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

[Libster]

Cool thread!

Sitting here with Hubby and he asks me if I know anything about astronomy....I say "No, but I think there is some info on Pricescope!"

Hubby wonders if anyone knows of any good websites with information about celestial navigation?

 

[marcy]

Mars Doubles in Brightness
From NASA Space Place:

During the past month, Mars has doubled in brightness and it is putting on a nice show for backyard stargazers.

You don''t need a telescope to enjoy Mars, however. It is plainly visible to the naked eye, bright and red, standing out among the pale stars of Gemini as something definitely different.

Finding the constellation and the planet within is child''s play on Nov. 26th and 27th. That''s when the nearly full Moon glides past Mars, only one degree away, and draws attention to the pair. If you can find the full Moon, you can find Mars. Look east before bedtime on Monday evening, Nov. 26th, or west before dawn on Tuesday morning, Nov. 27th.

Take a cup of coffee outside on Nov. 27th and spend some time sipping it while the sun rises and a hint of blue infuses the twilight sky. The sight of the silver Moon and red Mars backlit by blue sky is breathtaking.

Why has Mars gotten so bright and attractive? It''s because Earth and Mars are converging. At closest approach on Dec. 18th, the two worlds will lie only 55 million miles apart. That may sound like a great distance, but it is just a hop, skip and a jump on the vast scale of the solar system. NASA is taking advantage of the close encounter to send a new mission to Mars: the Phoenix Lander. Phoenix launched in August 2007 and is due to reach Mars in May 2008, joining the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity already there.

Take a look at Mars: If it is this good now, what will it be like in December?

 

[marcy]

Date: 11/14/2007 10:11:35 PM
Author: Libster

Cool thread!

Sitting here with Hubby and he asks me if I know anything about astronomy....I say ''No, but I think there is some info on Pricescope!''

Hubby wonders if anyone knows of any good websites with information about celestial navigation?

Hi Libster. Here are a few websites on celestial navigation. It''s not an area I''m well versed in but these look pretty good. One of the guys in our astronomy club did this for a living and he brought a lot of his tools to a meeting one time. It was all very cool and impressive. I guess even with GPS you still need more precise information not to get lost as sea.

http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/celnavtable.php

http://www.celestialnavigation.net/

 

[VRBeauty]

Funny this thread should pop up right now...

I just logged into the internet to try to find out more about the spectacular "ring around the moon" that we were treated to just a little while ago, here in California''s Mother Lode!

It turns it''s caused by ice crystals in the upper atmosphere, reflecting the moon''s light, though the explanation doesn''t begin to capture the beauty of this phenomenon. The ring is obscured by lower level clouds now... I''m glad I had a chance to catch it!

 

[marcy]

MiniMs. Isn't the ring around the moon beautiful? We see it in Wyoming a lot in the winter. You'll see the same effect around the Sun for the same reason; they are usually more obvious with sun glasses on.

 

[Libster]

Date: 11/25/2007 12:24:37 AM
Author: marcyc

Date: 11/14/2007 10:11:35 PM

Author: Libster

Cool thread!


Sitting here with Hubby and he asks me if I know anything about astronomy....I say ''No, but I think there is some info on Pricescope!''

Hubby wonders if anyone knows of any good websites with information about celestial navigation?

Hi Libster. Here are a few websites on celestial navigation. It''s not an area I''m well versed in but these look pretty good. One of the guys in our astronomy club did this for a living and he brought a lot of his tools to a meeting one time. It was all very cool and impressive. I guess even with GPS you still need more precise information not to get lost as sea.


http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/celnavtable.php


http://www.celestialnavigation.net/

Marcy,
Thanks so much for the info. Hubby is a sailor and is wanting to learn more about this type of navigation.

 

[marcy]

You are welcome Libster. I bet your husband has seen some beautiful stars from sea.

 

[Lorelei]

Thanks Marcy, on rare occasion when the pants clouds part enough to see some of the night sky, I thought that was Mars I was seeing!!

 

[marcy]

Lorelei, I hope the clouds clear now and then so you can enjoy Mars brighten over the next few weeks.

I saw the Moon and Mars tonight; they looked great together.

 

[Skippy123]

On Dec 13-14 there will be a meteor show http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20071207/sc_space/bestmeteorshowerof2007peaksdec13

 

[surfgirl]

Calling Star Commander Marcy, come in...!

So...I got Mr. Surfgirl the Celestron NexStar 6SE for Xmas...Last night he was showing me Saturn and it was totally trippy! Wow. It was so clear that you could see the space between the planet and the rings. Amazing. If we get time this weekend, we''re going to head out towards the desert, no city lights, to see what else we can see. It''s amazing to see that one star, through this telescope, can actually be a cluster of stars and matter.

 

[Lorelei]

Also I forgot to post, but I had some incredible views of Mars back in November, most enjoyable!

SG, the new scope sounds amazing!!!

 

[surfgirl]

Lorelei, seeing Saturn is the coolest thing! Especially when you can see the rings and the space between them and the planet. Then you look with your naked eye and it''s just a little sparkling dot in the sky. Very cool! I highly recommend this scope.

 

[marcy]

Surfgirl, how exciting that Mr Surfgril got a new scope; it sounds wonderful. Isn’t Saturn amazing? It’s one of my favorites (okay I have a billion favorites). Did you go out this weekend? I can’t wait to hear what you got to see. Mars will be by the Moon on the 19th. If you haven’t checked out Comet Holmes yet it’s still bright enough to see out in the country.

I’ll check in more often.

 

[marcy]

Lorelei, I am glad you had some great views of Mars; it is still pretty bright.

 

[surfgirl]

Is Comet Holmes the one that had that big trail a couple of months back? There''ve been so many astronomical events lately and I hear 2008 will be a big year for eclipses and the like!

Yes Saturn is so cool to see. At first I was like "oh. that''s it? it''s so SMALL!" Because of course he keeps showing me all these amazing time lapse photos online and from Hubbel and the other that other satellite and I want to see all the groovy colors and swirling air/gassy stuff! But then I looked at Saturn again the other night and let''s be honest, it''s insanely cool to see that, even if it is tiny. We didn''t go out last night but he''s out in the backyard now looking...We might go later tonight...if so,I''ll post about it.

 

[Lorelei]

I look forward to hearing yours and Hubby''s fun with the new scope, SG!

Marcy, I have had some great views of Mars and used the binocs a couple of times to take a look. Unfortunately, the weather is again

 

[marcy]

Surfgirl, I understand the let down from Hubble images to what you can see through your average telescope but just the fact that you can look at it yourself is so amazing. You can see the rings of Saturn in almost any scope. If you are an early riser you can check out Jupiter and it’s 4 moons. Comet Holmes was the bright comet that showed up in late October. It is still around and bright enough to see naked eye from really dark skies. There is a total lunar eclipse visible next month on the 20th.

Lorelei, I am glad you enjoyed some close up views of Mars when the weather wasn’t Pants. I love your “pantsicon”. It’s awesome.

 

[Lorelei]

ROFL @ '' pantsicon''!!

 

[tberube]

Thanks for starting this thread, Lorelei! It''s great to hear of like minded people.

I''m a big reader. I''m reading a book right now (I''ll be darned if I can remember the title) about the big bang and how scientists can''t figure out what happened right BEFORE it, and it''s confounded them all throughout history. I love all those astronomy shows on the History channel - I watch them over and over again on OnDemand. I wanted to be an astronomer when I was a child, but I was so much better at art than physics

. I can''t wait to move to my new house in the quiet suburbia of NH (from Boston) so I can sit on my deck and stare up at the stars at night.

 

[tberube]

Date: 7/25/2007 2:10:54 PM
Author: 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.

I have heard that many "shooting stars" are actually huge chunks of ice from the meteor belt that get thrown off track by a collision with another piece of ice.

 

[Lorelei]

''rube, glad you have joined in the thread! You will have a blast when you stargaze minus light pollution, it really makes all the difference. I live right out in the English countryside where there is little light to disturb things, get a frosty moonless night and my skies are incredible, with shooting stars whizzing around all over the place!

 

[marcy]

Lorelei, I’m glad you like pantsicon. My husband is a stickler for proper English and I make up words all the time; he’s thinks I’m weird. Ha Ha. Your skies sound incredible. At least where I live I only have to go about 20 minutes to get to really dark skies.

Hi Rube. I am sure your view of the stars from you new house will be terrific. Meteors are usually specks of dust that vaporize when they run in to the Earth’s atmosphere. A meteor shower happens when we pass through the gas and dust particles left behind by a comet as it orbits the Sun. I love to set out and watch meteor showers. Some of the astronomy shows they have on TV are great.

Here are some online astronomy videos to watch; if you are interested. They are slow even on broadband.

http://www.free-ed.net/free-ed/Science/Astronomy/SolarSystem/SolarSystem01_VOD.asp

 

[marcy]

Early risers should try to watch Venus and Jupiter as they close in on each for the next few days. If you look to the SE about an hour before sunrise you’ll find brilliant Venus above bright Jupiter. They will continue to move closer together until February 1st when they are less than a degree apart making a spectacular sight.

Happy star gazing!

 

[marcy]

There will be some great passes this week of the space station and shuttle - some as bright as Jupiter. To check to see if there are any passes visible from your location you can get great info and charts at:

http://www.heavens-above.com/

You don''t have to create an account there (it is free) but you put in your location and can find out info such as current location of planets, comets, the space station, etc.

 

[marcy]

Early risers this week (Feb. 18th) can see 3 planets at once. Looking ESE you can see Mercury very low, Venus slightly higher and further south with Jupiter higher and to the SE. Look about 45 minutes before sunrise. Venus and Mercury will close in on each other all week until they are closest on Wednesday Feb. 27th. They will be low so you’ll probably need a low ESE horizon to see them but they will be stunning side by side.

Wednesday evening there is a total lunar eclipse visible over the Americas which is also visible Thursday morning for Europe and West Africa. You can watch this with your naked eye so you don’t need a telescope or binoculars. Here are the times to watch (these are MT):
Moon Enters Umbra: 6:43 p.m.
Total Eclipse Begins: 8:01 p.m.
Deepest Eclipse: 8:26 p.m.
Total Eclipse Ends: 8:51 p.m.

Here is an article with more info and a map showing if it is visible from your location
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/home/15357796.html?1=1

The moon is near Saturn during the eclipse on the 20th so those enjoying the eclipse with a telescope should enjoy a nice view of the ringed planet as well.

Happy star gazing.

 

[scarleta]

Thank you,thank you and once more thank you Marcyc.Will definitely look for it..

 

[surfgirl]

Mr. Surfgirl saw that rengade satellite last night and was very excited...He looked online to see what constellations it would be hurtling through last night and was able to set his scope on that area and it just buzzed through right on time, and apparently so fast he had no time to yell for me to come and see it...Anyone else see it?

 

[marcy]

Scarleta, I hope you get to see it.

Surfgirl, that is awesome Mr Surfgirl got to see that satellite. They do zip by fast enough it's hard to get out and see them.

 

[scarleta]

Just hoping for clear evening..Will be watching for sure..