Few opportunities

Looking back on December reminded me of just how few opportunites the British climate allows for a realistic attempt at achieving much success at deep sky photography in residential areas. Of about ten clear(ish) evenings during the month only two offered any decent transparency at an hour when I wasn't elsewhere or prepared to forsake my bed. Lack of a breeze allowed the general fug of fire smoke to build up on some nights when the moon wasn't around and, frustratingly, other nights that looked promising would become cloudy enough to spoil things just as all was set to take some images....makes you appreciate why they put observatories on mountains.