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

It's the people working on extra-solar planetary systems I feel sorry for. Just think of the number of planets they've discounted for further study due to them having too much of a Venus type atmosphere for life. All those will now have to be re-evaluated.
 
Imagine if we actually get to live in the period of time that extraterrestrial life was discovered! What a privilege that would be!

I hope that should life be found there, that it is completely unrelated to our life and evolved / came to be independently from ours.

I am keeping an open mind about the reason for this for now, probably more likely to be something else, but still... its fun to think about.
 
Rannoch said:
How is the stargazing going?
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Not bad, not bad. So far looked at the moon, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars.

Mars was not very clear. Saturn is tiny, but damn it is awesome seeing it and it’s rings! Jupiter is bigger but still small, even at higher magnification, but seeing it and 4 moons is cool. The moon was very impressive as you get to see a lot of detail. All those creators :)

Also looked at Vega which was a tiny blue star. Not much to see there.

Right now I try and take it out when I see clear skies, but yeah, as mentioned it can still be hit and miss depending on atmospheric conditions. Would love to take it somewhere out of the city that has low lights and on a good night.

Any recommendations as to what to look for?

I currently have a 25 and 10mm eyepiece that came with the telescope. Also purchased a skywatcher 7.5mm plossl and a 6mm cheap eyepiece for a tenner on eBay from China :p

I meanly use the 7.5mm Skywatcher eyepiece that gives me around 120 magnification.
 
TNA said:
Not bad, not bad. So far looked at the moon, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars.

Mars was not very clear. Saturn is tiny, but damn it is awesome seeing it and it’s rings! Jupiter is bigger but still small, even at higher magnification, but seeing it and 4 moons is cool. The moon was very impressive as you get to see a lot of detail. All those creators :)

Also looked at Vega which was a tiny blue star. Not much to see there.

Right now I try and take it out when I see clear skies, but yeah, as mentioned it can still be hit and miss depending on atmospheric conditions. Would love to take it somewhere out of the city that has low lights and on a good night.

Any recommendations as to what to look for?

I currently have a 25 and 10mm eyepiece that came with the telescope. Also purchased a skywatcher 7.5mm plossl and a 6mm cheap eyepiece for a tenner on eBay from China :p

I meanly use the 7.5mm Skywatcher eyepiece that gives me around 120 magnification.
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With the dark nights approaching there’s a lot more targets. Try the Orion Nebula in a few months. The Pleiades is always worth a visit. There’s a fantastic book that’s worth picking up - https://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/turn-left-at-orion-book.html

Getting to a dark sky location is always a bonus. I am on the lookout for a second hand scope, when the right scope comes along I will head south, wouldn’t be the first time I’ve slept in a van on my travels.

If you ever get to Scotland then this place is well worth a visit - http://www.gallowayastro.com/ Mike is a fantastic host and has a large telescope under pitch black skies. I’ve been a few times with the GF, it’s like staying at your uncles house :D we were out with Mike for hours.
 
Well this is good. Was just have a rummage through a box I found lurking in the attic spare room and found my old binoculars. Nowt special, just a set of Tasco 16x50s, they're heavy but still crystal clear. To be honest I actually thought an ex-girlfriend had liberated them with some other stuff when I booted her out, but hey ho...
 
Malevolence said:
Well this is good. Was just have a rummage through a box I found lurking in the attic spare room and found my old binoculars. Nowt special, just a set of Tasco 16x50s, they're heavy but still crystal clear. To be honest I actually thought an ex-girlfriend had liberated them with some other stuff when I booted her out, but hey ho...
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Lucky yer ex didn’t smash them on her way out :D
 
Rannoch said:
With the dark nights approaching there’s a lot more targets. Try the Orion Nebula in a few months. The Pleiades is always worth a visit. There’s a fantastic book that’s worth picking up - https://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/turn-left-at-orion-book.html

Getting to a dark sky location is always a bonus. I am on the lookout for a second hand scope, when the right scope comes along I will head south, wouldn’t be the first time I’ve slept in a van on my travels.

If you ever get to Scotland then this place is well worth a visit - http://www.gallowayastro.com/ Mike is a fantastic host and has a large telescope under pitch black skies. I’ve been a few times with the GF, it’s like staying at your uncles house :D we were out with Mike for hours.
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Thanks. Will keep that in mind :)
 
Did anyone catch the radio4 article today (I thought, but maybe yeseterday) about an asteroid a uk amateur had inadvertently photographed ?
was looking for the story/picture but I can't find it.
the article suggested it was only bullet sized, but did not explain what it was likely to be made of, either.
 
Finally had a clear night last night and got a chance to look for Mars as its been at opposition lately and the closest for a time and its bright, if you havn't seen I suggest you do so asap.

Tonight its stormy, rain and flooding so glad I got a chance yesterday.
 
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