An Astronomical August

Sometimes it is worth remembering to look up.

As a wildlife photographer and birder, I spend much of my time scanning reedbeds, trees, shorelines and distant horizons. But during August, my attention shifted considerably higher.

My little DWARF 3 has opened up a completely different side of photography for me. From the garden, I can point it towards what appears to be an empty patch of sky and slowly watch nebulae, star clusters and distant galaxies emerge from the darkness.

August 2026 turned into a particularly memorable month.

7th August — North America Nebula

The month began with the North America Nebula, NGC 7000, photographed with the DWARF 3 from the garden.

There is something extraordinary about watching this huge cloud of glowing gas gradually appear on the screen, knowing that the light reaching my little telescope began its journey around 1,800 years ago.

14th August — Fish on the Platter

A week later I turned to something altogether darker: Barnard 144, the Fish on the Platter Dark Nebula.

Rather than glowing brightly, this great cloud of dust reveals itself by hiding the stars behind it , a reminder that sometimes the shape of the Universe is defined as much by darkness as by light.

12th August — Eclipse up the Folly

One of the highlights of the month was the partial solar eclipse, photographed from Pontypool Folly.

Watching the Moon slowly move across the face of the Sun above such a familiar local landmark was a wonderful experience, and one of those occasions when the scale of the Solar System suddenly feels very real.

16th August — The Veil Nebula, C33

Back in the garden, the next target was the eastern section of the Veil Nebula, Caldwell 33.

Its delicate filaments are the remains of a long-dead star that exploded thousands of years ago, and the resulting image may well be my favourite nebula photograph with the DWARF 3 so far.

22nd August — The Veil Nebula, C34

A few nights later I returned to the Veil, this time photographing Caldwell 34, the western section.

It is difficult to reconcile such beauty with the violence that created it, but perhaps that is part of what makes the Veil so fascinating.

25th August — Fireworks Galaxy and NGC 6939

Next came the Fireworks Galaxy, NGC 6946, alongside the open star cluster NGC 6939.

They appear close together in the same image, yet one belongs to our own Milky Way while the other lies millions of light-years beyond it , a wonderful example of how deceptive the apparently flat night sky can be.

28th August — Lunar Eclipse

My final astronomical highlight of August was much closer to home.

I simply stepped out into the street with the OM-1 and photographed the partial lunar eclipse, watching Earth's shadow slowly move across the familiar face of the Moon.

Looking Up

What struck me most about this month was the sheer range of what could be seen and photographed from South Wales.

A dark nebula hiding distant stars. The remains of an exploded sun. A galaxy millions of light-years away. Our Moon crossing the Sun, and a few weeks later passing into Earth's shadow.

And most of it photographed from the garden.

The numbers involved in astronomy are almost impossible to comprehend. Light-years, galaxies, stars and distances so enormous that our everyday concerns begin to feel very small indeed.

Yet I don't find that depressing.

Quite the opposite.

Somewhere in this unimaginably vast Universe, on a small planet orbiting an ordinary star, we have the ability to look up, understand a little of what we are seeing and marvel at it.

Sometimes that is reason enough to go outside after dark.