A reason to get up early

Post by **DRT** » 14:06 Thu 31 Jul 2014

LGTrotter wrote:A bit of a rush of telescopes arriving round yours, is this the start of a bull run or are you stopping now?

Stopping now. I have bought two and sold two. I now have a nice combination of a large SCT with all the electronic gizmos required to find and track anything in the sky, a very large Dob for some hard-core manually driven hunting and a good sized Refractor for wide-field viewing and perhaps some photography.

Post by **DRT** » 18:53 Sat 02 Aug 2014

The current forecast suggests that the big guns will be coming out tonight

For those interested, Uranus rises just after 11pm and should be up in front of me around 1:30am. I'll try to get some decent pictures.

LGTrotter · Post by **LGTrotter** » 18:59 Sat 02 Aug 2014

Cool, I'm doing a late one tonight I think. Hope the sky remains clear, this rain should have cleared some of the haze away too.

Post by **DRT** » 19:15 Sat 02 Aug 2014

LGTrotter wrote:Cool, I'm doing a late one tonight I think. Hope the sky remains clear, this rain should have cleared some of the haze away too.

I hope so. I stayed up until 3am a couple of nights ago and saw nothing but haze

djewesbury · Post by **djewesbury** » 19:37 Sat 02 Aug 2014

DRT wrote:
LGTrotter wrote:Cool, I'm doing a late one tonight I think. Hope the sky remains clear, this rain should have cleared some of the haze away too.
I hope so. I stayed up until 3am a couple of nights ago and saw nothing but haze

And he wasn't even watching the skies.
Thank you, thank you, I'm here all week.

LGTrotter · Post by **LGTrotter** » 01:17 Sun 03 Aug 2014

Derek; where do I look in the sky for Uranus?

Post by **DRT** » 02:31 Sun 03 Aug 2014

LGTrotter wrote:Derek; where do I look in the sky for Uranus?

Currently at around 2am it is in the south-south-east at around 30% elevation above the horizon. When it is in that position Neptune is directly south a little lower in the sky and Pluto is considerably lower and in the south-east. They will reach these positions earlier each day as our faster orbit around the sun leaves them behind. This means that in the autumn they will be in the sky in the late evening rather than early morning and will also be visible for longer as the nights draw out.

Unfortunately, I don't think any of them can be seen with the naked eye but you might see Uranus and Neptune through a decent pair of binoculars provided you know where to look and have a very steady hand.

Top Tip: All Solar System objects move along a path known as the Ecliptic. They don't all follow it precisely as some are slightly above or below it due to variances in the plane of their orbit around the Sun but they all follow more or less the same wide arc of motorway across the sky. If you learn the path of the arc that the Sun and the Moon follow across the sky from your location you will know where to look for planets. Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are all easily visible with the naked eye and are brighter than most stars. Mercury tends to be too close to the Sun but can occasionally be seen in the early dawn when it is in the widest point in its orbit ahead of the Sun.

If you want to find out what is in the sky at any particular time download a programme named Stellarium. It's quite intuitive to use and lets you set your location and then fast forward so that you can see named objects crossing the sky. If you zoom in and out you can see the real time position of the planetary moons and the Great Red Spot on Jupiter.

Time for bed.

LGTrotter · Post by **LGTrotter** » 11:21 Sun 03 Aug 2014

Thank-you Derek. I shall take my trusty bins and have a go.

Glad to see you working so late at the office.

Post by **DRT** » 11:38 Sun 03 Aug 2014

It is to be clear again tonight. As it begins to get dark (around 9:30-10:00) look to the south west and you will see the Moon. Use that to focus your bins as it is easy to find and to see. The Moon is fantastic to look at close up, especially in the late evening against a dusky blue sky.

You should not have to change the focus on your bins to see anything else.

Ahead of and slightly below the Moon you will see the bright red dot that is Mars. It might be too low to see if there is haze or cloud near the horizon. Mars is our closest neighbour but gives little away unless you can get it high in the sky at very high magnification. In your bins it will just be a bright pinkish red dot.

Behind and slightly higher than the moon is Saturn, which has a slightly yellowish glow. There will not be much else in the sky at this time so it should be easy to find. If you manage to catch that in your bins you should be able to make out the rings, which are one of the most awe inspiring sights in the sky.

If you haven't had enough by then wait until it is really dark, pull up a deck chair or sun lounger and look around straight up in the sky for a while. You might just happen to see something interesting.

Some homework for you today: learn how to find the constellation Hercules. It is a large wonky square of stars just south of directly above your head as darkness falls. A target awaits when you find it.

LGTrotter · Post by **LGTrotter** » 11:55 Sun 03 Aug 2014

I can find Mars OK usually, I shall look for Saturn, Hercules I have looked up and will try, I am a bit unsure if I will find it as they say it is difficult to see with light pollution (there is a bit of that hereabouts) or a bright moon. Saw a shooting star last night, which always cheers me up.

Post by **DRT** » 13:28 Sun 03 Aug 2014

I have light pollution (or "LP"

) here too and it doesn't affect Hercules as it is currently so high in the sky.

From around 23:00 face south east and then look up. Hercules lies about two thirds of the way between Acturus and Vega, two very bright stars low to the south east and high above you in the south. The blue square in this picture is centred on the Great Cluster in Hercules, a globular cluster containing up to half a million stars. In your bins it might just look like a fuzzy ball. But it's a fuzzy ball containing half a million of our Suns.

: Screen Shot 2014-08-03 at 14.09.05.png (56.04 KiB) Viewed 8567 times

In my large telescopes it looks like this...

: Photo copied from the earthsky.org page linked to above.; Screen Shot 2014-08-03 at 14.26.29.png (122.26 KiB) Viewed 8567 times

…and here is where you should see Saturn this evening just as it is getting dark…

: Screen Shot 2014-08-03 at 12.25.52.png (60.16 KiB) Viewed 8567 times

LGTrotter · Post by **LGTrotter** » 17:37 Sun 03 Aug 2014

Will there be a short test on this later? I shall bring pen and paper just in case.

Post by **DRT** » 20:01 Sun 03 Aug 2014

LGTrotter wrote:Will there be a short test on this later? I shall bring pen and paper just in case.

Yes. I expect to see a detailed sketch of your deck chair.

LGTrotter · Post by **LGTrotter** » 22:17 Sun 03 Aug 2014

Hazy, with cloud on the horizon and dotted about down here. Putting the covers back on.

Post by **DRT** » 23:03 Sun 03 Aug 2014

Clear sky here but the seeing is rubbish. Some atmospheric nonsense going on that makes it impossible to see clearly and throwing a blue glow from the setting Moon. Covers on and sitting at the 19th hole.

Glenn E. · Post by **Glenn E.** » 23:45 Sun 03 Aug 2014

Drat. Was looking forward to pictures this evening. Oh well, this slightly chilled glass of Taylor 20-yr old will have to do.

AW77 · Post by **AW77** » 17:12 Sun 10 Aug 2014

I read on the internet that there will be a "supermoon" tonight (which Wikipedia explained to me as "the coincidence of a full moon or a new moon with the closest approach the Moon makes to the Earth on its elliptical orbit, resulting in the largest apparent size of the lunar disk as seen from Earth.") I may have a look at the moon (but just with my naked eye), but it's very rainy and cloudy at the moment in Cologne.
Derek, do you get your telescope out tonight? And if yes, is it less cloudy in your area?

Post by **DRT** » 17:21 Sun 10 Aug 2014

AW77 wrote:Derek, do you get your telescope out tonight? And if yes, is it less cloudy in your area?

We are currently in the midst of the remnants of Hurricane Bertha. The prospect of me getting a telescope out this evening is more remote than winning the lottery

AW77 · Post by **AW77** » 17:24 Sun 10 Aug 2014

I read that the next supermoon will occur on the 9th of September. So you might be luckier then.

Post by **DRT** » 17:32 Sun 10 Aug 2014

Super-moons happen quite often, but they tend to be low in the sky and therefore difficult to see through the high magnification of a telescope. They are a phenomenon that is best enjoyed with the naked eye

Post by **Alex Bridgeman** » 20:30 Sun 10 Aug 2014

The moon did look rather large as it rose this evening over Lake Garda - and surprisingly red.

LGTrotter · Post by **LGTrotter** » 20:52 Sun 10 Aug 2014

Even in the less romantic hills of Somerset the moon looks superb tonight. A bright moon and a windy night, if only I were given to poaching.

Post by **DRT** » 21:17 Sun 10 Aug 2014

AHB wrote:The moon did look rather large as it rose this evening over Lake Garda - and surprisingly red.

{Like}

Post by **DRT** » 21:22 Sun 10 Aug 2014

I just spent a few minutes outside with the super-large Moon, fast-moving cloud and Mrs T.

Splendid.

AW77 · Post by **AW77** » 21:50 Sun 10 Aug 2014

Even with the clouds in Cologne shielding the moon like a frosted glass it's really bright. I looks as if the man on the moon forgot to switch off the light when he went to bed tonight.
I suggest listening to R.E.M.'s "Man on the Moon" while watching our lunar friend:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hKSYgOGtos

djewesbury · Post by **djewesbury** » 22:51 Sun 10 Aug 2014

I can confirm that even through the thick storm clouds here in Berlin, the moon is unusually bright.

TLW · Post by **TLW** » 03:22 Sat 06 Sep 2014

Good luck and clear skies to those that will hunt Pitbull.

Post by **Alex Bridgeman** » 21:23 Sun 07 Sep 2014

TLW wrote:Good luck and clear skies to those that will hunt Pitbull.

Is anyone else having trouble with the sound while watching SLOOH's re-run of Pitbull's fly past?

AW77 · Post by **AW77** » 22:33 Sat 13 Sep 2014

There was the phenomenon of the Northern Lights over Northern Ireland on Friday night:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-29190109
Did anyone see it? Daniel????

djewesbury · Post by **djewesbury** » 23:38 Sat 13 Sep 2014

AW77 wrote:There was the phenomenon of the Northern Lights over Northern Ireland on Friday night:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-29190109
Did anyone see it? Daniel????

Unfortunately I forgot all about the Northern Lights last night having drunk some Guinness and a little bit more Guinness and some ale. They are supposed to be visible again tonight but it's been overcast. I'll go and check again shortly.

Glenn E. · Post by **Glenn E.** » 04:17 Mon 15 Sep 2014

I tried both Thursday and Friday nights, but there's just too much light pollution in the Seattle area. No Northern Lights for me.

Post by **DRT** » 06:11 Sun 21 Sep 2014

For some reason I woke up early this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. I decided to get up and when I went to the window I noticed this in the dawn sky:

: NewMoon-21-09-2014.jpg (430.93 KiB) Viewed 8501 times

I only managed to get about 15 minutes before it became too bright to see clearly (the photo does not do justice to what could be seen through the telescope) so I started packing it all away. I glanced up to see if I could find Venus and noticed a very bright object about 20 degrees east of the Moon. Ah! There's Venus! Then I noticed that it was speeding towards the eastern horizon and after a few seconds it disappeared. Not Venus - it was the ISS.

Only a 15 minute session but definitely a reason to get up early

Now then, why was I so excited that I couldn't sleep? I'm sure it will come back to me.

djewesbury · Post by **djewesbury** » 10:15 Sun 21 Sep 2014

I think I know.

Post by **Alex Bridgeman** » 21:37 Sat 04 Oct 2014

DRT wrote:Now then, why was I so excited that I couldn't sleep? I'm sure it will come back to me.

Was it because you were due in Birmingham later that day?

TLW · Post by **TLW** » 11:47 Wed 08 Oct 2014

Had a wonderful lunar eclipse - a "blood moon" as I understand it is called, over Tokyo tonight. Very impressive.

Post by **DRT** » 01:16 Sat 08 Nov 2014

Tonight we have a 99% Waning Gibbous Moon, photographed through my new Explore Scientific 70° 20mm eyepiece in a Celestron Omni XLT 150mm Newtonian at 37.5x magnification…

: 2014-11-08 00.34.14.jpg (294.34 KiB) Viewed 8361 times

LGTrotter · Post by **LGTrotter** » 01:35 Sat 08 Nov 2014

I thought a gibbous moon was a half moon, sort of.

Edit; looked it up, wrong again.

djewesbury · Post by **djewesbury** » 01:40 Sat 08 Nov 2014

Splendid photograph. The1% of shadow gives wonderful definition at the edge. Thank you.

Post by **DRT** » 01:46 Sat 08 Nov 2014

LGTrotter wrote:I thought a gibbous moon was a half moon, sort of.

It can be. The Moon becomes gibbous just before or after a half Moon.

LGTrotter · Post by **LGTrotter** » 19:00 Mon 08 Dec 2014

The Port Forum telescope seems to have been inactive recently. I notice the skies are clearing...

Post by **DRT** » 16:14 Tue 09 Dec 2014

There is general frustration and disgruntlement amongst the astronomical hoi polloi at the lack of clear skies above northern Europe over the past few months. Even when we have had clear skies we have not had good "seeing" due to a very active atmosphere. Many millions of pounds worth of expensive glass is sitting in sheds doing nothing. Hopefully 2015 will be different.

LGTrotter · Post by **LGTrotter** » 02:06 Sun 14 Dec 2014

I saw three shooting stars in the space of two short fags this evening.

No, this is not some euphemistic suggestion. It's about astronony. Daniel. Derek.

Post by **DRT** » 02:23 Sun 14 Dec 2014

Those would be Geminids. I am pleased that someone saw some. The cloud above my house was not quite so exciting.

LGTrotter · Post by **LGTrotter** » 02:30 Sun 14 Dec 2014

DRT wrote:Those would be Geminids. I am pleased that someone saw some. The cloud above my house was not quite so exciting.

Excellent, I shall be able to introduce myself properly. The sky has partially clouded down here but it was pretty clear until midnight. The last meteor was spotted through haze/light cloud.

Post by **DRT** » 02:36 Sun 14 Dec 2014

Gentlemen,

I would suggest you block out the morning of 20th March 2015 in your diaries and wish for a clear sky.

You might also want to buy a pair of these. If you want them, buy them now. Do not wait until a few days or weeks before. Dr Brian Cox will soon be on our TV screens promoting the event and recommending the same purchase.

Whatever happens, believe me, it is not the end of the world.

LGTrotter · Post by **LGTrotter** » 02:39 Sun 14 Dec 2014

Last time there was an eclipse I stood outside Eastbourne hospital and looked through x-ray plates at it.

Post by **DRT** » 02:45 Sun 14 Dec 2014

LGTrotter wrote:Last time there was an eclipse I stood outside Eastbourne hospital and looked through x-ray plates at it.

Shhh! The Health & Safety Police are watching!

djewesbury · Post by **djewesbury** » 10:01 Sun 14 Dec 2014

An eclipse!! An eclipse! I feel like a giddy girl! (No, Owen, etc etc)

Glenn E. · Post by **Glenn E.** » 17:25 Sun 14 Dec 2014

I plan to return to my childhood home for my birthday in 2017, as it will be dead center in the 2+ minute portion of GreatAmericanEclipse.com.

Post by **DRT** » 17:48 Sun 14 Dec 2014

Glenn E. wrote:I plan to return to my childhood home for my birthday in 2017, as it will be dead center in the 2+ minute portion of GreatAmericanEclipse.com.

The event on 20th March 2015 occurs eight days before my 50th birthday. I consulted a local Druid who assured me that if I slay a dragon and am bathed in the milk of a hundred Unicorns by a dozen willing Maidens during the eclipse I will be 42 years old by the time I reach my birthday.

Does anyone know where I can find a dragon?