*** The Official Astronomy & Universe Thread ***

Soldato
Joined
7 Jul 2009
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16,234
Location
Newcastle/Aberdeen
The nights are getting longer. Jupiter's coming out to play. Hell, soon we might even see Orion pop his head over the horizon. What better time to create a long overdue Astronomy thread? I know there's quite a few of us on here, ranging from full time imagers (if any of you would be kind enough to donate something to the OP i'm sure it would be much appreciated ;) ) to naked eye observers (like me). So stop hiding away, show off your gear and find yet another place to whine about these cloudy nights :D

We can also use this thread to keep up to date on all the latest Physics (and, yes... i suppose other Sciences :rolleyes: ) news and help out prospective astronomers. And feel free to suggest anything to go in this post to make it more helpful/just generally better.

Clear skies! :cool:

Helpful links:

http://www.stellarium.org/ - Essential Open Source software for any budding astronomer
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/astronomy/astro21/sandt/startright.html - Great reading material for beginners
http://stargazerslounge.com/ - Arguably the best dedicated Astronomy forum out there
 
Associate
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24 Aug 2008
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London
Last night was amazingly clear. Got home at about 230am and could see soo many stars. Would be really interested to easily know what the constellations were. Anyone got any tips?
 
Soldato
Joined
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Bedfordshire
I'm going camping next week and i'm going to take my 130p out for the first time in months. Will hopefully get some pictures of Jupiter rising in the east :)
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
6,365
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Bedfordshire
Last night was amazingly clear. Got home at about 230am and could see soo many stars. Would be really interested to easily know what the constellations were. Anyone got any tips?

stellarium as posted above. Excellent little programme, you can also get a lot of smart phone apps. If you wanted to invest some money then Turn Left at Orion is a very good book
 
Soldato
Joined
12 Feb 2007
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14,118
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South Shields
Oooh, keep us updated! Never been out for a year or so now! I do intend to pop up to the star party at Kielder on the sat night for a few hours.

My equipment - Skywatcher 200P with a Moonlite Dual speed focuser (Sexy awesome piece of kit!), EQ5 mount (Really need the Synscan EQ6 PRO - cannot justify it yet). Selection of lenses, filters and the other gubbins to go with it.
Dew control - Home made PWM controller, with home made dew bands for both primary and secondary mirrors.
 
Soldato
Joined
12 Feb 2007
Posts
14,118
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South Shields
I do think the EQ6 is overkill... you've got to ask yourself, will it still work when the solar storm wipes out all electrical devices? :p

Nah, if you want something better than an EQ5 then be a man and make it! ;)

Might be for now, but then, it will never need upgrading again. Even when I start imaging!

I don't even have the drives for the EQ5 :p
 
Permabanned
Joined
29 Sep 2006
Posts
2,954
Im what you would call a 'noob' but this is something ive always wanted to get into, so if I can ask... let me get some silly questions out of the way:

1 - How do you look at the sun through a telescope or is that not possible? - I mean like that video I want to watch it blow up.

2 - If I cant do the above, can I see the planets next to the sun.. Mercury and Venus I believe?

3 - Can I see Pluto?

4 - Can I get a telescope that auto records what im watching so I can put it online? Just in case I see an Alien or something.

5 - Can I see the space station close up?

6 - Will I be able to see all the commercial satellites etc ie TV ones.

Cheers,
 
Soldato
Joined
12 Feb 2007
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14,118
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South Shields
1. You can buy solar filters or even better, a solarscope. These are expensive, and utmost care must be taken, as even a slight pinprick can burn your eyes out.
2. You can see venus as a bright morning star anyway at certain times of the year. Again, utmost care etc.
3. Yes, but it is so distant, and so very very small, you will need a big telescope, and a keen eye. It will just be a dot.
4. Not really, although it is possible, it is very expensive, and you will not see aliens
5. Not really, it moves across the sky, and unless you can track it across the sky accuratly, (It takes around a minute to cross the sky!) you can never focus on it.
6. Yes, as a dot. You can see them move across the sky, and some of my favourites are the trio of American Navy satellites that cross the sky in a triangle formation, and also Iridium Flares.
All of which can be timed here: http://www.heavens-above.com/
 
Associate
Joined
17 Sep 2009
Posts
546
Location
UK
Glad to see one of these threads open on the forums. I suppose I might aswell be the first to put up some of my personal astrophotography from a few months back. Since then I have made many more additions to my rig so should see quite an improvement when the conditions get better.

Saturn:
saturn_samir_ansari.jpg


M51 Galaxy:
galaxy_m51_samir_ansari.jpg


The Moon with bounced light from the Earth:
moon_samir_ansari.jpg


The Lunar Surface:
the_lunar_surface_samir_ansari.jpg


Very early attempt at the Orion Nebula:
orion_nebula_m42_samir_ansari.jpg
 
Soldato
OP
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7 Jul 2009
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Newcastle/Aberdeen
Nice images! Are they with a webcam? As always; details! :D

Random image of the day:

JbNSEl.jpg

Because, you know, i can totally understand having 42" of aperture to look at something as dim as... THE SUN?!

Just imagine if something flew through the film... that's one way to make a nice 1.25" diameter hole your skull :p
 
Associate
Joined
17 Sep 2009
Posts
546
Location
UK
Thanks chaps. For these images I used:

HEQ5 Pro Mount
Celestron C100ED scope for Deep sky and low magnification work
Skywatcher Skymax 127mm for planetary work
Canon 450D (Unmodified) for Deep sky and Lunar work
Philips ToUcam 740k for planetary work
A laptop with Phd guiding software, Registax and Photoshop

Any other questions let me know, I'd be happy to help!
 
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