The Plough asterism, part of Ursa Major

I had the privilege of visiting Snowdonia this summer for a family camp in a beautiful river valley near Maentwrog.  During the evenings I managed a bit of stargazing before moonrise and captured a few bright constellations over the Welsh hills.

Cassiopeia over the Welsh hills

I also captured a lovely close pairing between the Moon and the planet Jupiter.

Jupiter sits serenely below the waxing gibbous Moon

The highlight, however, was witnessing a beautiful partial eclipse of the Moon on Tuesday evening at around 11pm.

I took these pictures and a short video using my smartphone anchored to a simple pair of 8×40 binoculars (mounted for stability).  The eclipse was already underway when the Moon rose into view and continued until well after midnight.