Amateur Astronomy

[JaXanim]

@Miked

'Digital Universe'? What happened to that? The last thing I rememember was a pre-purchase appeal for a new CD version.

JaX
(I have a 10" btw :-o  )

[JaXanim]

@all

Miked asked the question. I gave him my answer.

I have a 10" Meade LX200 Schmitt-Cassegrain reflector. The only thing remotely hyperbolic about that is the objective corrector plate.

Oh, my God - you thought......Jeez...You people..!

JaX

[JaXanim]

@Miked

Never had a refractor, but they are known to image the planets better than reflectors. I started off making a 6" Newtonian on an electric mount. Took me three months just to make the mirror. The first time I saw Saturns rings was through a home made scope. I sold it for a hundred quid and got three year a bank loan to get the Meade.

JaX

[JaXanim]

@blobrana

It is, but it's the earlier system (pre-gps), so getting it set up properly is a long job.

I'd like to see this comet (or what's left of it) tracking by the Lyra Ring Nebula in a few days time. Unfortunately, I'm not gonna make it, but the show goes on for weeks yet, eh?

JaX

[JaXanim]

@Miked

Everything's interesting, eh? I guess the best surprise I had was the first time I entered 'M57' into it and watched it automatically slew and stop. I looked in the eyepiece and there it was - amazing! That was also the Ring Nebula as it happens. It was almost as good as first light (moonlight) through the home made Newtonian. I was just astounded by the mirror. Six-point-seven inch diameter, f8, quarter wave accurate, metallic silver coating done the traditional way. I guess people don't bother doing stuff like that nowadays.

I've bought a webcam/adapter to send images straight to a laptop. I managed to set it up in daylight and got great pictures of a synthetic star (pinhole and a torch) a hundred feet away. Not done anything 'proper' yet, but I've experimented with Registax digital image stacker/enhancer. Very impressive.

I'd really like to image the International Space Station using  satellite tracker software, but finding the time to get my head around it all is a problem.

JaX

[JaXanim]

cecilia wrote:

are my puns THAT subtle?  :-D [/quote]

Erm..blimey they must be, I never spotted it! ;-)

JaX

[JaXanim]

@Hyperspeed

The International Space Station is certainly not geostationary. It orbits the Earth every 90 minutes, so it's sure moving fast! Seeing it through a telescope requires equally fast tracking and is beyond manual control. So, it needs tracking software and some up to the minute data known as the orbital elements (supplied daily by NASA) to drive the scope. Many amateurs are able to photograph the ISS in this way, but it's a big challenge.

You've obviously never seen the ISS zooming overhead. It makes a track over most inhabited parts of the world so spotting it is easy. You just have to wait till it's coming over your area and watch at the predicted time. You can often see it twice in one evening, 90 minutes apart. No telescope needed.

So, GO HERE join the club and enjoy the sights! You'll need your location in degrees Latitude and Longitude.

Cheers,

JaX

[JaXanim]

@Agafaster

Indeed. The 1966 Leonids peaked at almost 150,000 per hour, repeating historical observations. Of late, they've fizzled out significantly. Wonder if we'll ever see such rates again?

JaX

[JaXanim]

The British Astronomocal Association also runs the Campaign for Dark Skies (CfDS), whose website can be found HERE.

The British Government is supposedly looking into the issue of light pollution and the effect of aviation on astronomy. It won't achieve anything of course. Tony has more important issues to think about.

The chances are that our great great grandchildren will live their lives without ever seeing the Milky Way.

JaX

[JaXanim]

A house quite a way away from us has one of those automatic on-at-dusk, off-at-dawn 'security' lights. It has a 360 degree spread and serves no useful purpose whatsoever. It's very intrusive and spoils my view of the stars from my back garden. I'm trying to grow a tree to mask it.

One night last winter we had a power cut and the darkness (and silence) it created was just amazing. Fifteen minutes of bliss as far as I was concerned.

JaX

[JaXanim]

So, did anybody see any Leonids?
Apparently it was quite a good display for anyone blessed with a dark site.
Some interesting Leonid photos at Space Weather.
JaX

[JaXanim]

@Hyperspeed

Tried that but still didn't see anything!

JaX

[JaXanim]

Ignore.

[JaXanim]

Comet McNaught anyone?

Never saw a thing from the UK. Now it's an Antipodean sight of biblical proportions. Check this out!.
Why do they get all the luck....!

Go to Space Weather.com for more superb images.

JaX