A Pricescoper''s Guide to the Galaxy ( astronomy thread)

[Lorelei]

Hi - my name is Lorelei and I love to stand outside on freezing cold nights, howl at the moon for obscuring my vision and stand for hours looking at *diamonds* in the sky.

I am an amateur astronomer.

Nowadays I prefer to be more of a naked eye constellation spotter as my telescope is an instrument of torture, designed to torment and frustrate - for the pitiful views it has occasionally given me, I prefer to use a beach recliner and binocs for amplified viewing and leave the telescope to rot in a cobwebby corner.

I had the idea for this thread once Marcy joined us, who actually teaches the subject! I know there are more like minded souls out there ( Stephanie) and if so, please join us here in learning about and exploring the skies from the comfort of our computers! I am rusty on many things as I need to read up again on many things to refresh my memory.

I am lucky that I live out in open countryside which is very flat, so the sky begins at a low level for me, I also don't have too much in the way of light pollution to spoil things, or I can avoid it fairly easily. I have good views of all the sky, except the lower south.

So lets hear from anyone else who may be an avid stargazer or who just has always been interested and would like to know more!

 

[surfgirl]

Hi Lorelei, thanks for starting this thread! I also love star gazing. I dont know SO much about it but I enjoy it, particularly when I''m traveling abroad. I still remember the first time I was in Africa and one night a friend pointed up to the skies and said "Look! Isn''t that the Sothern Cross?!" It was so small in person, yet very exciting because it really made me realize I "wasn''t in Kansas anymore"! Several years ago I was on a night game drive during a safari holiday and the guide pointed out Scorpio to me. It was amazing! It spread out across the night sky so far and wide that it boggled my mind. Once I got back to the city I was working in (it was a weekend getaway), I voed to look at Scorpio everynight until I left for home since I cant see it at home. So every evening, I''d walk to the gym and look up and see where Scorpio was. I dont know why it thrills me, but it does. Maybe it''s the "scintillation"?!?

 

[Lorelei]

YA SG!! I don''t know a huge amount either, so we can all benefit and learn together and compare notes! That must have been incredible seeing the Southern Cross, not many get the opportunity! I have seen the Northern Lights years ago on a ship and remember it to this day, it was awesome in the best sense of the word!

 

[marcy]

Thanks for starting the astronomy thread for us, Lorelei. I am an avid amateur astronomer. I started going out looking at the sky in high school. I ran in to other amateur astronomers when I drove out of town in 1986 hunting for the famous Halley''s comet. That group of us eventually formed a local astronomy club. I have been an active board member of the club for 21 years. My husband is president of the club and I am the sec / treas / editor.

In 1989 the local community college contacted me about teaching their astronomy courses. Since I wasn''t a teacher by trade I was hesitant but classes started in a week and they were desperate so I said, sure I''ll try it. I was the most HORRID teacher you can imagine. I prepared speeches and read it to them. Bad mistake. I eventually took some education classes and decided to reflect back on the great teachers I had and thought of the methods they used to be successful teachers. That changed everything. My students always comment on how enthusiastic I am about teaching the class. Of course since I LOVE astronomy it''s not hard. I teach my class online and also have it on campus during the fall semester.

I am excited to see where this thread takes us. Did anyone see the Moon, Jupiter and Antares last night? They formed a "cosmic triangle". I wasn''t able to find Antares due to cloudy skies; but the Moon and Jupiter were visible.

Lorelei, I can''t imagine seeing aurora from the ocean. Wow! I''ve seen several nice shows from Wyoming.

Happy stargazing!

 

[Stephanie]

Surf - That sounds incredible! I want to travel so badly - once I finish with school again...
Lorelei - Were you on a cruise? I actually hate telescopes too. Well, let me rephrase, I hate refractive telescopes.

Iam so excited about this thread. When I was studying, I literally would spend thirty minutes in the closet by the back door then shut my eyes until I got out on the deck (where I had set up my blanket, maps, and red lights.) I love finding the constellations that my father would point out to me as a kid. It''s kind of a nostalgic feeling. I was such a nerd, that I used to stay up and watch the little fifteen minute show on PBS "Stargazer," just so I knew what to look for when.

 

[Lorelei]

We are off to a great start!!

I was on a ship travelling to Denmark when I saw the Northern Lights. It was a huge thing for me to be able to see it, so as the sky was clear, my Father and I went up on deck and he pointed it out. I remember lots of soft pink and green swirls in the sky, really beautiful and eerie. My Father was also into stargazing, we had a Sky Atlas which was published by the Times newspaper in 1953, it was complicated but fascinating. One of my favourite books is Rey's Map of the Stars where he redraws the constellations.

Marcy the clouds were back last night and I was disappointed as I wanted to see that...

Stephanie, night vision adjustment is so important as is red nail polish on the torch, Hubby had hell to pay if he came outside and the security light went on and ruined my eyes for the next few mins!

 

[surfgirl]

Oh, I totally forgot about the Northern Lights! I first saw them up in Maine one summer night many years ago. But I was at the time, how shall I say this?, under the influence of natural "medication" and I wasn''t too sure what I saw was really real. But then I had the opportunity to see the Northern Lights again on a flight to Malawi. We were flying via Amsterdam and over the polar ice cap the captain came on in the middle of the night to tell us if we were interested, there was a great show of Northern Lights outside the left side of the plane. Natually I lept out of my seat and went to the exit door and pressed my face against the window and was just mesmerized by what I saw. It looked beyond surreal. I couldn''t believe I was the only one who bothered to get up and look at it!

We also went out to the desert many years ago to see the Pleidies (sp?) star shower. Parked the truck backwards in a scenic overlook high on a bluff and just laid in the back of the truck watching the shooting stars. I think honestly, shooting stars are my absolutely favorite star-related activity. I still cant wrap my head around the fact that at that moment I''m looking at a star that burned out millions of years ago. At least I think that''s what I''m seeing...Is that correct Marcy? Anyway, stars mystify me simply because they are SO far away and I cant conceptualize in lightyears...

 

[Lorelei]

I am trying to remember exactly what makes a shooting star, it is the remnants of something as it hits our atmosphere, they are so neat to watch. My best time is on a freezing cold night in the early hours of the morning in my stableyard to watch shooting stars, as there is hardly any light to interfere, they are just whizzing about all over the show, it is a fantastic sight.

I can't believe that about the Northern Lights either that no one else bothered to get up and look.

Also that fascinates me to think that the light I am seeing now travelling from a star, may have left it hundreds of years ago.

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Hi Lorelei-- I too am a cosmos hound, and am glad you started this thread! Living in a metropolis, I hardly ever gaze at the stars anymore in my day-to-day life, but have been known to drive WAAAY out in the country to catch various celestial events. Surfgirl, I also remember being giddy with excitement the first time I saw the Southern Cross (first trip to French Polynesia), and I''ve been known to pass quite a few hours lying on my back while on vacation to places without light pollution problems watching more and more stars reveal themselves to me as my eyes adjust further and further to the darkness. The resulting perspective of insignificance is more centering than the most rigorous yoga class for me!

So, has anyone here ever traveled to see a total solar eclipse in order to behold the... "diamond ring effect"?

 

[njc]

I don’t have a ton of star gazing experience, nor do I know a lot of constellations, but have always enjoyed it. I always seem to see the same thing since I never go anywhere or live anywhere different. We live just outside of DC, so tons of light pollution, but occasionally can see a shooting star from our back deck. Someone mentioned Haley’s comet and I remember sitting on our rooftop with my brother waiting. We still aren’t sure what we saw was it… scared the crap out of us though!

While in Hawaii on our honeymoon, we took a trip up to Mauna Kea for a night of star gazing… WOW! That was worth the whole trip. I have never seen so many stars before in my life… like ribbons streaming through the sky. There was more white than black. You could see planets setting and watch satellites track across the sky… insane... see the Milky Way with your naked eye. We definitely want to go back and are determined to plan things so we can be on Mauna Kea during a new moon so there is even less light. The entire Big Island of Hawaii has special soda(?) lights that do not cause light pollution. I just wish there was a way to capture that kind of stuff other than my memory!

I look forward to reading this thread with everyone''s stories and tips! Thank you Lorelei!

 

[Skippy123]

Yay, to this thread! I LOVE LOVE Shooting stars and meteor showers, my favorite!!! Yay, Marcy is on board to teach us! Whoooo hoooo Marcy!

Great thread Lorelei

 

[marcy]

This is awesome. I only have to go to PS to talk about the 3 big things in my life: stars, gems / diamonds and dieting. Woo hoo!

Surfgirl, Lorelei is right a shooting star is something hitting our atmosphere. It is either a piece of dust and gas that burns up from the friction of entering our atmosphere. Meteor showers are when we pass through a point in our orbit where we intersect the debris left behind by a comet as it orbited the Sun. Since a comet is leaving behind a trail of gas and dust debris; when we cross that debris there are more particles to vaporize in our atmosphere. Since all the meteors seem to radiate away from one point in the sky; they name the shower after the constellation where the radiant is located. The next really good meteor shower is on the morning of August 13th. It is the Perseids which averages about 60 to 80 meteors per hour. The meteors will be good for about a week before the peak.

NJC, the night on Mauna Kea sounds awesome. We are fortunate to be able to go 20 to 30 minutes away from the city and can see the Milky Way. If we go further the skies are awesome. Sorry to hear you have so much light pollution there.

Fleur-de-lis. I have got to see several partial solar eclipses but not a total eclipse (at least since I was a kid). The “diamond” ring effect of course would appeal to all of us.

Stephanie, Stargazer is great. He’s very animated but great. You can watch his videos online now too. That is funny about spending 30 minutes getting your eyes dark adapated.

Skippy, I am so glad you love the stars and shooting stars. I love to watch for shooting stars too.

Lorelei, Rey''s constellations book is one of my favorites too. I''ve loaned it to many students; it''s pretty "used" but I''d never part with it. It sounds like you have terrific skies from where you live. My sister lives on a farm about 40 miles from me and you can see stars on the horizon in every direction. It''s awesome.

I guess one of my coolest memories is when Comet Hyakutake rounded the Sun. It was during the night and you could watch the tail starting to point different directions as it rounded the Sun. We went out (it was January) in minus 20 below weather and a foot of snow to watch that. We left a little scope set up on the patio and went out about every 30 minutes. It was amazing!

I look forward to many more discussions and topics.

Marcy

 

[JohnQuixote]

Nice Lady L. Astronomy classes were among my favs in college.

I thought some of you would find this cool: Part of diamond cut research involves reverse ray tracing, which identifies the parts of space 'seen' through a diamond. This graphic below shows the diamond (small & blue in the center) and the areas around it which it sees.

If you want to see more projected 'constellations'

in a diamond's little world go to this site, enter proportions, press apply and play.

http://www.cutstudy.com/cut/english/comp/scint1.htm

Sergey Sivovolenko's cut group & AGSL are both involved in these studies.
The site above and graphic below were both produced as a part of Serg's efforts (and this was years ago).

 

[marcy]

Thanks, John. This is cool.

 

[Fly Girl]

I am amazed that so many people must never look up into the sky. I know there are people who only think you can see the moon at night, and were surprised when I pointed it out during the day. One of my earliest memories is when my parents got me up late at night to watch Telstar go by. Today you can see so many satellites, but there are people who just can''t believe that it is possible. A few months ago we had a double Iridium Flare right over our part of the city, and I had the whole family out in the driveway to watch it . That was super cool. They are used to me getting them out for especially good space station passes as well. And I am up for all of the solar and lunar eclipses. I live in the city, so the Milky Way is pretty much history for me.

 

[marcy]

Hi Flygirl! It is funny how many people don''t bother to look at the beautiful sky. Your comment about the moon made me think of a student who turned in his moon phases calendar and was stunned when I gave him an "F". I have students draw in the phases of the moon every few days for one lunar cycle and write down the date and time of their observations. Well, this student put down he saw the moon at 9 p.m. every day. He was amazed I knew there was no way he made his observations. Ha Ha.

I hope you get away from the city sometime and see the Milky Way; it''s worth the trip!

Happy stargazing!

 

[Lorelei]

Thankies Sir John, I had a feeling astronomy would be of interest to you! Neat stuff, thanks!!

Another book I very much enjoy is the excellent Turn Left at Orion, that has been a great read and good to refer to. There isn't a lot going on in the skies here that I can watch at the moment due to cloud cover over my targets and the short nights, but as Autumn draws near, then I will be able to get outside more at night. My fave nights are frosty ones, but even those are rare now, but you can't beat the clear skies they seem to provide.

Another thing I enjoy are the legends of how the constellations got their names - Rey's book is very useful for his redrawing of the constellations, for example, Bootes never made much sense to me. How on earth did those stars ever look like a herdsman smoking a pipe with his little feet in the air??? Rey's book brought him to life for me.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 7/25/2007 9:59:20 AM
Author: Lorelei
We are off to a great start!!

I was on a ship travelling to Denmark when I saw the Northern Lights. It was a huge thing for me to be able to see it, so as the sky was clear, my Father and I went up on deck and he pointed it out. I remember lots of soft pink and green swirls in the sky, really beautiful and eerie. My Father was also into stargazing, we had a Sky Atlas which was published by the Times newspaper in 1953, it was complicated but fascinating. One of my favourite books is Rey's Map of the Stars where he redraws the constellations.

Marcy the clouds were back last night and I was disappointed as I wanted to see that...

Stephanie, night vision adjustment is so important as is red nail polish on the torch, Hubby had hell to pay if he came outside and the security light went on and ruined my eyes for the next few mins!

Lorelei, that sounds magical!!


Admittedly, I know nothing about star gazing, other than looking up at the night sky when there isn't enough pollution/cloudes to cover the stars.

My brother was into it big time, but by the time I would have been old enough to really appreciate it, he was off to college.

Can you elaborate on why/how you condition your eyes for this? I was rather puzzled (but knew there MUST be a reason) to read someone spent half an hour in the closet before going out to look....

p.s. Cool pic John!

 

[luckystar112]

I don''t think that it''s that people don''t CARE to look up into the sky....I think it''s that there is nothing to see up there in a lot of areas.

Particularly those who live in highly polluted areas, or big cities. There aren''t any stars up there.

I live in Houston, and the most I can see on a CLEAR night (don''t get too many of those) is Orion and the dippers as well as some of the other bigger and brighter stars.
When I''m in Maine, where I grew up....you see a LOT more stars, and it is a LOT more brilliant. Looks like glitter in the sky!!! You can see every sparkle, every shooting star. It''s wonderful.

I used to sit outside at night and look at them for HOURS when I was growing up. And I still do when I''m in Maine...but no so much any other time down here, unless I''m in my hot tub outside on a clear night.

 

[Lorelei]

Of course! You need to get your vision adjusted on the same principle that your eyes see more in the dark once they have adapted to dark conditions. So basically if you can, it is best to try to avoid all light for 10 - 20 mins to get your eyes " dark adapted" as that way you can see far more in the sky. Many including myself, use red nail polish on our small torches which we use to read star atlases etc, as the red glow keeps the eyes dark adapted, the normal yellow glow of a torch wouldn't. Also you can wait in your viewing conditions to adapt your eyes, but you need to avoid bright lights as much as possible.

On this subject, averted vision is useful, for example, if you are having trouble seeing a faint star cluster such as the Pleiades, if you look towards it from the side of your eyes but not directly at it, many of these stars pop out.

Oooh Lucky, sitting in a hot tub and stargazing, how wonderful!

 

[Ellen]

Thanks Lorelei!


And lucky, same here. The most I ever see are the Dippers. I can remember being little and seeing WAY more stars than I do now...Sad.

 

[surfgirl]

I need clarification on the shooting star thing...I know that what we see is matter burning up as it hits our atmosphere, is that correct? But ultimately, when one sees the shooting star, we''re seeing an event - a dying star? - that happened thousands of years ago, correct or no? I''m a bit confused!

On a good night in SoCal we can usually see quite a few stars like the Big Dipper, Orion''s belt, Seven Sisters, North star, etc. Plus a ton that I dont know specifically. I''m currently on assisgnment in Trinidad and I''ve not looked at the night sky so tonight I will and I''ll report back!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/26/2007 11:23:12 AM
Author: Ellen
Thanks Lorelei!


And lucky, same here. The most I ever see are the Dippers. I can remember being little and seeing WAY more stars than I do now...Sad.

The trick is to get out there if you can Ellen and concentrate on one part of the sky at a time. As you know the dippers, next time you go out there, you can find the North Star Polaris fairly easily, part of the little dipper's always points to it, the dipper changes position, but Polaris never moves, so he is a good one to find. Also the more you look, the more you see!

SG, I will defer to Marcy for the explanation of the shooters! Also have a great time with your patch of sky and I look forward to hearing back from you!

 

[Ellen]

Date: 7/26/2007 11:43:18 AM
Author: Lorelei

The trick is to get out there if you can Ellen and concentrate on one part of the sky at a time. As you know the dippers, next time you go out there, you can find the North Star Polaris fairly easily, part of the little dipper's always points to it, the dipper changes position, but Polaris never moves, so he is a good one to find. Also the more you look, the more you see!

Thanks for the tips! I did know about the North

I should try and dig up the telescope we bought my oldest years ago. He never really got into it, but I don't think we got rid of it...

 

[surfgirl]

Date: 7/25/2007 6:58:12 AM
Author:Lorelei
Hi - my name is Lorelei and I love to stand outside on freezing cold nights

This brings up another question I always wondered which is WHY does it seem like stars are more pronounced or clear or sharp in very cold weather?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/26/2007 12:00:46 PM
Author: surfgirl

Date: 7/25/2007 6:58:12 AM
Author:Lorelei
Hi - my name is Lorelei and I love to stand outside on freezing cold nights

This brings up another question I always wondered which is WHY does it seem like stars are more pronounced or clear or sharp in very cold weather?

I think it has to do with the air being more stable on a freezing night, warm air can distort our viewing, but cold air can give steadier skies so to speak.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/26/2007 11:57:21 AM
Author: Ellen

Date: 7/26/2007 11:43:18 AM
Author: Lorelei

The trick is to get out there if you can Ellen and concentrate on one part of the sky at a time. As you know the dippers, next time you go out there, you can find the North Star Polaris fairly easily, part of the little dipper''s always points to it, the dipper changes position, but Polaris never moves, so he is a good one to find. Also the more you look, the more you see!

Thanks for the tips! I did know about the North

I should try and dig up the telescope we bought my oldest years ago. He never really got into it, but I don''t think we got rid of it...

That would be good to dig out the ''scope, but actually I use binocs and a lawn recliner for much of mine! Saves fiddling around with a darned scope!

 

[Ellen]

Date: 7/26/2007 12:07:46 PM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 7/26/2007 12:00:46 PM
Author: surfgirl

This brings up another question I always wondered which is WHY does it seem like stars are more pronounced or clear or sharp in very cold weather?

I think it has to do with the air being more stable on a freezing night, warm air can distort our viewing, but cold air can give steadier skies so to speak.

Gosh, yer so smart!

Really, binoculars work just as well?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/26/2007 12:11:20 PM
Author: Ellen

Date: 7/26/2007 12:07:46 PM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 7/26/2007 12:00:46 PM
Author: surfgirl

This brings up another question I always wondered which is WHY does it seem like stars are more pronounced or clear or sharp in very cold weather?

I think it has to do with the air being more stable on a freezing night, warm air can distort our viewing, but cold air can give steadier skies so to speak.

Gosh, yer so smart!

Really, binoculars work just as well?

Shuckeroonies! * blush*

Binocs work well as long as you keep your arms steady which is really hard if you just hold them! That is why a beach recliner or similar is good as you can lay back and rest your elbows on the handles and this keeps them steady. Then all you need is a nice cup of hot choc with whipped cream down by the side of the chair and you are set!

 

[Ellen]

Date: 7/26/2007 12:30:11 PM
Author: Lorelei

Shuckeroonies! * blush*

Binocs work well as long as you keep your arms steady which is really hard if you just hold them! That is why a beach recliner or similar is good as you can lay back and rest your elbows on the handles and this keeps them steady. Then all you need is a nice cup of hot choc with whipped cream down by the side of the chair and you are set!

Ok, got it.
Now, what if I try in the summer? would a cocktail at my side work?