# Keep Looking Up!



## kv466

Hello, and welcome to the naked eye astronomy thread. 

I just walked out to take my dogs for an end-of-the-day walk and I was pleasantly reminded of why it is great to look up whenever you're outside. About forty five degrees above the eastern horizon was a lovely pairing of the brightest and the third brightest objects in the night sky: the Moon and Jupiter. 

As I stood there watching, I was reminded of how great it is to share such things with people. Solar and lunar eclipses. The occultation of planets by the moon. The conjuction of two bright planets. Meteor showers and storms. 

The great approach of Mars in 2003 created a gathering I still haven't seen repeated; and it was wonderful. Thousands of people bunching up and waiting in line to see a tiny little 'reddish' dot with an even tinier white dot within it. Funny were some of the reactions after having waited hours to see it only to exlaim, "that's it?!!". I actually remember thinking the same thing when I saw Haley's Comet but I also remember thinking, "I want to be alive to see it again", because I was told it would return in about three quarters of a century. Those who didn't see Mars during those weeks of close approach will never have the opportunity again; same goes for Comet Hale Bopp.

The point is, look up. You'll like what you see. The title of this thread is a phrase by which my long time ex-boss and friend lived by and taught me. When he passed a year ago, I promised him that I would never stop sharing this simple notion with others around me. This is the first forum I've been a part of and well, sorry it took so long for me to think to include this in our discussions. 

The heavens are vast and full of treasures just waiting for us to marvel at!

Now, I haven't been up to date on this as I do not have to keep a public informed anymore. With the internet or software for your pc, however, one can be easily aware of all things astronomical by simply searching. Still, I will make it a conscious effort to try and be ahead of these celestial happenings in hopes that someone will join me in this ancient practice.

For now, just having looked up and seen the separation of the two, I can tell you that the Moon and Jupiter will be much closer together tomorrow night and the next. After that you'll see that they kind of, 'trade places', as Moon will seem to go further from Jupiter each night resulting in Jupiter being halfway up the eastern horizon at about midnight (eastern time) for the next week, while the Moon rises about a half hour later each day on its way toward being new. Jupiter is currently at opposition which means 'opposite the Sun'. If you think of a full moon, it is too opposite the Sun as a full Moon always rises with the setting Sun. So basically, when a planet is at opposition it is at it's brightest for that go 'round.

Please share what you see when you look up at the night sky on this thread. Celestial stories or thoughts. 

Most of all, remember to Keep Looking Up! :tiphat:


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## Almaviva

but... but... but... there are bugs outside!


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## samurai

@ kv466, Thanks for sharing your wonderful and inspiring experience. You have now motivated me to make the effort tomorrow night, after I return from having a minor operation on my ear {I hope so anyway!}. As long as I'm able to see thru all the New York smog or whatever it is, I should be in good shape. Thanks again for the 411. :tiphat:


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## Almaviva

kv466 said:


> Please share what you see when you look up at the night sky on this thread.


I see a ceiling fan. Does it count?

No, seriously, I'll stop joking around, I don't want to ruin your thread. It's just that I'm definitely not a nature kind of guy. For me, we humans have manipulated the environment to make our new types of habitat for a reason. Inside, we have air filtration (to keep out pollen, odors, dust mites); double windows to keep out noise pollution and bugs; a roof to keep out the storms, ultraviolet rays, and lightning; air conditioning and humidifiers to keep out unhealthy levels of ozone or air pollution and to provide ideal conditions of indoor temperature and air composition; bright lights when needed to keep our eyes in good shape, and walls to keep out predators and snakes. Our food is kept unspoiled in refrigerators and freezers, and our water is kept disease-free through our filters. Like this, we live long and prosper, as a species.

Nature is overrated. I much prefer a 5-star hotel with indoor pool and spa. I mean, I do love nature when it's dead, on my plate, medium-rare, and cooked by a good chef.


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## kv466

Years of life to opera but not even five minutes to a natural beauty. Good luck keeping those peepers in good shape with all that sitting-in-front-of-a-monitor time!


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## clavichorder

I remember seeing hale bop when I was three. My parents woke me up for it. I don't know why I have this image in my head.


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## Almaviva

kv466 said:


> Years of life to opera but not even five minutes to a natural beauty. Good luck keeping those peepers in good shape with all that sitting-in-front-of-a-monitor time!


 Oh but I run and exercise. Indoors.
And the peepers suffer more from eye allergies, dryness from wind, and noxious UVA than from today's modern monitors.
Besides, I do care for a natural beauty. Like Seinfeld would say, these are real, and they are spectacular:


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## Guest

I will follow this thread with great interest 2 years ago I spent night after night looking at the Dog Star 'Sirius' if you ever want a reminder of just how important you are in the scheme of things do as kv466 suggests and spend a few moments looking up at the heavens.


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## Almaviva

Oh well, I'm being a jerk. OK guys, carry on, look up to the skies. Never mind spoiled Almaviva.


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## Guest

Almaviva said:


> Oh well, I'm being a jerk. OK guys, carry on, look up to the skies. Never mind spoiled Almaviva.


*Please, *my post was not directed at you. :tiphat:


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## sospiro

Almaviva said:


> but... but... but... there are bugs outside!




What a wuss!!!!

I love star gazing, light pollution permitting. I always try & watch a meteor shower not that my wishes have ever come true.


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## Couchie

I'm with Almaviva 100% on this one. When I'm in nature and look up I see a bunch of bright dots, not unlike the mosquito bites I'm collecting on my legs. Besides, I can explore the heavens from the comfort of my bed: http://www.google.com/sky/


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## Guest

Well you can listen to music in bed and eat and play with your PC and lots of other things  why bother getting out of bed


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## Almaviva

Andante said:


> *Please, *my post was not directed at you. :tiphat:


Oh I get that. My post was just spontaneous self-criticism. I was spoiling someone else's nice thread.


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## Kopachris

I'm honestly surprised there are people here who don't appreciate the natural beauty of the night sky. Sure you can look on Google Sky, or Celestia, or Stellarium, but it's not the same. Actually getting out there and looking at it is the only way to get that perspective of "we are so small." I guess you don't appreciate the natural beauty of clouds, either?

Sorry for minirant; let's not turn it into an argument. I'll redact it, if you wish. Anyway, I totally agree with you, kv466. I don't really have any stories to share, but I've always enjoyed the winter sky more than the summer sky (northern hemisphere). Dunno why, exactly. Mostly the Winter Hexagon, methinks (IIRC: Sirius, Rigel, Aldebaran, Capella, Pollux & Castor, and Procyon, with Betelgeuse pretty close to the center). It might have something to do with one of my middle names being "Orion."


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## kv466

Awesome middle name, Kopa...as far as you liking winter better than summer, you probably like your stars brighter...which, living in the modern world, I can't blame you; they are some of the only stars we can see easily...'winter hexagon', eh?...glad to know you know it.


By the way,...if you're in Europe, Sun is either down or will soon be so Moon and Jupiter are teamed up and ready for a sweet display!


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## Kopachris

Yeah, you know what? I lied about not having any stories. Every constellation and asterism that I've looked at for any significant time has a memory attached to it. Most of them are fairly mundane and/or vague, though. Scorpio is attached to Boy Scout summer camp in Flagstaff, Arizona, Leo is attached to spring camping in the Virgin River Gorge (NW corner of AZ), surrounded by cliffs, Lacerta is attached to pine trees, the Winter Hexagon is attached to a particular night in late January that I'd rather not expound upon, Orion itself is attached to a late summer/early fall morning when I saw the Orion Nebula for the first time...

To me, the sky embodies perfection. It embodies all that is distant, unreachable, and unattainable, but that we strive for and work towards anyway. I've spent hours at a time looking at it. Those were always some of the most enjoyable hours I've spent.

Oh, and it looks like Jupiter and the Moon will be closest together just before dawn tomorrow, at about 6:30 am for me. (Actually, they'll be closer later tomorrow, but the sun will be up, so I won't get to see it. Some lucky Hawaiians might, though.)


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## kv466

(cool, so you're using software...I'm used to having a Star Projector as an aid and I'll be doing most of my reporting using only the naked eye but your use of the pc can definitely help as far as exact dates and times...thanks, Chris!)


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## Kopachris

No, problem! I use Stellarium, in case you're interested.


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## Guest

I am not sure what kv466 intends for thread but I picked this pic from the www how can anyone not be filled with wonder at such a beautiful sight of the Milky Way our home Galaxy.
It was taken on the French Piton de la Fournaise, or "peak of the furnace," an active volcano. The small island lies in the Southern Hemisphere, in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Madagascar.


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## kv466

That is a gorgeous pic, 'Dante! I've never seen it...thank you for sharing...as for what I intended for this thread; exactly what you're doing. Remembering who we are...where we are...and thinking about it.

I meant to include, "please post any pics of celestial objects you enjoy", in the original post but missed it...so, thanks again as this is definitely part of the fun. Wow,...instead of posting a beautiful nebula or star cluster withing our Home Galaxy, you went for the whole deal and it is one of the most breathe-taking images I've ever seen of it!

Here's a small portion of the Eagle Nebula in Serpens...the pillars you see are areas of star-forming gas and dust within it...these, you won't find at a ceiling near you; rather, about 7000 light years away!


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## Guest

*So,* we have started kv, have you D/L "Stellarium" as in the post by Kopachris I have installed and now must now learn how to use it (Thanks Kopachris). and the Pillars only 7000LY almost next door eh.


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## kv466

I was thinking about keeping it strictly naked eye but next thing I know, I was clicking all the install steps...and I'm glad I did...it's a great piece of software and I can't believe I used to buy Starry Night and others like it...this is free and from the few minutes I played with it,...it's amazing! Much better graphics and really smooth. I'd go with Kopa to show you, however, as I've used it so little.


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## Guest

Great Video very appropriate and I forgot to say I like your abbreviation of my user name


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## Weston

I live a little too close to a city for naked eye astronomy now, but loved it as a kid. I'll never forget braving the cold and seeing the Orion nebula and the Andromeda galaxy in binoculars the first time (which I guess isn't exactly naked eye). 

When I got older I wanted to play the role of cool uncle to my nieces, so I took them outside with my binoculars to give them a similar experience.

"Now, you see that bright yellowish star in the sky? That's not really a star -- it's Jupiter. If you point the binoculars toward it and turn this little wheel to focus, you might see a few of its moons."

"But I can't find it, Unca!

"It's right over there. See? Let me help you aim them."

"It keeps moving."

"That's your hand shaking the binoculars. Try to hold them steady."

"No. It's moving. And there's a blinking green light on one side and a red light on the other."

"Huh? Give me those!"

Yep - it was an airplane.


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## Yoshi

This reminds me of the time I had fun at home with a telescope. I wish I still had one .



Couchie said:


> I'm with Almaviva 100% on this one. When I'm in nature and look up I see a bunch of bright dots, not unlike the mosquito bites I'm collecting on my legs. Besides, I can explore the heavens from the comfort of my bed: http://www.google.com/sky/


I didn't know about this website and it made me so happy. Thank you


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## elgar's ghost

I too like to look up at the night sky if out and about but the urban street lights tend to thwart any chance of seeing anything apart from the usual stuff and also it's not recommended looking up while walking - I remember doing that once and smacking into one of the trees that was lining the path. I suppose I could go to the park but if approached I wouldn't want to have to field any awkward questions about why I'm hanging around at a place like that in the dead of night - especially if I was brandishing a pair of binoculars...


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## Huilunsoittaja

This isn't quite astronomy, but it's meteorology.

Last week, I saw ball lightning. First, and perhaps last time ever, it's a super rare phenomena. I was walking with my friend around 10 at night passed this diner, when I saw in a flash a golden orb flying around. It went through the trees ahead of me, behind the diner, and then finally flew up into the sky and disappeared. I pointed to it to show my friend, but she missed it. The weird thing about it was, it wasn't raining, and hardly cloudy. Why it would have occurred, I don't know. Furthermore, what if "ball lightning" is just a name for something we can't explain? :O


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## kv466

That's good stuff, Westie (and binoculars count!...I mean, as you can see Andromeda with the naked eye and must use them to get to find it with binoculars)...and you were the cool uncle! I'm sure your nieces will never forget it!

Glad you finally stumbled upon this, Jan. jan-a, jan-a, bofana...

I live in one of the brightest lit up cities in the world, El' 'G! Don't forget,...even partially dark skies are only a twenty minute drive away...still, the winter sky is coming and those bright stars you can see standing outside the MGM Grand in Vegas...Jupiter and Venus? Well, you can see these with a street light in one eye and the other looking right at them...wait, that sounds x-eyed or something...

As for the 'ball lightning', Huilu, I've never heard that term before...gonna have to look it up (and hope I see one for myself)



Jupiter and the Moon were exquisite this morning as they had not only come closer but already begun swapping spots...tonight, they'll be close to each other still and then seem to move away from one another each day...of course, this is Moon that is quickly spinning around us. 

There are four recognized meteor showers left in the year but our bright sister will be full for pretty much all of them,...blocking out the faintest of meteors and leaving us with only the very brightest to enjoy...still, the November Leonids shower produces the brightest 'fireballs' in the sky and it is well worth it...haven't done any research into exact dates for the year but I will and then I'll come and post it.


Oh, good...I just found ball lightning online and don't feel so bad...
..."scientists can not explain it"...now I really wanna see one!


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## waldvogel

"E lucevan le stelle..." Puccini knew what he was talking about when astronomy and music come together.


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## Ravellian

I'm less interested in stars than I am in general space and the universe. I've been watching a couple series on the Science Channel like Through the Wormhole, in which Morgan Freeman and a team of crazy scientists try to unmask secrets of the universe... there have been a few interesting topics, like:

There appears to be a definite 'edge' to the universe. The farthest things away that we can see with ultra-powered telescopes are the gases left over from the Big Bang 13 billion light years away, and those appear to constitute the edge.

Two independent scientists both discovered around the same time a few years ago that millions and millions of stars are being drawn toward a single point in the universe, far far away. This could be suggesting that there is a 'second universe' nearby exercising gravitational pull.

How black holes work. Black holes appear in the universe all the time, sucking all the nearby stars and galaxies into it, into one infinitely tiny, infinitely dense point. Nobody knows what happens to all that matter on the "other side," but there is a theory postulating that the Big Bang may have originated from the other side of one of these black holes, since the Big Bang itself did supposedly begin as an infinitely small point.


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## Polednice

Looking up at the night sky is the _one_ thing outside of music that can give me same kind of base emotional euphoria and spine-tingling that I get when listening to a moving piece of music.

The thing I love most about it is the sharp, instant change of perspective it forces on me. When I look up at the sky, I'm reminded that I'm on the pale blue dot; that, while I shape the meaning of my own life, my stresses and anxieties are peculiar human trivialities that needn't depress me so much. It helps me organise my thoughts, and appreciate both what I have and cherish now, and what I will experience in the months and decades ahead. I wish that I could have this perspective all the time, but I'm too human to achieve that. At least I know where to look when I need comforting.


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## kv466

Polednice said:


> Looking up at the night sky is the _one_ thing outside of music that can give me same kind of base emotional euphoria and spine-tingling that I get when listening to a moving piece of music.
> 
> The thing I love most about it is the sharp, instant change of perspective it forces on me. When I look up at the sky, I'm reminded that I'm on the pale blue dot; that, while I shape the meaning of my own life, my stresses and anxieties are peculiar human trivialities that needn't depress me so much. It helps me organise my thoughts, and appreciate both what I have and cherish now, and what I will experience in the months and decades ahead. I wish that I could have this perspective all the time, but I'm too human to achieve that. At least I know where to look when I need comforting.


Amen, Piggy. Amen.


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## itywltmt

Kopachris said:


> No, problem! I use Stellarium, in case you're interested.


Here's what I used to use back in the day.

http://www.nova-astro.com/ecupro.html

Haven't been doing much astronomy since I was declared legally blind, but I used that software to help my son get his Cub Scout Astronomy badge about 10 years ago...

Now that we have been back in Eastern Canada, and in a somewhat less built-up area East of the Nation's Capital, I do have a much less "light polluted" sky to stare at, and surprise myself, when I walk the dog in the late evening, staring at the sky.

Growing up in Montreal, I would religiously attend the Planetarium viewings (they changed every 6 weeks) - that's how I got hooked on Physics and optics. My favourite recollection is a bunch of us (I was a Graduate Student in Physics at the time) taking a trip off to the boonies as a group (with some optical telescopes) to see Hailey's comet pass by in 1986. All of us vowed to get back together in 2061 for the next passage (I'll be 100 years old - could happen...)


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## itywltmt

Ravellian said:


> I'm less interested in stars than I am in general space and the universe. I've been watching a couple series on the Science Channel like Through the Wormhole, in which Morgan Freeman and a team of crazy scientists try to unmask secrets of the universe... there have been a few interesting topics, like:
> 
> There appears to be a definite 'edge' to the universe. The farthest things away that we can see with ultra-powered telescopes are the gases left over from the Big Bang 13 billion light years away, and those appear to constitute the edge.
> 
> Two independent scientists both discovered around the same time a few years ago that millions and millions of stars are being drawn toward a single point in the universe, far far away. This could be suggesting that there is a 'second universe' nearby exercising gravitational pull.
> 
> How black holes work. Black holes appear in the universe all the time, sucking all the nearby stars and galaxies into it, into one infinitely tiny, infinitely dense point. Nobody knows what happens to all that matter on the "other side," but there is a theory postulating that the Big Bang may have originated from the other side of one of these black holes, since the Big Bang itself did supposedly begin as an infinitely small point.


Make sure you find episodes of the "classic" COSMOS with Carl Sagan, where he talks about the "billions, and billions" of stars in the Universe... Classic!!


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## Kopachris

I missed the conjunction this morning because it was overcast and raining, but that's okay. Conjunctions with the moon happen quite often. I'm glad I could help you with that link to Stellarium. It's always nice to get someone using free software instead of proprietary software.  I'm also glad to hear that those shows on the Science channel are fascinating you, Ravellian. I myself don't watch them anymore because they simplify and repeat things I learned years ago, but they do spark the imagination and a passion for learning.



Polednice said:


> When I look up at the sky, I'm reminded that I'm on the pale blue dot;


You mean THIS pale blue dot? (It's towards the center-right.)








(Yup, that's Earth, taken by Voyager 1 about 4 billion miles away and 32° above the ecliptic.)


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## Polednice

Precisely that blue dot, Kopa!  Praise Sagan!


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## tdc

Huilunsoittaja said:


> This isn't quite astronomy, but it's meteorology.
> 
> Last week, I saw ball lightning. First, and perhaps last time ever, it's a super rare phenomena. I was walking with my friend around 10 at night passed this diner, when I saw in a flash a golden orb flying around. It went through the trees ahead of me, behind the diner, and then finally flew up into the sky and disappeared. I pointed to it to show my friend, but she missed it. The weird thing about it was, it wasn't raining, and hardly cloudy. Why it would have occurred, I don't know. Furthermore, what if "ball lightning" is just a name for something we can't explain? :O


What you saw was almost certainly a UFO, the way you just explained that sighting is pretty much exactly the same way as many others who have witnessed similar phenomena describe it on shows such as 'UFO Hunters'.


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## Kopachris

Huilunsoittaja said:


> This isn't quite astronomy, but it's meteorology.
> 
> Last week, I saw ball lightning. First, and perhaps last time ever, it's a super rare phenomena. I was walking with my friend around 10 at night passed this diner, when I saw in a flash a golden orb flying around. It went through the trees ahead of me, behind the diner, and then finally flew up into the sky and disappeared. I pointed to it to show my friend, but she missed it. The weird thing about it was, it wasn't raining, and hardly cloudy. Why it would have occurred, I don't know. Furthermore, what if "ball lightning" is just a name for something we can't explain? :O


One of the more credible theories for ball lightning is hallucinations caused by transcranial magnetic stimulation. The rapidly changing magnetic field caused by lightning is strong enough to excite neurons in the occipital lobe. Scientists have even been able to replicate ball lightning hallucinations with transcranial magnetic stimulation in a laboratory.


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## Huilunsoittaja

Kopachris said:


> One of the more credible theories for ball lightning is hallucinations caused by transcranial magnetic stimulation. The rapidly changing magnetic field caused by lightning is strong enough to excite neurons in the occipital lobe. Scientists have even been able to replicate ball lightning hallucinations with transcranial magnetic stimulation in a laboratory.


:lol: That must've been some pretty fancy hallucination then! I actually saw it _behind _trees.

Here's the info if anyone is curious: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_lightning


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## Couchie

All of the atoms in your body are billions of years old and come from the dust of exploded stars.

Congratulations!


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## Meaghan

Couchie said:


> All of the atoms in your body are billions of years old and come from the dust of exploded stars.
> 
> Congratulations!


Which makes me think of Stanley Kunitz ("Nothing is truly mine except my name. I only borrowed this dust.")


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## kv466

*So, the Moon passed Jupiter*

And from Fort Lauderdale beach it was beautiful! Been a while but I'll see what's in store for next week and post...

...til then,...Keep Looking Up!


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## Guest

I hope kv466 will forgive me for deviating a little from naked eye astronomy 
But do any Observatories have direct connection to their telescopes in real time for internet users?


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## kv466

I've known a few smaller community observatories that have done this but am not sure about one actually worth logging on for...oh, and, I started the first post as such but really anything to do with the skies above is up for grabs here.


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## Kopachris

Andante said:


> I hope kv466 will forgive me for deviating a little from naked eye astronomy
> But do any Observatories have direct connection to their telescopes in real time for internet users?


I don't think so. The images that observatories publish are long-exposure shots. They point the telescope at an object for a long time, sometimes hours, while they let the camera collect light. They then edit the image to add color. If you were to look through an observatory's telescope as you do a normal reflecting telescope, you'd see the same thing as you do in the normal telescope: a gray blob. It's just that the gray blob would be significantly brighter. I don't think the observatory technicians would see much of a point to streaming their feed over the Internet.


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## graaf

We could not see images as they are shown is astronomy magazines (highly edited, as Kopa said), but to get grayscale images from some observatory should be relatively easy to do. The thing is that what scientists look at is not interesting to us - grayscale or otherwise - they simply look at things that we would find boring, as they measure fluctuations in brightness of some star, only to later use gathered data to calculate if there is a planet revolving around it without actually seeing the planet in most cases.

But here is an interesting page, you might want to look at later - I know I will!


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## kv466

*Wednesday, September 28, 2011*

Ok, so I haven't done much digging around for major celestial events...although I know that the Draconid meteor shower originating in Draco, in the north, is on its way around the first week in October; a friend mentioned that the ISS may have to reposition in order to avoid getting smacked...I've not yet confirmed this but I'm sure Chris or someone else might.

Naked eye, however...for those of you walking out of your homes between (eastern time) 6am and 7am, high above the west (opposite the coming Sun) you'll spot a single and very bright light...88,000 mile wide King of the Planets, Jupiter, dominates the morning skies! At its very brightest for the year, you can see this single beacon last up until the very moment Sun rises and with a sharp eye, even up until a half hour or more after the Great Ball is risen.

So, Jupiter high in the east in the evening...high in the west in the morning.


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## Guest

Kopachris said:


> I don't think so. The images that observatories publish are long-exposure shots. They point the telescope at an object for a long time, sometimes hours, while they let the camera collect light. They then edit the image to add color. If you were to look through an observatory's telescope as you do a normal reflecting telescope, you'd see the same thing as you do in the normal telescope: a gray blob. It's just that the gray blob would be significantly brighter. I don't think the observatory technicians would see much of a point to streaming their feed over the Internet.


Granted. I was really meaning Observatories that are open to the public.


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## Kopachris

Andante said:


> Granted. I was really meaning Observatories that are open to the public.


Open to the public... on the Internet? ...for tours? ...open how? I visited Palomar Observatory outside of San Diego a few years back, and they allowed self-guided tours... is that what you mean?


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## Guest

*@Kopachris* There are quite a few that encourage schools and the public to see what is being done, I don't know about self guided tours that could prove messy.


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## Kopachris

Well, at Palomar, they wouldn't let anyone inside where the work was being done, but they had a walkway around the room so that people could see the actual telescope through big Plexiglas windows. They also had a sort of gallery area with little computer kiosks explaining everything and plenty of pictures from the telescope. I'm still unsure what you meant, but here's some pics:


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## Guest

kv466 said:


> *Wednesday, September 28, 2011*
> 
> So, Jupiter high in the east in the evening...high in the west in the morning.


 Kv I will check this out conditions permitting.


Kopachris said:


> I'm still unsure what you meant,


In our local observatory they have evenings when the public are treated to a picture show of what the telescope is actually looking at, this is projected onto a large screen in a theatre, I assume a feed could be taken from this and published to their web site.


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## Kopachris

Andante said:


> In our local observatory they have evenings when the public are treated to a picture show of what the telescope is actually looking at, this is projected onto a large screen in a theatre, I assume a feed could be taken from this and published to their web site.


Oh. Okay, then.


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## Lunasong

Love the idea of the night sky being relatively unchanged for thousands of years, so we are seeing the same stars as our ancestors. Also that each of us sees the same moon nightly all around the world. It's what makes the universe a "universal" experience 

My user name comes from two items that are always the same yet ever changing: the moon and music...


My son recently recommended Sagan's "Pale Blue Dot" for my reading list.


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## Guest

*@kv46* Could not see Jupiter it must be low down?? I am in a Vally and have quite a few trees which I planted 30 odd years ago, now what to do? Fire wood ? lol


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## Chi_townPhilly

Andante said:


> *@kv46* Could not see Jupiter it must be low down??


You & kv466 are in laterally different hemispheres.

(Might have something to do with it...)


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## Guest

Chi_townPhilly said:


> You & kv466 are in laterally different hemispheres.
> 
> Now how do you know that ??


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## Chi_townPhilly

Apropos *↑*

(evidence)


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## Guest

Chi_townPhilly said:


> Apropos *↑*
> 
> (evidence)


OK I give in lol but I may not be there now?


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## kv466

Seen it yet, 'Dante? No matter where you are, you'll see it...depending where you are you'll see it either higher in the north or lower toward the south but nonetheless, Jupiter is still very bright in our night sky and is already risen at sunset so,...above the eastern horizon just after Sun has set it will be the first dot to pop up before all the 'other' stars.

Chris, if you can tell us when Jupiter and Moon will be riding across the sky together this month that would be great; sorry but, my pc recently became very ill and when I got it back the program you recommended was gone...I'm too scared right now to download anything as it is running great. Anyway,...next few nights you'll see the Moon appear closer to the east each night on its way to becoming full...a couple nights before that or the night before, it should be together with the gas giant.


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## Guest

*@kv,* Did not look at weekend and now we have clouds and rain.


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## Kopachris

kv466 said:


> Chris, if you can tell us when Jupiter and Moon will be riding across the sky together this month that would be great; sorry but, my pc recently became very ill and when I got it back the program you recommended was gone...I'm too scared right now to download anything as it is running great. Anyway,...next few nights you'll see the Moon appear closer to the east each night on its way to becoming full...a couple nights before that or the night before, it should be together with the gas giant.


For us North Americans, Jupiter and the Moon will be closest together as they set around 7-8am MDT on Oct. 13. I'm sorry to say that in Florida, the sun will have risen and the Moon will have set already. Western Europeans should get a nice view as the Moon rises just after sunset.


----------



## kv466

Thank you, sir!

*October 12, 2011*

Well, I was just outside (5:00am) and the Moon is taking a nice dip into the western horizon while Jupiter is following not so far behind...tomorrow night, the two should glide across the sky together and sure enough as Chris said, they will be at their very closest tomorrow sometime during the day.

I did some naked eye research and found that Jupiter is actually still a tad low on the horizon to be see just after Sun has set...it is actually rising maybe a half hour after and is clearly visible an hour after sunset...still, we're in constant motion and, in two weeks Jupiter will be dominating the eastern horizon just after sunset,...becoming the first object to appear in the night sky unless the Moon is out.

For those of you going outside in the early morning as is now for me, look to the south where you'll find Orion The Hunter filling up the southern skies...that extremely bright flickering star just behind Orion is the brightest star in our sky, Sirius.


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## Kopachris

Just playing around with a drawing program... Three guesses what it is!









(Honestly, it looked better zoomed in.)


----------



## Guest

Would it be the horsehead nebula...............


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## samurai

It still looks awesome, KC. Nice job!


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## Kopachris

Andante said:


> Would it be the horsehead nebula...............


First guess right on the money! 


samurai said:


> It still looks awesome, KC. Nice job!


Thank you! I think I might crop it a little bit, though, so that there's no black border around it. Better sense of size that way.


----------



## Guest

I saw it (Jupiter) last night, I came home from an evening with our music group about 10:15 and the sky was mostly clear it was on an exactly horizontal plane with the Moon about 5-6 moon dia to the south it was very large and bright amazing.


----------



## kv466

Kopachris said:


> Just playing around with a drawing program... Three guesses what it is!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> (Honestly, it looked better zoomed in.)


Why, yes...that would be the Horsehead Nebula in Orion!


----------



## kv466

*Tuesday, October 18th*

It's been raining for four days straight now with only one glimpse of the Sun one day and not a shimmer of light on the wet and windy nights. I feel like I'm in my second home in Lima where you're lucky if you see the stars 98 nights out of the year! So, I have no idea (not really, I have some idea) where the Moon is but wherever you are in the Northern Hemisphere, Jupiter is the brightest pinpoint of light in the night sky rising just above the eastern horizon within an hour of Sun setting. As the weeks go by and Jupiter continues it's journey around our star, it will be appearing in the sky even before Sun sets and appearing to be higher and higher in the east each night.

Anyone else seen anything interesting in the sky other than Violadude's girlfriend?

p.s. - sorry, my Aussie friends! you have no north star and thus everything in our (n.h.) southern skies is way up high in your northern skies and you also have gorgeous, super bright stars and patterns along the thickest part of the Milky Way and you can see the Southern Cross every night of the year...!!!...no, now I know why I don't translate for you,...because I'm jealous!!!! You deep south hemis are truly lucky to have such a majestic part of the sky just go 'round and 'round.

Truly, I only don't translate because it would give me a headache as I'd be sky shifting in my head constantly...besides, those interested can find it easily online...Mars and Saturn are on their way into the early evening sky!


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## kv466

*Tuesday, October 25th*

With Halloween on its way, I thought I'd share something with some of ya'll that may have a dusty old telescope somewhere in the house. I've always wondered about why so many folks have scopes that just sit there. I mean, being an enthusiast I know better than to invest in a huge scope when all you really need is a good pair of binoculars. Still, this seems like it's quite common.

For years, before the streets really started becoming barren, I sat out in the early evening as the trick-or-treaters came by and in addition to candy, gave them a true treat. During those years Saturn was bright in our sky with its rings tilted in such a way that made it spectacular through a scope and I had the honor of showing many a kid or parent this ringed world through a piece of glass for the first time. It's such a treat just to see them look away, look back into the eyepiece and then away again...look at me and then back into the eyepiece and finally explode with some exclamation. "No way!!!"

This year, Saturn won't be out in the early evening but we've got 88,000 mile wide Jupiter to fill in! Through even the smallest department store telescope you'll be able to see the huge surface with the coloring and the Great Red Spot and, of course, the Galilean Moons among others.

So dust off that old scope if you've got it and point it up at Jupiter, low in the east just after it gets dark out. You'll be looking for the very bright, white dot in the east that does not flicker. Stars twinkle, planets don't. Plus, Jupiter is outshined only by the Moon on Halloween night so you can't miss it. Maybe our good buddy KC will give us an exact position. Enjoy!


----------



## Kopachris

kv466 said:


> *Tuesday, October 25th*
> 
> With Halloween on its way, I thought I'd share something with some of ya'll that may have a dusty old telescope somewhere in the house. I've always wondered about why so many folks have scopes that just sit there. I mean, being an enthusiast I know better than to invest in a huge scope when all you really need is a good pair of binoculars. Still, this seems like it's quite common.
> 
> For years, before the streets really started becoming barren, I sat out in the early evening as the trick-or-treaters came by and in addition to candy, gave them a true treat. During those years Saturn was bright in our sky with its rings tilted in such a way that made it spectacular through a scope and I had the honor of showing many a kid or parent this ringed world through a piece of glass for the first time. It's such a treat just to see them look away, look back into the eyepiece and then away again...look at me and then back into the eyepiece and finally explode with some exclamation. "No way!!!"
> 
> This year, Saturn won't be out in the early evening but we've got 88,000 mile wide Jupiter to fill in! Through even the smallest department store telescope you'll be able to see the huge surface with the coloring and the Great Red Spot and, of course, the Galilean Moons among others.
> 
> So dust off that old scope if you've got it and point it up at Jupiter, low in the east just after it gets dark out. You'll be looking for the very bright, white dot in the east that does not flicker. Stars twinkle, planets don't. Plus, Jupiter is outshined only by the Moon on Halloween night so you can't miss it. Maybe our good buddy KC will give us an exact position. Enjoy!


How exact of a position did you want? For a truly exact position, I'll also need a time, of course. RA/DE? Az/Alt? To find Jupiter on the 31st, find the constellation Taurus, then go up and south-east a little. At 9:00 pm Central Time in the US, Jupiter will be RA/DE 2h12m/+11°45', or about Az/Alt +110°/+43° if you're living in, say, Arkansas. For you in Florida (estimating N 30°45' W 81°54'), Jupiter will be at Az/Alt +117°55'/+56°27' at 9:00 pm local time (at least, I hope it's local time).


----------



## kv466

Kopachris said:


> How exact of a position did you want? For a truly exact position, I'll also need a time, of course. RA/DE? Az/Alt? To find Jupiter on the 31st, find the constellation Taurus, then go up and south-east a little. At 9:00 pm Central Time in the US, Jupiter will be RA/DE 2h12m/+11°45', or about Az/Alt +110°/+43° if you're living in, say, Arkansas. For you in Florida (estimating N 30°45' W 81°54'), Jupiter will be at Az/Alt +117°55'/+56°27' at 9:00 pm local time (at least, I hope it's local time).


I forgot just how efficient you are, sir...let's just say what you consider halfway up the eastern sky, is that cool?


----------



## Kopachris

kv466 said:


> I forgot just how efficient you are, sir...let's just say what you consider halfway up the eastern sky, is that cool?


Halfway up the eastern sky it is, then. :lol: Just find Taurus and go up and southeast a little--you can't miss it!


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## kv466

*Tuesday, November 8*

Halfway up eastern sky in the Northern Hemisphere is a not so close but lovely pairing of Jupiter and the Moon. KC and I have been tracking this for a while and now it will be a monthly happening until Jupiter leaves us sometime next year; only to then enter the morning sky. For now, though, if it's night then you'll see Moon and Jupiter riding across the sky together. They'll also get closer throughout the night and be near one another again tomorrow.


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## kv466

*Saturday November 26*

Exquisite pairing of the sky goddesses, Moon and Venus!

First off, let me apologize for not having predicted this because it was obvious that it was coming but I've been caught up in the whole shopping insanity. Luckily, I have dogs and that is when I usually look up and make my observations. Tonight, while looking to the southwest just after sunset, I was treated to a lovely conjunction of the Moon and Venus. Venus is the brightest object in the night sky after Moon and the two together have inspired humans throughout the ages. Many a flag has depicted this gorgeous gathering as well.

Bad news is that I'm on the east coast and they are about to set. Good news is that for those of you in central, mountain and west coast can still enjoy this beautiful meeting of our satellite and our sister planet tonight! Also, for those of you in Europe and everywhere else in the world, just look to the west just after sunset and even as it is going into the horizon and you will see that Venus and Moon are still very close and have traded places; that is, the Moon is now apparently closer to the east as it travels around our Earth on its monthly journey.

Don't miss the two brightest objects in our night sky, side by side!


----------



## NightHawk

This reminds me of a great celestial/musical moment - some friends and I, when we were living in a farm house which sat in the center of 200 acres where the owner grazed his cattle and we grew 'plants' (a fact he ignored), and which was far from city lights, rigged a bunch of extension cords together and set up a Boom Box (remember those, anybody?) beyond the front gate out into the field. We spread blankets (it was summer) and we listened to Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms while lying on our backs and staring up into an inky blue night sky brimming with stars. We saw 'shooting stars', we saw and watched the inexorable progress of a satellite in its orbit and we looked for the great constellations. It was a perfect moment. When the 3rd movement, the tremendously solemn yet absolutely transcendental LAUDATUM finished, we fell asleep until we woke up cold and moved in doors. Any music that makes the universe seem a grand place will work. I guarantee it will ring your 'glad to be alive' chimes.



kv466 said:


> Hello, and welcome to the naked eye astronomy thread.
> 
> I just walked out to take my dogs for an end-of-the-day walk and I was pleasantly reminded of why it is great to look up whenever you're outside. About forty five degrees above the eastern horizon was a lovely pairing of the brightest and the third brightest objects in the night sky: the Moon and Jupiter.
> 
> As I stood there watching, I was reminded of how great it is to share such things with people. Solar and lunar eclipses. The occultation of planets by the moon. The conjuction of two bright planets. Meteor showers and storms.
> 
> The great approach of Mars in 2003 created a gathering I still haven't seen repeated; and it was wonderful. Thousands of people bunching up and waiting in line to see a tiny little 'reddish' dot with an even tinier white dot within it. Funny were some of the reactions after having waited hours to see it only to exlaim, "that's it?!!". I actually remember thinking the same thing when I saw Haley's Comet but I also remember thinking, "I want to be alive to see it again", because I was told it would return in about three quarters of a century. Those who didn't see Mars during those weeks of close approach will never have the opportunity again; same goes for Comet Hale Bopp.
> 
> The point is, look up. You'll like what you see. The title of this thread is a phrase by which my long time ex-boss and friend lived by and taught me. When he passed a year ago, I promised him that I would never stop sharing this simple notion with others around me. This is the first forum I've been a part of and well, sorry it took so long for me to think to include this in our discussions.
> 
> The heavens are vast and full of treasures just waiting for us to marvel at!
> 
> Now, I haven't been up to date on this as I do not have to keep a public informed anymore. With the internet or software for your pc, however, one can be easily aware of all things astronomical by simply searching. Still, I will make it a conscious effort to try and be ahead of these celestial happenings in hopes that someone will join me in this ancient practice.
> 
> For now, just having looked up and seen the separation of the two, I can tell you that the Moon and Jupiter will be much closer together tomorrow night and the next. After that you'll see that they kind of, 'trade places', as Moon will seem to go further from Jupiter each night resulting in Jupiter being halfway up the eastern horizon at about midnight (eastern time) for the next week, while the Moon rises about a half hour later each day on its way toward being new. Jupiter is currently at opposition which means 'opposite the Sun'. If you think of a full moon, it is too opposite the Sun as a full Moon always rises with the setting Sun. So basically, when a planet is at opposition it is at it's brightest for that go 'round.
> 
> Please share what you see when you look up at the night sky on this thread. Celestial stories or thoughts.
> 
> Most of all, remember to Keep Looking Up! :tiphat:


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## TrazomGangflow

90% of the time I see clouds. The other ten percent of the time I'm not sure because I'm sleeping.


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## kv466

*Tuesday, December 6*

Okay, so if you're anywhere on Earth that it's dark or is yet to get dark for the day...go out and see Moon and Jupiter. The two are gliding across the sky, side by side in one of the most wonderful pairing the cosmos has to offer.


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## Kopachris

kv466 said:


> *Tuesday, December 6*
> 
> Okay, so if you're anywhere on Earth that it's dark or is yet to get dark for the day...go out and see Moon and Jupiter. The two are gliding across the sky, side by side in one of the most wonderful pairing the cosmos has to offer.


Saw it on my way home from work tonight.


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## itywltmt

My music montage + musings - thanks *KV466*!

http://itywltmt.blogspot.com/2011/12/montage-34-heavenly-bodies-les-corps.html


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## kv466

You're welcome, although alls I did was start up a passionate thread...what you do requires so much hard work and precision and passion. I applaud your efforts to no end!


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## Kopachris

Lunar eclipse this weekend:









Totality begins at 14:02 UTC (7:06 MST). You guys in the East won't be able to see totality because the moon will have set. Wikipedia has times for North America: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_2011_lunar_eclipse#Times_for_North_America


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## kv466

Eclipse is on its way! Can't see it here but I hope some of ya'll do! Enjoy.


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## aleazk

Kv and Kopa, you both have a very nice hobby, I plan to learn this stuff too. It's funny, i can calculate the general relativistic corrections to the perihelium of mercury, but i can't identify it in the sky (well, in fact, i can, but until recently, no, haha)


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## Kopachris

aleazk said:


> Kv and Kopa, you both have a very nice hobby, I plan to learn this stuff too. It's funny, i can calculate the general relativistic corrections to the perihelium of mercury, but i can't identify it in the sky (well, in fact, i can, but until recently, no, haha)


Thank you! That makes me feel better about _not_ being able to calculate the general relativistic corrections to the perihelion of Mercury.


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## kv466

Photos of this morning's Total Lunar Eclipse

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/objec...pictures/2011/12/10/ba-Lunar10_0504712672.jpg


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## Lunasong

I know the OP of this thread is naked-eye astronomy, but we acquired a telescope for Xmas and I've been treated to views of Jupiter and its moons, the rings of Saturn, Venus (meh), the star cluster of Pleiades, and the Moon this past week. Amazing (and cold!).


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## rojo

That sounds fantastic, Lunasong. What's wrong with Venus though?

Last Thursday (Dec. 22) I was driving to visit my sister in Ontario. (I live in the province of Quebec.) While driving on the highway, I witnessed a most interesting phenomenon. It was about 2:30 pm. I was looking up into the sky (something I've been doing often in the last few months) and there was the sun on the right, shining very brightly, surrounded by darkish clouds. Well, then on the left, pretty much at the same 'height' from the horizon, there was a break in these dark clouds, and there shone what appeared to be a second sun! It was _very_ bright, although not quite as bright as the sun. I didn't know what the heck it was. When I arrived at my sister's, I was told that it might have been a Sun Dog.

Whatever it was, I was absolutely elated and uplifted by it.


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## Guest

*@rojo * from what I remember about Sundogs they are about 20 deg to left or right of the Sun and on the same plane.


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## rojo

Yep Andante, that's pretty much how it seemed to be. 

I've since talked to a friend who had experienced the same thing years ago. I'm not sure how common they are, but it was the first and only time I'd ever seen such a thing.


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## Guest

I have never seen one either although I do see double at times :lol: 
Did any one see Comet Lovejoy ?? I just could not get out of bed that early in the morning.


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## rojo

I've heard a bit about this comet, Andante. If I remember correctly it passes closest to Earth on January 7th.

Here's a question. Google started putting advertisements underneath the buttons on the main search page. The advert I get is the following:

"New gadget? Get your new phone, tablet, computer, or spaceship outfitted with Google"

Um, spaceship? 0.0

Has anyone else gotten the same ad?


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## Guest

That's hilarious you should get them fitted


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## Lunasong

rojo said:


> What's wrong with Venus though?


I was expecting to see a crescent and did not. I was intrigued enough to learn more about the phases of Venus (and Mercury). I found the following web sources useful.
http://www.venus-transit.de/PlanetPhases/index.html 
http://www.astro.cornell.edu/academics/courses/astro201/planet_view.htm
http://www.souledout.org/nightsky/venusphases/venusphases.html
Venus's phases for the next year:
8 16 2011 Superior Conj. 12:09 GMT ... 23Le18
3 26 2012 Max. Elong. E. 17:34 GMT ... 22Ta25
5 15 2012 Retro. Station 14:34 GMT ... 24Ge00
6 6 2012 Inferior Conj. 1:10 GMT ... 15Ge45
6 27 2012 Direct Station 15:07 GMT ... 7Ge29
8 15 2012 Max. Elong. W. 22:42 GMT ... 7Cn46


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## rojo

Very interesting information. Thanks Lunasong. 

l
ovejoylo
vejoylovejo​y l o v e j o y l o v e j o y l o v e joy lovejoy lovejoylovejoy
lovejoylove
joylovej
oy​
A very crude rendering of comet Lovejoy. 
:lol:


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## Kopachris

Just got a new point-and-shoot digital camera, a Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10. It's better than a phone camera, but not even close to professional-grade. Maximum exposure time is 60 seconds with f/3.3 aperture setting. I took this with those settings to try it out. The only editing I did was automatic levels adjustment and resize from 14.1MPix to 1600x1200 in GIMP. When I get a clear, moonless night, I'll try snapping some more pictures.


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## Stargazer

Unfortunately there are so many lights in my area that I can only see like 2-3 stars in the entire sky at night lol. I love it when I get a chance to go out in the country and actually see the stars, can't take my eyes off of them! (hence my user name lol!). It has been ages since I've watched a good meteor shower.


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## kv466

^^

I was just in Key West the past couple of days and it happened to be the yearly Quadrantid Meteor Shower but it has never yielded good results for me and this time out wasn't much different; I saw a couple here and there and not too bright. Next good one for the year is around April 22, the Lyrid Meteor Shower. 

Cool name, Stargazer! Welcome to the forum.


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## kv466

As far as updates,...anyone who has been looking up has clearly noticed that the two brightest pinpoints of light in the night sky are getting closer to one another and, indeed, there will be a meeting of Jupiter and Venus in the next couple of months. Our resident software expert, Kopachris, will more than likely give us exact dates and distances as it approaches but seeing these two super bright planets in the sky together is always a treat!

Also, Mars is in Leo rising a couple hours after sunset and getting pretty high up in the east around midnite...it is very bright already and I suspect it is approaching opposition when it will be at its closest and brightest for this go 'round. Will make sure and stay on top of it. Enjoy.


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## Guest

Kopachris said:


> Just got a new point-and-shoot digital camera, a Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10. It's better than a phone camera, but not even close to professional-grade. Maximum exposure time is 60 seconds with f/3.3 aperture setting. I took this with those settings to try it out.


Congrats you must have a steady hand <++>


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## Kopachris

Andante said:


> Congrats you must have a steady hand <++>


Tripod.


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## Guest

Oh gosh ......................:clap:


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## rojo

:lol:

Last night and tonight were clear (and cold!) and I saw what I think is Jupiter? It seemed to shine in an odd way, perhaps because of all it's moons?

Several nights ago I was able to see Orion.

There has been some interesting news out in the last few days. Apparently there are (to quote Carl Sagan lol) billions and billions of planets in the Milky Way.

"One or more bound planets per Milky Way star from microlensing observations"

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature10684

Also, news about planets with two suns, and the discovery of three new planets. Lots going on out there.


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## Guest

The more we know the more we realise we don't know???
I think we are beginning to realise how little we actually know!


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## kv466

rojo said:


> Last night and tonight were clear (and cold!) and I saw what I think is Jupiter? It seemed to shine in an odd way, perhaps because of all it's moons?


Well, stars twinkle - planets don't. Also, Jupiter is the second brightest dot in the sky at the moment and for a few months to come. As Sun sets in the west you'll see a very bright object in the southwest about halfway up the sky and a bit to the left of the sunset. You can actually spot this super bright pinpoint of light before Sun sets as it is the brightest object in the night sky other than our Moon; our sister planet, Venus. Venus is halfway up the west horizon after sunset and going down about two hours after Sun. Once you spot Venus just look back all the way through the zenith and high up in the east and almost at the top of the sky you'll find Jupiter.

Jupiter is on its regular journey around the Sun and will be a little closer west each night just after sunset. Venus is almost at its farthest from Sun for this go 'round and it appears to be moving higher in the southwest each night. I am only guessing but it is a pretty safe guess that these two will meet in our evening skies in a couple of months as Jupiter moves further west and Venus begins to go down and around Sun, the two will eventually meet.

For now, just look toward the setting Sun about the southwest for the brightest planet, Venus; then look high above the east to the zenith where you'll find 88'000 mile wide, king of the planets Jupiter.


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## rojo

It wasn't really twinkling, it just looked kinda 'smeared', or spread out? Like it was more than just a dot.

Thanks for all the info kv466, and will do.


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## Lunasong

I'm posting a composite photo my son made from his observations over the past couple weeks with his 3" telescope. Of course, now he wants a bigger one.








Jupiter (with 3 moon), Saturn, Mars, Venus, the Moon.

@ rojo: saw Venus in phase, now happier! no more meh.


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## Kopachris

*sigh*

If I want to do night-sky photography, I'm going to have to shell out for a DSLR, aren't I? With this point-and-shoot, I have to choose between a long exposure (leaving trails) with a low ISO or a short exposure with a high ISO (leaving noise). Also, the winter hexagon is too big for my puny lens. Here are the two best pics of the night:









Note: (Firefox) Right-click and select "View image" for full-size.


----------



## rojo

Saw another sundog today. 

Very cool. It was around mid-afternoon. There were lots of wispy cirrus clouds today, and I noticed a very bright, rainbow-like patch of light and colour to the right of the sun, on the same plane. This time I made sure to look on the other side, the left side, and sure enough there was another bright, rainbow-like patch there too, on the same plane as the sun and the bright spot on the right. It did in fact appear to make a kind of halo circling the sun. A real treat.

Apparently these things are sometimes called a mock sun, phantom sun, or parhelion (scientific name.)


----------



## rojo

Sorry for the double post here, but this post isn't related to my previous post. Hopefully you'll forgive me for posting these types of comments; it's just that I find these things very much fun so I'm perhaps a bit overly enthusiastic. 

I noticed that there are
88 constellations
88 keys on the piano
and when I came to the TC homepage, there were
88 views on the classical board.

I must be onto something. I wonder what it is.


----------



## Ukko

rojo said:


> Sorry for the double post here, but this post isn't related to my previous post. Hopefully you'll forgive me for posting these types of comments; it's just that I find these things very much fun so I'm perhaps a bit overly enthusiastic.
> 
> I noticed that there are
> 88 constellations
> 88 keys on the piano
> and when I came to the TC homepage, there were
> 88 views on the classical board.
> 
> I must be onto something. I wonder what it is.


Perhaps you were unaware that there were actually 88 trombones in the big parade?


----------



## Guest

Also The eighth letter of the alphabet is "H." Eight two times signifies "HH, " shorthand for the Nazi greeting, "Heil Hitler." 88 is often found on hate group flyer's, in both the greetings and closing comments of letters written by neo-Nazis, and in e-mail addresses. Just a useless bit of info


----------



## Crudblud

Although by the city's standards I'm in a rural/near rural area we've got street lights aplenty, so I can't get a great view of the night sky although on very clear nights you can see a fair bit. I don't have a car, nor can I afford one, so getting out to remote locations (there are some lay-bys on country roads a few miles out of town that give great views of the stars) at night isn't really an option.


----------



## rojo

Hilltroll72 said:


> Perhaps you were unaware that there were actually 88 trombones in the big parade?


Hmm, where did the extra 12 come from?



Andante said:


> Also The eighth letter of the alphabet is "H." Eight two times signifies "HH, " shorthand for the Nazi greeting, "Heil Hitler." 88 is often found on hate group flyer's, in both the greetings and closing comments of letters written by neo-Nazis, and in e-mail addresses. Just a useless bit of info


Firstly, ew! and secondly, not useless at all. In fact, this info pointed me to some interesting connections. So, the 88 in this case has served it's purpose for me. Thanks for the help Andante. 

And I'll keep using my piano anyway. 

So much information to assimilate, so little time.


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## Guest

rojo said:


> So much information to assimilate, so little time.


You can say that again life is tooo short


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## Lunasong

Last night's sky was crystal clear. Jupiter near the quarter moon and Venus not out of the frame. Lots of stars visible.








Just found this site with highlights to look for every night (northern Hemi.; mid latitudes)
http://earthsky.org/tonight


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## Kopachris

Lunasong said:


> Last night's sky was crystal clear. Jupiter near the quarter moon and Venus not out of the frame. Lots of stars visible.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Just found this site with highlights to look for every night (northern Hemi.; mid latitudes)
> http://earthsky.org/tonight


Bookmarked! Awesome find, Lunasong.


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## Manok

If you ever get a chance, go to a dark site, your mind will be blown even without a telescope.


----------



## Lunasong

Not easy where I live; if you drew a circle around the most brightly lit area on this map of the US, I'd be about at the center.








and this map is from 2001 data...

It's amazing how much more you can see in the night sky with a good pair of binoculars.


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## kv466

*Tuesday February 21, 2012*

Ok, so thanks to Lunasong we have a clear view of what's out there every single night just as it begins to get dark out. The two brightest planets in the sky dominating the western sky! For those of us who have been watching, we have seen Jupiter move farther each night toward the west as Venus has climbed higher up in the west as it continues its journey around Sun. Venus will eventually begin to pull back toward the horizon but before this happens we will be witness to the brightest objects in the night sky, aside from Moon, riding across the sky together in a pairing that doesn't happen all the time.

March 14, 2012 is the date to look out for but the real fun happens each night as we watch these two worlds seemingly grow closer and closer to one another in our sky. Here's a link that tells you what's going on...sorry about the lame narrating,...not done by me.

http://earthsky.org/tonight/best-venusjupiter-conjunction-in-years-mid-march-2012

Don't miss it!


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## Lunasong

Tomorrow night!








You will be able to draw a straight line through Jupiter and Venus to find Mercury!



> Follow these simple instructions to view the moon and Mercury hovering over the western horizon at dusk and/or nightfall: First, find a level and unobstructed western horizon, remembering that west is in the direction of sunset. Second, look for the blazing planets Venus and Jupiter to pop out fairly high in your western sky some 30 minutes or less after the sun goes down. You are now ready to hop from Jupiter to Venus and then to the moon and Mercury.


The coolest planetary event that I know of coming up is the transit of Venus in front of the sun in early June. It's like a tiny eclipse and you'll need to make special viewing arrangements to see it because you'll be looking at the sun. But I'm posting it now because it's exciting! It won't happen again for over a hundred years (2117).


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## kv466

*Go Out And Look At The Sky!*

Nice stuff, Luna!

Mercury may be a tad difficult to see thanks to city lights but if you have a flat, unobstructed view of the western horizon you have a good shot. The big show, however, is from the ground up: Moon, Venus and Jupiter. All three are beautifully lined up and clearly show the ecliptic from the west to the east as Mars is rising just as Venus sets. I was out at 5am today and Mars, at that time, is high up in the west and Saturn is in transit at the zenith.

It's a sky full of planets! All you have to do is take a look and since stars twinkle, planets don't; plus, planets are brighter usually. Well, you should have no problem finding them. Enjoy!


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## rojo

Wow, that is exciting, Luna!

I haven't seen Mercury yet, but I've been admiring Venus and Jupiter. Also the Moon; on one evening it was very low on the horizon and looked huge and orange-coloured like cheese.  I also have been checking out Orion, Ursa Major and Sirius, from Canis Major. I'm slowly learning to name and locate the different visible stars in each of those constellations. I seem to be becoming an avid sky-watcher, as often when I look up I'm well rewarded. Catching two Sundogs in two months might be a record. :lol: I even saw a UFO last weekend.


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## Kopachris

Just saw Jupiter, Venus, and the crescent Moon aligned fairly well tonight. What a spectacular sight--the three brightest objects in the nighttime sky all in a row!

I've always wondered how the ancients assigned the constellations as they did. Orion, Ursa Major, Canis Major, Leo, Cygnus, Delphinus, even Lacerta resemble closely enough what they're supposed to, but Canis Minor? Carina? Equuleus? Camelopardalis? I bring attention to Wednesday's XKCD comic, which suggests that the IAU may just be yanking our collective chain:


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## Lunasong

^^Went out and looked at the Moon and planets tonight. What a show; not to be missed! Saw that Orion dude as well. I'm afraid I'll never be able to look at him with innocence again.


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## rojo

Meh, it's pretty nebulous to me.


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## kv466

*Venus and Jupiter!*

Was just outside enjoying the approach of Jupiter and Venus. They look absolutely beautiful in the twilight. Don't miss the show that has already begun and will continue as the two brightest objects in our night sky change places and pass one another after a close meeting on the 16th. After that, Venus will stay high up in the west for a while as Jupiter descends into the west horizon on its journey around our star.

Okay,...going back out now.


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## Lunasong

Don't forget Mars is rising in the evening eastern sky as Jupiter and Venus are setting in the west. You can go out in the evening now and see all three planets. Mars is currently in opposition, which is when this planet shines brightest.

We can also try this site for nightly information on the sky.
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/ataglance?1=1


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## kv466

*Sky full of planets!*

Yes, indeed, our good friend Lunasong beat me to it and that's what it's all about: Being out there and enjoying our cosmos, free of charge.

In addition to the two brightest pinpoints of light in our night sky, Venus and Jupiter, getting closer to each other every night we have yet another treat in the east. As Sun goes down and even before the stars begin to shine, look toward the sunset and high above the horizon your eyes will have no choice but to look toward Venus and Jupiter. The two bright planets are at their closest approach in many years; the last I remember this close and high was in the late nineties.

Then, just as the sky begins to darken, look opposite the conjunction of Jupiter and Venus where you'll find the god of war, the red planet, Mars. At its very brightest for this go around, Mars is at opposition which is basically like a full Moon; it is opposite Sun in our sky. When is Moon the brightest? When it is full and opposite Sun and the same goes for the planets that are outside of our orbit. When that planet reaches opposition or is directly opposite Sun with us right in the middle, it is at its brightest in our sky.

Want even more? Just wait until Venus goes into the west horizon and Mars has climbed high up the eastern sky. The big dipper will be high and bright in the north and if you use the handle of the dipper, you can 'arc to Arcturus'; fourth brightest star in the sky. It'll be the bright orange star twinkling in the east. Then you can keep that same, gentle curve and keep going south where you normally should only find the brightest star of Virgo, Spica. At this moment, however, it has a visitor in the form of the ringed planet, Saturn. Saturn is not yet near opposition and is a dull-ish yellow looking color but as it approaches opposition it will grow in brightness, although not as much as the others. Looking at Spica and Saturn together low in the southeast will also give you a chance to see exactly how stars twinkle, planets don't.

Remember, this is from my perspective here in South Florida but it is useful for the entire US and Europe with slight variations in tilt. Also, I'm in one of the brightest lit up cities in the whole, wide world and I can see these things even with my immediate street lights so you can too. To our good friends way north and way south, I apologize but this is just me talking and not using charts or anything so I can't give you any degrees with certainty. What I can say is that these planets are visible from every major city on Earth and that the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter will be easily visible from wherever you may be right after Sun has set and until they dip into the horizon about three hours later. Keep looking up.


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## Lunasong

From EarthSky:









The zodiacal light can be seen in the west about 90 to 120 minutes after sunset through March and April in latitudes such as the Southern US. It's most visible after dusk in spring because, as seen from the northern hemisphere, the ecliptic - or path of the sun and moon - stands nearly straight up in autumn with respect to the western horizon after dusk. Likewise, the zodiacal light is easiest to see before dawn in autumn, because then the ecliptic is most perpendicular to the eastern horizon in the morning.

In spring, the zodiacal light can be seen for up to an hour after dusk ends. It is caused by sunlight reflecting off interplanetary dust particles that orbit the sun within the inner solar system. People at mid-northern latitudes can see the zodiacal light after dusk at present because the ecliptic - the plane of the solar system - hits the horizon at a particularly steep angle on late winter evenings. The farther south you live within the Northern Hemisphere's temperate zone, the more likely you are to spot the zodiacal light.


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## Lunasong

*Comet Garadd*










Comet Garadd is reportedly visible with binoculars in the northern sky. Using this sky map, look for a round misty patch with a brighter nucleus - but it is easily missed. It's mag 7 now but fading; visible until the end of March.

Comet pictures, info, and a daily search map here.
http://astrobob.areavoices.com/


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## kv466

*Planets getting closer!*

Yes, indeed, folks. Jupiter and Venus are getting closer and closer each evening and look spectacular in the blue twilight just as Sun is setting. They will get closer until the 16th of the month after which time they will appear to swap places in the sky. That is, Jupiter will continue going down toward the horizon while Venus will appear to linger high up in the west-southwest each night and then they'll become more distant from one another.

Enjoy it while you can! A pairing of the two brightest planets in our night sky has not been this good in over a decade and now is your chance. All you have to do is take five minutes to go outside and take in a bit of the beauty we are so fortunate to be a part of.


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## rojo

I'm enjoying it thoroughly, kv466. 

I was out on Sunday night and despite the 'haze' that day, Venus and Jupiter were quite a spectacle. It's more than a shame that the daytime sky is no longer as blue as I remember it being when I was a kid. 

I also enjoyed seeing the constellations and stars that I'm familiar with. There was also a trio of bright stars or planets that made a triangle that I didn't recognize. I'm looking on the net for what they were/are, maybe I was seeing what you mentioned earlier, kv466. I believe I was looking south..

How about those CMEs lately. We lost power at one point for an hour or so, might have been due to that.


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## kv466

Well, that just goes to show how much computers know. I kept saying the 16th because I had read on several sources but in the end the eye prevails. Jupiter and Venus have now passed each other in the sky and it is Venus that is higher. Over the next couple of weeks we'll watch them separate farther each night until Jupiter finally sinks into the west horizon and is out of sight. 

The show, then, will be Mars shining a stunningly bright red high in the east and Saturn getting brighter and brighter each night; glowing an orange-ish yellow. Remember, stars twinkle and planets don't and this will help with Saturn and Mars because while they're bright they are nowhere near as bright as Jupiter and Venus. If you still haven't gone out to see them all it takes is two minutes. Go right as Sun is setting and it is still light outside and look to the west and you find these two bright lights. So much planetary excitement is getting us right through the shower-less time of year. Next thing you know, meteors will be filling the night sky as well. First good one of the year is next month, usually around the 21st; the Lyrid Meteor Shower.


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## Lunasong

I've been outside to look at the stars (and planet/Moon) tonight; what a show! Venus and the crescent moon together with Pleiades just above, and Jupiter hanging just a bit lower. The air is crisp and the sky is clear tonight--with the lack of moonlight it's a perfect night for observation.

Tomorrow night, Venus will be at its maximum eastern elongation from the sun. Because Venus circles the Sun inside Earth's orbit, it can never appear opposite the Sun in Earth's sky. This is why when Venus is an evening star, it is found in the west, and when it's a morning star, it's located in the east. When a planet is at elongation, it is farthest from the Sun as viewed from Earth, and is best seen at that point.








Venus's year (sidereal period) is 225 days, and Earth's is 365 days. Thus Venus' synodic period, which gives the time between two subsequent eastern (or western) greatest elongations, is 584 days.


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## kv466

Beautiful last night and tonight!


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## rojo

Indeed. Was just going to post about it. It's been windy and cold, but well worth going outside for a good look.

Thanks for the informative post, Lunasong.


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## Cnote11

My fiancee is in Iceland right now and she went and saw the Northern Lights tonight, as well as being able to see Venus and Jupiter. She said she'd never seen the moon so bright. Myself? I don't have a window in my room, so I'm oblivious to the outside world at all times. Tomorrow night if conditions are still ripe I will check this out.


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## kv466

Remember, what we saw with that triangle a couple of nights ago is something we can only see every few years and in the configuration we saw it even further apart.


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## NightHawk

bummer....sorry I missed all the fireworks kv466 and others who posted cool astronomical delights; I'm going to hope to see the Transit of Venus!


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## kv466

You've missed some stuff but there is always something going on! The last transit of Venus was certainly a sit to see as our sister planet crept slowly across the face of our Sun. This one is only supposed to be good for us at the very start of transit but even seeing that is a treat. 

Moon is now on its way around us and will be visiting Mars in about five days and then Saturn a couple days after that; I will make sure to post both nights. Glad to see you're looking up, Nighthawk.


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## Fsharpmajor

I've been out for a while with my cheap 8 x 21 binoculars--we've had unusually clear sky here for the last few nights. I can't see the four major moons of Jupiter with them. I can quite easily see the Orion Nebula, though, located in the sword which hangs below Orion's belt. Even at 8 x magnification, you can clearly see that it isn't actually a star. I've attached a Stellarium pic to show you where to find it. The actual orientation of Orion will depend on where you are, and when you look at it.


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## kv466

*Thursday, April 12*

Greetings, fellow stargazers.

I know some of you were witness to the beautiful triangle of Moon, Jupiter and Venus last month. This time around we should get Moon hanging out with Jupiter on its first day after new. Then, maybe on its third day it will spend the early evening with Venus. After that, Moon will continue its journey around our Earth and toward the first quarter phase will spend the night with Mars; high up in the north in Leo with the bright star, Regulus, nearby. And finally our Moon will spend yet another night with Saturn, which is now at opposition. This past full Moon was right beside the ringed planet all night long and next month they'll still be close but Saturn will rise about an hour before.

When a planet is at opposition it is at its best for viewing through a pair of large binoculars or even a small telescope. The rings are perfectly visible and nicely tilted toward us right now. Saturn is the yellowish pinpoint of light in the east just after sunset. Stars twinkle, planets don't. So Saturn will be the still, fixed bright dot in the east right in the mix of dim twinkling stars. The bright star near Saturn is Spica; brightest star of Virgo.

The Lyrid Meteor Shower is coming up sometime between the 20th and 22nd of this month. Gotta get out the Farmer's Almanac and see what the exact peak is and where it will be best seen. I'm sure one of us will post.


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## kv466

*Lyrid Meteor Shower*

So, while my meteor shower is rained out tonight, you still have a chance to go out and see some 'shooting stars'. The official peak of the annual Lyrid meteor shower is tonight between midnight and sunrise and with Moon in a new phase viewing is good all night. This shower is famous for bursts of dozens of meteors at a time but most years it is only about 30-40 per hour. Still, not a bad show. Best way to view any shower is to get as far away from city lights as possible and take a blanket or lawn chair and lay back and look up at the sky. No telescope or binoculars are needed. Good luck!


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## Lunasong

Oh cool! I saw a shooting star early yesterday AM whilst out walking the dog; I didn't know it was part of an event.


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## Kopachris

Tomorrow's my day off, the sky is clear where I'm at, Lyrid meteor shower peaking... Finally, a chance for some good sky-watching!


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## jurianbai

Just to inform everybody that the sky at the Equator line is as beauty as your Capricorn or Cancer. It's just that I don't have the luxury brain to know what was passing by my eyes. I just... keep looking up.


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## Kopachris

Kopachris said:


> Tomorrow's my day off, the sky is clear where I'm at, Lyrid meteor shower peaking... Finally, a chance for some good sky-watching!


And of course I forgot about it and went to bed, instead.


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## Kopachris

Kopachris said:


> And of course I forgot about it and went to bed, instead.


And it's just my luck that when I _do_ remember it, it's too cloudy to see a f****** thing.


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## kv466

Unfortunately,...it happens.


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## Lunasong

*Fireball remnants likely in California*

RENO, Nev. (AP) - Tiny meteorites found in the Sierra foothills of northern California were part of a giant fireball that exploded over the weekend with about one-third the explosive force of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in World War II, scientists said Wednesday.

The rocks each weighed about 10 grams, or the weight of two nickels, said John T. Wasson, a longtime professor and expert in meteorites at UCLA's Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics.

Experts say the flaming meteor, dating to the early formation of the solar system 4 to 5 billion years ago, was probably about the size of a minivan when it entered the Earth's atmosphere with a loud boom early Sunday. It was seen from Sacramento, Calif., to Las Vegas and parts of northern Nevada.

An event of that size might happen once a year around the world, said Don Yeomans of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "But most of them occur over the ocean or an uninhabited area, he said.

"Getting to see one is something special," he said. He added, "most meteors you see in the night's sky are the size of tiny stones or even grains of sand, and their trail lasts all of a second or two."

The meteor probably weighed about 154,300 pounds, said Bill Cooke, a specialist in meteors at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. At the time of disintegration, he said, it probably released energy equivalent to a 5-kiloton explosion - the Hiroshima bomb was 15 kilotons.

"You don't often have kiloton rocks flying over your head," he said.

The boom, another expert said, was caused by the speed with which the space rock entered the atmosphere. Meteorites enter Earth's upper atmosphere at somewhere between 22,000 miles per hour and 44,000 miles per hour - faster than the speed of sound, thus creating a sonic boom.

The friction between the rock and the air is so intense that "it doesn't even burn it up, it vaporizes," said Tim Spahr, director of the Minor Planet Center at Harvard University.

Wasson said one meteorite was found near the town of Coloma, about 35 miles northeast of Sacramento. "I'm sure more will be found, I'm hoping, including some fairly big pieces," said Wasson.

"The fact that two pieces already have been found means one knows where to look," he said.

Bits of the meteor could be strewn over an area as long as 10 miles, most likely stretching west from Coloma, where James W. Marshall first discovered gold in California, at Sutter's Mill in 1848.

Robert Ward, who lives in Arizona and has been hunting and collecting meteorites around the world for more than 20 years, said he found the first piece about 10 a.m. Tuesday in between a baseball field and park on the edge of the town of Lotus.

Ward said he "instantly knew" it was a rare meteorite known as "CM" - carbonaceous chondrite - based in part on the "fusion crusts from atmospheric entry" on one side of the rock.

"It was just, needless to say, a thrilling moment," he said.

"It is one of the oldest things known to man and one of the rarest types of meteorites there is," he said. "It contains amino acids and organic compounds that are extremely important to science."

Yeomens confirmed this type of meteorite is one of the more primitive types of space rocks out there, dating to the origin of the solar system 4 to 5 billion years ago. And it's "actually kind of unusual," he said.

Yeomens said it's got two of the most important chemicals that scientists look for: carbon and a form of water. In fact, this type of space rock is likely full of water and would have made a good candidate for the new space company announced Tuesday that plans to mine asteroids, he said.

"And this one landed in their backyard for a lot less than they planned to spend," he said.

The mini-van sized asteroid wasn't on NASA's lengthy list of near Earth objects that they track coming close to the planet, so it took scientists by surprise. "There are millions of objects of that size that we don't know about," he said. "They're too small to image unless they're right up on top of you."

Ward and others tracked the meteorites' possible location based on estimates by, among others, scientists with the Meteor Group at the Western University of Ontario in Canada that the fireball likely had exploded in the upper atmosphere above California's Central Valley.

Wasson suspected hundreds of dealers and collectors already have joined the search. He said it was important to recover the meteorites soon because any rain will cause them to degrade, losing their sodium and potassium.

"From my viewpoint as a meteorite researcher," he said, "I'm hopeful some big pieces are found right away."


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## Lunasong

I hope everyone has a chance to see the HUGE full moon tonight...

The 2012 May full moon falls some six minutes after perigee, the moon's closest point to Earth for this month. At perigee, the moon lies only 356,955 kilometers (221,802 miles) away. Later this month, on May 19, the moon will swing out to apogee - its farthest point for the month - at 406,448 kilometers (252,555 miles) distant. So you can see tonight's moon really is at its closest.

According to U.S. clocks, the full moon falls this evening at precisely at 10:35 p.m. Central Daylight Time. This same full moon falls tomorrow (Sunday, May 6) at 3:35 Universal Time (UT) - the standard time at the prime meridian of 0o longitude, or, for example, in Greenwich, England.

How often does the full moon coincide with perigee? Closest full moons recur in cycles of 14 lunar (synodic) months, because 14 lunar months almost exactly equal 15 returns to perigee. This time period is equal to about 1 year, 1 month, and 18 days. The full moon and perigee will realign again on June 23, 2013, because the 14th full moon after today's full moon will fall on that date.

**in other viewing news, I was looking @ Venus tonight through our small telescope and can easily see that it is a crescent. You can see the planet surface along the shadow line just like you can see the moon's when in crescent. You would not think when Venus in in crescent that it could be as near its brightest as it is now, but this diagram from Earth's view explains why.


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## Kopachris

On top of that, I've got a slight haze in my sky which doesn't obscure my view, but creates a nice glow around that big full moon.


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## Badinerie

Beautiful colour moon! Crystal clear here...Venus and Jupiter have been amazing this year.


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## Guest

I looked up last night with my 10" telescope and was treated to a spectacular "super" full moon! I also saw Venus as a crescent--not sure I've ever seen that before.


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## Lunasong

We have purchased a solar filter in anticipation of the Transit of Venus, now in less than 3 weeks. You can look at the sun now through this filter and easily see sunspots.


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## Lunasong

Photo taken through the sun filter of the (partial in our area) solar eclipse on May 20.


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## TxllxT

St Mark's Basilica, Venice


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## Lunasong

^^Okay! That is certainly some looking up!

Last night we say the International Space Station fly over at twilight. It is very bright and moves surprisingly fast. To see the ISS in your area, click here http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/
Here was the data given for our area:
Sat Jun 09/09:41 PM	
Duration: 6 minutes
75 Max elevation (degrees)
10 above WSW Approach (degree/direction)	11 above NE Departure (degree/direction)

The ISS transited my location 4 times yesterday, but this was a particularly good one because of the time of day, the duration, and the elevation.

It is not difficult to look at the night sky and see satellites transiting...we saw 3-4 last night within less than an hour's observation. The are easy to tell from airplanes because they don't blink.


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## kv466

*How To Find The Stars of Summer*

With Summer finally here, folks, I thought I'd share a show I made for my old job close to ten years ago. Luckily, the sky doesn't change and it's the only one I found that is not on mini-disc and ready to go and it being the correct season, well...here it is. I hope you enjoy it and more importantly, learn a little something from it you can pass on. Yes, CountessAdele, that is me at the very beginning and that is my voice. 

Sit back,...relax...and enjoy~


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## kv466

* these shows were always followed by a fifteen minute long planet lecture as they are always wanders across our sky. That and other celestial happenings such as eclipses and oppositions and such.


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## Vaneyes

Or.......

View attachment 5731


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## Lunasong

kv, I enjoyed your narration and am looking forward to using it as a guide to see several features you mentioned that I have not previously identified.


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## kv466

I appreciate that, Luna...especially coming from you.


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## Lunasong

Something in kv466's narration intrigued me - that there are green stars. We don't see them as green. Why not? I found  this blogpost that explains why.

We don't see any green stars at all. Here's why.
Take a blowtorch (figuratively!) and heat up an iron bar. After a moment it will glow red, then orange, then bluish-white. Then it'll melt. Better use a pot holder.
Why does it glow? Any matter above the temperature of absolute zero (about -273 Celsius) will emit light. The amount of light it gives off, and more importantly the wavelength of that light, depends on the temperature. The warmer the object, the shorter the wavelength.
Cold objects emit radio waves. Extremely hot objects emit ultraviolet light, or X-rays. At a very narrow of temperatures, hot objects will emit visible light (wavelengths from roughly 300 nanometers to about 700 nm).
Mind you - and this is critical in a minute - the objects don't emit a single wavelength of light. Instead, they emit photons in a range of wavelengths. If you were to use some sort of detector that is sensitive to the wavelengths of light emitted by an object, and then plotted the number of them versus wavelength, you get a lopsided plot called a blackbody curve. It's a bit like a bell curve, but it cuts off sharply at shorter wavelengths, and tails off at longer ones.
Here's an example of several curves, corresponding to various temperatures of objects.








The x-axis is wavelength, and the spectrum of visible colors is superposed for reference. You can see the characteristic shape of the blackbody curve. As the object gets hotter, the peak shifts to the left, to shorter wavelengths.
An object that is at 4500 Kelvins (about 4200 Celsius or 7600 F) peaks in the orange part of the spectrum. *Warm it up to 6000 Kelvin (about the temperature of the Sun, 5700 C or 10,000 F) and it peaks in the blue-green. *Heat it up more, and the peaks moves into the blue, or even toward shorter wavelengths. In fact, the hottest stars put out most of their light in the ultraviolet, at shorter wavelengths than we can see with our eyes.
*Now wait a sec (again)… if the Sun peaks in the blue-green, why doesn't it look blue-green?*
Ah, this is the key question! It's because it might peak in the blue-green, but it still emits light at other colors.
Look at the graph for an object as hot as the Sun. That curve peaks at blue-green, so it emits most of its photons there. But it still emits some that are bluer, and some that are redder. When we look at the Sun, we see all these colors blended together. Our eyes mix them up to produce one color: white. Yes, white. Some people say the Sun is yellow, but if it were really yellow to our eyes, then clouds would look yellow, and snow would too (all of it, not just some of it in your back yard where your dog hangs out).
OK, so the Sun doesn't look green. But can we fiddle with the temperature to get a green star? Maybe one that's slightly warmer or cooler than the Sun?
It turns out that no, you can't. A warmer star will put out more blue, and a cooler one more red, but no matter what, our eyes just won't see that as green.
The fault lies not in the stars (well, not entirely), but within ourselves.
Our eyes have light-sensitive cells in them called rods and cones. Rods are basically the brightness detectors, and are blind to color. Cones see color, and there are three kinds: ones sensitive to red, others to blue, and the third to green. When light hits them, each gets triggered by a different amount; red light (say, from a strawberry) really gets the red cones juiced, but the blue and green cones are rather blasé about it.
Most objects don't emit (or reflect) one color, so the cones are triggered by varying amounts. An orange, for example, gets the red cones going about twice as much as the green ones, but leaves the blue ones alone. When the brain receives the signal from the three cones, it says "This must be an object that is orange." If the green cones are seeing just as much light as the red, with the blue ones not seeing anything, we interpret that as yellow. And so on.
So the only way to see a star as being green is for it to be only emitting green light. But as you can see from the graph above, that's pretty much impossible. Any star emitting mostly green will be putting out lots of red and blue as well, making the star look white. Changing the star's temperature will make it look orange, or yellow, or red, or blue, but you just can't get green. Our eyes simply won't see it that way.
That's why there are no green stars. The colors emitted by stars together with how our eyes see those colors pretty much guarantees it.
But that doesn't bug me. If you've ever put your eye to a telescope and seen gleaming Vega or ruddy Antares or the deeply orange Arcturus, you won't mind much either. Stars don't come in all colors, but they come in enough colors, and they're fantastically beautiful because of it.


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## Lunasong

Transited Venus and her regal partner Jupiter are now creating a spectacular morning show similar to the one we enjoyed in the evening earlier this year. In the Northern Hemisphere, look ENE before dawn to see these two bright heavenly objects.


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## Lunasong

Taken by Mark E. White, posted on EarthSky Tonight.

You can also see the Pleiades in this picture, the little group of stars @ center top.


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## Lunasong

This morning, Venus was shining incredibly bright. It is currently at its brightest and Jupiter is just past its brightest. Wake up early and see this show in the eastern sky before sunrise! For the next couple days, the moon will be near its new phase which makes for a very dark backdrop to enjoy the third and fourth brightest heavenly bodies.


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## kv466

Lunasong said:


> Transited Venus and her regal partner Jupiter are now creating a spectacular morning show similar to the one we enjoyed in the evening earlier this year. In the Northern Hemisphere, look ENE before dawn to see these two bright heavenly objects.


I saw a lovely triangle the other morning! I haven't been around here if not I would have posted...slowly making my way back around and getting more time on my hands. Glad you've been watching!


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## Lunasong

The Perseid meteor shower should be at its best late tonight. Find a dark spot with a wide-open view of the sky overhead, bundle up against the late-night chill, lie back in a lounge chair, watch the sky, and be patient. After 11 or midnight you may see a meteor a minute on average; fewer earlier.










The meteors can flash into view anywhere in the sky as long as Perseus is above the horizon. So the best part of the sky to watch is wherever is darkest, probably straight up.


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## Lunasong

Venus and Jupiter are still the brightest objects in the eastern Northern Hemisphere pre-dawn sky. This morning, I say Jupiter nicely paired up with red star Aldebaran. The constellation Orion lies in-between Jupiter and Venus, just a bit to the right. Dog Star Sirius is now above the horizon.

If you are now waking up for early morning classes, take the time to look for Venus and Jupiter. They are visible until the sun just breaks above the horizon.


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## Kopachris

To add to Lunasong's most recent post, the eastern sky at dawn is definitely where the action is right now. Depending on your viewing conditions, you may be able to see the entire winter hexagon just before sunrise, and perhaps the planet Mercury, as well.

For those interested in astrology (for whatever reason), the Sun is in Leo, Mercury is in Cancer, Venus is in Gemini, and Jupiter is in Taurus, all lined up. Whatever that's supposed to mean.


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## Kopachris

Kopachris said:


> For those interested in astrology (for whatever reason), the Sun is in Leo, Mercury is in Cancer, Venus is in Gemini, and Jupiter is in Taurus, all lined up. Whatever that's supposed to mean.


I don't put any faith in astrology, but I did some research and found the following: Mercury in Cancer has a trine with Jupiter, a square with the Moon, and a semisextile with Venus. For Cancers such as myself, this should mean this is a good time for education and communication, though overcoming emotions and urges may present a challenge, and a conscious effort may have to be put toward beauty and love. This is an interesting coincidence in that I started to become more interested in my education about the time Mercury entered Cancer. I just spent two hours researching astrology to come to the conclusion that now is a good time for education. 

Of course, I still don't know much about astrology, so my interpretation is probably way off of what a more knowledgeable astrologer would have.


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## Lunasong

If I were on Mars, this would be naked-eye astronomy. I love this pic.


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## Meaghan

Hi folks!
I'm looking at this thread because I just started taking an astronomy course at my college. We have a little planetarium and we all sat in it this evening while the professor showed us some constellations and how the sun's arc across the sky changes with the seasons and why Mercury appears to move back and forth and some coordinate systems for locating things in the sky and some other stuff. I definitely didn't take it all in, but it's exciting! So I'm just poking my head in to say that I'm looking forward to gaining some knowledge of astronomy and getting involved with this thread!


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## Kopachris

Meaghan said:


> Hi folks!
> I'm looking at this thread because I just started taking an astronomy course at my college. We have a little planetarium and we all sat in it this evening while the professor showed us some constellations and how the sun's arc across the sky changes with the seasons and why Mercury appears to move back and forth and some coordinate systems for locating things in the sky and some other stuff. I definitely didn't take it all in, but it's exciting! So I'm just poking my head in to say that I'm looking forward to gaining some knowledge of astronomy and getting involved with this thread!


You sound like you're in for a fun class! If you have any questions, I'd love to show off a little.


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## kv466

Meaghan, you just started getting into all my favorite things, didn't you?! Steel-string acoustic,...astronomy... If you listen to my show, which is a few posts back, it'll tell you exactly how the sky is positioned just after sunset. Happy to see you enjoying the cosmos!


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## Lunasong

Last night I was out around ten PM to pick out the Summer Triangle (Deneb, Vega, Altair) and also spotted the "teapot" of Sagittarius, an unusual sight for me because of its low position in the south, where I experience the most light pollution.

I was up at six this AM to look at the sky before it started getting light. I was rewarded by the sight of bright Jupiter high and almost overhead in the constellation Taurus. Aldebaran and the Pleiades were clearly visible.








The easily recognizable Orion was down below and a bit to the south (right).
The Moon is in Gemini. I could easily pick out Castor and Pollux as in the chart above.
Venus is still shining brightly closer to the horizon.

It was extremely clear last night as we have unusually low humidity, which makes for more visible stars!

ps: happy birthday, kv466!


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## Lunasong

Double post: I just read this on http://earthsky.org/tonight/ and want to post it here as an alert and so I don't forget about it.

On or around September 22, Venus will straddle the border of the constellations Cancer and Leo. After that, Venus will continue to move eastward in front of the constellation Leo, finally to meet up with the star Regulus in the predawn hours on *October 3. Be sure to circle this date on your calendar. This will be the closest conjunction of a planet and a first-magnitude star for all of 2012.*

If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, you should be able to see Regulus near the horizon an hour or so before sunrise. If you live in the Southern Hemisphere, you may miss Regulus altogether because this star still sits low in the glare of morning twilight at these southerly latitudes. However, in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, Regulus rises about four minutes earlier with each passing day. *So by October 3, the Venus/Regulus conjunction should be visible in the predawn sky from all around the world.*

from the Oct 2 post:








Get up early tomorrow - on Wednesday, October 3 - to witness the closest pairing of a planet and a first-magnitude star for all of this year. It's the classic tale of beauty and the beast tomorrow, as Venus - the goddess of love and beauty - tames the beast, and captures the heart of Leo the Lion.

*Everywhere around the world, the planet Venus and the star Regulus will be very close together in the predawn and dawn sky tomorrow. *Look eastward and you simply can't miss Venus. After all, this blazing world ranks as the third-brightest celestial body to light up the sky, after the sun and moon. In fact, Venus outshines Regulus by over 150 times, so it may even be difficult to spot Regulus in Venus' glare.

From the U.S. East Coast, the close-knit couple will be as little as 1/8 of a degree apart. That's a very small gap of sky - equal to 1/4th of the moon's diameter. It'll be interesting to see how the twosome will appear through binoculars or a low-powered telescope.


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## Lunasong

*Equinox*

From EarthSky Tonight:
The September equinox falls tomorrow, on Saturday, September 22, at 14:49 Universal Time. At this special moment, the sun will be at zenith - straight overhead - at the Earth's equator. Although the equinox happens at the same instant for everyone worldwide, the clock time for the equinox varies by time zone. In the U.S., the equinox will come on September 22, at 10:49 a.m. EDT, 9:49 a.m. CDT, 8:49 a.m. MDT or 7:49 a.m. PDT.

As the September equinox sun crosses the equator, going from north to south, it'll signal the beginning of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere and spring in the Southern Hemisphere.

*On the day of the equinox, the sun rises due east and sets due west all over the world, with everyone worldwide receiving the same amount of day and night. *

The sun actually sets faster around the time of an equinox. *The fastest sunsets (and sunrises) occur at or near the equinoxes.* What's more, the slowest sunsets (and sunrises) occur at or near the solstices. This is true whether you live in the Northern or Southern hemisphere. And, by the way, when we say sunset here, we're talking about the actual number of minutes it takes for the body of the sun to sink below the western horizon.

When the sun sets due west - as it does on the day of an equinox - the sun hits the horizon at the steepest possible angle, which hastens the duration of sunset.


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## Huilunsoittaja

Lunasong said:


> *Equinox*
> 
> From EarthSky Tonight:
> The September equinox falls tomorrow, on Saturday, September 22, at 14:49 Universal Time. At this special moment, the sun will be at zenith - straight overhead - at the Earth's equator. Although the equinox happens at the same instant for everyone worldwide, the clock time for the equinox varies by time zone. In the U.S., the equinox will come on September 22, at *10:49 a.m. EDT*, 9:49 a.m. CDT, 8:49 a.m. MDT or 7:49 a.m. PDT.


I'm gonna be in a chamber rehearsal at that time.


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## Lunasong

You may not have to look up so far for this one.

http://www.weather.com/news/new-cloud-variety-on-horizon-20120920

New cloud variety seeks official recognition.









Keen cloudspotters have been taking photos of the cloud they've dubbed "undulatus asperatus" -- aka "agitated waves" -- for the past few years, says Gavin Pretor-Pinney, president of the Cloud Appreciation Society, a group of 30,000 weather enthusiasts. So who can officially recognize the cloud? The folks at the United Nations' World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in Geneva have the final say in cloud classification. "It will only become an official classification if it is included in the World Meteorological Organization's reference book, the International Cloud Atlas," Pretor-Pinney says.

The cloud type has been reported since only 1951.


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## TxllxT

Laon Cathedral, France (Picardie), my personal favourite


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## Lunasong

14 months from now...comet alert.
http://www.astronomynow.com/news/n1209/25comet/#.UGMQXQyVuJI.facebook
C/2012 S1, discovered on 21 Sept., is expected to reach binocular visibility by late summer 2013 and a naked eye object in early November of that year. Northern hemisphere observers are highly favoured. Following its peak brightness in late November (peaking on 28 Nov) it will remain visible without optical aid until mid-January 2014.

Its near-parabolic orbit suggests that it has arrived fresh from the Oort Cloud, a vast zone of icy objects orbiting the Sun, pristine remnants of the formation of the Solar System. If predictions hold true then C/2012 S1 will certainly be one of the brightest comets in human history.


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## Lunasong

*bump*

Re post 181 (top post on this page) - this is a washout for me today. Hoping for clearer weather tomorrow AM; it shouldn't look TOO different.


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## kv466

Regulus is about 72 light years away and among the brightest stars in the sky. Any time a bright star and the brightest planet meet up in the sky it is worth taking a look.


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## Lunasong

Had a look this AM...not the spectacular show from yesterday but still very nice. As an added bonus, Jupiter is easily spotted very close to the Moon in the pre-dawn hours.

Nice photo of the conjunction of Venus and Regulus taken from Texas, USA 3-10-2012


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## Lunasong

The forecast calls for the annual Orionid meteor shower (formed from debris from Halley's Comet) to produce the greatest number of meteors before dawn on Saturday morning, October 20, or on Saturday night, October 21, 2012. (More likely, it will be Sunday morning, October 21.) As usual, the best time to watch this shower will be between the hours of midnight and dawn - regardless of time zone. Oftentimes, 10 to 15 meteors per hour can be seen on a dark, moonless night.

This isn't the year's richest meteor shower, or even the second-richest, but try watching this shower from midnight to dawn, when the most meteors will be flying. If you're hankering to see some meteors, the dark, moonless sky after midnight makes 2012 a fine year for watching the Orionids. In the dark hour before dawn, the sky's brightest planet - Venus - blazes away in the east, while the second-brightest planet - Jupiter - beams high in the southern to southwestern sky. South of the equator, Jupiter appears in the northern sky. With all this thrown in the mix, the wee hours are grand for watching two bright planets, the lore-laden skies and the Orionid meteors.

Orion is a familiar constellation to most of us. The meteors will appear to radiate from Orion's upraised arm.








The moon will set before midnight so the sky will be dark and present good viewing for this shower!


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## Lunasong

I have enjoyed the alignment of Venus and Saturn in the eastern early morning sky the past 2 AMs. You can't miss Venus. Saturn is the dimmer "star" close by.
I saw Mercury 2 mornings ago; that was the first time ever.









Sky from 11-25 AM.

Jupiter and the full moon are closely aligned at this time as well, and visible most of the night.


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## Lunasong

New Year's Eve:

Every year, at Mid-night (halfway between sunset and dawn), Sirius, the brightest star in sky, reaches its highest point in the Northern Hemisphere for the year. Sirius is bright but, if you are an inexperienced star-gazer, you might mistake it for Jupiter, which is now near the same area of the sky. Look for the constellation Orion in the southern sky, easily found by its three belt stars. The three stars always point downwards left to Sirius. Jupiter, as a "wandering star," is currently much higher in the sky and to the right of Orion.

Here's something interesting which I did not know. This is from Earthsky.com.
The December solstice always brings the shortest day to the Northern Hemisphere and the longest day to the Southern Hemisphere. *Surprisingly, the latest sunrises do not coincide with the day of least sunlight, and the latest sunsets do not happen on the day of the most sunlight.*

The main reason is that the Earth's rotational axis is tilted to the plane of our orbit around the sun. A secondary reason is that the Earth's orbit is not a perfect circle. Due to our eccentric orbit (that's an orbit shaped like a squashed circle, with the sun slightly off its center), Earth travels fastest in January and slowest in July. Clock time gets a bit out of sync with sun time - by about the tune of 1/2 minute per day for several weeks around the December solstice.

It's a bit hard to understand just by reading about it. But many skywatchers notice this phenomenon. If you're a skywatcher, you might know that the sequence of sunrises and sunsets around the time of the December solstice never varies. For us in the Northern Hemisphere, the earliest sunsets come in early December, shortest days at the solstice around December 21, and latest sunrises in early January. This sequence never varies from year to year. It's part of what we can expect from nature.


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## Vaneyes

As a kid, I viewed Saturn from an observatory. What a pleasurable lifelong memory that's been.


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## Lunasong

Tomorrow's conjunction of Jupiter and the moon will be visible from around the globe, and particularly dazzling for the Americas, where it'll be the closest these two will appear in our sky until the year 2026. In fact, if you're in the right place in South America, you can watch the moon occult - cover over - Jupiter for up to an hour or so this evening. Click here for more information on this lunar occultation of Jupiter.


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## BlazeGlory

I've made a quick check through all of the posts on this thread and I'm somewhat surprised to see no mention of probably the greatest naked eye astronomy show ever on television, "Star Gazer." It used an incredible version of Arabesque No. 1 by Debussy as it's theme music.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese

When I looks up I see this: (at night!)


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## Huilunsoittaja

Did you guys hear about the comet that may be seen at the end of this year?

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/01/13/comet-2013-among-brightest-ever-seen/


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## Kopachris

Huilunsoittaja said:


> Did you guys hear about the comet that may be seen at the end of this year?
> 
> http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/01/13/comet-2013-among-brightest-ever-seen/


*facepalm* They have an article about a comet, and a picture of a meteor.

Still, thanks for the heads-up. I hope I can see it later this year.


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## Lunasong

Heh, Fox News...

Here is the monthly viewing guide from Earthsky.com:

*Comet ISON month-by-month in late 2013.*

August and September 2013. The comet should become visible in August and September 2013 to observers at dark locations using small telescopes or possibly even binoculars.

October 2013. Comet ISON should become visible to the unaided eye, but only barely in the early part of the month. The comet will be sweeping in front of the constellation Leo then. It'll pass first near Leo's brightest star Regulus, then near the planet Mars. Maybe these brighter objects will help you find it that month. Meanwhile, the comet itself will be getting brighter during October.

November 2013. Comet ISON will continue to brighten throughout the month as it nears its late November perihelion (closest point to our sun). Plus ISON will pass very close to the bright star Spica and the planet Saturn, both in the constellation Virgo. Its perihelion (closest point to our sun) on November 28 will be an exciting time. The comet will come within 800,000 miles (1.2 million km) of our sun's surface. If all goes well, and the comet doesn't break up (as comets sometimes do), the terrific heating Comet ISON will undergo when it's closest to our parent star might turn the comet into a brilliant object. Some are predicting that ISON will become as bright as a full moon! That would make Comet ISON a daylight object, briefly. Remember, though, at perihelion, Comet ISON will appear close to the sun on the sky's dome (only 4.4° north of the sun on November 28). Although the comet will be bright, you'll need to look carefully to see it in the sun's glare. Some expert help around this time might be called for, and we'll announce comet-viewing parties as we hear about them.

December 2013. This may be the best month to see Comet ISON, assuming it has survived its close pass near the sun intact. The comet will be visible both in the evening sky after sunset and in the morning sky before sunrise. As ISON's distance from the sun increases, it'll grow dimmer. But, for a time, it should be as bright as our sky's brightest planet, Venus, and it should have a long comet tail. People all over Earth will be able to see it, but it'll be best seen from the Northern Hemisphere as 2013 draws to a close.

January 2014. Will ISON still be visible to the eye? Hopefully. And on January 8, 2014, the comet will lie only 2° from Polaris - the North Star.

How bright will it be? How long will its tail be? No one can answer these questions yet, but many are excited about this comet. Of course, comets don't always live up to expectations. Comet ISON might break up into fragments, as the much-hyped Comet Elenin did around August 2011.

On the other hand, Comet ISON might survive its encounter with the sun as Comet Lovejoy did in late 2011. If so, it might go on to illuminate our skies with its beauty. And there is one thing we can count on. That is, if Comet ISON does become a bright comet, visible to the eyes of watching earthlings, it will be beautiful. All bright comets are.

If it does survive its close encounter with the sun in 2013, and if it does become bright enough to be seen with the eye, astronomers say Comet ISON's best appearance won't be limited to just one hemisphere as Comet Lovejoy's was. It'll be visible to all of us in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres for at least a couple of months, from about November 2013 through January 2014. If so … worth the wait!

Bottom line: Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) is headed for a close encounter with our sun in 2013 and might become a spectacular sight from all of Earth around November and December of this year.

A beautiful picture of Comet Lovejoy, visible in the Southern Hemisphere in late 2011:


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## Lunasong

Interesting fact about tonight's full moon

*January full moon mimics path of July sun*

In both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the January sun - unlike the January full moon - rises south of due east and sets south of due west. In the Northern Hemisphere, these far-southern risings and settings of the sun give us the short days of winter. South of the equator, the same far-southern sunrises and sunsets bring long summer days. But the full moon lies opposite the sun, mirroring the sun's place in front of the backdrop stars for six months hence.

And that's why tonight's moon - like the July sun - will follow a high path across the sky as seen from the northern part of the globe - and a low path as seen from the southern. This January full moon rises north of due east around sunset, climbs highest in the sky around midnight and sets north of due west around sunrise. Watch the full moon shine from sundown to sunup tonight.


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## kv466

Ahh, that makes me miss having a dome to teach in...


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## Lunasong

Of course, everyone by now has heard about the METEOR...
http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-88176-Exploding-meteorite-injures-above-1,000-in-Russia

Simon Goodwin, an astrophysics expert from Britain's University of Sheffield, said that roughly 1,000 to 10,000 metric tons of material rained down from space towards the earth every day, but most burned up in the atmosphere.

"While events this big are rare, an impact that could cause damage and death could happen every century or so. Unfortunately there is absolutely nothing we can do to stop impacts."

The meteorite struck just as an asteroid known as 2012 DA14, about 46 m in diameter, was due to pass closer to Earth - at a distance of 27,520 km (17,100 miles) - than any other known object of its size since scientists began routinely monitoring asteroids about 15 years ago.

Many drivers in Russia have dash-mounted cameras in their cars to capture evidence for any possible traffic accidents. But this also allows drivers to capture any other odd events that happen along the way.

Over 400 people were injured in the event, many from broken glass, as explosions boomed across the region around the city of Chelyabinsk, according to news reports. Photos and video from the region showed buildings with smashed out windows and at least one factory with heavy damage to a large section of its ceiling and walls.


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## Lunasong

I saw a huge orange full moon rising this evening...

Here's news to look forward to next year: A newly-discovered comet will make a very close pass to Mars on 19 October, 2014.
http://news.discovery.com/space/astronomy/could-a-comet-hit-mars-in-2014-130225.htm

Just think: if this comet was just discovered 6 weeks ago and was predicted to impact Earth, how would we react?


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## Lunasong

Speaking of comets...(and I am late in reporting this)

Comet PanSTARRS had been visible to the naked eye in the mid-northern latitudes (including most of the US) at twilight (just after sunset) for the past couple weeks. My son had waited patiently for a day when it was not cloudy at this time and he finally got one...ONE day. He did see the comet and photographed it through his telescope.









photographed 19-3-13

US East Coast meteor news from 22-3:
http://earthsky.org/space/meteor-lights-up-sky-over-us-east-coast


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## Lunasong

Much of the Christian world celebrates Easter next Sunday, 31 March. Do you know the date of Easter, the greatest Christian feast day, is determined by astronomy?

*Easter is officially determined to be the first Sunday after the first Full Moon which occurs after the Spring Equinox.*

There is no accepted fixed date for the death of Jesus, but the Gospels (the part of the New Testament that deals with the life and ministry of Jesus) state that this all happened at the time of the Passover, a major Jewish festival that was (and still is) celebrated by the Jewish people in honour of their release from captivity in ancient Egypt. In keeping with this, the resurrection of Jesus is believed to have taken place after the Full Moon following the spring equinox.

In olden times, the Jewish people used a lunar calendar, so the dates of events vary when compared to the solar calendar. According to scripture, Jesus rose from the dead on the first Sunday following Passover. See Matthew 28:1-20, Mark 16:1-3, Luke 23:56-24:3, and John 20:1. For this reason, ancient Christians celebrated Easter (which they called Passover) on the first Sunday after the Jewish Passover, which is 14 Nisan on the Jewish calendar. The only exceptions were in Syria and Mesopotamia, where ancient Christians celebrated Easter on 14 Nisan, no matter which day of the week it happened to be. According to scripture, the month of Nisan-and therefore the date of Passover-is linked to the spring harvest in Palestine. (See Exodus 12:1-6, Leviticus 23:9-14, and Numbers 28:16.) However, the Romans banished all Jews from Judea (which they renamed Palestine) after the rebellion of Simon Bar Kochba in AD 135, making it difficult for the rabbis to determine the proper date for Passover, even though they have revised their calendar more than once.

Note that the dates given in this article apply only in the Western Christian Churches, as the Eastern Orthodox Churches still use the Julian Calendar for the calculation of Easter and their Lenten Period counts Sundays.

At the time of Jesus, the Mediterranean world was ruled by Rome. The Romans were pagans, who had their own gods: Jupiter, Venus, Mercury and so on. The names of these gods have survived to this day in the names of the planets, the days of the week, names of months and general linguistic usage. The other cultures in the area also had their own gods and goddesses, who corresponded more or less to the Roman pantheon. Greek was the language of culture in the Middle East; the main centre was Alexandria in Egypt and the Roman world was one in which trade and religion passed rapidly between the cities and towns along the marvellous Roman roads.

At around the time of the spring equinox in March, marking the rebirth of the year, the death and resurrection of a number of divine or quasi-divine figures was celebrated.
Ishtar, (from which derives _Easter_) was the ancient Babylonian goddess of fertility. Her great love was for Tammuz, who was in Greek, Adonis. The death and resurrection of Tammuz, the lover of Ishtar, was marked by the equinox at the beginning of the new year.
The beautiful god Adonis (cognate with Adonai, which means "Lord" in the Hebrew scriptures) was worshipped throughout the Middle East with his partner Aphrodite. Adonis was slain and resurrected and this was celebrated at this time of year. An even older tradition is that of of Tammuz and Ishtar. 
J. G. Frazer, author of The Golden Bough, is of the view that the church has skilfully grafted the festival of the dead god Adonis onto the Easter festival of Christianity. The dead and risen Adonis thus became the dead and risen Christ.

Greek depictions of the sorrowful goddess with her dying lover Adonis in her arms resemble and seem to have been the model for the Pieta of the Virgin with the dead body of her son in her lap. The most celebrated example is Michelangelo's Pieta in St Peter's Basilica in Rome. These and other dying and resurrected god figures are symbols of new life after the sleeping death of winter. The metaphysical aspect of awakening to a new life in the Spirit is a key element of initiation into the Mysteries.

_Other Cults of Dying Gods_

Other cults of dying gods flourished at the time, notably Baal (Palestine), Dionysus (Thrace, Greece), Iesus or Iasius (Greece) and Osiris (Egypt). In particular, the death and resurrection of the god Attis was officially celebrated at Rome on 24 and 25 March, officially marking the spring equinox, now celebrated by Christians as Lady Day. The ancients considered this to be the most appropriate day for the revival of a god of vegetation who had been dead or sleeping throughout the winter. According to an ancient and widespread tradition, 25 March was celebrated as the death of Christ without regard to the state of the Moon. Tertullian in Adversus Iudaeus states that this tradition was followed in Phrygia, Cappadocia, Gaul and in Rome itself-throughout the "known world" really.

The earliest Christian traditions evidently had some connection with the cult of Attis. Attis was believed to be the son of Cybele, the Divine Mother, and was conceived, like Jesus, of a virgin by divine intervention rather than regular sexual intercourse. Similarly the pine was sacred to Attis and it is no accident that all relics of the cross are composed of pine. According to several respected authorities, the date of the death and resurrection of Christ was deliberately linked to the 25th of March to harmonise with the festival of the spring equinox. This date is celebrated to this day by Christians as the Annunciation of the Virgin, or Lady Day. It is connected with an older belief that this was on the very day that the world was created.

The phenomenon of substitution, where a pagan festival is replaced by one with a Christian identity, is seen in a number of pre-Christian festivals. In line with the Mother Goddess and Heavenly Virgin theology, the Festival of Diana was ousted by the Festival of the of the Virgin in August. The pagan Parilia in April was replaced by the Feast of St George. The midsummer Water Festival in June was replaced by the Festival of St John the Baptist. Each has a deep connection with the symbolic imagery it replaces. The Feast of All Souls in November is the ancient heathen Feast of the Dead. The Nativity of Christ replaced the birth of the Sun at the winter solstice.

The Festival of Easter replaces the feast of the Phrygian god Attis at the vernal equinox. The Phrygians were the source of the Mithraic system and the Mystery cults generally. Mithras was introduced to Rome circa 63 BCE. It should be remembered that the Romans traced their ancestry to Aeneas, the hero of Troy, a Phrygian city in Asia Minor.

The very places which celebrated the death of Christ at the equinox were the actual places that the worship of the god Attis originated or had taken deepest root, namely Phrygia, Gaul and apparently Rome itself. Frazer says it is difficult to regard the coincidence as accidental. In fact the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of saviour gods was widespread throughout the ancient world, and not just in Europe.


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## JCarmel

I saw one near dawn, some months ago...I'd just woken-up, seconds-before...and it was a thrilling thing to see. Just to make sure I hadn't imagined it, I later checked the News sites and a couple of Astronomy ones...and indeed a comet had passed through the heavens at the time of my sighting. But no camera to hand, hence no nice photo to produce...the pocket in my pyjamas is only big-enough to take a tissue?!


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## Lunasong

Comets are visible for days/weeks on end and do not appear to move at one sighting...are you sure you do not mean a meteor?
You could have woken up the next morning and seen it again in approximately the same place - with your camera!


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## Lunasong

Because of an intense solar flare which occurred Thursday, the upper northern hemisphere has a chance of seeing Aurora Borealis (northern lights) tonight!

The solar flare caused a fairly large disturbance, triggering a short-lived radio communications blackout on Earth.

The shock wave from the flare should reach Earth tonight and could spark increased auroral displays throughout the weekend.

In addition:
The much awaited "Lyrid Meteor" showers are all set to make their grand debut in the skies of northern hemisphere, this year from April 16 onwards. It's time for the sky watchers to be all set for the showers, an annual affair, that would end by April 26.
Lyrids, observed from last 2600 years, are the meteor showers that take place for ten days every year from April 16-26. The radiant of the meteor shower is located within the constellation Lyra which is the neighbor to Alpha Lyrae, the brightest star of the constellation. Therefore these showers are also known as Alpha Lyrids and also April Lyrids. The showers that are at their peak on April 22, are caused due to the shedding of particles and dust shed by the cometary tail of Comet Thatcher', that orbits the sun about every 415 years and last visited our solar system in 1861. It is expected to return in 2276. Every year during this period of the month, the Earth runs into a stream of cosmic debris from the comet which causes the Lyrid meteor shower.

Could we see something awsome like this?


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## Lunasong

Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury are in close conjunction in the early evening sky over the next few nights. This photo was taken near our house by my son last night.


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## Lunasong

*Manhattenhenge*

New Yorkers were wowed on Wednesday (30 May) by a sunset that was perfectly framed by skyscrapers, thanks to an urban astronomical phenomenon known as Manhattanhenge.
The same planetary tilt that determines the seasons also dictates exactly where the sun will go down each evening - and because of the way that Manhattan's dominant street grid is laid out, killer sunsets are potentially visible from some of the borough's best-known east-west streets in late May and mid-July.
For better or worse, sunset-watching crowds have become a big part of the phenomenon.
"Not sure which was cooler: Manhattanhenge itself or all the people standing in the middle of the street. Drivers did not seem amused," noted one passerby.


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## brianvds

Lunasong said:


> Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury are in close conjunction in the early evening sky over the next few nights. This photo was taken near our house by my son last night.


I have been following their dance myself for the past week or two, whenever the weather allowed (which was often, because it is winter here in South Africa, and our winters are mostly cloudless.)


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## kv466

*Saturday August 10, 2013*

"Greetings, greetings, fellow stargazers!"

Once again, the Perseid Meteor Shower is upon us and this year should be a good one. Not only are we due for a good Perseid storm but the conditions are beautiful! Moon is still a crescent and will be throughout the peak so no bright light to compete with. Just be sure and be away from the city; if you can see the Milky Way, you can see every meteor. And if you can't get away, at least take a lawn chair outside and try to cover your eyes from any immediate light and you'll still be able to see the brightest of them.

The supposed peak is during the daylight hours of the 12th in North America but really, starting tonight and certainly tomorrow night, the sky will be full of 'shooting stars'. The best time is between midnight and sunrise to give Perseus a chance to rise. The radiant is supposedly in the north but from experience the meteors seem to come from everywhere. All you have to do is 'keep looking up!'.

Enjoy!


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## kv466

kv466 said:


> With Summer finally here, folks, I thought I'd share a show I made for my old job close to ten years ago. Luckily, the sky doesn't change and it's the only one I found that is not on mini-disc and ready to go and it being the correct season, well...here it is. I hope you enjoy it and more importantly, learn a little something from it you can pass on. Yes, CountessAdele, that is me at the very beginning and that is my voice.
> 
> Sit back,...relax...and enjoy~


Just re-posting from last year. This is actually the sky as positioned right after sunset in Miami but pretty much the same all over the Northern Hemisphere with variations in angles and degrees.


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## Lunasong

Hello kv466! Last Sunday, I had the pleasure of seeing the close conjunction of Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, and the new moon in the eastern sky right before dawn. 
What it looked like:








We also saw Castor and Pollux in the dawning sky.


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## Huilunsoittaja

Lunasong said:


> Hello kv466! Last Sunday, I had the pleasure of seeing the close conjunction of Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, and the new moon in the eastern sky right before dawn.
> What it looked like:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> We also saw Castor and Pollux in the dawning sky.


Have you seen ISON yet?? It's in that same general direction, very close to the horizon, perhaps too close to see with trees around.


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## Kopachris

kv466 said:


> *Saturday August 10, 2013*
> 
> "Greetings, greetings, fellow stargazers!"
> 
> Once again, the Perseid Meteor Shower is upon us and this year should be a good one. Not only are we due for a good Perseid storm but the conditions are beautiful! Moon is still a crescent and will be throughout the peak so no bright light to compete with. Just be sure and be away from the city; if you can see the Milky Way, you can see every meteor. And if you can't get away, at least take a lawn chair outside and try to cover your eyes from any immediate light and you'll still be able to see the brightest of them.
> 
> The supposed peak is during the daylight hours of the 12th in North America but really, starting tonight and certainly tomorrow night, the sky will be full of 'shooting stars'. The best time is between midnight and sunrise to give Perseus a chance to rise. The radiant is supposedly in the north but from experience the meteors seem to come from everywhere. All you have to do is 'keep looking up!'.
> 
> Enjoy!


I was wondering what was going on when I went for a hike the other night. Clear, moonless night, and while there weren't exactly a lot of meteors, there were more than usual. I forgot to look it up when I got home.


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## kv466

Hey, Luna! That's awesome activity in Gemini there. I haven't been out much lately that early. Last night wasn't so hot but I'm trying again tonight and it should be way better. I maybe saw 20 last night and they were mostly faint. It was still wonderful seeing our Milky Way again that I hadn't seen in a couple of months!


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## Lunasong

Huilunsoittaja said:


> Have you seen ISON yet?? It's in that same general direction, very close to the horizon, perhaps too close to see with trees around.


ISON is not yet visible to the naked eye. You are correct that it is currently very close to the horizon. It rises about the same time as the sun which makes it difficult to see even with a telescope.

Here's some recent info and a date to note:
_One of the first major series of observations will be taken from orbit around Mars, which will have a view of ISON as it moves toward the inner solar system. NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), plans to snap photos of ISON on Aug. 20, when the comet makes its closest approach to the Red Planet.

"The Aug. 20 observations might give you all an early indication of just how bright the comet has become, at least at this time and place," said Richard Zurek, chief scientist of the Mars Program Office at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. _


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## Kopachris

Bright (mag 5-ish) nova in Delphinus right now. Will be around, slowly brightening, for a couple more days.


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## Lunasong

From EarthSkyTonight:










_When is the best month to view the galactic center?
_
The answer depends on what time of night you're looking. But assuming you're looking in the evening, August and September present grand months for gazing toward the famous Teapot asterism in the constellation Sagittarius the Archer - and imagining the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The center of the Milky Way is located in the direction of this constellation, as seen from Earth.

Tonight - August 16, 2013 - the moon shines north (above, as seen from the Northern Hemisphere) of the Teapot asterism in Sagittarius. In other words, as you gaze at tonight's moon, you are gazing toward the heart of our Milky Way galaxy.

It will be difficult to see the Teapot asterism in the moonlight tonight. In fact, to see it best, you'll want to dark country sky, free of city lights or moonlight. But you can note the location of the moon at a particular time tonight - and come back in a week at that approximate same time, once the moon has left the evening sky - and the Teapot should be there. Just don't wait too many weeks before making this observation - because, as Earth moves around the sun, the night sky continually shifts westward.

Or here's another way to find the Teapot. If you are familar with the famous Summer Triangle asterism, you can star-hop to the Teapot by drawing an imaginary line from star Deneb through the star Altair, and by extending this imaginary line about twice the Deneb/Altair distance.


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## kv466

I just showed my high school buddy how to find the teapot the other night! Such a rich, dense part of the sky. It was funny, he kept asking about planets and there just weren't any out at that time but he kept looking on the starfinder on his phone while I just looked along the ecliptic assuring him there were none out. I love not needing technology even though I did use a Spitz Space Transit Planetarium to learn the sky.


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## Guest

As I look out into the night sky, across all those infinite stars, it made me realise how unimportant they are.

_Attributed to Peter Cooke, The Times. _


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## Kopachris

I went for nice early morning (4am-ish) hike yesterday. Got to watch Sirius rise above the horizon. Quite striking with Jupiter still in the area, and I could clearly see the zodiacal light below Jupiter. Amazing.

Also saw a weird satellite or piece of debris--appeared as a quick, bright, almost blinding (say, mag -6?) flash ESE (about 30 deg south of the ecliptic). It then only reappeared every couple seconds as a slower, dimmer (mag 4) flash progressing southward. Anything interesting happen in orbit at about 12:30pm UTC yesterday?


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## Lunasong

Update on Comet ISON.

The comet was named for the International Sky Observers Network, through which is was discovered. The current word is that it is not as bright as hoped. It was first "recovered" from the sun's glare on Aug 14 by an amateur astronomer who has posted a log and commentary of his observations here.


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## Lunasong

Photo of Comet ISON taken by my son through a telescope in my backyard this weekend.


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## Lunasong

For those following Comet ISON, a link to live update.
http://www.cometison2013.co.uk/perihelion-and-distance/


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## Huilunsoittaja

It's not dark enough where I live to see it.  Perhaps if I get up super early in the morning I'll catch it on the horizon, but so many city lights are everywhere, even regular stars are hard to see.


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## Kopachris

An asteroid will be eclipsing the star Regulus tonight: http://www.space.com/25101-rare-asteroid-star-eclipse-this-week.html?cmpid=514648_20140318_20280814


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## Katie

Far too much technical and academic talk here - thus, I'd like to present the following accessible block of instruction for the benefit of my fellow plebes:






P.S.: Steven Hawking has confirmed the fundamental accuracy of the animated component for the creation of planets!/K


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## Lunasong

I saw this lovely Comet Lovejoy 2014 tonight through a pair of binoculars!








USA: This chart shows how to spot Comet Lovejoy in mid-January 2015, looking southeast at about 8 p.m. local time. Looking to the upper right of constellation Orion will assist in locating Comet Lovejoy.

Today is also when Lovejoy passes closest by Earth: at a distance of 0.47 a.u. (44 million miles; 70 million km). Although the comet begins to recede from us after the 7th, its intrinsic brightness should still be increasing a bit; it doesn't reach perihelion (its closest to the Sun) until January 30th. It should be visible through binoculars during this time.

Not cold enough yet? Both the moon and Jupiter are ascending, side by side in the eastern sky.


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## Dave Whitmore

I've always enjoeyed looking up at the night sky. One of my most vivid memories is when I was twelve and on vacation in Canada with my grandparents. They took me on a ten day camping trip to a place called Algonquin Park. This park was HUGE. There were at least 12 hiking trails, one of them would take three days to complete. One night we toasted marshmallows around a campfire. As the fire died down I remember lying back and looking up at the night sky. The sight has lived with me for over thirty years.  There were literally millions of stars in the sky. They were so bright I could easily see the band of the Milky Way stretching across the sky. I remember seeing shooting stars, satellites. Everything was so vivid. I've never seen anything remotely like it since. 

Over the years I've seen countless shooting stars, I've seen green fireballs. 

I remember one night after a works party, looking up at the sky. A teenage girl asked me what I was looking at. When I told her I was looking at the stars, her response was "what for?" I kind of felt sorry for her for lacking the imagination to even think of looking up.

This is a great thread!


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## Kopachris

@Lunasong: thanks for the reminder about the comet! I'll have to check it out tonight.



Kopachris said:


> I went for nice early morning (4am-ish) hike yesterday. Got to watch Sirius rise above the horizon. Quite striking with Jupiter still in the area, and I could clearly see the zodiacal light below Jupiter. Amazing.
> 
> Also saw a weird satellite or piece of debris--appeared as a quick, bright, almost blinding (say, mag -6?) flash ESE (about 30 deg south of the ecliptic). It then only reappeared every couple seconds as a slower, dimmer (mag 4) flash progressing southward. Anything interesting happen in orbit at about 12:30pm UTC yesterday?


I never mentioned, but I found out what that object was several months later. It was just an Iridium flare. As it turns out, such an occurrence is more common than I thought, though while I've seen satellites cross the sky many times, I'd never seen them flare like that.


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## kv466

Nothing new but our sister, Venus, has returned to our night sky as the 'Evening Star'. Look just above the setting Sun in the southwest and there you'll see her in all her brilliance!


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## Kopachris

Tomorrow's payday. I think I want to buy a good reflecting telescope. Thinking about getting this one. Anyone have some experience with the Celestron AstroMaster series?


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## Lunasong

kv466 said:


> Nothing new but our sister, Venus, has returned to our night sky as the 'Evening Star'. Look just above the setting Sun in the southwest and there you'll see her in all her brilliance!


Yes! I saw Venus and Mercury paired tonight...


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## kv466

That looks like a nice little scope, KC!! I've always been a fan of the dobsonians, myself, but that looks like it's come a long way. You can't got wrong with that. Moon will be crystal clear. Jupiter and Saturn should be lovely, too, although not super huge. Remember, I used to operate an 8 foot long and 14 inch diameter scope at the observatory I used to work at and even then they were small! You just gotta learn to appreciate the image for what it is: A planet that is at least a half a million miles away!! Good luck!


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## Lunasong

A photo taken by my son early this AM from our backyard of the triple shadow transit of Jupiter. Here's what he had to say:
_A triple shadow transit of Jupiter happened this morning. I took this photo around 2am and I just missed Io's shadow by about 10 minutes cause I overslept - guess I'll have to wait until 2032 for the next one...at least I captured three moons and two shadows on Jupiter. Also, this was taken through overcast clouds...._


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## Lunasong

Kopachris said:


> Tomorrow's payday. I think I want to buy a good reflecting telescope. Thinking about getting this one. Anyone have some experience with the Celestron AstroMaster series?


Kopa, did you get your telescope yet?


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## Kopachris

Lunasong, just now finally got around to buying it. It'll be here Wednesday afternoon. Wednesday is my night off, so hopefully the weather will be clear enough to try it out!


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## Kopachris

Had some difficulty with the telescope. Forgot my middle initial on the billing, so credit card declined. Had to call customer service to get the order resubmitted with the correct name, so my telescope didn't get here until Friday afternoon. 

Anyway, I got it set up yesterday morning and was able to try it out this evening before work. The bright gibbous moon polluted what would otherwise have been a very nice sky (only partly cloudy), but I still managed to find my old friend, the Orion Nebula. Even though it was a little washed out by the moonlight, it was very well defined and easy to see, as opposed to the undefined gray blur I would see with my binoculars.

I wonder if I can set up my camera's tripod just right to get my camera looking through the eyepiece of the telescope (since I don't have a mounting bracket/adapter)... I'd love to get more into astrophotography.


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## elgar's ghost

Can anyone tell me what would be the large bright star that I saw through my window the other night c. 9 p.m. in a roughly north-east to east position? The reason I spotted it was because the streetlights couldn't obscure it like it does most of the others - it looked really powerful.


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## hpowders

I always "look up" when outside during the evening.

Some of my fondest memories were gazing at the nighttime summer skies on Long Island as a kid, where the air was unpolluted, near the ocean, away from the city. Occasionally, I would get lucky and see a "shooting star"!

Now, fast forward to adulthood, I live in a similar environment, away from the city, where the stars are abundant and spectacular at night and I still look up and gaze in wonder...but a little of the original magic has been lost.


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## Kopachris

elgars ghost said:


> Can anyone tell me what would be the large bright star that I saw through my window the other night c. 9 p.m. in a roughly north-east to east position? The reason I spotted it was because the streetlights couldn't obscure it like it does most of the others - it looked really powerful.


Probably Jupiter, not a star at all.


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## Lunasong

From http://earthsky.org/tonight

February 2015 presents Jupiter's finest moment in the sun for this year. Jupiter shines opposite the sun this month - in what astronomers call opposition to the sun - directly reflecting the light of the sun back to Earth and shining at its brightest best for this year. Jupiter's opposition will happen when Earth passes between Jupiter and the sun on February 6.

Because it's opposite the sun this month, Jupiter is out from nightfall until morning dawn. Look for Jupiter low in the east at early evening, highest up around midnight, and low in the west at daybreak. You can't miss it! It's brighter than any star (but not as bright as Venus).

Venus, the sky's brightest planet, and modestly-bright Mars appear close together in the western sky after sunset.

*February 3, 2015* - no matter where you are on Earth, look eastward as soon as darkness falls. The full moon and the dazzling planet Jupiter will couple up together just above the eastern horizon at nightfall.

The brilliant twosome will reach its high point for the night around midnight, and will descend westward in the wee hours after midnight.

If you're up early tomorrow, on *February 4*, look for the moon and Jupiter over the western horizon in the predawn/dawn sky.


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## elgar's ghost

Kopachris said:


> Probably Jupiter, not a star at all.


Oh, it was actually the Big One? I don't stargaze - I can pick out Orion and one or two other things - but even I thought it looked big for a star. Thanks for letting me know. K.

EDIT: And you, L (didn't see your post until afterwards). :tiphat:


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## Kopachris

Lovely conjunction of Mars and Venus right now, and the Moon will get _very_ close to both in the next couple days.

I have tonight off, and the weather's clear, so I'm finally getting some quality time with my new telescope. So far tonight, through the telescope I've seen:

* Mars
* Venus
* Jupiter + all four Galilean moons (and a hint of the cloud bands, but the eyepiece isn't great for it)
* Andromeda Galaxy, M31
* Orion Nebula, M42
* Pleiades, M45
* Sirius (man, that is a brilliant star)
* Double Cluster, Caldwell 14
* Also scanned the rest of the Perseus/Cassiopeia region - very beautiful in its own right

Update: Just went back out for a few minutes (my hands froze pretty quickly) and can add these items to the list:

* Saturn + rings
* Antares (boring)
* Globular cluster M80 - which I wasn't even looking for!
* Arcturus (another brilliant star)


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## Kopachris

Since I have my own car now (and the trunk is big enough for my telescope), I've managed to find a really nice dark spot about 30 miles south of town. Virtually no light pollution whatsoever. You can see thousands of stars, and the band of the Milky Way is absolutely stunning, complete with dust lanes.

Last week, I scanned Cygnus and Scutum. Cygnus was very beautiful, but nothing particularly interesting other than a small satellite or piece of space debris cruising through my field of view, not giving a f***. In Scutum, on the other hand, I found several globular clusters which I couldn't reliably identify because I was too excited to keep track of where I was. I was even able to resolve individual stars in one of them! I left the dark site before Sagittarius rose.

Last night, I went back after Sagittarius rose. The galactic core is plainly, magnificently obvious under those light conditions. The Great Rift is clear and sharply defined. In the half hour I spent scanning scanning, I saw two nebulae I hadn't seen before: the Trifid and the Lagoon. When I first saw them, I didn't know what they were. The Trifid Nebula was very faint in my telescope, and could only be seen as a vague cloud around what I presume to be a central star in the nebula, HIP 88333. The Lagoon Nebula was brilliant, nearly as bright and well-structured as the Orion Nebula. When I saw the cluster and surrounding nebulosity, I immediately thought "H II region?" I paused to open up Stellarium on my phone - when I looked where my telescope was pointing, it was very obvious which objects I was looking at.


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