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The night sky.
- TankBuster
- Posts: 1710
- Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2009 8:45 am
- Location: Colchester
The night sky.
Hi all,
We've had some excellent conditions recently for stargazing, although cold as they are the crisp frosty nights & mornings have been perfect!
Being a bit of an amateur astronomer myself I keep being asked "what is the really bright star visible in the evening sky at the moment?". Well, its the planet Venus. Although it is a planet it does look like a star to the naked eye, hence it is sometimes known as the 'Evening Star' or 'Morning Star' depending on when it can be seen at different times of the year. Just above Venus in the ten o'clock position is Mars which is also visible to the naked eye.
Jupiter is also visible at the moment just before sunrise.
Its fascinating stuff & well worth a look!
If you want to know more about the night sky then have a look at stellarium, its the perfect guide to the night sky!..
http://stellarium.org/
TankBuster.
We've had some excellent conditions recently for stargazing, although cold as they are the crisp frosty nights & mornings have been perfect!
Being a bit of an amateur astronomer myself I keep being asked "what is the really bright star visible in the evening sky at the moment?". Well, its the planet Venus. Although it is a planet it does look like a star to the naked eye, hence it is sometimes known as the 'Evening Star' or 'Morning Star' depending on when it can be seen at different times of the year. Just above Venus in the ten o'clock position is Mars which is also visible to the naked eye.
Jupiter is also visible at the moment just before sunrise.
Its fascinating stuff & well worth a look!
If you want to know more about the night sky then have a look at stellarium, its the perfect guide to the night sky!..
http://stellarium.org/
TankBuster.
And there's plenty more where that came from!
Re: The night sky.
Morning TANKBUSTER Yes, excellent conditions. I have a friend who is a keen astronomer. Nice to see these stars, etc. but to me it has little interest, because the view is always the same. Once one has looked through a powerful telescope, to me, that's it.! Nice to wonder about the heavens etc., but the view never changes. Very simplistic answer from me, I'm afraid. I was in South Africa on one occasion, in a very small town, and there was a power cut. [pretty common]. I was walking back to my B and B in total darkness, no light pollution whatsoever, and the most incredible night sky I have EVER seen!!. [Perhaps barring the Northern Lights on one occasion]. Regards, John.
- garyscott
- Posts: 3158
- Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2009 9:34 pm
- Location: DONT trust Atoms . . . . they make up everything . .
Re: The night sky.
John, how wrong you are my friend!
There is so much more than just "samey looking points of light".
I enjoy hunting clusters, nebulae, gas clouds, galaxies, the list goes on.
Try using stellarium (a very good program!) to pinpoint M57, a beautiful ring, or the Dumbbell (M27) which is easily viewed with moderate binoculars. The double star Albireo is resolvable with bino's, showing the brighter yellow star Beta Cygni A, which itself is an exceptionally close binary, and the slightly dimmer blue of Beta Cygni B.
There is so much more up there to view, you would need several lifetimes to see even a small percentage of the many varied sights and objects out there.
Take Orion.
Just below the belt, you will see a slightly fuzzy patch. Look at that through binoculars, and you will see structure. The Horses Head Nebula. Try using averted vision to see more - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Averted_vision . Sounds weird, but not looking at something, you can see more of it.
Look up, look back.
There is so much more than just "samey looking points of light".
I enjoy hunting clusters, nebulae, gas clouds, galaxies, the list goes on.
Try using stellarium (a very good program!) to pinpoint M57, a beautiful ring, or the Dumbbell (M27) which is easily viewed with moderate binoculars. The double star Albireo is resolvable with bino's, showing the brighter yellow star Beta Cygni A, which itself is an exceptionally close binary, and the slightly dimmer blue of Beta Cygni B.
There is so much more up there to view, you would need several lifetimes to see even a small percentage of the many varied sights and objects out there.
Take Orion.
Just below the belt, you will see a slightly fuzzy patch. Look at that through binoculars, and you will see structure. The Horses Head Nebula. Try using averted vision to see more - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Averted_vision . Sounds weird, but not looking at something, you can see more of it.
Look up, look back.
Last edited by garyscott on Sun Jan 22, 2017 11:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: The night sky.
Thanks for that, Gary. Next time we are at my astronomer friend's house in Croydon, I shall ask for some enlightenment Regards.
- Cornish-guy
- Posts: 2429
- Joined: Wed Apr 24, 2013 1:57 am
Re: The night sky.
I have quite a lot of shots I took last year and earlier mainly - moon, jupiter, saturn, mars etc not sure if I should post them or not.
C.
C.
Nikon D7100, Nikkor 300 f4 IF ED :-)
- garyscott
- Posts: 3158
- Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2009 9:34 pm
- Location: DONT trust Atoms . . . . they make up everything . .
Re: The night sky.
Cornish-guy, post up if you want to mate. Others have posted up the occasional shot, all are worthy of a lingering look.
- Cornish-guy
- Posts: 2429
- Joined: Wed Apr 24, 2013 1:57 am
Re: The night sky.
Here is a selection of shots from different cameras over last couple of years -
Moon
DSCF0183-2 by Arthur Merlin, on Flickr
Syg 1 and 2
01 02 Syg by Arthur Merlin, on Flickr
Jupiter with moons - Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto
DSCF0544-2 by Arthur Merlin, on Flickr
Jupiter Lo Europa Ganymede Callisto and Leo
Jupiter Lo Europa Ganymede Callisto and Leo _ by Arthur Merlin, on Flickr
Mars
Mars (2) by Arthur Merlin, on Flickr
Saturn
Saturn 2 by Arthur Merlin, on Flickr
Hope you like them.
C.
Moon
DSCF0183-2 by Arthur Merlin, on Flickr
Syg 1 and 2
01 02 Syg by Arthur Merlin, on Flickr
Jupiter with moons - Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto
DSCF0544-2 by Arthur Merlin, on Flickr
Jupiter Lo Europa Ganymede Callisto and Leo
Jupiter Lo Europa Ganymede Callisto and Leo _ by Arthur Merlin, on Flickr
Mars
Mars (2) by Arthur Merlin, on Flickr
Saturn
Saturn 2 by Arthur Merlin, on Flickr
Hope you like them.
C.
Nikon D7100, Nikkor 300 f4 IF ED :-)
-
- Posts: 1488
- Joined: Mon Mar 04, 2013 6:21 pm
Re: The night sky.
DONT try this at home as they say, OR anywhere else, but I had the bins on the sun this lunchtime ( through banks of medium level haze); there's a big sunspot just below its equator towards '8 o clock'. I don't know how active it is, but each clear evening before I hit 'the grunter' I give the Northern sky a final check for Aurora; I live in the Southern Lakes.
Roger
Roger
- TankBuster
- Posts: 1710
- Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2009 8:45 am
- Location: Colchester
Re: The night sky.
Loving the images . I never get bored of those views & its really fascinating to see the planets.
When you look at the universe it is absolutely mind boggling just how vast it really is, I often wonder if some of the stars that we look at in the sky are actually still in existence, or wether we are just seeing light which they emitted in the past? It is an entirely possible theory considering the huge distances in light years that these stars are away from the earth .
TankBuster
When you look at the universe it is absolutely mind boggling just how vast it really is, I often wonder if some of the stars that we look at in the sky are actually still in existence, or wether we are just seeing light which they emitted in the past? It is an entirely possible theory considering the huge distances in light years that these stars are away from the earth .
TankBuster
And there's plenty more where that came from!
- garyscott
- Posts: 3158
- Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2009 9:34 pm
- Location: DONT trust Atoms . . . . they make up everything . .
Re: The night sky.
H.A.Bucken - get yourself some Baader solarfilm! Medium level haze is nothing, its not the light intensity that will harm you- http://www.astro-physics.com/index.htm? ... astrosolar - its a hell of a lot safer!
Cornish-guy - some great images there, the moon shot is perfect! Are you piggy-backing on the scope? And are you stacking? Regardless, they are images to be proud of chap.
Cornish-guy - some great images there, the moon shot is perfect! Are you piggy-backing on the scope? And are you stacking? Regardless, they are images to be proud of chap.
- Cornish-guy
- Posts: 2429
- Joined: Wed Apr 24, 2013 1:57 am
Re: The night sky.
TankBuster wrote:Loving the images . I never get bored of those views & its really fascinating to see the planets.
When you look at the universe it is absolutely mind boggling just how vast it really is, I often wonder if some of the stars that we look at in the sky are actually still in existence, or wether we are just seeing light which they emitted in the past? It is an entirely possible theory considering the huge distances in light years that these stars are away from the earth .
TankBuster
Thank you so much
C.
Nikon D7100, Nikkor 300 f4 IF ED :-)
- Cornish-guy
- Posts: 2429
- Joined: Wed Apr 24, 2013 1:57 am
Re: The night sky.
garyscott wrote:H.A.Bucken - get yourself some Baader solarfilm! Medium level haze is nothing, its not the light intensity that will harm you- http://www.astro-physics.com/index.htm? ... astrosolar - its a hell of a lot safer!
Cornish-guy - some great images there, the moon shot is perfect! Are you piggy-backing on the scope? And are you stacking? Regardless, they are images to be proud of chap.
Hi there,
No telescope involved with them, they were all shot with bridge cameras using thier extended digital zoom at around 1000mm (35mm eqv fov) then cropped quite heavy in post, I supported them on my tripod during some good spells of weather.
I have some far more expensive gear now (as in my gear noted below) so I am hoping to get some even better shots when I get round to setting up in the garden.
C.
Nikon D7100, Nikkor 300 f4 IF ED :-)
- Cornish-guy
- Posts: 2429
- Joined: Wed Apr 24, 2013 1:57 am
Re: The night sky.
Talking about the sun and sun spots - here is one I took some years ago when the sun was behind some light cloud, (folks dont take a chance like this without special filters as at best you could burn your sensor - and at worse your eyes)
Sun-2 by Arthur Merlin, on Flickr
C.
Sun-2 by Arthur Merlin, on Flickr
C.
Nikon D7100, Nikkor 300 f4 IF ED :-)
Re: The night sky.
The simple and safe way to observe sunspots is to use binoculars or a small telescope to project the Sun's image onto a flat white surface where they will show up clearly.H.A.Bucken wrote:DONT try this at home as they say, OR anywhere else, but I had the bins on the sun this lunchtime
-
- Posts: 1149
- Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 2:56 pm
- Location: Lancs.
Re: The night sky.
Great shots of Mars and Jupiter,best experience i had for stargazing was a couple of nights at Monument Valley in Utah.
First time i saw the milky way in all its glory.
Ian
First time i saw the milky way in all its glory.
Ian
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