Astronomy

[zanthal]

I've been an on again-off again armchair stargazer for the past 6-7 years.
I inherited a pretty fine telescope from my grandfather a few years back. I found it to be pretty difficult to observe anything of less magnitude than the moon, mars and venus.
You can actually do quite a decent bit of observing with a decent pair of binoculars mounted on a tripod.
Anyhow, to come to the point, this site of Top Astronomy Events For 2012 was an interesting find, and I'm going to try and configure the telescope for April 30th when Venus hits high magnitude.
Hope for good weather ::

 

[hobie1dog]

Me too, where's Paul when you need him? Didn't he have a thread on Astronomy a little while ago?
Just read where Paul has left the forum..bummer. :crying:

 

[brian64]

zanthal & others: you might enjoy this site if you haven't seen it before:
Solar System Scope
http://www.solarsystemscope.com/

 

[zanthal]

Probably a conflict of interest hobie1dog ... I read his magazine article. Which was a great article by the way. And good luck to him.
But we always have to have a high level of competition in order for maximum happiness and success. Yay capitalism!
Anyways, about stargazing ...
brian64, interesting site!
the ambient music is excellent, too.

 

[barkar]

well now that site is way to cool....excellent

 

[captainbob]

Actually, the "jewel" of Atronomy is at its peak the month of April and is Saturn. You will see its rings in just about any telescope. Go for that rather than get too excited about Venus. Venus is not much to see, except very bright. You will notice with a fine focus that Venus is actually not "full" but a crescent.
My telescope is the Meade LX-200 below:

click to enlarge



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[throwryuken]

http://skysurvey.org/ this guys traveled across the world and surveyed the sky for a long time to complete a panoramic picture of the milky way. Just about the prettiest picture ever. You can zoom way in. glad to see other astrophiliacs here

 

[hobie1dog]

excellent site throwryuken...thanks

 

[pstlpkr]

 

[zanthal]

I'm going to be waiting for a clear night, to do a drive up onto Altamont Pass. 1000 feet up and pretty far from the lights, could just be good.
Skysurvey.org ... excellent work, geez that must have been quite an effort to accomplish.
Captainbob, does that telescope track objects?

 

[chops]

Astronomy is one of my first loves. My earliest memories was staring up at the sky with wonder. It lead me to study it in school. I agree with CaptainBob's thoughts on Saturn. It's just the coolest thing to see those rings in the 'scope.

 

[pawpaw]

I saw a shooting star this morning

 

[brian64]

SIERRA FIREBALL DECODED: On Sunday morning, April 22nd, just as the Lyrid meteor shower was dying down, a spectacular fireball exploded over California's Sierra Nevada mountain range. The loud explosion rattled homes from central California to Reno, Nevada, and beyond. According to Bill Cooke, head of NASA's Meteoroid Envronment Office, the source of the blast was a meteoroid about the size of a minivan.
http://spaceweather.com/

 

[captainbob]

zanthal, Yes it most certainly tracks objects and finds them, too!

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[buzkirk]

http://neave.com/planetarium/
Thought this was cool !

 

[zanthal]

What brian64, was that a meteorite?
Maybe will get to see a Meteorite Men episode right here in Northern California.

 

[brian64]

@zanthal:
The story is on yesterday's Space Weather issue...here is a link to the WA Post article:
Explosion heard in Nevada, California was likely caused by meteor, astronomers say
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/explosion-heard-in-nevada-california-was-likely-caused-by-meteor-astronomers-say/2012/04/22/gIQAZczXaT_story.html

 

[throwryuken]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWpZ1gIEHhY&feature=youtube_gdata_player
I know there are a few of these vids out there. Thought this one was cool.

 

[topd]

If you have an iPhone, you need to check out the app "Star Walk"... really cool!

 

[captainbob]

If you have not seen the Movie "Melancholia" I urge you to rent or buy this movie! Google it! I OWN IT. A real perspective on life and Astronomy.

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