Dave Grennan, Carl O'Beirnes, Sir Patrick Moore CBE.

We presented Patrick with a birthday card designed by junior members of Astronomy Ireland and signed by hundreds of Sir Patrick's Irish fans to mark the occasion of the great mans 85th birthday.  SIr Patrick has been presenting 'The Sky at Night' programme for almost 51 years now and we all hope that he continues to do so for some considerable time to come.

From Left to Right: Dave Tyler, Carl O'Beirnes, Dave Grennan, Damian Peach and Tom Sharp

During our trip we had the opportunity to mingle with some of Britain's top amateur astronomers including Dave Tyler, Damian Peach, Pete Lawrence, Ian Sharp, Bruce Kingsley, Mark Parrish, Brian Woosnam, Jamie Cooper, Martin Mobberley and Alan Clitherow.  (Sorry if I missed anyone).  These are all wonderful guys who made us both feel right at home and were willing to share some of their wonderful astrophotography techniques with us.  Both myself and Carl are deeply grateful to all who helped make our trip even more memorable. These guys are not just great astronomers but amazing guys.  We had so many laughs during the eclipse and filming which we will remember for a long time.

Sir Patrick Moore, Jane Fletcher (Series Producer, 'The Sky at Night') and Dr Allan Chapman (Oxford University).

Of course the main purpose of the evening was to record the March episode of 'The Sky at Night'.  Pictured here Patrick discusses the historical importance of Lunar Eclipse with Dr Allan Chapman.  Dr.Chapman is a really amazing guy just bursting with enhusiasm and love for the whole area of astronomy.  His enthusiasm is instantly infectious and is only eclipsed by his vast knowledge of the subject.  The filming process for an TV show like the 'Sky at Night is quite a sight to behold.  We both previously attended such a session when we travelled to Selsey for The Sky at Night's 50th birthday show.  However it is quite amazing to see the professionalism of the BBC crew in action.  The lenghts they will go to to get 'That shot' is extraordinary.  Series Producer Jane Fletcher is a wonderful lady and a true professional.  It is a sign of a true pro that no matter how busy she was, she always had time to stop for a quick word with a couple of Irish lads.

Dr. Chris Lintott (Oxford University)

The Sky at Night is currently co-presented by Sir Patrick and Dr. Chris Lintott.  Chris has given talks many times here in Ireland.  Here Chris is pictured at the door of Sir Patrick's observatory.  During the evening Chris spoke to us several times on camera.  It may otherwise be scary being filmed and possibly appearing on a TV show which you grew up watching and admiring.  However, Chris's relaxed and reassuring deportment makes the whole experience very easy going and enjoyable.

Bruce Kingsley chats about his wonderful imagery with Ian Sharp and Mark Parrish.

At the risk of sounding patronising, I cannot speak highly enough of the amateur astronomers who gathered for the program.  Later in the evening Bruce (Pictured here) joined Jon Culshaw and myself to do a few impressions of 'Star Wars' characters.  Bruce does a brilliant Darth Vader, Jon being a professional is just brilliant as the evil emperor and my barely passable Yoda completed a very surreal trio in Sir Patrick Moore's Kitchen.  (How wierd is that!)  I thought Carl was going to keel over he laughed that hard.  I certainly haven't laughed as much as I did that night in such a long time.  They say laughter is food for the soul well there was no-one hungry that night and it wasn't only down to the wonderful feast of chilli provied by Linda and here crew.

Anyone who has seen the 50th Anniversary programme of the Sky At Night (view here) or has seen the BBC's 'Dead Ringers' show will be familiar with the genius that is Jon Culshaw.  Jon's impressions are absolutely fantastic.  His Patrick Moore is so good that if you close your eyes you would not know if you were talking to the real Patrick or not.  Later when the filming was over Jon entertained us all with hilarious impressions of Patrick, Dr. Allan Chapman, Tony Blair and George 'Bubya' Bush.   Needless to say all present were rocked with laughter.  At one point I was on my knees with tears streaming down my face.  Jamie Cooper recorded some of the hilarity and you can see some of this footage (as well as Janie's wonderful eclipse images) on his website http://www.jamiecooperimages.com/?page_id=209.

Lunar Eclipse February 21st 2008, Selsey, West Sussex. Image By Dave Grennan and Carl O'Beirnes. Taken through an 80mm APO refractor and a modified Canon 300D Camera. 4 Second Exposure just as totality ended.

Of course the object of the night was the total Lunar eclipse on the morning of February 21st. Initally conditions didn;t look too promising. The night before was a gloriously clear night and we hoped that that vein of weather would continue for the following evening. It was not to be. Cloud rolled in steadily throughout the day. However early in the evening the cloud broke and some of the imagers on site bgen to take some wonderful images of Mars. As the eclipse began it was almost totally cloudy. The initial partial phase of the eclipse was only visible through tiny cracks in the cloud. The eclipse began its total phase and it was all but invisible behind the clouds however some of the imagers were still getting some shots. Prompted by some excellent images by Pete Lawrence, myself and Carl started shooting. The imaging was very difficult through persistant high cloud. However we kept at it and then with only a few minutes to go to the end opf totality the clouds parted to reveal the eclipsed Moon in all its glory. The above shot was taken just as totality ended.

We finished off the morning by warming ourselves with Sir Patrick in his study were there was some great chat and a few drinkies to be had. The following day we returned to Sir Paticks home and were delighted to spend a few hours with the great man. Despite his years Sir Patricks enhusiasm has not wained and his generosity both in spirit and hospitality mark him out as one of the true greats of our time. On behalf of myself and Carl we would like to express out thanks to all involved in the March episode of 'The Sky at Night'. To Jane Fletcher for her kind invite. To all the BBC crew who were so professional and a great bunch of lads and lassies. To all the astronomers and guests present for all the 'chat and craic'. To Jon Culshaw, Dr. Allan Chapman, Terry Pratchett (what a great guy!).

Sir Patrick asked us to pass on his best wishes to all his friends in Ireland.  Patrick is very sad that he is now unable to travel across the water but he is very keen on astronomy in Ireland.

The show was broadcast on BBC on Monday March 3rd.

Here are the two clips why Carl and Dave featured in;

Report by Dave Grennan

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