Bill Ward

PhD in meteor science. Always have been and always will be an astronomer at heart!☄️🔭.
Dabbles with amateur radio.📡🛰

[Bill Ward @meteorbill]

Great conditions but only one decent spectrum from the Lyrids. Meteor travelling directly at me so foreshortened allowing a greater density of emission to be seen. Lots of atmospheric lines in the red. #fireball #lyridmeteorshower #meteors #lyrids

[Bill Ward @meteorbill]

Merry Christmas!🎄

[Bill Ward @meteorbill]

I think we're reaching peak "Bram" in North Ayrshire. Some doozy gusts rattling the tiles!
You know things are maxing out when the wheelie bins start flying down the street!😯🌬🌬🌬

[Bill Ward @meteorbill]

Had just set up the cameras when I caught this fantastic 4 second+ meteor on the wide field camera! By good fortune it fell in the fov of one of the spectro cameras too. #meteor #fireball @bbcweather @BBCScotWeather @RoyalAstroSoc
Video here https://t.co/mw5yq3Xxi3

[Bill Ward @meteorbill]

Exciting time playing on radio. Managed to make my first 1296MHz EME contact with Eric OE9ERC. Me, a single 35ele yagi and 50w to Erics 10m dish!
Done with Q65c-60. Incredible that its even possible! #EME

[Bill Ward @meteorbill]

Another fantastic IMC over for this year. After getting lost I finally found the excursion location, the historic Sonnenborgh Observatory.
It had this fabulous iron meteorite on display!

[Bill Ward @meteorbill]

A little lunchtime project. With the help of the chemistry techs, a go at wet silvering and old 16in cassegrain mirror. Not perfect but not bad for a first attempt! A few tweaks to the process needed... #astronomy #telescopemaking

[Bill Ward @meteorbill]

Sitting under a "cloudy high" pressure system often has extensive sheets of stratus. During a recent flight these clouds look remarkable from above....
Also a bit further south altocumulus castellanus at a weak frontal instability. @CloudAppSoc @metoffice @bbcweather

[Bill Ward @meteorbill]

Have just spent an amazing time at the archive of the Royal Greenwich Museum examining the first meteor spectroscope in the world. Built for and used by Alexander Herschel to study the Leonid storm of 1866 from Glasgow. Wonderful. @AstronomyNow @RoyalAstroSoc @AstronomyMag

[Bill Ward @meteorbill]

Despite fairly poor conditions I did get one decent Perseid spectrum. Typical ionised Ca, ionised Si and H emmission. #Perseids #meteorshower @AstronomyNow @BBCScotWeather @jimalkhalili @RoyalAstroSoc

[Bill Ward @meteorbill]

Now you see them, now you don't.
Images investigating nlc particle size. #NLC ice particles are tiny! So small they are transparent to light ~1000nm!
Instead, cirrus clouds glow brightly. These are the same FOV less than 1 minute apart!

[Bill Ward @meteorbill]

Just checked my screen. This is the hottest temp I've ever recorded in Kilwinning at 34.5c! @metoffice @BBCScotWeather @bbcweather #heatwave2025 🥵

[Bill Ward @meteorbill]

Have just spent some time with the current owner of Glenlair House, Mr Duncan Ferguson, the ancestral home of the Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell.
An astonishing and incredibly beautiful place! #JamesClerkMaxwell

[Bill Ward @meteorbill]

A fantastic #NLC last night. Large diffuse features that developed throughout the night. Up to 60 deg and az 320 to 120 deg by 0230ut.
@nlcnet Distinct bluish veil over whole display.
Display brightened considerably as display expanded.

[Bill Ward @meteorbill]

Gorgeous #NLC seen from North Ayrshire now. 2am local. @nlcnet

[Bill Ward @meteorbill]

Fairly diffuse #nlc last night. Height to around 20deg and azi to ~40 degrees.
@nlcnet

[Bill Ward @meteorbill]

Dramatic sky over Kilwinning!
Mama and strong windblown striations. #clouds @metoffice @CloudAppSoc @bbcweather @BBCScotWeather

[Bill Ward @meteorbill]

A picture from last night. #NLC at around 2am.

[Bill Ward @meteorbill]

Finally got my first #NLC of the 2025. The NLC forum is still active and don't forget to upload observation and pics at noctilucent cloud observers homepage

[Bill Ward @meteorbill]

Dear @UPS_UK found one of your "sorry we missed you" notes through my door. Expecting a few parcels but just what am I supposed to do with this....? There's nothing on it. QR code just takes me to your tracking page but I don't have any info to enter.... Utterly useless!!!