"Can we pretend that airplanes, in the night sky are like shooting stars? I could really use a wish right now, wish right now, wish right now..." (The little voice in your head sang that to the tune didn't it?)

If anyone is looking for a wish or many wishes, now is your chance to make them properly, to some real shooting stars...!

The Perseids are a meteor shower that occurs every year around mid of July to late August. The name "Perseids" originates from the shooting stars appear to come from the constellation Perseus, whereas in reality they are courtesy of the comet Swift-Tuttle (thank you!) 

Even though the showers occur over about a month, they usually peak between the first and second week of August, this year they are projected to peak on 12th-13th August (make a note or even check the weather now!) If you are lucky, you might be able to see some when you are out watching the Supermoon too!

Some comet viewing tips:

• Go somewhere far away from light pollution, ie really dark! (Dur... that almost goes without saying)
• Let you eyes adjust to the darkness, this would normally take around 10 minutes, give it 15-20 just to be safe.
• Avoid looking at bright sources of light to preserve "night vision". So avoid phones, torches etc.
• If you really must use light, like checking out the path or whatever, use red light wherever possible because that's apparently best for keeping your night vision. Google SkyMap has an "astronomer mode" built in, or you can even use free apps like Lux to give you a nice red filter on your phone)
• Wrap up warm. Speaking from experience, it still gets fairly cold despite being summer time, because you would be sat still most of the time. I was wearing 3-4 layers last year and was just about comfortably warm (yes, multiple pairs of trousers as well as tops)
• Bring something to sit on because the ground/grass is likely to be wet from condensation
• You might want to bring a friend/family member/significant other/loved one to keep you company. I think this would make an excellent occasion for some deep conversations/"romantic hang out"
• Lastly, prepare what you need in advance and get up earlier than you think you need to. For a special annual occasion like this one, it is probably better to be too early than too late (I learnt this the hard way....)

Last year, I tried to capture the Perseids with no success. Unfortunately I got out of bed too slowly at around 3am. It was nearly 4am by the time I got dressed and got out there. The sun had "half risen" and it was too bright to see normal stars by then, let alone shooting stars. I did see a truly epic sun rise with not many clouds in sight though!! See the photo at the bottom.

I wish you the very best of luck if you decide to go out and look for the Perseids! Even if they don't show, you never know what else you might find :)

Did any one catch the last Supermoon on the 12th July? These guys did, check out their photos - http://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-28283564

Supermoon happens because the distance between the moon and Earth varies continuously because of its slightly elliptical orbit around Earth. It appears bigger than usual when it is at the point closest to Earth (up to 14% bigger compared to its furthest point away according to NASA) and when that happens, it is call "perigee-syzygy" (Supermoon is fine, even wiki uses that term... see here for technicalities) 

No worries at all if you didn't see it in July, I didn't know about it either so I missed it too (hence no photo to show in this post, apologies...) BUT! There is another one coming up on the 10th August, at 11.25pm (UK time) and the moon will look even bigger compared to the last Supermoon! Thanks to the moon becoming a full moon within an hour of reaching its closest point to Earth in its orbit. So it's like the mother of all Supermoons.

Go write this in your diary/set a reminder on your phone/ask your friends to remind you, it really is something not to be missed. I will be trying my best to get photos too! 


Best of luck with the weather for those in the UK! *fingers crossed*

Source - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/10966962/Super-duper-moon-expected-in-August.html


PS. Blog post about the Perseids meteor shower coming soon! (spoiler: the meteor shower's activity peaks round about next week, just after mother of all Supermoons)

First off, apologies for writing about the exams and revision etc again, just can't help it. It is the number one priority for many students right now, including myself, hence this blog post (as the ultimate procrastination?). Now lets get to it...

Here is a little "app" that I put together in Excel. It is not the prettiest looking but it is simple and everyone can open it. It has only one function: to help you visualise your revision progress, so you know what needs doing the most. Initially I only did it for my own revision, but then I thought it might be helpful so I thought I would share it here (y)

You can download it right here, just click "Download File" below for the .xlsx spreadsheet file.If you found it helpful, feel free to share with your friends. You could even buy me a drink after exams if you are feeling generous :)

Scroll down a bit for instructions.

Just a short blog to warn fellow photographers to be careful where they leave their lenses this summer.

My friend Oli has a lens which is quite old and it has gone a bit mouldy unfortunately (Yes, lenses get mouldy like bread does if left for too long in the dark) He left it with the front lens cap off in his room, hoping to get some sun into the lens to kill off the mould to stop it getting worse . However it was a rare afternoon in Durham which the sun was blazing! The sunlight was pretty much shining straight into the lens  and just like Physics back at school, a lens + light = FIRE! According to Oli, "smoke was pouring out" and it burnt through the rear lens cap! (see photo above) 

If you dont use your kit often, it is recommended to get your kit and lenses out from storage every now and then to avoid mould and other problems (or to clean them, or the guilty pleasure of admiring their glow in the light *blush*), be VERY CAREFUL if you leave them in the sun though. They can probably set fire to most things if the light was right and they were left for too long, as my friend Oli found out the hard way.

Photo credits: Oliver Grimmett, check out his work here - www.olivergrimmett.co.uk

Thought I would share a few personal tips that I find useful during revision, or even just work in general.

1) Discouragements from leaving the work station
What I mean is, make it as hard as possible for you to get up to grab some water or food or notes, so that you are sat down, ready to go and some revision would eventually happen! Personally I have my notes spread all over the floor around my desk/chair with bottles of water at the ready so I don't usually need to get up for a couple of hours at a time. (Tie yourself to the chair if needs be, I wouldn't recommend tape, it leaves a right mess)