A reason to get up early

[DRT]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25052236

[LGTrotter]

Heard about this, thanks for the reminder.

Remember being amazed by Hale-bop, or whatever it was called. I predict a plague.

[DRT]

For those interested there is a Horizon special about this on iPlayer at the moment.

[djewesbury]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25052236

Will you get some pictures? Will you show them to us?

[DRT]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25052236

Will you get some pictures? Will you show them to us?

If you pop round I'll show you my slides.

[djewesbury]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25052236

Will you get some pictures? Will you show them to us?

If you pop round I'll show you my slides.

Oh Derek...

[LGTrotter]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25052236

Will you get some pictures? Will you show them to us?

If you pop round I'll show you my slides.

Oh Derek...

Get a room.

[Alex Bridgeman]

So let me get this right. You and the BBC are exhorting us to get up early in order to see a comet which:
(a) will not be visible from the Northern Hemisphere until Dec 1;
(b) will explode into nothingness when it passes through the Sun before Dec 1; and
(c) will be hidden by the clouds of the British autumn anyway

Hrmphh. At least in the winter I usually get up a little before sunrise so might take a peek out of the windows just to admire the thickness of the cloud cover.

[DRT]

So let me get this right. You and the BBC are exhorting us to get up early in order to see a comet which:
(a) will not be visible from the Northern Hemisphere until Dec 1;
(b) will explode into nothingness when it passes through the Sun before Dec 1; and
(c) will be hidden by the clouds of the British autumn anyway

We will know before the end of this week whether or not the comet still exists. If it does it will be visible from 1st to 19th of Dec just before dawn. It would be very rare to have 19 consecutive mornings in December in the UK without a frosty morning caused by an absence of cloud cover.

Isn't December in winter rather than autumn?

[djewesbury]

So let me get this right. You and the BBC are exhorting us to get up early in order to see a comet which:
(a) will not be visible from the Northern Hemisphere until Dec 1;
(b) will explode into nothingness when it passes through the Sun before Dec 1; and
(c) will be hidden by the clouds of the British autumn anyway

We will know before the end of this week whether or not the comet still exists. If it does it will be visible from 1st to 19th of Dec just before dawn. It would be very rare to have 19 consecutive mornings in December in the UK without a frosty morning caused by an absence of cloud cover.

Isn't December in winter rather than autumn?

A little bit of it, from the 21st onwards. Surely a stargazer knows the date of the solstice?

[DRT]

A little bit of it, from the 21st onwards. Surely a stargazer knows the date of the solstice?

I think of winter in meteorogical rather than astronomical terms.

[LGTrotter]

Winter starts on the 21st of December? Shouldn't someone mention the precession of the equinox?

[DRT]

I am a simple soul. Meteorologists in the UK define winter as the three coldest months of the year, December, January and February. That does for me.

[Alex Bridgeman]

So let me get this right. You and the BBC are exhorting us to get up early in order to see a comet which:
(a) will not be visible from the Northern Hemisphere until Dec 1;
(b) will explode into nothingness when it passes through the Sun before Dec 1; and
(c) will be hidden by the clouds of the British autumn anyway

We will know before the end of this week whether or not the comet still exists. If it does it will be visible from 1st to 19th of Dec just before dawn. It would be very rare to have 19 consecutive mornings in December in the UK without a frosty morning caused by an absence of cloud cover.

Isn't December in winter rather than autumn?

I'm willing to give it a go.

[Glenn E.]

I am a simple soul. Meteorologists in the UK define winter as the three coldest months of the year, December, January and February. That does for me.

Here in Seattle, things are not so simple.

Summer is roughly 6 weeks, from mid-July until the end of August. September and October are nice and Fall-like. November becomes this strange 'tween-season. December, January, and February conform to the UK definition of the three coldest months of the year, so that works for Winter. March returns the strangeness which carries through April and often into May. June is usually nicely Spring-like, carrying through the 4th of July into the merge with Summer at some point in mid-July.

Of course, growing up in Nebraska was hardly better. Summer was June, July, August, and often the first 2 weeks of September. Then came Fall, which was brilliant, usually right up until the first snowfall around Thanksgiving in the 4th week of November. Winter - defined as the season during which precipitation falls as snow - took over at the end of November and lasted through December, January, February, March, and into April. Spring was typically April and May, though we occasionally received snowfall as late as mid-May. So less weird 'tween seasons, but not conveniently 3 months/season either.

[mpij]

So let me get this right. You and the BBC are exhorting us to get up early in order to see a comet which:
(a) will not be visible from the Northern Hemisphere until Dec 1;
(b) will explode into nothingness when it passes through the Sun before Dec 1; and
(c) will be hidden by the clouds of the British autumn anyway

Hrmphh. At least in the winter I usually get up a little before sunrise so might take a peek out of the windows just to admire the thickness of the cloud cover.

As I'm working nightshift most of DecemberI will be staying up and possibly enjoying a glass of port while I observe. If it turns out to be more than a damp squib,however, I may double decant a bottle and visit friends living in the country to get better view than with all the light pollution I get living in city centre.

[LGTrotter]

So let me get this right. You and the BBC are exhorting us to get up early in order to see a comet which:
(a) will not be visible from the Northern Hemisphere until Dec 1;
(b) will explode into nothingness when it passes through the Sun before Dec 1; and
(c) will be hidden by the clouds of the British autumn anyway

Hrmphh. At least in the winter I usually get up a little before sunrise so might take a peek out of the windows just to admire the thickness of the cloud cover.

As I'm working nightshift most of DecemberI will be staying up and possibly enjoying a glass of port while I observe. If it turns out to be more than a damp squib,however, I may double decant a bottle and visit friends living in the country to get better view than with all the light pollution I get living in city centre.

I knew that people north of the border were made of sterner stuff but a glass of port for breakfast after a night shift! Chapeau!

[LGTrotter]

Lovely stuff about growing up in Nebraska Glenn. Now where is Nebraska...

[djewesbury]

Lovely stuff about growing up in Nebraska Glenn. Now where is Nebraska...

I thought it was spelled 'NO ONE LIVES THERE'

[Glenn E.]

Lovely stuff about growing up in Nebraska Glenn. Now where is Nebraska...

I thought it was spelled 'NO ONE LIVES THERE'

You'll note that I no longer live there...

Those in the U.K. most commonly labeled it "who cares?" in the post referenced here.

[TLW]

Of course, growing up in Nebraska was hardly better.

Poor soul.

I have known several people with a similar traumatic experience, and they never really seem to fully recover. Truly heart-wrenching.

That being said, I have little doubt that port eases the pain, and am certain that many here will concur.

Anyway, I hope that I am somewhere that I can see the comet though. Missed the last one - although I did see one total eclipse from my office a year or two ago.

[LGTrotter]

News update on 'a reason to get up early'; stay in bed.

[DRT]

News update on 'a reason to get up early'; stay in bed.

The astronomical equivalent of a 1983 horizontal.

[LGTrotter]

News update on 'a reason to get up early'; stay in bed.

The astronomical equivalent of a 1983 horizontal.

That good? No stand outs?

[DRT]

News update on 'a reason to get up early'; stay in bed.

The astronomical equivalent of a 1983 horizontal.

That good? No stand outs?

It appears that the 1983s flew too close to the sun. The Niepoort seems to have been shielded by something, but not to a degree that would make it stellar.

[LGTrotter]

Glad I managed to resist the few cheapies that have come and gone. I remember having the Graham, dull and short. Hey ho, shame about the comet.

[DRT]

shame about the comet.

Indeed. I was looking forward to not being able to see it because of the cloud for 18 days out of 19.

But it has worrying implications: cataclysmic astronomical events are not a thing of the past. If a comet can leave the Oort cloud and crash into the sun at 1million kph it is not too far a stretch of the imagination that Royal Oporto might one day make a vintage port worth drinking. Worrying times.

[LGTrotter]

If a comet can leave the Oort cloud and crash into the sun at 1million kph it is not too far a stretch of the imagination that Royal Oporto might one day make a vintage port worth drinking.

Relax, it couldn't possibly happen. Or at least not until the end of the world. Sweet dreams.

[jdaw1]

it couldn't possibly happen.

It could.
â‘  All Royal Oporto properties and brands are sold to a competent port company.
â‘¡ Things that long ago should have been are then done, and good Port is made.

[Alex Bridgeman]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25143861

Or is there hope still...

[DRT]

Still no sign of Ison, but the Orion Nebula* is looking rather splendid this evening.



* Not my picture, but very close to what I could see through my telescope this evening.

[LGTrotter]

Leo is looking good tonight. My star sign.

[djewesbury]

Stunning pictures of Ison on tonight's Sky at Night.

[DRT]

Thanks. I have a feeling I will be out there tonight. The sky is clear and my two fancy new lenses arrived this morning

[djewesbury]

Thanks. I have a feeling I will be out there tonight. The sky is clear and my two fancy new lenses arrived this morning

Post any pics you get.. And you'll be listening to England build a convincing first innings lead too. Perfect.

[RAYC]

Derek,

Do you know much about telescopes? Is there something within a reasonable budget that is a plausible astronomy tool but could serve equally well for snooping on the neighbourhood...?

Is amazon a good place to buy, or are there specialist internet shops that would be better?

[djewesbury]

snooping on the neighbourhood...?

I won't tell anyone!

[DRT]

Do you know much about telescopes? Is there something within a reasonable budget that is a plausible astronomy tool but could serve equally well for snooping on the neighbourhood...?

I cannot claim to know much about telescopes. I am to the world of astronomy what a Port lover who has only ever tasted Tesco LBV is the the world of Port.

I own a Skywatcher Heritage 130p Dobsonian (purchased from that site) that I find to be easy to use and to give good results when pointed upwards. I have not pointed towards anyone's window so can't comment on its performance for watching showers of a non-astronomical nature. I bought this scope after many, many hours of research and it seems to do what it says on the tin. More research has persuaded me to purchase higher grade eyepieces which I will be road testing on Jupiter this evening.

I also own a pair of Celestron 71008 25x70 Skymaster Porro Prism Binoculars (purchased from Amazon) which are good for looking at the moon and would probably work quite well when pointed horizontally at terrestrial objects.

[PhilW]

Seems like a lovely clear night for star-gazing, provided you're not too close to the coast. The moon last night was an amazing golden sliver as it crept above the horizon yesterday evening (now back to 'normal'). Post some pics of the comet if you get any and there is anything left of it?

[jdaw1]

While most agree that #ISON was destroyed, we're searching for what's left of the #comet. http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nas ... qDWnnfziqQ

The picture shows real strength in depth.

[DRT]

research has persuaded me to purchase higher grade eyepieces which I will be road testing on Jupiter this evening.

The new Celestron X-cel LX eyepiece is a significant improvement on the standard kit. A much brighter, sharper image and the first time I have had a clear view of four of Jupiter's moons. I normally only see three. This gives me a problem. Celestron X-cel LX eyepieces each cost the same as a bottle of Graham's 1970 and I now need to buy at least three more

[djewesbury]

'Need'?

When I used to own and use a 16mm film camera, I used to salivate over lenses too. A Canon 8-64mm zoom was a steal at only approx. £2500. A set of secondhand Russian primes would set you back about £7500 if you were extremely lucky. But the image quality was staggering.

EDIT: Perhaps you can see why I took up G70 instead!

[djewesbury]

BBC4 now!

[LGTrotter]

My God! It's full of stars!

[djewesbury]

Damn right.

[DRT]

Are you as excited as I am that it's only 1 hour and 20 minutes until Mars reaches an altitude above the eastern horizon that will enable me to view it through my new lens for the first time?

[LGTrotter]

Are you as excited as I am that it's only 1 hour and 20 minutes until Mars reaches an altitude above the eastern horizon that will enable me to view it through my new lens for the first time?

Oooohhh baby!

[LGTrotter]

Let us know how it goes. Night.

[DRT]

Let us know how it goes.

Cloudy

[DRT]

+20mins the cloud lifted. Mars was low in the sky and decidedly bright and red, but I couldn't see Daniel.