able to get this one a bit later on. Still orange, but not as much as when it was touching the trees.

A few nights ago I was able to get my baby telescope (StarTravel 102) out to view the three-quarter moon. My dad helped me out with all the equipment and I was able to take a few pictures through it at prime focus. The pictures never look as good on screen as they do through the eyepiece, I was a little disappointed with them as they just look 'flat'. If anybody gets the chance to look at the moon through a telescope - do it! It is totally different than looking at pictures, or even binoculars.

Finally, I would like to thank my new laptop (HP TX1250 Entertainment Tablet) for helping me write this post! - My operation makes typing a little difficult and slow, but my new laptop has a swivel screen, making it a tablet with touch-sensitive screen and with Vista's handwriting recognition I can write reasonably fast. ;)