The amazing sky at night...
Reporter: Lewis Jones
Date published: 30 March 2011
...And all from a back garden in Oldham
YOU won’t quite see man’s footsteps on the moon, but this is about as close as you will get to nearest celestial neighbour...
The image was captured by local amateur astrophotographer Dion Heap, who runs a website for space fanatics.
Showing the giant craters in stunning detail, the image is actually what is known as a moon mosaic, 13 high-magnification images taken through a telescope and “stitched” together.
Dion, (46), of Lower Dingle, Moorside, captured the impressive close-up when it was in a three-quarter phase.
Dion, the former landlord of Top House pub in Springhead, said: “My interest in the sky has been there for a long time. I was fascinated as a child.
“I just didn’t have the time to do it when I worked at the pub. My proudest moment has to be capturing snaps of a globular cluster, millions of stars bound together by gravity.
“It’s intriguing. Earth is a full stop in our galaxy, and it always makes me wonder who could be on another planet taking a picture of our planet from millions of miles away.”
The stargazer uses a webcam, a telescope and special computer software to layer images of deep space and create the impressive clear images of far-away planets, stars and galaxies.
He said: “People don’t think that you can get images like these from your back garden in Oldham. Having said that it is the most frustrating hobby in the world.
“The weather is not great here and even if you get a clear night the wind can blur images. I’d say there has only been about 10 good nights so far this year.”
Triggering intrigue and fantasy, Dion has now helped unite 600 other astronomy lovers with specialist website www.astronomyshed.co.uk
Intended as a beginners guide to astronomy, people can browse his images, post their own and learn more about outer space.
