* The Official Astronomy & Universe Thread *

PermaBanned · 7 Aug 2011 at 14:18

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

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

Macro · 7 Aug 2011 at 14:26

Good idea... Don't forget to add the World Wide Telescope to the useful links

PermaBanned · 7 Aug 2011 at 14:33

Urgh, Silverlight. I will however use this as an excuse to promote the other thread i made this morning:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18303997

Reginald · 7 Aug 2011 at 14:36

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?

Cosimo · 7 Aug 2011 at 14:36

I don't often rate videos as beautiful but this one is. A solar flare with a spectacular coronal mass ejection:

Turn up the volume.

Uhtred · 7 Aug 2011 at 14:37

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

Uhtred · 7 Aug 2011 at 14:39

Reginald said:
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

PermaBanned · 7 Aug 2011 at 14:40

Uhtred said:
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

Yup, and i believe there's a new 'edition' of Turn Left at Orion out soon, ring bound and with more objects in

PhillyDee · 7 Aug 2011 at 15:14

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.

PermaBanned · 7 Aug 2011 at 15:18

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?

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

PhillyDee · 7 Aug 2011 at 15:33

PermaBanned said:
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?

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

mehuk · 7 Aug 2011 at 15:41

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,

PhillyDee · 7 Aug 2011 at 16:19

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/

PermaBanned · 7 Aug 2011 at 16:21

Well, there have been some amazing photos of the ISS taken through a scope but that takes A LOT of skill and usually some pretty advanced gear to boot.

PhillyDee · 7 Aug 2011 at 16:35

PermaBanned said:
Well, there have been some amazing photos of the ISS taken through a scope but that takes A LOT of skill and usually some pretty advanced gear to boot.

And a lot of luck

PermaBanned · 7 Aug 2011 at 16:40

Oh, and on Solar filters from what i head you get Baader Film or you get nothing.

samir_ansari · 7 Aug 2011 at 17:46

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:

M51 Galaxy:

The Moon with bounced light from the Earth:

The Lunar Surface:

Very early attempt at the Orion Nebula:

Westie · 7 Aug 2011 at 17:53

Samir they are amazing what did u use to take them with?

PermaBanned · 7 Aug 2011 at 17:55

Nice images! Are they with a webcam? As always; details!

Random image of the day:

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

samir_ansari · 7 Aug 2011 at 18:06

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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