Dramatic Celestial Event

[blobrana]

Hum,
The Geminid meteor shower, one of the most dramatic celestial events of the year, will peak tonight.
 The shower is created as the Earth moves through a cloud of dust trailing the 3200 Phaethon asteroid.
The show can be seen this evening in the southern sky near the constellations Gemini and Orion ;
(and by coincidence Saturn, the brightest `star` in the sky, happens to be in Gemini too, so an easy task for any amateur)

The meteors will be the brightest at about midnight..
And, for once, it may actually not be cloudy here...

More Here...

[bjjones37]

@ blobrana

If you were to recommend a telescope to an amateur, what would you suggest?  I have tried the two inch refractors, and they were unsatisfying. Sort of like buying a ten gallon aquarium.  I always recommend at least a 55 gallon, allows for more variety, and healthier for the fish.

[blobrana]

Hum,
Well I suppose it depend on what you want to do, where you live (ie how changeable the weather conditions), and price.
A 2” is ok for a general scan of the skys.
But at least a  3”  (with a short tube length) is really recommended.

I made a page with a few recommended scopes/prices.
(ie SKYWATCHER MERCURY-705 (£129) is what i would want santa to bring)

So what are you interested in?
Deep sky, double stars, variables, planets, comets or just sight-seeing?

I suppose living in Texas, with clear skies (a 4" refractor would be too expensive) but a big scope like an 8-10” (dobsonian) reflector would be nice. (A real hassle living in cloudy Britain though)

[KennyR]

I prefer binoculars myself. A lot easier to use for casual observation.

[blobrana]

Hum,
Indeed.
Yeah I must admit I have a few good bins that I use more often than my scope. A nice pair of opera glasses, a 8 x 30, an a pair a zeiss 7 x 50 (that cost the price of a small car)…though I did consider paying up on a set of battleship binoculars (25 x 150) for the bargain price of £2000, (they are normally

link for celestron starhopper scope

http://www.celestron.com/telescopes.htm

[cecilia]

I have this dream where I can get something set up to attach a digital camera to a telescope and take pictures using linux/amiga/whatever.

well, maybe someday.

[blobrana]

@cecilia
Sticky- tape not do?

(Eyepiece projection is a common trick - just hold the lens above the eyepiece)

But adaptors are made.

[cecilia]

:roflmao:

[bjjones37]

blobrana wrote:
Hum,
Well I suppose it depend on what you want to do, where you live (ie how changeable the weather conditions), and price.
A 2” is ok for a general scan of the skys.
But at least a  3”  (with a short tube length) is really recommended.

I made a page with a few recommended scopes/prices.
(ie SKYWATCHER MERCURY-705 (£129) is what i would want santa to bring)

So what are you interested in?
Deep sky, double stars, variables, planets, comets or just sight-seeing?

I suppose living in Texas, with clear skies (a 4" refractor would be too expensive) but a big scope like an 8-10” (dobsonian) reflector would be nice. (A real hassle living in cloudy Britain though)

South Texas usually has a lot of clear nights, but being in a large city means there is a lot of ambient light. I do not know enough to know if this is a problem or not, but it certainly interferes with naked eye viewing.  (Kinda miss the outskirts of Beeville, the night sky was truly amazing!)  I have a pair of binocs I use to look at the moon sometimes.  I managed to get a good view of the moons of Jupiter using my dad's two inch refractor once but the image was so small it was frustrating.  I really think the nebula are amazingly beautiful natural art, but I suppose that may be an unrealistic endeavor.

[blobrana]

Hum,
Yeah nebula are quite frustrating, i have never seen anything other than a very faint greenish tint to the best nebulas out there.

A lot of light pollution doesn’t help either.
However, planetary and double star work is not affected (much).

A 7-10 x 50 binoculars would be idea for the city as well.

And here’s a plug for
http://www.distantsuns.com/

[bjjones37]

@ Blobrana

I had rather an amazing experience this morning (Tuesday), one of those once in a lifetime things.  I was out for my mornin walk, about 5:50 am my time, when my eyes were drawn up overhead and I saw a meteor.  It came in at an angle from behind and burned up in my forward view.  I have seen "falling stars" before and they were just small streaks of light that disappeared. But this one was a vivid blue and I almost felt I could almost discern a shape to the glow before it burned out.  It seemed to be very large and very close.  Is this possible?  How close could it have gotten?  My wife saw it too and she was as amazed and excited as I was.

[blobrana]

Yeah,
That sounds like a Geminid, fast and blue, a speck of dust burning up at 70km/sec 20 kilometres up...

Though, some did get through...

[bjjones37]

blobrana wrote:
Yeah,
That sounds like a Geminid, fast and blue, a speck of dust burning up at 70km/sec 20 kilometres up...

Though, some did get through...

Wow, sure wish I could see that close up. Was there an analysis done on it?  What was it made of? What minerals?

[PMC]

blobrana wrote:
Yeah,
That sounds like a Geminid, fast and blue, a speck of dust burning up at 70km/sec 20 kilometres up...

Though, some did get through...

I wonder if that wish came true...

There's nothing quite like staring at the night sky in a remote place on a moonless night.  The Milky Way takes on a discernable form which is quite beautiful in itself.

There are some spectacular sights in the heavens, and it's safe to say that humanity hasn't seen the best of them yet.  

[sigh]

[cecilia]

bjjones37 wrote:
@ Blobrana

I had rather an amazing experience this morning (Tuesday), one of those once in a lifetime things.

when I saw what I think was Comet Hale-Bopp, I had that feeling.

I was in LA at the time and the sky was very clear and the two tails on the comet were VERY clearly visible to my nakid eyes.  :-o

this isn't quite as clear as I saw it

nice pics but I saw longer and thiner tails. but basically as clear.

it's really amazing to see that in the sky.

And here?s a plug for  
http://www.distantsuns.com/

always loved that program. glad to see they are still around. (I really have to try my Distant Suns CD on my peg someday)