This shot of the waxing gibbous phase of the moon was taken using a Helios telescope and a carefully aligned Pentax K10D SLR pointed at the telescope lens.  It required numerous adjustments and the photo does not do justice to the crips, clean image via the telescope.

I managed to get this shot of the moon by using an old Tamron 210mm lens with a doubler and a Pentax K10D.

It also required putting the camera on a tripod and using the 2 and 12 second timer to give the camera a chance to stop wobbling after clicking the shutter button.

It was pretty cloudy and I wonder if this made it hard to focus or just the shear distance.

The four peacock-like eye patterns on its wings have evolved as a defence mechanism against predators.

For more photos / information about hoverflies try The Dead Head Fly or Wikipedia – Hoverfly.

The Dead Head Fly (Myathropa florea), like many similar species sports similar markings to bees and wasps.  This is of obvious evolutionary benefit to the fly as many potential predators will not attempt to devour them.  It belongs to the family Syrphidae meaning Hoverflies.

A hoverfly can be identified by a false or spurious vein in its wings (Vena spuria).  In the case of the Dead Head Fly, it gets its name from the marking on its thorax which can resemble a human face or death mask.  They feed on pollen and nectar and appear on various plants including Hogweed and Cow Parsely between May and October.  This one is most likely a female because of the distance between the eyes.  Male hoverflies’ eyes are generally larger.

The 'Death Head' markings on the thorax.

The false vein or Vena spuria common to hoverflies

This photo was taken on the banks of Fishers Creek, Hayling Island, July 2011.  For more information about hoverflies, try Wikipedia – Hoverfly.

Peregrine Falcon

A photo of a Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus).

The moth is found only in England and Wales. For more information and pictures of the moth itself, try UK Safari.

Pullman achieved something unparallelled here.  As all good writers, he is writing about what he knows and bases the books around Oxford, where he studied English at Exeter College.  However, Pullman then pulls on a varied knowledge of contemporary science and applies it to the story.  The Oxford he describes is similar to the modern town but it is the Oxford of another universe.  The characters are recognisably human in their appearance and traits except that their ‘souls’ follow them as demons in the shapes of animals.  The younger characters’ demons are able to metamorphose into other species at will or as an emotive reaction, whilst adults’ demons are set and unchangeable.  This is Pullman alluding to binary fission.

In book two of the trilogy – The Subtle Knife, we start to appreciate the multi-verse that Pullman is describing.  There are obvious references to evolution with the appearance of the mulefa, a species whose body structure reflects but is completely different from our own, since it has developed in another universe.  They have even evolved a symbiotic relationship with a local plant species which act as wheels.  The language, although recognisably English has certain lovely quirks.  Pullman uses the word anbaric (Arabic for Amber) as a highly plausible other possible word for electricity.  Marchpane is actually an archaic word meaning Marzipan which is its meaning in the trilogy.

The His Dark Materials trilogy was beset with controversy and only the first book was turned into a film.  Although Pullman denied attacking the Catholic Church in his books, his fictional organisation – the Magisterium – seems to have had a likely origin there.  The Magisterium is the powerful organisation of shady characters who claim to be protecting people’s morality.  In a recent interview, on the subject of sex scandals in the Catholic Church, Pullman is quoted as saying: “I hope the wretched organisation will vanish entirely.”  Indeed, there are parallels to be drawn between a church whose priests are infamous for child abuse and Pullman’s Magisterium whose primary target is the removal of children’s souls.

The first book was originally called Northern Lights but editions published since the film have the the film title The Golden Compass.  The Golden Compass was a reasonable film and the main character – Lyra Belaqua – well cast but it finished short of the book and due to poor box office takings (over $70 million) or an offended Catholic Church, the further two films will never likely be made.  Don’t worry about it, just read the books.

Further Reading

http://www.philip-pullman.com/

The Golden Compass (film) – Wikipedia

Its main protagonist is Jean Valjean, an escaped criminal, sentenced for stealing bread as a child to feed his starving family in 19th century Paris. Valjean crosses paths with Cosette, an unfortunate orphaned girl and all the while is hunted down by the merciless policeman – Javert.

For many, the book may be too much like hard work. It is meticulously written to the extent that the first chapter of Part Two consists of a 45 page commentary on the Battle of Waterloo. I could not say how accurate this account is, but it certainly brings the famous French defeat to life.

If you cannot stomach the book, then I would highly recommend the musical at: http://www.lesmis.com. I must have seen it 4 times over the 25 years it has been running and have not yet been disappointed. The songs include I Dreamed A Dream, made even more popular by the recent Susan Boyle version.

Les Misérables was written in 1862 and is therefore long since out of copyright in most countries. Download the free Kindle or ePub version for your phone, from the Gutenburg Project.