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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2010 3:27:07 GMT
I'm going to go and look for shooting stars tonight!!! NE sky, I am told by shooting star guru.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2010 16:14:46 GMT
I did end up seeing a slew of meteoric showers Monday night,early Tuesday morning,positively stunning show,despite frigid temperatures,I stayed out for about 40 minutes and watched the show. The peak,or so it seemed,was at about 4:45 a.m. Reminder,the FULL MOON and eclipse ,and Winter Solstice is this Tuesday night the 21st good people. The shortest day of the year. Be there!!!
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Post by Kimby on Dec 20, 2010 16:43:27 GMT
Tuesday early morning, I believe, which for those in Western USA means late Monday night. TONITE!!! In my time zone, I think it begins around 11:30 pm and concludes around 3 in the morning, with a peak around 1:15 am. This page has a map/time finder: www.citystatetimes.com/1888/lunar-eclipse-this-december-2010/Hope the snow lets up and the skies clear for watching this one. What a way to celebrate the return of longer days!
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Post by Kimby on Dec 21, 2010 17:05:05 GMT
I "watched" the lunar eclipse last night. Did anyone else? The astronomer on TV this morning said that lunar eclipses are "the most boring of celestial big events", and I'd have to agree. But I couldn't skip the joint occurence of a total lunar eclipse and the winter solstice, something that hasn't happened since around 1638AD.
I didn't set an alarm, but woke around midnight, 1/2 hour after it began. The moon that was full at bedtime was already becoming a crescent. I grabbed an electric blanket and found a spot on the floor by the only window in the house where I could see moon, and settled in to wait and watch, dozing from time to time and waking to note the progress.
The full event took 3 hours, and in my part of the world there was a light veil of clouds that sporadically and partially obscured my view. I saw the reddish color emerge as the brightly lit crescent faded at totality, then woke again as the moon passed out of the earth's shadow and became a crescent again, facing the opposite direction.
Having made sure that all was well with the universe and light had returned to the wintery land, I headed back to bed.
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Post by Kimby on Dec 21, 2010 17:08:03 GMT
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Dec 21, 2010 18:03:14 GMT
How frustrated was I.? Lovely new telescope and I was at work when it all happened! The moon was startlingly beautiful early this morning before I left home...really gorgeous www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/dec/20/lunar-eclipse-winter-solsticeas our lab is being refurbished atm I was working in a 'cupboard' with no windows from 0700....anyway, in the city the moon was obscured by buildings from around 0630....sad....
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 21, 2010 18:57:46 GMT
Hope this doesn't sound like gloating, but ....... what perfect viewing conditions here! There is not much ambient light inside my patio, so the sky was deep black, cloudless, full of stars, and with that magnificent peach-colored globe overhead. It was beautiful with the naked eye, but stunning when I looked with binoculars. Myrt has a beautiful meditation on time and the endless progression of the skies here, at #4.
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Post by myrt on Dec 21, 2010 19:32:34 GMT
Hmm, well thanks Bixa but it was only my babbling! Sorry about not putting the Eclipse on here but I don't consider myself a scientist so never even thought of this bit of the board.... I had a beautiful view of the entire eclipse here in the UK - glorious!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2010 23:36:44 GMT
Oh!! It was beautiful here as well Bixa. I don't know how anyone could describe something like that as boring. My husband awakened me and we watched it for well over an hour, the sky was clear,clear and the stars surrounding the moon shone that much brighter for the darkness of the eclipse. I can only imagine how gorgeous it must have been out in the country with no ambient light. The other cool thing about seeing it here in the city,was one could hear other people nearby oohing and ahhing at the same time we were.(it was easy to hear from on our second story balcony). Outside temperatures were mild enough to allow us to sit comfortably.
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Post by Kimby on Dec 22, 2010 14:45:11 GMT
I think by "boring" they are referring to the glacial pace of the event, compared to a solar eclipse that is over in minutes, not the three hours it takes to complete the lunar eclipse.
Add to that that it's nighttime so you probably had to get out of bed to watch it, and in this case, that it was dead of winter, so, at this latitude, anyway, you could not watch outside, so had to search for a window that allowed a glimpse of the moon that wasn't obscured by eaves or other overhangs.
In my case, I had to lie on the floor with my head pressed against the wall by the window for 3 hours. During the lulls in action, I dozed off. I wouldn't have missed it, however! It's been almost 400 years since the last solstice eclipse and the next one occurs in 2094. (I think I'll skip that one.)
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Post by Kimby on Dec 23, 2010 15:44:23 GMT
I'm hoping this thread is still active....and it seems to be.
Folks interested in celestial events might want to bookmark this thread, then go into their profile and manage bookmarks.
Set this one for emailed or PM notifications so you'll never miss out on a sky event again.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2010 6:10:47 GMT
Living in a big city, I miss out on all sky events due to the excess light -- that's the main reason I don't spend much time on this thread. I am underprivileged.
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Post by rikita on Dec 24, 2010 10:39:12 GMT
the other day there was a sky without clouds, and mr. r. was very excited - though he ended up only recognizing a tiny part of the stars as it looks so different to when he was a kid and had a telescope...
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Post by Kimby on Dec 24, 2010 15:40:28 GMT
This morning before sunrise, there was a VERY big star (planet, I'm sure) hovering above the house. In the east. Anyone know what it might be? (I hope it isn't announcing a second coming!)
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Post by Kimby on Dec 27, 2010 19:06:43 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2010 21:34:28 GMT
This morning before sunrise, there was a VERY big star (planet, I'm sure) hovering above the house. In the east. Anyone know what it might be? (I hope it isn't announcing a second coming!) 'Tis VENUS Kimby. This month it is at it's brightest 2 and 1/2 hours before dawn,at a shadow casting magnitude of -4.9.
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Post by Kimby on Dec 29, 2010 16:00:09 GMT
Thanks, casi. I had just about concluded that myself, but it's great to have my hunch confirmed.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2011 20:45:54 GMT
Tomorrow is a major solar eclipse, if I am not mistaken.
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Post by Kimby on Jan 4, 2011 3:39:58 GMT
From: spaceweather.com Subj: A Meteor Shower and a Solar Eclipse on the Same Day (Jan. 4) Space Weather News for Jan. 3, 2011 spaceweather.comQUADRANTID METEOR SHOWER: Sky watchers in the northern hemisphere should be alert for meteors before sunrise on Tuesday, Jan. 4th. Earth is about to pass through a narrow stream of debris from shattered comet 2003 EH1, the parent of the annual Quadrantid meteor shower. Forecasters say the encounter could produce a fast flurry of 100 meteors per hour during the early hours of Jan. 4th. Details and observing tips may be found at spaceweather.com . GOT CLOUDS? No problem. You can stay inside and listen to the Quadrantids. Tune into SpaceWeather Radio for live meteor echoes from the US Air Force Space Surveillance Radar in Texas: spaceweatherradio.com . PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSE: After the meteor shower, observers in Europe, northern Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia can witness a partial eclipse of the sun. In western Europe, as much as 86% of the solar disk will be covered by the Moon at dawn, producing a fantastic crescent sunrise on Jan. 4th. Check spaceweather.com for details, animated maps and live webcasts.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2011 8:21:30 GMT
Totally cloudy, so we saw nothing in Paris in spite of a 65% coverage at 9:08 a.m. (11 minutes ago). It takes a percentage above 80% to even notice a darkening of the day during an eclipse anyway.
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Post by bjd on Jan 4, 2011 8:34:21 GMT
It was only a partial eclipse, but I didn't see anything either. Not completely cloudy here, but enough to confuse coming daylight with a partial eclipse. For once that I actually remember to look out the window.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2011 18:46:50 GMT
Thank you Kimby for the update. I missed this whole thing,had no idea,I have been so out of the loop on all these celestial events. Must get caught up!! Sounds like I didn't miss too much.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2011 11:26:52 GMT
The FULL MOON occurs on the 19th of this month. It is referred to as the WOLF MOON. Last night the MOON was simply gorgeous,a small sliver,crescent as it were. The first quarter is on the 12th Last Quarter on the 26th.
VENUS and SATURN brighten the dawn as stars in the southeast and south,respectively. MERCURY presents a mediocre show before daybreak for the first half of the month. MARS appears too close to the sun's line of sight all month.
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Post by Kimby on Jan 10, 2011 17:12:16 GMT
Thank you Kimby for the update. I missed this whole thing,had no idea,I have been so out of the loop on all these celestial events. Must get caught up!! Sounds like I didn't miss too much. I don't think anyone in the US had much of a view, casi. But our friends overseas had a chance to see it, IF the clouds cooperated. (You're most welcome, BTW. Happy to help.)
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jan 10, 2011 18:25:26 GMT
We were out looking at Jupiter last night. We just had our small bog basic reflector (6") so the planet was only about the size of a sequin but we did see 4 of the moons. I tried sticking my camera in the eyepiece but just got a fuzzy blob hopefully we'll have the LX90 up and running soon...then we should get some nice images. (if my OH ever lets me near it) I missed the partial eclipse (I was at work) and we had cloudy night skies all week last week...so saw nowt
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Feb 3, 2011 18:40:27 GMT
In April (12th) we're celebrating the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's famous first flight in Vostok 1. I belong to the local amateur astronomical association and we're having a party. My Dad was the secretary of the society in 1961, and he received a load of commemorative stuff from the then USSR at the time...if I get a chance I'll scan some of it in the pooter and show you....
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Feb 5, 2011 17:03:58 GMT
Look what I just got! My Daddy let me have this Coronado personal solar telescope and helios 4" telescope. The coronado is for observing the sun, sunspots, prominances etc...and he gave me a 'white light filter' for the helios so I can use that at the same time... The helios itself is also fine for looking at stars, moon, planets etc...cos the optics we have for our other telescopes fit it....YAY. The best thing is that the svcope is small enough for me to manage on my own...so I can do my solar observing without asking for help (the LX90 is pretty heavy stuff and OH is very territorial over it). OH has been fussing over it a bit...but this one' s deffo MINE!
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Post by tod2 on Feb 5, 2011 17:26:37 GMT
I am GREEN with envy - you lucky girl! It's just what I need to study the stars in the middle of the bush - no city lights so perfect for looking at those diamonds in the sky! Have fun Cheery, you deserve it!
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 5, 2011 18:18:08 GMT
Ohhhh, Cheery ~~ I'm just now seeing your last two posts. That's incredible! Somewhere you indicated that you just wanted a telescope that you didn't have to share with your husband. Guess you reeeeally got what you wanted. Congratulations!
The USSR stuff must be fascinating. I distinctly remember Sputnik and other USSR space triumphs of the early sixties. They were covered in "My Weekly Reader" at school, and the threat felt by the US came through loud and clear.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Feb 5, 2011 19:33:50 GMT
I'm still grinning....but it's still cloudy...
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