The Great Globular Cluster and other wonders of the night sky

A break in the weather means only one thing - astronomy is on! Well it is when it becomes dark enough of course. :)

What a lovely night it was on the 14th July 2021 - I didn't even have to wrap up that warm as it was quite mild.
I'm going to try and write this blog entry as a kind of story as this night certainly unfolded like one there was so much to see.

So, I have already setup the mount, mounted and balanced the telescope and plugged everything in, chair is out and laptop open and something catches my eye in the south.
The ISS is passing and it is VERY bright. Seems almost too slow to stay up there, but it does. This is one of the brightest passes I have seen.
Head down and back to polar alignment. Just as I am looking through the polar scope I see a huge bright flash to my north-east. I draw away from the scope and witness the brightest and longest fireball I have ever (ever) seen. It must have lasted a good 3 to 5 seconds easy and left a trail of its disintegration behind it as it went northwards. Lovely yellow, red and orange hues.

(I have subsequently logged it with UK Meteor Network, UKMON.)

Back to the mount and scope to get properly polar/star aligned and focused ready for a summer favourite - M13 the great globular cluster in Hercules.
I have tried this target on and off for years but never seem to do it justice. Not that this night was to be any different as my clear sky window was closing. But, this is a bright target so I should be able to obtain some good data.

Messier 13 sits approx. 23,000 light years away.
This image also shows the feature known as the "Propeller", within the cluster - a good indication that your equipment is spot-on.

Just as an aside, I have also captured NGC6207 to the top-right.

And so, as data on M13 is being taken I decide to sit back and take in the sky. My eyes are fully night adapted by now and so the Milky Way is very visible, even under my Bortle 5 sky. What a sight it is especially looking into Cygnus.
As I look more towards the north, there is yet another spectacle - that of Noctilucent Clouds or NLCs.
The whole northern part of the sky was literally lit-up with these night shining clouds.
I quickly grabbed my camera and headed off to a dark lane near my house.

NLCs sit approx. 80km up in a layer of the atmosphere known as the Mesosphere.

What a night eh!? As I strolled back home (to finish my M13 capture) I reflected on what an evening this had been.

Certainly one to remember.

Clear skies
MJ