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Main Forum => Enter the voids of the OT-forum => Topic started by: Markus on February 13, 2006, 08:37:19 pm

Title: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on February 13, 2006, 08:37:19 pm
Hi folks,

Virus told me he's interested in astronomy. So am I, and I know that Luth likes to take a look at the skies from time to time, too. So let's chat a little about stargazing!

Virus wanted to know whether I had a telescope. Yes, I do, even though it's a very small one only. But as the saying goes: "Every 'scope has its sky", meaning there's something interesting to see with every optical device, even the small and simple ones. That's not surprising: Some objects are best watched with the bare eye even!

Besides that I have access to larger telescopes in the planetarium and our amateur astronomers' society.

The next great event is the solar eclipse on March 29th. I'll be in Turky if all goes well and bask in the umbral shadow for the third time in my life. :w00t:

Clear skies!

Markus
Title: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Sirius13 on February 13, 2006, 09:05:12 pm
Hiya Markus!

I don't have any optical device  :(   And I am no way any kind of expert on astronomy.


....but I do take an interest, and I have often gone out in the early hours to watch the effects of the meteor showers (such as the Leonids, that kind of thing).  I take an interest in what is going on in the sky and I use Red Shift software to help me get my bearings in the night sky.

I have always taken an interest in any facts about stars, and distant galaxies, or anything at all about the universe.  From an early age I was thrilled when I learned how to locate Polaris and realised that it could be used for a practical purpse.  I have even used that one simple fact to reassure myself that I was going the right way down a mountain on one occasion!  :)

Title: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Ereshkigal on February 14, 2006, 03:37:31 am
Me loves the sky!

I don't have a telescope, I am not at astronomer either, nor can name the stars, but I often find myself looking at the stars. Some of them I see them often, but I cannot identify them by their names :( The moon is also one of the celestial bodies I love staring at too.

I also like the sky in day time, mostly because I find clouds amazing too.

The best experience I have had so far, was a total eclipse o July 11, 199....199....mmm I forgot the year!  But it has been the only one that has happened while I've been alive. When the moon had completely covered the sun, I watched it with my naked eye for a while. It was amazing, unbelievable, it felt strange too..I felt so little in front of such an scene from nature.

Oh! I just remembered! I have also seen a comet...but forgot the name of it :(

Title: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on February 14, 2006, 10:07:51 am
Hi folks,

Sirius, using astronomy software is rather advanced already. :) Personally, it's very important to me to know the constellations and stars by name. Not all of them, but enough to find my way around the skies. When I can identify at least the brightest of them, and when I know the positions of a few deep-sky-objects I feel at home among the stars. Even though I'll never reach them I feel as a part of the sky. Well, in a way I am - we're all sitting amidst it on one of the planets circling our star. Knowing the skies a little makes me feel this.

That's why I love "Call of Dagon" so much and chose it as thread subject: In a way we enter the limitless when we observe the skies with a knowing eye.

Besides that it's so fantastic WHAT we see there: Distant suns. Places of starbirth. A galaxy so distant that even the light needs more than 2 millions of years to reach us - all with the bare naked eye!

Eresh, a total solar eclipse is one of the most amazing natural events really. A partial eclipse is fascinating to see already, but a total eclipse is something completely different. Overwhelming! For once, the sun allows to look at it without going blind, and you see the sun in a way it can be seen at no other occasion. You felt little in those moments? Strange... I felt big, because I could take part in it. Even though I was just an oberserver I felt so close to the sun and the moon. :)

Your eclipse must have been July 11th, 1991. Also known as the "Big One", because totality was ununsually long with up to 6 min 53 s.

The ultimate resource on eclipses is the NASA Eclipse Homepage by Fred Espenak (http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse), btw.

Folks, if you enjoy looking at the nightsky you should get hold of some binoculars, and perhaps a star map (I can recommend a cheap but good one, if you like). There's so much more to see even with binoculars! You can get a first glimpse of the remnants of burned-out stars or catch Jupiter's moons already. Or try to look through the telescope of a friend or a public observatory and take a walk across the moon or see the sun rise on its mountains or see the biggest storm system on Jupiter or Saturn's rings or.... :w00t:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Ereshkigal on February 14, 2006, 11:56:07 am
Quote
Hi folks,
Your eclipse must have been July 11th, 1991. Also known as the "Big One", because totality was ununsually long with up to 6 min 53 s.
[snapback]6997[/snapback]

Aha! yup, it was 1991!

Markus, do you know how one can know when the next one will be where one lives?

About the partial eclipses, I have never been able to see one, because I could go blind, What special equipment is needed in order to see one?
Title: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on February 14, 2006, 12:08:10 pm
Hi Eresh,

check the link I mentioned above, it has everything you need to know. :) There's a "World Atlas of Solar Eclipses" where you find every total and annular eclipse for a large period of time with geographical information. You also find lists of all eclipses, including partials, for a given decade. Somewhere in the depths of that page there's an article on eye safety, too. There are fairly simple methods - in fact, you can use a cardboard box if you know what you're doing. :lol3: But a special filter offers more possibilities. Every good optician should be able to get you some.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: When you watch the sky...
Post by: ViruS on February 14, 2006, 04:23:29 pm
:iconmi77kl:  Tnx Markus for this interesting topic .. hope u all enjoy it and find out some stuffs about the sky
 

   I don't have an telescope but if i will want to watch something will go to the planetarium ;)
   And tnx for the information about the next ecplise ..
   
     Cheers!
Title: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Elizabeth on February 14, 2006, 06:35:29 pm
If my memmory doesn't fail, a solar eclipse also happened in August 1998. I remember it quite well, because I had just arrived to Romania,
and everyone was crazy about it: reminding you not to watch the event without protection glasses and bla bla.
Pretty much enjoyed that, since I have always been interested in the sky, and...well, I used to ask myself different questions, and then watch
Discovery Kids for answers  :unsure:

Now, I know a few (very few) stars by their name (bet you didn't know that, ViruS :D).

Even if I had a telescope or some optic device, I wouldn't be able to watch the sky properly ( :( ) because... Bucharest is... a city. Think I expressed myself clearly  :w00t:
Title: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on February 15, 2006, 12:15:53 am
Hi Elizabeth,

that's no bla-bla! :angry: Looking at the sun without proper protection will really do terrible damage to your eyes, and the nasty thing is that you don't notice it at the start. Then the destruction goes on for hours and hours even if you don't look into the sun anymore, and then you're close to blindness. (Keyword "phototoxic reactions")

So do take these hints serious! :)

Ah, and the eclipse was in 1999. My first total solar eclipse. I was clouded out :bawling: but found it extremely impressive, anyway - the sudden darkness, the bright horizon, the strange colours. Even below the clouds I felt the strong impact.

Hey, I hope you didn't watch the eclipse on TV but saw it with your own eyes! :lol:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: When you watch the sky...
Post by: ViruS on February 15, 2006, 12:34:53 am
Quote
If my memmory doesn't fail, a solar eclipse also happened in August 1998. I remember it quite well, because I had just arrived to Romania,
and everyone was crazy about it: reminding you not to watch the event without protection glasses and bla bla.
Pretty much enjoyed that, since I have always been interested in the sky, and...well, I used to ask myself different questions, and then watch
Discovery Kids for answers  :unsure:

Now, I know a few (very few) stars by their name (bet you didn't know that, ViruS :D).

Even if I had a telescope or some optic device, I wouldn't be able to watch the sky properly ( :( ) because... Bucharest is... a city. Think I expressed myself clearly  :w00t:
[snapback]7011[/snapback]

Neah didn't  knew that Elizabeth but now i know :wub:  in this matter you're memmory fails you.. i have a coin with the date of the ecplise the year is 1999 i can show it to you if  u want :) safe keeping .. :evil: (500 lei coin) with eclipse on it..

 Yeah is not good to watch from Buchares the capital to the eclipses why? Becouse the sky is so darky (poluted)  :unsure:  don't know the best way to watch an sollar ecplise from Romania is byt going in other city's i presume

Title: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Elizabeth on February 15, 2006, 12:18:22 pm
Yep, my mistake. It was 1999. I've been living in Romania for 6 years, since May 1999, but I don't know why every time I have to write about it, or say it,
I make a mistake and say 1998! It's not the 1st time it happens...  :blink:

Markus, I know it's not bla bla, but I expressed myself like that  just to shorten things :D

Of course I did NOT watch it on TV! I even bought special eye glasses, so I wouldn't damage my eyes. Eeerrr... they're damaged anyway, but reading
is to blame for that ;)

Namarie!
Title: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on February 15, 2006, 01:01:04 pm
Hi there,

I just wanted to make sure, Elizabeth. ;)

Believe it or not - in some countries there are rumours that no safe sun observation methods exist, so that people watch the eclipse on TV instead of going outdoors and seeing it with their own eyes! That's nonsense, of course. If you follow the safety instructions nothing will happen to you.

Another common misunderstanding says that the eclipse itself is the danger for the eyes. That's incredibly stupid nonsense! Of course it's the uneclipsed part of the sun that is a danger to the oberserver's eyes. But you wouldn't believe how many people actually blame the eclipse instead of the sun!

Regarding city lights: These are really terrible. People don't care how much light gets lost - the lamps are supposed to brighten up the streets, not the skies! This light pollution brings nothing but trouble. It means a waste of energy and money, harms night-active animals, is a real health threat  - and blocks our view of the sky. :( But you'd be amazed what you can see even from the cities! Especially the moon and the planets can easily be observed from there because they're so bright, anyway.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on February 16, 2006, 07:17:26 pm
Hi folks,

here's another little hint for you: These days, Mars is standing near the Pleiades in Taurus. That bright orange "star" (planet, in fact) of Mars near that beautiful heap of blueish-white Pleiades stars - lovely! You can even get them in the same field of view in binoculars.

But it's a wonderful sight for the naked eye as well: Aldebaran, the brightest star of Taurus, is not far away from that group. Both Aldebaran and Mars are about the same colour and brightness - the planet is just a bit brighter than the star right now. Be sure to have a look at that! :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Elizabeth on February 16, 2006, 07:25:01 pm
Mission: Impossible. Too cloudy around here. :(
Title: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on February 18, 2006, 12:03:14 am
Ah, too bad - damn those clouds!

But Mars will linger in that vicinity for a couple of days and get even closer to Aldebaran in the next few weeks, which should look pretty pretty, too. :D

Cheers!

Markus
Title: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Aluqak on February 20, 2006, 05:05:04 pm
Wow, too many topics have started since I left. I'd have to post in most of them, but this one has deffinitively atracted my eye :).
I used to like astronomy when I was a kid. My father even bought me a small telescope and I had the chance to see some pretty stuffs through it (moon eclipses, some comets, some "star rains" and even the four biggest moons of Jupiter... there was a time during the late 80's when you could see them pretty easily). Unfortunately, as time passed my interest in astronomy decreased, and my interest in biology increased. Even my telescope was finally replaced by a microscope at the beginning and then by a couple of binoculars (I like birdwatching a lot).
I still look at the sky from time to time, and am able to recognize some planets and major constellations... but in general I am an ignorant in astronomy matters. I'll have to get some time to learn a little bit more about it. :)
Title: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on February 20, 2006, 05:31:59 pm
Sorry for having not written here yet... but I want to explain myself: I like watching the sky, mainly the few times I go to mountain and I have the chance of looking to uncontamined sky, with no lights, no contamination around. I can keep hipnotized for long time looking an starry night like that! But... I know nothing about astronomy. Even when some patience friend has tried to teach me some constellation, I hardly saw anything... I am an starry night lover, but don't ask me for any scientific (neither mythologic) fact, because I simply like to enjoy it. No names, no nothing. Watching.

So, I'm reading this topic with a lot of interest, but don't expect any real contribution from me  :nanana:
Title: When you watch the sky...
Post by: ViruS on February 20, 2006, 07:02:41 pm
Quote
So, I'm reading this topic with a lot of interest, but don't expect any real contribution from me  :nanana:
[snapback]7165[/snapback]

 :blink: Luth i will expect some contribution from you  not just to read  :ph34r:  spy
Title: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Elizabeth on February 20, 2006, 08:36:33 pm
Well, Luth... this is the NTSMS stargazing topic, right? So it fits you anyway :D

Namarie!
Title: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Tzar-0 on February 28, 2006, 05:12:50 pm
Hello,

I just want to say that I've always find natural sciences very interesting. And concerning astronomy, I like it too but...All I know about it are just few things that I have read in articles in a few magazin of scientific vulgarisation...So I can say I'm ignorant too.
And ,like everyone I like watching the sky...but I don't have any idea of the stars' names or anything.

So you should not wait too much contribution from me too.
Title: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on March 02, 2006, 08:29:45 pm
Hi folks,

it's not like you have to know the Messier catalogue by heart to be allowed to say something here. :lol3: For instance I have seen a terrific moon tonight: A very thin crescent, almost "lying" horizontally like a "ship of Luna", with a clear earthshine. Beautiful.... That's stargazer stuff, too. :)

Right now it's sinking behind a neighbouring house, with a strong reddish hue.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Aluqak on March 03, 2006, 01:54:58 pm
Hey! I saw it too. Last night in the bus to Ottawa!!!
It was near the horizon (about 8pm local time) and was yellowish-orange. Pretty stuff! :w00t:
Title: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on March 05, 2006, 06:06:21 pm
Hi there,

when I see the moon these days I have to think of what will happen at the next new moon...

:pop: Lepaca Draconis Dies! :pop:

But you'll have to bear a whole thread on this special topic soon... :evil:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on September 09, 2006, 12:23:16 pm
Hi folks,

something I observed last Friday night: In a crater named Hahn, near the Eastern rim of the moon, I saw the central mountain shortly after midnight. It was visible as an island of light in a pool of pitchblack darkness, because on the waning moon the sun had already set beneath the crater wall for any point on the bottom of Hahn. The peak of the central mountain, however, was high enough to peek out of the darkness and still get some last sunrays.

That was what I saw shortly after midnight. One and a half hour later, that speck of light was gone. As seen from that mountain peak on the moon, the sun had set at last.

This is nothing exotic or unexpected, of course, but still I found it impressive: I had watched the moon waning within just a few hours, and I had seen from above a sunset on the moon.  :yeha:

Cheers, and don't forget to look up occasionally!

Markus Astronomicus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Ereshkigal on September 09, 2006, 07:47:15 pm
Somedays I have to get up at 4:30am ( :afaid:) and on my way to the shower I always look out the window. So the other day I noticed the moon high in the sky, but not toooo high up there. It was very very shiny and round...looking kind of yellowish. It wasn't full moon...I think...but it was a pretty view.



Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Elizabeth on September 11, 2006, 12:13:41 pm
I spent the last days of my Israeli vacation in Eilat, the most southern city in the country. In the sorrounding area, there's the Red Canyon: I took a beautiful walk through it
with my sister and brother in law, but at noon, 'cause during the day, the desert summer make excursions rather impossible.

When we left the place, on one side of the road, the Sun was setting and on the other, the Moon was rising. It was gorgeeeouuusss!!! I'll share some pics pretty soon, I hope  ^_^

Namarie!

Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on September 11, 2006, 01:55:18 pm
Hi people!

Yesterday I saw the moon very low on the sky, very very red, and the more amazing: ENORMOUS! (or giant is better?). It looked really beautiful, and I wondered how was the moon so big.

High Priest, you here?   :whistle:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on September 11, 2006, 02:05:39 pm
Invoke me, Luth,

if you there's something you wanna know. Offering wine or mead usually works to make me appear.

Cheers!

Markus Astronomicus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on September 11, 2006, 03:59:03 pm
Offers a truck full of red wine.

Oh High Priest of Full Moons, of Giant Craters and Partial Eclipses!

Offers two trucks of mead.

Please, appear to me, a simple mortal who wish your high wisdom of the Moon!

Offers a Capra to the High Priest.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Aluqak on September 11, 2006, 04:03:22 pm
*snif*....  :unsure:... *snif-snif*.... ^_^...... *SNIF!*... Wine and meat :wOOt:!!!
*Instals himself close to Markus to share his food.... and to (obviously) listen his wise answer to Luth's request :bow:*
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on September 11, 2006, 04:20:25 pm
Listens attentively, sniffs, yawns and stretches

Happens to push a giant but curiously listening anglerfish off the edge of the world

Tastes a tiny little bit of the wine and mead, considers it good and begins to reply:

Hi Luth,

there are two things to be explained here: The beautyful red colour and the (apparently) huge size.

The colour is due to our atmosphere. Imagine the moon right above your head. When you look at it, you look straight out of the atmosphere along the shortest possible way. Now imagine the moon on the horizon. When you look at it now, you look along the ground for a long way. Your gaze goes through the densest part of the atmosphere for many, many kilometres. So when you see the moon on the horizon you look through a thick layer of air. But this air hinders the light! The shorter its wavelength - the bluer the colour - the more it's absorbed by the air. So the red part of the light can reach you more easily than the blue one. Much of the blue light is filtered out, what remains is mostly red - hence the colour! This doesn't work for the moon only but as well for the sun or any other extraterrestrial lightsource. :)

And why does the moon look so big to you? There are two reasons here: The first is that the moon is rather close to us these days. You have heard that it doesn't follow a circular orbit but an elliptical, so once a month it's closer to the earth, once farther away. Now it's rather close, so it looks bigger in the sky.

However, this difference is so small that only quite experienced skygazers will notice it. Here the second reason comes into play, the so-called moon-illusion. For some reason not yet understood, objects near the horizon seem bigger to us. You can measure the size of the moon on the horizon and in the height and both will turn out to be equal! Still our brain lets us see the moon bigger when it's near the horizon. Again, the same works for the sun or the constellations. All seem bigger on the horizon due to this optical illusion. Noone knows completely why, but who cares - enjoy it! :)

Cheers!

Markus

Gulps down the content of the wine and mead trucks and falls asleep again
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on September 11, 2006, 04:37:58 pm
Thanks, oh High Priest of the Moon Optical Effects!

Goes to summarize the content of Markus' reply to Xiquet, as he was too lazy to read so much English text.  :lol3:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Elizabeth on September 12, 2006, 09:38:19 am
Invokes High Preast Markus Astronomicus offering him a big amount of the best Elvish wine

When I took some of the pics in the desert, the Moon wasn't at the horizon, but pretty high in the sky, and still looked bigger than in other places! Not to mention that it was bright yellow. Does the desert have anything to do with this fenomenon?
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on September 12, 2006, 10:05:46 am
Smells some wine, stirs in his sleep

Yawns and stretches, again pushing that poor fish off the world accidentally

Eya Livi,

to reply to that I need to know what you mean by "pretty high". Approximately how many fists on your outstretched arm? One? Two? Five? More?

Drinks the wine. All of it.

Oh, and I need to know where I can get more of this tasty stuff. Or rather: I need to get more of this stuff.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Elizabeth on September 13, 2006, 08:37:12 pm
offers some more Elvish wine to the High Priest

Well... that's a pretty difficult question, oh Great One! I was visiting a canyon, so the landscape around was also irregular. But I think that around 4-5 fists would do.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on September 13, 2006, 11:19:36 pm
Hi Liv,

sorry for being unclear: I meant the mathematical, the ideal horizon. The one you get when all mountains and valleys disappear, the line that's exactly 90° from the zenith, from the point right above your head.

But I think that the apparent size may have been increased by the desert landscape indeed. The yellow colour comes from the same effect that is responsible for the red closer to the horizon. This effect is weaker in greater height, hence it makes the light not red but only yellow. You can observe this very well at sunrise, for instance: The first sunlight is dim and red. Then it turns stronger and orange, yellow, finally white as the sun climbs higher in the sky. Does that answer your question?

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Elizabeth on September 14, 2006, 09:38:59 am
Yes, it does answer my question. Thank you very much, Markus!

Gives the High Priest some more Elvish wine, in grattitude
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on September 14, 2006, 09:52:40 am
*calls the ambulance for carrying Markus in the detoxicating hospital*
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Elizabeth on September 14, 2006, 11:28:46 am
Oh no, Lucy, Elvish wine would never hurt anyone, especially an immortal!  ^_^
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on September 14, 2006, 11:47:40 am
Ah, OK then!

*stops worrying for our High Priest*  :pop:
Lepaca more Elvish wine for everybody!
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Elizabeth on September 14, 2006, 04:51:12 pm
Lepaca more Elvish wine for everybody!

That's the spirit, Lucy! Elvish wine for everybody, and a special big amount for Ivo!  :wink2:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on May 18, 2007, 08:03:27 pm
Hi folks,

time to revive this topic. :) Looking out of my window I see an exceedingly thin and fragile lunar crescent and above it bright Venus as evening star - even though the sun hasn't sunk as far as one fist on the outstretched arm beneath the horizon and it's still all bright outside. It's such a beautiful sight to see these two in the dusk, so look out and westwards to see the same. :) Look in the dusk right after sunset. You'll recognise the moon without my aid, ;) and Venus is the first and the brightest other object you'll see. When it's dark it'll be so blazingly bright that it will catch your eye, but with clear skies and if you know where to look you can find it even in the daytime these days.

The best day will be tomorrow, when the moon passes quite close to Venus, thus making an extra-beautiful sight...

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on May 18, 2007, 08:06:25 pm
The sky is cloudy here... :( Well, maybe tomorrow. :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Aluqak on May 18, 2007, 08:36:42 pm
Looks out of the window and sees.... clouds and rain!   :mad3:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on May 18, 2007, 08:42:01 pm
Hey folks,

don't worry too much; Venus will stay there for a few more weeks. :)

Oh, and right now I have even spotted Mercury in the dusk. :yeha: It's rather bright, but always so close to the Sun that you only get a few chances per year to see it - at middle latitudes, that is. Closer to the poles it's even harder to find, closer to the equator much easier. And now I have spotted it, even through thin wisps of clouds, while on the moon the earthshine is becoming visible.

Cheers!

Markus Astronomicus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Aluqak on May 18, 2007, 09:13:29 pm
don't worry too much; Venus will stay there for a few more weeks. :)
I know, I saw it last night :thumbup:

Oh, and right now I have even spotted Mercury in the dusk. :yeha:
I didn't know that was possible at all. :blink:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on May 18, 2007, 09:26:48 pm
Hey Aluqak,

Oh, and right now I have even spotted Mercury in the dusk. :yeha:
I didn't know that was possible at all. :blink:

Oh, sure it is! :thumbup: Even now that Mercury has sunk down to 3° above the horizon I can still see it. Even here at middle latitudes you get a few weeks every year when Mercury is fairly easy to see with the naked eye.

Talking of earthshine and of "didn't know that was possible": I think I haven't told you yet that one or two months ago I observed the dark side of the moon, its unlit nightside! With a telescopse we saw the maria ("lunar seas" - the dark spots that you can see with the naked eye), lots of craters and even rayed craters - features that one usually observes when the moon is full. We saw them on the dark side. :biggrin:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on May 19, 2007, 07:28:23 pm
Hey there,

the moon I have just seen through the scattered clouds although the sun is still half an hour from setting, and I hope to catch a glimpse of Venus, too.

Cheers!

Markus

Edit: And there she is! :yeha: Still 4 1/2 degrees to the upper left of Luna, so the two will draw even closer during the following hours. What a sight... so clear and bright even now, with the sun still far above the horizon and even through thin clouds!
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Sheep on May 19, 2007, 09:41:17 pm
I've just watched the sky... darkened blue, endless horrizon, the sickle of moon and evening star guided my mind through endless halls of ancestors... they told me the words of power... words how to rule the minds of many, and how to crush both week and strong ones...

Humanity, your time will come!!!

When we will start Infernal War!
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on May 20, 2007, 06:58:04 pm
I was in a hotel last night, the bank brought us to a country town for the weekend. We had a room looking to the west, with no other buildings in front of us. Skies were clear, so I could watch a beautiful sunset, the "constellunation", and a "moonset" perfectly. :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: VladH on May 20, 2007, 07:23:14 pm
My God... the Moon! I thought that it was much bigger when I was a kid. Now it is so small - maybe because child's mind is closer to magic and land of imagination but at least I still hear its call...
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on July 01, 2007, 08:20:48 pm
Yesterday when we were travelling back from Tokaj I saw the most beautiful rainbow of my life. Actually, there were two rainbows, one under the other, and the lower one was triple. We were on a plain part (yes, almost all of the territory my country is plain, but Tokaj is hilly), so I saw full archways.

Still on the way I saw lots of various clouds, and it was interesting because the clouds were in different heights. Usually I don’t feel which one is where because I see only one kind of clouds, but they were under each other, so their height could be well estimated and percepted. There were:

- leftovers of big gray rainclouds,
- curly whipped cream-like white ones,
- shreds of clouds far above,
- veils,
- torn cotton-like white clouds.

In the evening I saw a nice sunset too.

Here in the city it’s rare to see so beautiful visions, so I was happy to travel exactly in that time when all this was visible.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: The One on July 01, 2007, 10:48:13 pm
When I watch the sky, I just think... Which cloud type am I looking at? :biggrin: Although 50% of time, I know I'm looking at a Cumulus cloud.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Loke on July 02, 2007, 01:43:59 am


  When i watch the sky i just wish that SHE and i are looking at the same star, even if SHE is thousands and thousands of miles away :(


   yo yo yo :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on July 06, 2007, 09:53:07 am
Today morning, when I was travelling to my workplace, the sky was fully covered with grey clouds. But, there was a little hole between them, and some sunrays managed to shine down. This song came immediately in my mind:

"Sunshine hides behind a cloud (Eiwar!)
There's no light for us to see (Eiwar!)
But a ray is breaking through (Eiwar!)
The ignorance of human mind (Eiwar!)"
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: VladH on July 06, 2007, 10:23:38 am
OK... we have strange anvil-like Cumulonimbus right now here - hope it will bring rain and storm  :wub:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on July 06, 2007, 02:32:30 pm
Hey Lucy,

that is exactly the image I have in mind when I hear those lines! :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: The One on July 06, 2007, 03:01:44 pm
The sky looked pretty nice yesterday afternoon when me and some friends went out to do some excercise, play some football (both soccer and american).
Although, we mostly cared for how long the shadows were not to die of heat. :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on August 12, 2007, 05:22:53 pm
Hey folks,

under all the rain clouds of the past few weeks I totally forgot to tell you: The Perseids (http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/11jul_greatperseids.htm) peak tonight! How many shooting stars you'll see depends on your exact location, but most of you may expect a few dozens per hour. :) Here the weather turned from incredibly yet to nice and sunny within the last 24 hours, so I'll go and watch the show with some astro-buddies of mine. Thank Notessomes that I have a late shift tomorrow. : bow:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Nighthawk on August 12, 2007, 06:53:20 pm
Hey folks,

under all the rain clouds of the past few weeks I totally forgot to tell you: The Perseids (http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/11jul_greatperseids.htm) peak tonight! How many shooting stars you'll see depends on your exact location, but most of you may expect a few dozens per hour. :) Here the weather turned from incredibly yet to nice and sunny within the last 24 hours, so I'll go and watch the show with some astro-buddies of mine. Thank Notessomes that I have a late shift tomorrow. : bow:

Cheers!

Markus
I came here to check if you'd posted this interesting piece of info yet. If not, I was ready to do it myself.

*rolls sleeves back down*

You were lucky. This time.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: The One on August 13, 2007, 12:38:26 am
Well, this last week we've been having thunderstorms almost every night. Very beautiful, an enjoyment to my sight. :biggrin:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on August 13, 2007, 12:44:34 am
Hi there,

what I really consider luck is that the weather remained clear, we had a pretty decent view of a rather dark nightsky and some straw to lie on and that we saw about 40-50 meteors within a few hours, among them many bright ones. :yeha: The astronomical conditions are yet improving, but since tomorrow is a normal workday we had to stop there.

Oh, I even did a short live-interview by phone for the regional radio. :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on August 13, 2007, 04:57:06 pm
Yesterday it was a public view of the shooting stars at the mountain, in my new city. But... although few hours before 24h (official time for the watching) clouds were not very thick, at 23h it started to rain... and thunders and lightenings... Until streets were flooded and some roads were closed because of the flood. Of course, no shooting stars watching yesterday!  :bawl:

But... Saturday me and Xiquet were able to see some at home of friends of mine. Not a lot, but better this than nothing  :lol:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Aluqak on August 28, 2007, 06:34:34 pm
Early this monring we had (again) the wonderful view of a lunar eclipse (only visible in this side of the Atlantic though :biggrin: ). In spite of the fact that my eyes were half closed and that I was yawing every three seconds, I must say that the view was impressive, one of the most beautiful in a long time. The moon became black and then orange-red... and it 'set' that way (before the end of the eclipse)... and it gave the impression of being 'bigger' than it usually is. Great stuff! :thumbup:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on August 29, 2007, 08:57:04 pm
I heard about it two days ago in the News... and I thought "of course it won't be seen in Europe, or Markus should have spa... written something about this long time ago  :ninja:

Good to hear you were able to see it, Alu  :yeha:

Any picture?  :whistle:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: VladH on August 29, 2007, 10:53:33 pm
Beautifull sky and moon tonight.... I love it...
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Loke on August 30, 2007, 04:43:34 am
Early this monring we had (again) the wonderful view of a lunar eclipse (only visible in this side of the Atlantic though :biggrin: ). In spite of the fact that my eyes were half closed and that I was yawing every three seconds, I must say that the view was impressive, one of the most beautiful in a long time. The moon became black and then orange-red... and it 'set' that way (before the end of the eclipse)... and it gave the impression of being 'bigger' than it usually is. Great stuff! :thumbup:

I enjoyed it here in Mexico , it was like a bloody (literally hehe) moon :D


   yo yo yo
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on August 31, 2007, 11:41:31 pm
Today, oh no, tonight I heard some silent clap, clap... I draw back the curtains and viwed from windows. It rains cats and dogs. Almost whole night.
I couldn't see the moon, only dark clouds. Reminds me Scandinavian rain-showers (:
Clouds are slowly wandering upon the sky, only lonesome aircraft sometimes breaks this sight.
I love autumn's rains...
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: The One on September 01, 2007, 07:03:51 am
It's 2am and I'm looking at the rain and the lightning. I don't know, it's actually beautiful. :biggrin:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: VladH on September 01, 2007, 10:43:58 am
It was 6th day of fullmoon... I think that it gone crazy... I didn't sleep well for too long. From the beginning of this madness. And this night I felt a wandering... hope it's not lykantropy...
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: IronCretin on September 03, 2007, 11:22:59 am
We had the blood moon here too, a couple days back.

Quite a sight to see.

~Alex~
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on September 21, 2007, 06:17:53 pm
Oh yey... I forgot to write here that finally my favourite constellation Orion also called The Hunter. It's visible in early morning on 40°- 60° in Northen Hemisphere :)

A celestial map of Orion constellation made in 18th centure in line with Albrecht's Dürer gravure:

(http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Mythology/Images/OrionUranometria.jpg)

Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on October 28, 2007, 01:28:03 pm
Hi folks,

another unusual sight is to be seen these days: The comet 17/P Holmes returns approximately every 7 years, but it's usually a very faint object - far too faint to be seen with the naked eye, and even too faint to be of interest to most telescope skygazers. But a few days ago it went through a dramatic outburst and increased in brightness several 100.000 times! Now it's easily visible as a star-like object of medium brightness, visible to the naked eye even from light-polluted cities! Many observers even report that they see it as fuzzy object, disk-like, a small nebula.

You can find information on 17/P Holmes at Spaceweather.com (http://spaceweather.com/), including sky maps. Browse the archive of the past few days if they should take the article from the site, and look up tonight or later when the sky is clear.

Good luck in comet-hunting and cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on October 28, 2007, 05:26:40 pm
Here the sky is cloudy and it's raining. I hope you have clear skies, Markus.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on October 28, 2007, 07:27:59 pm
Here too, and really foggy...
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Aluqak on October 29, 2007, 01:44:10 am
Hi folks,
another unusual sight is to be seen these days: The comet 17/P Holmes returns approximately every 7 years, but it's usually a very faint object - far too faint to be seen with the naked eye, and even too faint to be of interest to most telescope skygazers. But a few days ago it went through a dramatic outburst and increased in brightness several 100.000 times! Now it's easily visible as a star-like object of medium brightness, visible to the naked eye even from light-polluted cities! Many observers even report that they see it as fuzzy object, disk-like, a small nebula.
Excelent news Man!
I'm a big fan of comets since 1986... Tonight we have cloud skies here in Québec, but tomorrow I'll be ready to raise my head and take a look to the northeast. The comet is larger than Jupiter they say :o
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on October 29, 2007, 09:28:05 am
Hey Alu,

The comet is larger than Jupiter they say :o

Its proper size, i.e. the diameter of its shell of dust and gas, is bigger than Jupiter, yes. But Holmes is much closer to us than Jupiter, so its apparent size in the sky is even far bigger. It's said to be 4'' - 1/7 of the moon! I saw it with my own eyes last night, and it's really plain to see. Look towards Perseus, and if you know the constellation (or if you use a skamyp of that region) you will immediately notice a star that doesn't belong there and that looks to hazy and diffuse to be a real star. That is 17/P Holmes. :)

Good luck and cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on October 29, 2007, 10:00:02 am
Could you please give me a good link where I could check the moon phases?




P. S.: First I wrote "hold phases" in half Hungarian. :lol:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on October 29, 2007, 10:37:21 am
This is very dangerous topic for my mind. It makes me think about space like when I was child. For example one deadly: If there was big bang, what was before that?
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on October 29, 2007, 10:55:35 am
Hello ladies,

If there was big bang, what was before that?

That's a simple one: Because time itself began with the Big Bang, there was nothing before it. :nana:

Lucy, I use astronomy software like XEphem for the exact moon phases. If you only care about the main quarters (new moon, waxing half, full moon, waning half), then any decent astronomical almanac will do. If you want an internet resource, this one (http://www.calculatorcat.com/moon_phases/moon_phases.phtml) looks pretty decent.

BTW we expect a rainy night here. :(

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on October 29, 2007, 11:15:58 am

That's a simple one: Because time itself began with the Big Bang, there was nothing before it. :nana:

Ehm, creation out of nothing? It doesn't make a sense for me, this is not sufficient answer, my mind is to narrow and wants for every question some logical answer :blush:
- but at the same time Because time itself began with the Big Bang, there was nothing before it. is the only theory I can accept cause there's no better available theory at this moment.
Sorry I know, that now I look stupid, but that's me, chronic doubter  :-[
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on October 29, 2007, 11:18:12 am
Takes a comfy seat, some popcorn and watches :biggrin:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on October 29, 2007, 11:27:35 am
Hey Pragensia,

I understand you very well. :) "Because time itself began..." is only right within the current standard theory of the Big Bang. If the theory proves all wrong or needs to be modified, then the answer will have to be different. This is science: Don't hope for ultimate answers - these are the domain of faith - but always be ready to doubt, and always be aware that every answer you get is implicitely "As far as we know today..."

The trouble with these questions regarding the whole universe is that they are inaccessible to human imagination. How many universes have we seen being created? Then how can we judge if creatio ex nihilo or eternal existence is more absurd? :) Our imagination is trained for earthly scales: Centimeters to kilometers, seconds to years, a few hundred Kelvin... what is far below or far above these is unimaginable to us and only accessible to rational thinking, i.e. math. That's why there's no point in waiting for an explanation that sounds understandable.

If you want to discuss this further, let's start a new thread, dedicated to these more philosphical questions. :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on October 29, 2007, 01:44:05 pm
Lucy, I use astronomy software like XEphem


Quote
"If everyday sky charting is all you want, then one of several more user-friendly and cheaper Windows packages will suffice. However, that's not what XEphem is all about. It's for those who need that little extra and are willing to put the effort in to achieve it. If, like me, you are in that category then I would certainly recommend XEphem."


Hmm, why am I not surprised? :roll-eyes:

Thanks for the link! :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Aluqak on October 30, 2007, 01:29:01 am
 :unsure: ... Monday in Québec city. The chief Anglefish takes his head out of the window and sees.... clouds.... and snow fluries. No comet tonight for the poor fish :disgust:.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on January 21, 2008, 09:31:29 pm
Sorry, this will be a bit long, boring, spammy, and sentimental. :blush:

Today is full moon, and there are no clouds above Budapest – I could see a beautiful moon, shining on me! A part of this Hungarian poem came into my mind:

Weöres Sándor (http://www.c3.hu/~eufuzetek/en/eng/14/index.php?mit=weores): Galagonya

Őszi éjjel
izzik a galagonya
izzik a galagonya
ruhája.
Zúg a tüske
szél szalad ide-oda
reszket a galagonya
magába.
Hogyha a hold rá fátylat ereszt
lánnyá válik, sírni kezd.
Őszi éjjel
izzik a galagonya
izzik a galagonya
ruhája.

It’s a very rhythmical poem, about a hawthorne bush under the moon (being this only the first layer of meanings, of course). It says something like:

In an autumn night the clothes of the hawthorne are glowing. The thorn-bush is whizzing, the wind is running here and there, the lonely hawthorne is trembling. When the moon lets down a veil (on the hawthorne), it turns into a girl and starts to cry.

So stupid translation of mine... This poem is extraordinarily hard to translate by the way, because of the strict rhythm and the beautiful rhymes. I just wanted to share this magical moment, when this poem turned to reality for me at once, with You all. :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on January 24, 2008, 09:07:15 pm
Sorry for being so late ;)
I absolutely adore this! Go on with that!  :wub:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Loke on January 25, 2008, 11:27:54 pm


  A very strange phenomenom occured yesterday in mexico city the  name is , convective cell , and made the sky look like it was the end of time mates , it was soooooooooooo frightening


  here is some info bout it

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convection_cell


  yo yo yo
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: NeMo on February 06, 2008, 07:26:49 pm
You might want to check and/or post in another topic called "when you watch the sky" (http://ntsms.megatherion.com/index.php?topic=372.0), which is one my faves by the way.... when Markus was aroung to keep it alive :bawl:.

Nice topic, thanks for mentioning it Aluqak! :thumbup:
I started Stargazing in the year 1995 I think, because two of my friends started also. ;) And back then I wanted to fit into the society, unlike today... :biggrin:
I bought binoculars 20x50mm, I think, when I was in Russia in 1997. It's funny I bought them in Kaluga, the birth town of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konstantin_Tsiolkovsky)! :wOOt: But not long after that they fell on the concrete ground and got broken. I was like this :bawl: :bawl: :bawl: :bawl: :bawl: so my parents had to buy me a bigger, once again a bigger(:P) telescope in Hungary, 60mm refractor. I was like this :yeha: :yeha: :nana: :yeha: :yeha: Most of my stargazing experience comes from that one. :) I've observed Venus and its phases, Moon, Mars during the Great Opposition in 2005, Jupiter with its belts and 4 Galilean moons, Saturn with its rings and Uranus Aluqak...
I repeat, Uranus Aluqak. :biggrin: I've also observed Andromeda Galaxy, Pinwheel Galaxy, M81 & M82 Galaxies, Pleiades((http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Pleiades_large.jpg/300px-Pleiades_large.jpg)), Ha & Chi clusters, a lot of globular clusters, Orion Nebula, Dumbbell Nebula and so on. I've also observed a lot of double stars, like for example Albireo, the head of MissSwan... And I projected the Sun through the telescope onto a sheet of paper and observed the sunspots. But since the eyepiece was a low-quality plastic one (as well as the whole telescope), it melted down! :ninja: After that I didn't observe the Sun anymore with the telescope... ;D Except for this VERY rare event:

Unlike Mercury, Venus crosses the Sun very rarely, once in 100 years approximately. The last such event occurred on 8th June 2004, and before that back in 1882! :ninja: My friend and I projected the 2004 crossing through a telescope onto a sheet of paper and photographed it! :yeha: You are not supposed to look directly at the Sun... you'll get instant, painless and irreversable eye damage! :afaid:

(http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/2694/hpim0547xp7.th.jpg) (http://img508.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hpim0547xp7.jpg)

Oh, and right now I have even spotted Mercury in the dusk. :yeha: It's rather bright, but always so close to the Sun that you only get a few chances per year to see it - at middle latitudes, that is. Closer to the poles it's even harder to find, closer to the equator much easier. And now I have spotted it, even through thin wisps of clouds, while on the moon the earthshine is becoming visible.

I've also spotted Mercury ONCE in my whole life! :yeha: It was October 200?, early in the morning, half an hour before the sunrise. ;) Mercury is very hard to spot because it's very near the Sun. A lot of things need to come together in order to have a good sight of it:

1. it needs to be in the greatest elongation (apparently farthermost from the Sun on the firmament)
2. the date needs to be near the spring or autumn equinox
3. Mercury needs to be in the morning sky if it is autumn and in the evening sky if it is spring (because the angle between the horizon and the ecliptic is the greatest at that time)
4. The greatest elongation needs to be as great as possible (and that varies because Mercury revolves the Sun along an ellipse)
5. AND OF COURSE, the sky needs to be clear! :biggrin: Near the horizon... which is a rare occasion! :ninja:

Something can be tolerated a little (except for 5 :bye:) but you got the idea why is it so hard to spot Mercury. :ninja:

Ah, and the eclipse was in 1999. My first total solar eclipse. I was clouded out :bawling: but found it extremely impressive, anyway - the sudden darkness, the bright horizon, the strange colours. Even below the clouds I felt the strong impact.

That was my first total solar eclipse! I was lucky it was in my country Serbia. :) I was also clouded but, fortunately, I had a 10 seconds hole in the clouds so I DID see the Sun eclipsed! :yeha: Became TSE addicted back then... :ninja:

The next great event is the solar eclipse on March 29th. I'll be in Turkey if all goes well and bask in the umbral shadow for the third time in my life. :w00t:

I was in Turkey too, in some small desert town 100km east of Konya. Karapanar was its name. It's interesting that Markus told me he was also in some small desert town 100km east of Konya. Maybe we were in the same town! :wOOt: Btw, me and my friends were supposed to be in Konya but we heard about the clouds coming from the west, so we decided to leave Konya in the last minute... ad hoc... and head to the east. Maybe that is the same reason Markus left Konya... Still, we didn't manage to escape from the clouds, but luckily those were the wispy clouds - cirrus((http://images.usatoday.com/weather/photos/clouds/cirrus2.jpg)) so we did see the eclipse! I saw all the most important features - the dimond ring, all contacts, the corona, the totality and even the dancing shadows on a wall 30 seconds prior to the first contact! :wOOt: Though I must admit I didn't see the chromosphere... maybe because of the cirrus... :unsure:

Next TSE is to be in Novosibirsk and NTSMS will go there (http://ntsms.megatherion.com/index.php?topic=1033.0)... :) Can't wait... :wOOt:

another unusual sight is to be seen these days: The comet 17/P Holmes returns approximately every 7 years, but it's usually a very faint object - far too faint to be seen with the naked eye, and even too faint to be of interest to most telescope skygazers. But a few days ago it went through a dramatic outburst and increased in brightness several 100.000 times! Now it's easily visible as a star-like object of medium brightness, visible to the naked eye even from light-polluted cities! Many observers even report that they see it as fuzzy object, disk-like, a small nebula.

Saw it! 8) In December, couple of days after Budapest NTSMS reunion. Both with naked eye and with my new telescope. Speaking about my new telescope...

Here is a fresh photo of me... and my best friend! :) Unfortunately, he is immobile... :'( :P :'(

(http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/2935/nemowhitenerdyws5.th.jpg) (http://img175.imageshack.us/my.php?image=nemowhitenerdyws5.jpg)

I bought it couple of months ago here in Berlin... Schmidt-Cassegrain 10 inches. Compared to it, the old one I have is just a toy... :P I transported it to Serbia in December, however out of two weaks I stayed there, only one day the sky was clear... and it was marvelous... ^_^ Btw, that day I saw the comet 17/P Holmes...

I'll try to keep this thread alive and updated. :) I'll be glad to answer some questions though I must say you shouldn't expect so good answers Markus used to give. I don't have nearly so much stargazing experience like he, and to be honest I've barely stargazed during the last 5 years! :ninja: Because I moved to the city after living in a countryside. Knowing what a night sky I used to have and seeing what I have now, I completely lost the will... :-\

@Lucy: there, I hope you are happy now! :)
:fish:

26th & 27th time and still counting...
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on February 06, 2008, 07:45:06 pm
@Lucy: there, I hope you are happy now! :)
:fish:


Thanks a lot! :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: The One on February 07, 2008, 01:18:48 am
Pretty impressive NeMo! :biggrin:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: NeMo on February 07, 2008, 02:45:31 pm
Pretty impressive NeMo! :biggrin:

What, the post or my new sig? :nana:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Aluqak on February 07, 2008, 08:20:51 pm
Uranus Aluqak...
I repeat, Uranus Aluqak. :biggrin:
He-he-he... nice one :biggrin:
I tried to do some stargazing when I was younger, but the fact of living in a big city surounded by mountains killed most of my initial will. Anyway, I had the chance of spotting Mars a coupled of times, seeing Venus and its fases, and the 4 Galilean moons of Jupiter (no belts though :-[). My best experience was in 1996 or 97 when I had the chance to see the comet Hale-Bopp... I was camping with some frieds, we were alone in the middle of nowhere and the sky was clear. We watched it the whole night :bow: .
Right now, I live in Canada, I don't have a telescope and I most exciting things I can see are the lunar eclipses and northern lights that we have from time to time.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Mystique on February 07, 2008, 10:44:10 pm
Woah NeMo  :wOOt:

Pretty impressive indeed  :thumbup:

I like the pics....especially the first one :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: NeMo on February 09, 2008, 06:43:02 pm
Anyway, I had the chance of spotting Mars a coupled of times

Speaking about Mars, it can be easily seen these days, during the whole night, even from big cities! ;) Look for it high in the sky, facing south around 22h. First find the constellation of Orion, you can't fail with that one! ;D

(http://oobleck.ifa.hawaii.edu:8080/where/images/orion.jpg)

Mars looks like a bright orange star EXACTLY above Orion (approx. one height of Orion higher above Orion :wacko: :lol:). It should be similarly bright as those two brightest Orion stars (one blue another red). ;)
The best time for observing Mars was December because back then it was nearest to the Earth and brightest in the sky. However, it is not too late yet. But do not hesitate, with every week it's getting farther and farther and becoming dimmer and dimmer.

seeing Venus and its fases, and the 4 Galilean moons of Jupiter (no belts though :-[).

Speaking about Venus and Jupiter, they can be seen these days in the morning sky very near each other! I think between 6h30min and 7h (local time) in the twilight. So if you get early these days, face to the southeast horizon and look for two bright "stars" near the horizon (NO houses and trees!). The brighter one is Venus and the other one is Jupiter. ;) Again the best time for this is over but it is not too late yet! On the 1st February they were so close each other that a full Moon could barely fit between. With every DAY, Venus is getting nearer to the Sun and Jupiter is getting farther so the gap is increasing. Hurry, I think two more weeks and Venus will get so close Sun it won't be observable anymore. ;)

My best experience was in 1996 or 97 when I had the chance to see the comet Hale-Bopp...

I saw it too! :wOOt: I think that was the brightest comet of the 20th century! :thumbup: Too bad its tail was so short... :(
How could I forget mentioning that comet in my previous post? :ninja: If I didn't, it would be even more impressive... :biggrin:

Right now, I live in Canada, I don't have a telescope and I most exciting things I can see are the lunar eclipses and northern lights that we have from time to time.

Speaking about lunar eclipses, there will be a TOTAL lunar eclipse on the 21st February, visible from Europe, Africa and also from America. :)
Here are the times of contacts (in Middle European Time, like Hungary for example, for Greenwich Time subtract 1h):
-Moon starts entering the penumbra (halfshadow) at 1:36:01. However, this cannot be noticed, it will still look "normally", like this
-Moon starts entering the umbra (shadow) at 2:43:28. Partial phase. Visible! An increasing chunk of the Moon gets orange hue.
-Moon enters the umbra at 4:00:22. Totality starts! :wOOt: Expect the Moon to look like this or this depending on how deep it is going to enter the shadow. I think it won't be very deep this time so expect it to be orange. ;)
-The middle of the eclipse at 4:25:38. The Moon gets the most red it is to get this time...
-Moon starts leaving the umbra at 4:50:54. Partial phase again.
-Moon leaves the umbra at 6:07:48. It looks normally again
-Moon leaves the penumbra at 7:15:15. Still looks normally :P

Don't forget that all this is to happen on the 21st February early in the morning. So that means you need to start preparing for that on the 20st February in the evening and NOT to go to the bed. :lol3: I 'll remind you again about it, of course if I don't forget. :ninja:

@Aluqak: I think everything should also be visible from America. Convert the times to your local time and if it is night it will be visible because the Moon is to be full and full Moon is visible during the whole night. ;)


Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: NeMo on February 20, 2008, 04:37:49 pm
The only total lunar eclipse of the year 2008 is tonight. ;)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on February 20, 2008, 04:51:01 pm
Thank You NeMo... finally the sky is clear over the city... so probably I will see something tonight :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Aluqak on February 20, 2008, 07:58:40 pm
Ready to turn my head up tonight. The sky is clear and the cold is bitting... nice stuff :thumbup:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: NeMo on February 20, 2008, 08:14:55 pm
The partial phase starts in 6.5 hours... ;)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: The One on February 21, 2008, 12:17:45 am
I'm seeing that eclipse... hopefully. :wOOt:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Aluqak on February 21, 2008, 04:36:43 am
It's 22:35, the termometer says -18°C, the sky is clear, the moon is darkish red and I'm having some rum and listening some metal.
Life is beautiful :ph34r:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: The One on February 21, 2008, 04:55:51 am
It's 22:35, the termometer says -18°C, the sky is clear, the moon is darkish red and I'm having some rum and listening some metal.
Life is beautiful :ph34r:
Pretty similar to me and my family up on the balcony, having tea and joking around. :lol3:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on February 21, 2008, 06:28:44 am
Eclipse was around 4 a.m. for me... way too early!! Now I'm going to leave home (6:27)... I suppose none of it is visible (or un-visible  :insane: ) now  :disgust:

Al: I'd be frozen and dead if I were where you are  :wacko:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on February 21, 2008, 09:55:05 am
It's 22:35, the termometer says -18°C, the sky is clear, the moon is darkish red and I'm having some rum and listening some metal.
Life is beautiful :ph34r:


I'll be in the same conditions soon too!  :wicking: :yahoo:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on February 21, 2008, 10:24:25 am
I skipped the eclipse yesterday... :blush: I told myself if I wake up in the middle of the night (as I sometimes do), I go to see that, but I was sleeping like this: :sleep: I know that I had a nice dream, but I cannot even recall. Anyway, it made my mood for today. :)

By the way, I spotted Mars several times in the past week, thank You, NeMo! :bow:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on February 21, 2008, 10:39:07 am
Don't worry Lucy (: I did not see the lunar eclipse also. Because the evening was sky clear like ice - but in the time of solar eclipse - clouds were already again on the stage... :lol3:
We have a cloudy day today...
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on February 21, 2008, 10:40:55 am
Then it probably was the same here too. :)

Congrats to Your 1000th post! :yeha:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on February 21, 2008, 10:44:12 am
That's possible - by the air way - Prg and Bp are quite near (:

Thank You :blush:
but You will have soon a 2000th  :nana:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: lavaniegosII on February 21, 2008, 10:49:46 am
The eclipse took place around 5:40 pm here. So I  watched very comfortable at the beach  :yeha:.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on February 21, 2008, 10:51:00 am
That's nice (:
At least someone enjoyed it properly  :biggrin:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on February 21, 2008, 10:56:55 am
but You will have soon a 2000th  :nana:


Hahaha, indeed... :lol: I'll pass the duo-millennial border... and become one of The Most Babbler, Gossipy and Senile-Senior Ones here! :pop: :lol3:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on February 21, 2008, 11:05:45 am
You'll become an old Druid woman  :pop:
And You can make poisons and other stuff right under the sky! You old witch!  :tongue:

(http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/8783/365bgg7.jpg)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on February 21, 2008, 11:13:04 am
:huglove:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on February 21, 2008, 11:16:17 am
:blush:

:roll:

We should go back to topic - but there's nothing special on the sky now  -_-  No Cumulonimbus  :bawl:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Aluqak on February 21, 2008, 01:51:02 pm
Al: I'd be frozen and dead if I were where you are  :wacko:
What do you think is the rum for? ... to keep the Chief Anglerfish warm and alive... errrmmm.... :drunk:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: NeMo on February 21, 2008, 04:39:42 pm
Spam! :wOOt: Everybody is spamming this nonwhatareyoumunchinlike topic! :yeha: Btw mark that long word from my last sentence, you might find it useful in that English Killer Game topic. :fish:
Well at least something to cheer me up when the eclipse didn't. Speaking about the eclipse, if crossing of clouds over the Moon is called an eclipse, then YES, I have this morning witnessed the darkest eclipse ever! :mad3: :(

It's 22:35, the termometer says -18°C

:afaid: :afaid: :afaid: :afaid:

Btw Aluqak I was watching EuroNews World Weather while the Moon was eclipsed with heavy clouds(:mad:) and I glimpsed ... Chicago -9°C, New York -14°C, Montreal -22°C... and I remembered you! :fish:

I skipped the eclipse yesterday... :blush: I told myself if I wake up in the middle of the night (as I sometimes do), I go to see that, but I was sleeping like this: :sleep: I know that I had a nice dream, but I cannot even recall. Anyway, it made my mood for today. :)

Do you also sleep during the day sometimes? If yes, I'll be glad to sing you a lulluby in Novosibirsk prior to the solar eclipse. :fish:

By the way, I spotted Mars several times in the past week, thank You, NeMo! :bow:

Great! :) Don't be confused that Mars is near another star from the constellation of Taurus. The brighter one is Mars. ;)

Btw, you can look for Mars even earlier, 20h is OK. ;)

Don't worry Lucy (: I did not see the lunar eclipse also. Because the evening was sky clear like ice - but in the time of solar eclipse - clouds were already again on the stage... :lol3:
We have a cloudy day today...

Same with me... I was happy the sky was clear during the day, but then the clouds started coming. More and more... I think I spoted Moon last time between 1h and 2h. And the eclipse started at 3h. :-\
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: NeMo on March 09, 2008, 03:01:08 pm
This evening, the 9th of March, if the sky is completely clear on the western horizon Europeans have the opportunity to see only 25 hours old Moon! :wOOt: And Americans 30 hours old Moon. It looks like an extremely thin sickle, like this

(http://www.tboeckel.de/EFSF/efsf_wv/java_06/merapi/IMG_0024-fig1.jpg)

You should find a place where you can observe the sunset. Mark the position on the horizon where the Sun set (I think it will set between 18h and 18h30min depending on your location). Half an hour later, a thin Moon sickle will be above it. Yes ONLY half an hour, it will still be twilight and the sickle will be hard to spot. A completely clear sky is necessary and the help of binoculars is welcomed. A true challenge! :thumbup:

Tomorrow evening, the 10th of March, everything will be easier but less interesting, because the Moon will be 24 hours older and thicker... ;)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: saphira on March 09, 2008, 03:55:37 pm
Thanks NeMo for the info! I'll try to see it but here it looks like it's going to rain.. I hope it won't!  :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: NeMo on March 09, 2008, 04:40:36 pm
Thanks NeMo for the info! I'll try to see it but here it looks like it's going to rain.. I hope it won't!  :)

The rain is not the problem but the clouds! If it's raining but the sky is clear you should be able to see the Moon. :biggrin: :fish:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Aluqak on March 09, 2008, 05:13:59 pm
Thanks for the info man :thumbup:
I'll try to catch it up... but clear skies are a real rarity these days in Canada. Yesterday, we had 35 cms of snow!... and still counting :disgust:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: saphira on March 09, 2008, 05:35:51 pm
@NeMo: It's cloudy..for now..but I hope the wind will blow them away..that's why I said that it looks like it's going to rain..

@Alu: huh..  envy envy envy.. give me some snow! This is no winter without the snow.. 35 cm!!!!  :wOOt:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Mystique on March 09, 2008, 06:09:31 pm
@NeMo: I just came from the outside, and yes, I did see the moon!  :biggrin: Awesome! If you hadn't said this, I probably wouldn't have paid any attention to it :P :biggrin:
Too bad I wasn't able to take a pic of it, since my camera is really bad...  :bye:

all in all  :thumbup:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: saphira on March 09, 2008, 06:24:17 pm
Yeey! I saw it!   :)   :thumbup: ..but the clouds covered it back again..
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: NeMo on March 09, 2008, 07:38:12 pm
@Misti & saphira: was the Moon so thin like on the picture I posted? ^_^

Unfortunately, I couldn't see it from Berlin, the sky was not clear enough. :(

Too bad I wasn't able to take a pic of it, since my camera is really bad...  :bye:

Someone is under DD's influence again! :fish:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: saphira on March 09, 2008, 07:59:56 pm
@NeMo: yes I think it looked like on your photo..maybe just a really tiny bit more thick..
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Aluqak on March 10, 2008, 02:25:42 pm
@Alu: huh..  envy envy envy.. give me some snow! This is no winter without the snow.. 35 cm!!!!  :wOOt:
If snow were as expenssive as gold or oil, Canada will be the richest country on earth... especially this winter. We are 30 cms away of breaking the all times record of more snow in a single winter... Wait a sec... all times?...  :unsure: ... weeell, at least since 1850 when these kind of things began to be measured.
Anyway, the most fearful thing is that we still have a month or so before saying that the winter is really-really finished :afaid:

Ice cream anyone? :insane:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on March 10, 2008, 04:01:29 pm
Well, we have the worst dry-time since some long time, so... perhaps some "topping" in our mountains would be great. When snow melts... rivers fills and waters flows  :wOOt:

Yup, some ice-cream for our mountains, please!!  :lol:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Mystique on March 10, 2008, 04:46:03 pm
@Misti & saphira: was the Moon so thin like on the picture I posted? ^_^

It was a wee bit thicker...  :biggrin:

Too bad I wasn't able to take a pic of it, since my camera is really bad...  :bye:

Someone is under DD's influence again! :fish:

Oh shut up! If you had a camera with 2.5 megapixels, you would see what's it like for us...little people :P   :disgust:  :biggrin:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: saphira on March 10, 2008, 07:06:42 pm
@Alu: ENVY! I want that snow!  :biggrin: well we didn't have snow for the last..3 years...it was really almost no snow..and even the one that was, was on ground only for about 3 days.. :'(
And I don't like the weather we have right now..I like it when it rains..and I love the wind   :wub: ..but here is just like preparing to rain and nothing happens..and it only causes that  I have terrible headaches..I'm very under influence of the weather..  :wacko:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on March 10, 2008, 07:20:12 pm
When You watch the sky - You could probably see Nordlys...

(http://www.pahof.de/mediac/400_0/media/DIR_7096/Hammerfest.jpg)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: saphira on March 10, 2008, 07:32:55 pm
Beautiful!!!!  :wOOt:   :wub:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: lavaniegosII on March 11, 2008, 05:32:43 pm
When You watch the sky - You could probably see Nordlys...

(http://www.pahof.de/mediac/400_0/media/DIR_7096/Hammerfest.jpg)

I've to watch one of these phenomena before I die.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: NeMo on March 11, 2008, 08:46:19 pm
When You watch the sky - You could probably see Nordlys...

Polar lights can be seen only from the very northern latitudes, like Norway or Canada. :P Did you see it Kris? :)

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Pleiades_large.jpg/300px-Pleiades_large.jpg)

Tomorrow evening, the 12th of March, Europeans will have the opportunity to see the close meeting of the crescent Moon and Pleiades. Pleiades, also known as The Seven Sisters, are the most famous star cluster in the sky. It is located in the constelation of Taurus and is very conspicuous. It consists of several hundreds of hot blue stars, but only 6 are visible to the naked eye - Atlas, Alcyone, Merope, Electra, Maia and Taygeta.

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e1/M45map.jpg)

Pleiades are, in Greek mythology, the seven daughters of Atlas and of Pleione, the daughter of Oceanus. Their names were Electra, Maia, Taygete, Alcyone, Celaeno, Sterope, and Merope (see the picture above). ;)

The meeting will be so close that the Moon will actually eclipse Sterope and Taygeta. The event will take place high above the west horizon between 19h and 21h. I recommend observing it between 20h and 21h because the sky will be darker and it will be easier to spot Pleiades (just below the Moon). The help of binoculars is again welcomed but NOT necessary. ;)

@Aluqak: at the time sun sets in Canada, the Moon will already be several of its diameters away from Pleiades... to the left. However, it will still be a nice sight, you should check it. :thumbup: After the sunset, as soon as the sky gets dark enough.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Mystique on March 12, 2008, 10:46:30 pm
 :verymad: Unfortunatelly, I didn't manage to see this today...I came outside and realised how cloudy it actually was...I couldn't see a thing - not even the Moon itself....
stupid weather  :roll-eyes:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on March 13, 2008, 10:56:34 am
When You watch the sky - You could probably see Nordlys...

Polar lights can be seen only from the very northern latitudes, like Norway or Canada. :P Did you see it Kris? :)


I knew that cause I am stupid but no sooo stupid....  :-\
Yes, I saw them.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: NeMo on March 13, 2008, 04:09:17 pm
There is an easy way to find Pleiades (as well as some other stars) in the sky without the Moon being right next to them. By using Orion, which is very conspicuous and is located above the southwest horizon after the sunset these days. ;)

(http://oobleck.ifa.hawaii.edu:8080/where/images/orion.jpg)

Spot the three stars forming its girdle and put an imaginary line through them. If you extend that line for a height of Orion to the left, you'll find Triocton Sirius (:fish:), the brightest star of all heavens. However, if you extend it for a height of Orion to the right, you'll find an orange star called Aldebaran (in the constellation of Taurus). Extend it for additional half height of Orion to the right over Aldebaran and you'll find Pleiades! :thumbup: Six of them should be visible by a naked eye under the dark sky...

Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: saphira on March 13, 2008, 07:42:21 pm
Hey NeMo I tried to see it yesterday but there were that damn clouds..and I checked out how it is tonight but it's again cloudy..I was hoping that it will be clear since the day was so beautiful..but I guess I'll have to wait for some other time..
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: NeMo on April 15, 2008, 03:06:37 pm
People, tonight if the sky is clear you'll have a nice opportunity to spot Saturn easily. Because it will be just above the Moon. Actually, there will be two bright "stars" just above the Moon (also more and more to the right of it as the night goes on). The left one is Saturn and the right one is Regulus, the brightest star in the constelation of Leo. ;)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on April 15, 2008, 05:33:16 pm
People, tonight if the sky is clear you'll have a nice opportunity to spot Saturn easily. Because it will be just above the Moon. Actually, there will be two bright "stars" just above the Moon (also more and more to the right of it as the night goes on). The left one is Saturn and the right one is Regulus, the brightest star in the constelation of Leo. ;)




:blink:

Checks two times the author of the previous post

Hey NeMo, such a short post, no pics, no spam, nothing? :fish: Are You alright? :unsure:
















Thanks a lot! I'll see if the sky above my city is clear. :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: NeMo on April 16, 2008, 06:12:23 pm
Hey NeMo, such a short post, no pics, no spam, nothing? :fish: Are You alright? :unsure:

I hope I am... :unsure: Wait a moment to ask the voices... *consults with the voices :P
They claim that I'm still OK. :biggrin:

So, you want some pics? And some spam ;D There you go, a pic and a spam at the same time... 2 in 1 4 in 1! :P

(http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/7922/legokulazm6.jpg)

Btw, I made that one from LEGOs in Killmenow Ilmenau couple of days ago. 8) My cousin has a daughter, 3 years old, and I played with her. :) I'll post some pics of her in that photo topic... ;)

Have you seen the Moon, Saturn and Regulus Lucy?
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Sirius13 on April 16, 2008, 06:39:07 pm
Cool tower!  :wOOt:

PS  I only just spotted this  :lol3::

If you extend that line for a height of Orion to the left, you'll find Triocton Sirius (:fish:), the brightest star of all heavens.


I have nothing useful to say about the sky, except that I haven't been looking at it enough lately.  I will make more of an effort  :ninja:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on April 16, 2008, 06:56:05 pm
Have you seen the Moon, Saturn and Regulus Lucy?



No I haven't, the sky was cloudy! :bawl:

But Your pyramid is fantastic! :wOOt:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Aluqak on April 16, 2008, 08:32:59 pm
Alright, finally I remembered that I had to look up and seek the moon, Saturn and Regulus. And...
...
...
..
..
.
.

My face got all damped because it's f**king raining! :mad3:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: NeMo on April 21, 2008, 03:14:03 pm
Too bad the sky was cloudy... :( but there will be another opportunity after 27 days. :) That is the time the Moon needs to revolve around the Earth and is called sidereal month. To be discerned from synodic month which is the time between two full Moons and equals 29 days. The difference between sidereal and synodic month is due to the fact that Earth revolves around the Sun. ;)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: saphira on April 25, 2008, 03:20:05 pm
I guess you know this site..I found smth interesting..here's the link: http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2008/16/
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Mystique on April 25, 2008, 07:24:12 pm
Woah, the site is pretty cool  :thumbup:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: NeMo on May 08, 2008, 05:26:02 pm
@saphira, thank you for the link. :) Hubble Space Telescope has made the best pictures of the universe ever. It is far from being the largest telescope ever made, but nevertheless it has the edge of being above the atmosphere and above the ever increasing light pollution. :-\

(http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~ipswich/CfDS/Earth_night.jpg)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on May 08, 2008, 05:56:06 pm
I know this one x) I sometimes use it as wallpaper on my Ericsson cell phone or on pc... because I feel that I have whole world in my hand :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on July 23, 2008, 10:57:01 pm
Hi folks,

don't forget that there's an eclipse coming up.  :wOOt: You can check out many important information here (http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html). There's also a link to some webcasts in case you want to watch via the web.

But watch your eyes, won't you? Don't look at the sun without special filters lest you go blind!

Cheers, and clear skies!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on August 07, 2008, 07:11:38 am
Good morning, folks,

after a convenient breakfast I'll be off to give a radio interview about the upcoming Perseid meteor shower and the lunar eclipse on the 16th of August. The radio station is called "MDR Info", a station under public law, with a focus and news and features, so no stupid questions expected. :)

The best time to watch the Perseids will be the local early hours of the 12th of August, by the way, when the shower approaches its activity peak and when the bright moon has set.

The lunar eclipse runs from 19.35 UT to 22.45 UT which is 21.35 CEDT to 00.45 CEDT. It can only be observed from Europe, Africa and the Western part of Asia.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on August 07, 2008, 08:25:22 am
Tomorrow I'm going with Xiquet to a little vacations (3 days - 2 nights) to the mountain. I'm sure there'll be a lot more visible the Perseids!!  :yeha: I've read that night is the better to see them... perhaps it depends on the country? Well, tomorrow there won't be Moon, so I expect clear and dark skies (I wisht them CLEAR  :ninja: ), with no atmospheric or light contamination  :nana:

I didn't know about the lunar eclipse... is it total or partial? The time is good... to good to be true! Last time it was at 4 a.m. or similar  :insane:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on August 07, 2008, 10:38:29 am
My queen,

you will see quite a few shooting stars for sure! But remember - only those whose trails point away from Perseus are perseids; all others are just sporadic meteors from no specific source (but nice to see nonetheless :biggrin:).

The very best time to watch the Perseids this year are the hours before dawn on the 12th of August, no matter where you are. But you'll get to see some by the weekend, especially when you have clear and dark skies in the mountains. :)

The lunar eclipse is a deep partial which leaves only the North of the moon uneclipsed (81% of the lunar diameter will be eclipsed). But that is enough to see the red light inside the shadow of Earth. Hint: Position yourself so that a lamp pole, a tree branch, a bridge or something else blocks the bright, uneclipsed part of the moon. Without that glare you'll find the red light much more striking.

Enjoy that vacation!

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on August 07, 2008, 12:39:42 pm
Thanks for the info Markus! I hope I won't be at that time at work in the middle of the city lights pollution  :ninja:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on August 07, 2008, 11:37:56 pm
I've seen some shooting stars now, but not big ones (I know, not near enough, I guess), but Xiquet has seen one really huge... damn it!! I wasn't looking at that moment  :ninja:

But... I'll see loads of them at the mountain... if weather helps us... if Notessomes keeps clouds far from our place (weather forecast say it will be cloudy  :afaid: ).

O Notessomes, I invoke thy to maintain clear sky and let us see the shooting stars!  :pop:

 -_-
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on August 12, 2008, 11:52:06 am
Hei, I found quite nice astronomical screensaver (http://www.astronomyscreensaver.com/)! :)

Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on August 16, 2008, 06:25:27 pm
OK, folks,

the skies look half overcast here. There are more clouds to the East (where the moon will be) than to the West (where the sun is now). I'm pretty optimistic to get a satisfying view of the event, though. It's such a big event that I need utterly clear skies, a few minutes of free sight around the maximum would make me more than happy.

One reason for me to watch, by the way, is that this is the second and last eclipse from the eclipse seaon that brought us the solar eclipse two weeks ago: Then, at the last new moon, we had total solar eclipse. Today, at the following full moon, the heavens are still aligned eclipse-friendly enough to produce at least a deep partial lunar eclipse. So both events are closely related. :)

Now I'm looking forward to the sight of a partly red moon close to the horizon. :wOOt:

Cheers and good luck!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on August 16, 2008, 07:01:12 pm
Very cloudy at the morning, now more clear  :evil2:

I'll be in a concert at the time of the eclipse, and it's outdoors so... I have a good chance to be able to look at the moon!!  :yeha:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on August 16, 2008, 07:05:22 pm
My queen,

now you owe us two reports: One of the concert, one of the eclipse.  :biggrin:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on August 16, 2008, 07:30:28 pm
Well, the concert is a free one of a band very known here... Mojinos Escozíos. I can't translate the name...  :evil2: It's a kind of "joke rock"... if I translate the songs... well, I can't  :roll:

Ok, two reports  :wacko:

Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on August 16, 2008, 11:06:57 pm
Hi folks,

the sky is pretty clear here now, and I'm enjoying a wonderful view of the eclipse. I went to a little park nearby for a better view of the moonrise and the early stages, watched until maximum eclipse from there, and now I'm enjoying the rest of the show from my roofdeck, between lots of plants and a glass of wine. :biggrin:

Cheers!

Markus Astronomicus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on August 17, 2008, 07:53:42 am
I went to watch the eclipse, but I have to say that I liked the view of the full moon much better this time. It was so... perfectly round and shiny :wub:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on August 17, 2008, 10:40:34 am
Prefer the uneclipsed moon? :wacko: These words can't be combined into a meaningful sentence, can they? :unsure:

:lol3:

Well, it's a bit weird to watch the eclipse going so far and then not seeing the utterly red, totally eclipsed moon. But I was surprised once more how soon you can see that there's no part of the moon really missing because the eclipsed part can be seen again - an eclipse of about 30% was enough to recognize the dim glow of the eclipsed side despite the glare from the white side. Later I could even recognize the maria, the dark patches, on the eclipsed side.

Also I found the colour and brightness variation within the umbra striking: Gray with an almost blueish tint near the edge, going a rather bright brick red then, and finally a much deeper and darker rust red, where the moon was deepest inside the shadow.

Well, with this eclipse my eclipse adventure 2008 is complete and finished. :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Sigvarthdottir on August 17, 2008, 12:01:26 pm
Hei friends,

I missed the eclipse, but I must agree with Lucy, the moon was beautiful that night..
At least for some moments, because than the moon was drown to bloody read clouds here..little bit scary  :afaid:
Anyway I took some pics of it :
(http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk225/Sigvi/Snmek030.jpg)

(http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk225/Sigvi/Snmek031.jpg)

Even if this not eclipse, hope you enjoy it  :unsure:


Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on August 17, 2008, 12:06:26 pm
I do, Siggi. :wOOt: Thank you!

Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on August 17, 2008, 12:39:41 pm
Aah, wonderful! :wub: Here it has another face, much more like a human face. :)

The moon of yesterday reminded me of a verse of a poem, it would sound in English something like

"The flame is sleeping in the moon, cold medal on the sky"...

It's a wonderful poem about autumn, and seemingly about Olympic games too. :lol3:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Sigvarthdottir on August 17, 2008, 01:10:51 pm
Thank You, dears!  :wub:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: The One on August 17, 2008, 05:01:57 pm
Ah, beautiful. :wub:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Aluqak on August 18, 2008, 08:42:17 am
Hi there,
Clear skies in Madrid's night after some thunderstorms in the afternoon. Just as our Queen, I was in an outdoor concert during the eclipse. The sight was just amazing! :wOOt:
I almost missed it, but thanks to mt g.f. I remembered to look up to the sky. Between two pieces, she just came to my hear a told me, "Hey, the moon is bizarre tonight".
"The moon?... bizarre?... the eclipse!! :wOOt:" That was cool.
The concert was from a Romanian chamber orchestra. They played pieces from Albinoni, Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart and Boccherini. The perfect soundtrack for an eclipse :thumbup:.
Yeap, Saturday we had one of those nights! :bow:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Loke on August 30, 2008, 06:29:16 am


  The most polluted days of the year here in mexico , i know i dont write here often but this time it worries me , it's been a while since i saw stars for the last time , im sorry if im spamming .

  yo yo yo
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: saphira on August 30, 2008, 06:48:29 pm
Sigvi verz nice photos! They went directly into my file   :thumbup:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Sigvarthdottir on September 11, 2008, 05:49:09 pm
Sigvi verz nice photos! They went directly into my file   :thumbup:

Thank You, Saphy!
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on November 23, 2008, 06:40:52 pm
Hi folks,

don't forget to look Southwest these days after sunset! You'll see bright Jupiter and blazing Venus. The two of them are converging day by day and will reach a beautiful conjunction on the first of December. On that day they will be joined by a young lunar crescent - in some regions you can even see an occultation of Venus by the moon.

The toolbox that got lost on the ISS is visible as well, :blink: but only through binoculars. Haven't had that luck yet, but I do enjoy the evening planets as often as the weather permits. :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Aluqak on November 24, 2008, 09:19:37 am
Hi folks,

don't forget to look Southwest these days after sunset! You'll see bright Jupiter and blazing Venus. The two of them are converging day by day and will reach a beautiful conjunction on the first of December. On that day they will be joined by a young lunar crescent - in some regions you can even see an occultation of Venus by the moon.

Markus

Heya Markus,
I was looking at them last night. It's an amazing view :thumbup:. I will try to remember to turn my head to the sky the 1st December.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on December 01, 2008, 09:43:19 pm
Bad me for not reading this topic carefully! Today I've seen an strange image in the clear skies over here. The image (taken from a newspaper, not my camera  :whistle: ) was that one:

(http://www.elperiodico.com/vivo/recursos/fotos/foto_328/foto_328687_CAS.jpg)

I thought it was strange, but I was not sure it is unusual at all until reading the on-line newspaper... and hurrying to this topic, as I knew Markus had had to write something about  :lol3:.

Nice almost-hidden Moon... and really nice Venus!!!  :wub:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: The One on December 02, 2008, 01:50:06 am
I had a great view of Venus and Jupiter under the moon tonight. Truly beautiful.
Had I known it would've happened days before, I would've invited a girl to climb up to the roof and do some star gazing or smth. ::)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 02, 2008, 11:06:48 am
Hi folks,

I had a great view from my parents's balcony on Sunday and saw blazing Venus (in still bright blue skies!), bright Jupiter right above her and a very slender moon crescent below and to the right of the pair. That was one day before the occultation. Of course the sky was grey and raining during the event itself. :( That must have looked amazing!

Young One, just keep watching this topic and you'll get more opportunities to impress the ladies. :biggrin:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Aluqak on December 03, 2008, 01:49:32 pm
Darn, I was in northen Spain, and it was pouring rain that day!
When it stopped and I could have glance to the clear sky, the event has already passed, and the moon was well below Venus. Nah, what the heck, the view was still pretty cool ^_^
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on December 03, 2008, 02:51:47 pm
I'm living in the northern Spain... and clear skies here!  :nana:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Aluqak on December 03, 2008, 06:02:25 pm
I know. It was the same thing here in Madrid, but I had to move to the north for this stupid meeting and that spoiled (part of) the thing for me. My g.f. could see the moon having a seat on Venus, but I saw the mountains covered with snow. Anyways...
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 31, 2008, 12:18:37 pm
Hi folks,

tonight, watch out for Venus and the moon! After sunset you'll find blazing Venus in the dusk, accompanied by a beautiful crescent moon with just a thin crescent and lots of earthshine. If your skies are half as clear as mine that'll be a wonderful sight. :wOOt:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: The One on December 31, 2008, 04:39:47 pm
...And if you're in a heavily populated area... Especially if it's as wild as Maracaibo, expect to see loads of fireworks... And hear so many explosions of these you'll think WW3 has begun. :ninja:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 31, 2008, 04:58:23 pm
Expect to see loads of fireworks if you're anywhere near me. :ninja:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: lavaniegosII on January 03, 2009, 10:07:56 am
...And if you're in a heavily populated area... Especially if it's as wild as Maracaibo, expect to see loads of fireworks... And hear so many explosions of these you'll think WW3 has begun. :ninja:

Hahahaha i said the same thing :¨WW3 has started! :afaid:¨ hahaha.

( I don´t like fireworks that only make noise)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: panx on January 07, 2009, 07:19:29 am
I didnt read through all the posts in the topic, so maybe it has been mentioned before, but using google sky (sub part of google earth) can be very educational too.  8)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on March 04, 2009, 06:52:26 pm
Hey folks,

I saw a wonderful sunset during my workbreak tonight: A red sun, half a degree (one solar diameter) above the horizon. The brilliant white pinpoint of Venus above it in the sky of the late date, shining even through thin clouds. And yet further from the sun a clear half-moon. So beautiful!

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Serpentine on March 08, 2009, 06:14:52 pm
i took this picture about 5-10 minutes ago:

(http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/6172/p3080003.th.jpg) (http://img528.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p3080003.jpg)

colors were much brighter in reality, but i couldn't make another and better photo since my cam was on low battery and turned off.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Mystique on March 08, 2009, 06:17:42 pm
aw, really a nice sky serp! :) I like the colours :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on March 08, 2009, 06:43:54 pm
Wonderful colours indeed, Serp! Thank you for sharing. :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on March 30, 2009, 08:08:01 pm
Tonight a beautiful crescent moon with a clear earthshine on its nightside is somewhat to the East of M45, the famous Pleiades. Easy to see with the naked eye, but even more beautiful in binoculars, where you can see the moon with some craters near its terminator - the border between day and night, light and dark - and especially near its Southpole, with its illuminated nightside and a dozen or so Pleiades, all in one field of view. Beautiful. :)

Cheers!

Markus Astronomicus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on March 31, 2009, 04:13:54 pm
Oh, and by the way: Watch out for extra-colourful sunsets in North-America and Europe as a cloud of volcanic ash (http://spaceweather.com/submissions/large_image_popup.php?image_name=Brian-Whittaker-www-BrianWhittaker-com-Redoubt-Ash_1238432595.jpg) from Alaska drits eastward!

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Aluqak on March 31, 2009, 04:22:29 pm
Oh, and by the way: Watch out for extra-colourful sunsets in North-America and Europe as a cloud of volcanic ash (http://spaceweather.com/submissions/large_image_popup.php?image_name=Brian-Whittaker-www-BrianWhittaker-com-Redoubt-Ash_1238432595.jpg) from Alaska drits Westward!
What? ... who made eruption without the mighty permission of our High Priest?  :disgust:
Anyway, the weather is rather sad and cold over here, so I don't think I'm gonna see something short of an extra-gray sunset :-\
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on March 31, 2009, 04:57:06 pm
What? ... who made eruption without the mighty permission of our High Priest?  :disgust:
Anyway, the weather is rather sad and cold over here, so I don't think I'm gonna see something short of an extra-gray sunset :-\

A certain Mt. Redoubt did, probably when I wasn't looking for a moment. :lol3:

The weather here is very clear today, but I'm not sure if the cloud has arrived already or if it's still thick enough when it comes over here. I've seen some brownish haze today, but I can't really tell if it's volcanic ash. I'll keep my eyes open, though.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lady Sa'iltu on April 04, 2009, 08:13:26 pm
http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/5333/img0839k.jpg - One summer day)))
http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/5456/img06392t.jpg - The Sky is reflecting in a pond.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on April 04, 2009, 08:43:47 pm
Beautiful, Siren! Especially the second one is terrific.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lady Sa'iltu on April 05, 2009, 01:54:26 am
Thanks! I like the 2-nd, too))).

Also pics of the sky))):
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/3811/img1265zmy.jpg
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/5416/img0090n.jpg
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/5825/img0776y.jpg

I have a lot of "skies" but those 1-st are the best ones)))
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: saphira on April 05, 2009, 08:24:12 am
I like the last two best! Thanks for sharing!  :thumbup:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on April 10, 2009, 12:02:42 pm
Thank you, Siren!

I like the colours of clouds & Sky and the trees in the foreground best. :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on April 10, 2009, 04:40:24 pm
The 3rd one is the best!!!!  :wOOt:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: RagingRadish on April 12, 2009, 04:13:25 am
This is my first post and being a skywatcher myself, I thought I'd share a couple of items:

Facing north, circumpolar stars: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ragingradish/2733764988/sizes/l/in/set-72157604479643161/ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ragingradish/2733764988/sizes/l/in/set-72157604479643161/)
Partially eclipsed moon, Aug/07: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ragingradish/2404818474/sizes/l/in/set-72157604479643161/ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ragingradish/2404818474/sizes/l/in/set-72157604479643161/)
And since it can't all be darkness, moments before sunrise: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ragingradish/3164852568/sizes/l/in/set-72157604475279500/ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ragingradish/3164852568/sizes/l/in/set-72157604475279500/)

Howdy everyone!  :insane:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on April 12, 2009, 09:39:05 am
Hi RagingRadish!

First of all: WELCOMEEEEEEE!!!  :welcome:

I wish you feel here like home... if in your home you've an infinite-killed zombie, ever-hungry fishy, some revolution now and then and such...  :fish:

Second: your pics are amazing!!! I'm sure you'll be a good friend of our High Priest, Markus Astronomicus. I can see you both exchanging your best pics  :lol3:

Have a niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice stay!!!!  :yeha:

PS. Btw... the last pic: is it snow? I live in the coast, and I know how hard is to see snow+beach. Double amazing picture!!  :wOOt:

PS2. Ok, I see it's lake Ontario, not sea... beautiful the same!!!  :innocent:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lady Sa'iltu on April 12, 2009, 06:26:46 pm
The eclipsed moon is so awesome!!!

P.S.: Hi!!!!!
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: saphira on April 13, 2009, 08:41:53 am
Hi there!
The third one is fantastic!  :thumbup:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: RagingRadish on April 13, 2009, 10:21:21 am
Thanks for the compliments folks  :)

@ Luth: Yes, that is snow - we get a fair bit of it here.  It's nice at the beginning but winters sometimes drag on too long but it looks like an early spring this year.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on April 13, 2009, 06:01:42 pm
Hey Radish,

firstly: :welcome:

And your pics are terrific! The dawn mood is very beautiful, the eclipsed moon is great with the maria and the gradient in the umbra, and the star trails are wonderful and gain a lot due to the foreground trees. Looks like you've got pretty dark skies there!

I've noticed an extra-bright trail near the pole. Is that Polaris or some other object?

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: RagingRadish on April 15, 2009, 01:28:36 am
Thanks Markus.  The skies there were very dark - it was about 400km away from the city in the wilds on northern Ontario.  What made that night even cooler was the ISS going by about 2 hours before.  The bright object near the pole is Polaris.  Being a mag. 2, it really becomes apparent over a 20 min exposure.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lady Sa'iltu on April 19, 2009, 08:58:24 pm
The moon outside my windows: http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/1632/img1898zzm.jpg
Today.... : http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/5480/img1948k.jpg   - I love this pic so much!!!!
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on April 21, 2009, 10:21:52 am
I watched a wonderful dawn this morning on my way to work: Near the brightening, colourful horizon, from right to left I saw Jupiter, a slender crescent moon, brillant Venus (for only the second time as morning star for many months) and a light-column which heralded the coming of the sun. Wonderful! Watch out for the scene tomorrow when Luna will be very close to Venus, even occulting it for North-American viewers.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: lavaniegosII on April 25, 2009, 12:01:14 am
Rise venus!
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on April 25, 2009, 06:57:44 am
Rise venus!

Indeed.  :biggrin: See this beautiful image (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090424.html) of the crescent of Venus right next to the moon. :wub:

Rise, oh bright Venus - thou brilliant crescent!

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: RagingRadish on April 25, 2009, 11:42:28 pm
Did you catch APOD on 4/24?: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090424.html (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090424.html)  Awesome shot.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on April 26, 2009, 03:21:06 am
Yeah, that's the one I was trying to link in my last posting- Really terrific!

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: RagingRadish on April 26, 2009, 11:52:24 am
Woops, I didn't even notice the link.   :o  I'll just go sit over there --->
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Aluqak on April 27, 2009, 08:34:51 am
Really great stuff guys. I still have to keep reminding me to raise my head and watch the sky more often :disgust: .

Oh and btw! :welcome: RagingRadish! :)
It's nice to have some fresh Canadian blood in this forum. I lived in Canada for 10 years and even got a Canadian 'wife' in the process. We would like to come back soon... but we will see. Plane tickets are too expensive these days.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Loke on July 02, 2009, 02:40:35 am


  Oh my , i ll be watching my dreamy highlands sky again in no time, tears flow right now  :bawl:


yo yo yo
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on July 02, 2009, 09:02:38 pm
Hey, there's a poet inside you, Loke. :)

Myself, I've seen a few wonderful thunderstorm clouds in the past few days. There was a huge one at night above my roof-deck. I could see the dark blue midsummer-nightsky with a few stars beyond it. The bottom of the cloud was shapeless and lit up by the ugly city-light, but its top - probably several kilometers above me - was a beautiful cumulus-structure, lit slightly blueish by the dusk light still visible up there.

Yesterday I saw wonderful clouds on my way home from work. Cumuli were lined up along the horizon - for more than 180° - billowing upwards. To the Northeast I saw an enormous cloud rising above the others, looking anvil-shaped and fuzzy. I could tell from the clouds in front of it that it must have been farther and much higher than the other clouds. It looked like this (http://www.wetter-foto.de/foto-26310-cb.html) - the top of a large thunderstorm cloud, something I have never consciously seen before. :wOOt:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on July 03, 2009, 06:25:12 am
Hi folks,

has anyone seen a volcanic sunset like this one in Spain (http://spaceweather.com/sunsets/images2009/30jun09/Rafael-Gallego2.jpg?PHPSESSID=lcs9gv53f8sluok8ftn8qrs8s0)? They are visible these days in North America and Europe due to the eruption of the volcano Sarychev Peak. I haven't been lucky yet. Have you?

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on July 03, 2009, 07:58:20 am
What makes a sunset "volcanic", oh Master of Astronomy? :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on July 03, 2009, 03:44:15 pm
Dear Lucy,

you can see a volcanic sunset when a cloud of fine volcanic dust is high in the air. (More exatly: Strong volcanic eruptions cast fine sulphurous particles into the stratosphere, the second layer of atmosphere, where they can spread over a huge range or even circle the globe.) After sunset these high particles, called aerosols, still receive sunlight while at the ground the sun has already set. This leads to intense and unusual colours: A wide range from a warm yellow near the horizon to a deep purple high above. I watch out for these sunsets when I know the chances are high, but I've never actually one. Yet. :ninja:

Cheers!

Markus Sulphuricus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on August 02, 2009, 09:26:01 pm
Hey folks,

what a wonderful sky I saw this morning! Spent the weekend at our family's cottage and awoke somewhen at the beginning of dawn. The skies were very clear... I saw so many stars, bright and faint ones alike. The milky way was clearly visible overhead. Perseus was high in the Northeast - a lot of shooting stars will appear from that constellation in the days ahead.

But the most beautiful sight was near the horizon. Winter was greeting me as the Pleiades had already risen. Below them the whole constellation of Taurus was rising. Between the horns of the Bull there was an extra "star", not very bright yet but still eye-catching: Mars. In front of the horn-tips there was a brilliant Venus blazing in the pre-dawn-skies. Oh, what a sight! :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on August 06, 2009, 10:05:28 am
Hey folks,

don't forget about the Perseids! There are many shooting stars to see in the days ahead, as Earth crosses a stream of debris and dust from the comet Swift-Tuttle. The nights over Europe are often clear these days, only the bright moon is disturbing. Under theoretical, ideal conditions you can already see about a dozen Perseids per hour, and this number may rise to 200 when the shower peaks on August 12. But even now it pays to keep an extra eye on the nightsky. Good luck!

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Aluqak on August 06, 2009, 03:11:29 pm
It's on my agenda now!
Thanks for the info, Markus.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on September 08, 2009, 05:18:07 pm
Hey folks,

Take a look at the early dawn skies these days. Taurus is there, high in the skies, with Mars nearby. Orion is there, closely followed by Sirius. And brilliant bright you'll find Venus. It must be especially pretty on the 16th of September when the crescent of the waning moon passes Venus at a distance of a few degrees. That must be a wonderful occasion also for dawn photographers who might catch the two of them together in the morning skies. :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on November 18, 2009, 08:44:33 pm
Hey folks,

too bad that things keep blowing up (http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=8714738) when I'm just not looking. :mad3:

Cheers!

Markus Meteoricus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 12, 2009, 08:08:37 am
Hey folks,

keep watching the skies for meteors these days, because the Geminids (http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/08dec_geminids.htm) are near their maximum.

Also, there will be a slight lunar eclipse on New Year's Eve, but more on that later.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 31, 2009, 02:03:18 pm
Hi folks,

don't forget to watch tonight's lunar eclipse - tiny, yet worth seeing. :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on December 31, 2009, 03:12:02 pm
Pity, I can just watch the grey-blue clouds :/




Riders on the storm...  :spock:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: The One on December 31, 2009, 03:23:32 pm
The moon is looking beautiful right now. :)
And it's only 5:23pm. :blink:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 31, 2009, 03:33:57 pm
Hey folks,

it's snowing here from thick clouds, so my chances are slim as well. But for those of you with clearer skies: The eclipse is visible from virtually all of Europe, Asia and Africa - bad luck for the Americans this time as only the Northernmost regions get to see anything. The (umbral) eclipse takes place from 19:52:44 CET to 20:52:42 CET with its maximum at 20:23:46 CET with a low 8% of the lunar diameter eclipsed.

See here (http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2009.html#LE2009Dec31P) for more info and chiefly for all the data and graphics (http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHfigures/OH2009-Fig08.pdf).

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on January 01, 2010, 09:35:48 am
Thanks a lot, Markus! :)

Now, when it's new year I have a new idea... :D What about to put some date of some near (near I mean until the end of this year or at least half of the 2011) - if there's some - astronomical extraordinarity visible here in Europe and make a meeting on it with extra enlightened lesson about it with
 Mgr. AstroDr. Prof. Markus Astronomicus Lunarmodelus Csc. ?  :lol:


(Of course, if he agrees on that  :ninja: :ninja: :afaid: :ninja: :ninja: )
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: lavaniegosII on January 03, 2010, 09:18:07 pm
I saw a big orange moon in the beach of Guerrero (south of mexico) very impressive. I felt it like the sun. Did anyone saw that kind of moon?
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on January 03, 2010, 11:44:26 pm
Hey folks,

Lava, I've often seen that kind of moon. It always looks like this when it's rising or setting: On the long way the light has to pass through the atmosphere when the moon (or the sun or any other object) is near the horizon the atmosphere filters much of the blue and green light, leaving only the orange and red parts - hence the colour. Additionally, an optical illusion makes us perceive the object much bigger than it really is. Lo and behold: A huge orange or reddish moon, often also distorted by atmospheric effects. That can be pretty impressive! Here's (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050826.html) one pic I found in a quick search.

Miri, that's a great idea! I'd love to do that - much like I've done a lecture on Germanic mythology in Budapest before Miskolc. Unfortunately there are no special events visible from Europe in the next year. There will be a total lunar eclipse on the 21st of December, but virtually all over Europe the moon sets before or during totality. :(

The Venus transit in 2012 might be a nice opportunity, though, for this will be the last transit of Venus in this century. But we can also do an NTSMS meeting just like that, without special occasion! :wOOt:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: The One on January 04, 2010, 07:14:39 pm
The Venus transit in 2012 might be a nice opportunity, though, for this will be the last transit of Venus in this century. But we can also do an NTSMS meeting just like that, without special occasion! :wOOt:
That sounds pretty good. I will have graduated from high school by then. :yeha:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Aluqak on January 04, 2010, 11:28:01 pm
Damn it! Wrong side of the world for the lunar eclipse. Next, there is always a next time.
I'm in for the NTSMS astronomical gathering in 2012! :yeha:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on January 05, 2010, 10:49:19 am
Mhhh... I have to say that, of course, I'm for astronomical or whatever NTSMS gathering... BUT... If nothing dramatically changes, I think I won't be able to make any gathering trip by now :bawl:

Soooo... Has anyone thought about a southern, why-not-astronomical gathering? I mean... you know, we tend to have clear skies... I have the beach very near (at least, there's not too much light when you're looking the vastness of the sea), good temperatures, a fantastic metal-pub near my home, several metal-pubs if you travel to Barcelona (45 min) and so other many fantastic places to visit and enjoy!!!!  :biggrin:

Mmh... something to think of, don't you believe?  :evil2:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on January 05, 2010, 01:13:06 pm
My queen,

In fact I've been thinking about Spain for the transit of Venus in 2012, but only for a short moment. From Europe only a part of the transit is visible, and in Germany you get to see even more than from Spain. So Middle Europe would be a better choice for that event.

But then again this is 2 1/2 years ahead, so why wait so long? Yes, I'm in for a Spanish NTSMS meeting since I have no big travel plans this year! There are a few conditions, though: If there really is a beach nearby you will all have to go collect shells with me, and if there really is a metal pub nearby you will have to carry me home when I'm too drunk to walk. :ninja:

This, however, deserves a topic of its own. My queen?

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on January 05, 2010, 01:42:51 pm
Yes, it deserves one  :ninja:

And it will be opened as soon as I have some time... if nobody decides to open it before  :pop: :ninja: :tongue:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on January 05, 2010, 02:16:34 pm
Much like it is with astronomic events: When you're too late, you're too late (http://ntsms.megatherion.com/index.php?topic=1269.msg43764#msg43764). :ninja:

Muahuahuahua and cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: saphira on January 06, 2010, 09:25:07 pm
Some interesting news on Hubble, check it out here:
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2010/02/full/

It's about discovering primeval  primordial population of compact and ultra-blue galaxies that have never been seen before.  :thumbup:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on January 06, 2010, 11:58:43 pm
Thank you for this interesting link, Saphi! Haven't seen that before. :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on January 20, 2010, 09:45:31 am
Hey skywatchers,

I can really recommend this little movie (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100120.html). You might like it! :thumbup:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lady Sa'iltu on February 12, 2010, 10:33:54 pm
http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/5775/p1020228l.jpg
http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/1694/p1020231.jpg
http://img682.imageshack.us/img682/1539/p1020437m.jpg
As for the last one, I have to say that here no affects added. The Moon really spread such light that night!
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Loke on February 13, 2010, 06:33:36 am

  Talking about the sky you know what i gave my gf for our anniversary?

  I gave her ALNITAM , the star in the middle of Orion¿s belt hahahahaha


  yo yo yo
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on February 13, 2010, 03:24:01 pm
Hey folks,

Loke, how did you give Alnilam to her? :unsure:

And Siren, thank you for the photos! I like the first one best because the branch looks like a bird's silhouette.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lady Sa'iltu on February 13, 2010, 10:02:16 pm
Loke, I just wonder what you mean!  :o
ThanX, Markus! I also like the 1st, even use it as a wallpaper for both - my computer and cell-phone :lol3:.



http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/4164/img0718dc.jpg
http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/501/p1020449y.jpg
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on February 13, 2010, 11:22:17 pm
Thank you, Siren! :)

You're very of photographing the moon, aren't you? Have you ever thought of using a tripod so you can use longer shutter times? That might be worth the effort!

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on February 20, 2010, 01:03:17 am
Hi folks,

I've seen wonderful slender crescent moons with a clear earthshine on the past few evenings. That may be a common sight in other parts of the world (waves to his favourite Kuwaiti), but it's less common here - and always quite enchanting.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on March 28, 2010, 10:45:27 am
Hey folks,

watch out for Mercury these days!

This innermost planet of our solar system is so close to the Sun that it usually hides in its glare, but occasionally you get to see it in dusk or dawn. That's easier when you're closer to the equator, for reasons of geometry, but occasionally there are good chances at higher latitudes - like right now.

What to do? Look west right after sunset, even before the stars come out. You will see brilliant Venus blazing as Evening Star above the Western horizon. Look for a fainter pinpoint of light to its lower right, that's Mercury. I saw it yesterday, and you can see it as well.

In the next days Mercury will pull away from the Sun, sneak up on Venus and gain contrast. On the evening of Easter Sunday it will stand pretty close to Venus. On the 9th of April it will reach its maximum apparent distance from the Sun and return into its glare afterwards. On the 15th of April you can see a very young and slender crescent moon  next to Mercury (you may want to use a bino for this one). A few days later Mercury will become invisible to us.

So good luck hunting the small and fast one!

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Aluqak on April 05, 2010, 04:47:09 pm
Heya MArkus,
I followed your instructions this weekend, I think that I saw it. It was further from the horizon than I was expecting though, and I'm not 100% sure. I could easily put four fingers between "Mercury" and the horizon... but it was relatively close to Venus, so I don't know. I will keep looking the west see if I can catch the moon+Mercury thingy.

Cheers and thanks for the clues,
A. :blink:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on April 05, 2010, 05:41:12 pm
Hey Alu,

that must have been Mercury! A rather easily visible "starlet" near Venus these days - that's the small fast one. Congrats!

Cheers!

Markus Astronomicus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Aluqak on April 05, 2010, 07:42:52 pm
Hey Alu,

that must have been Mercury!

YEEEESSSSSSS!  :yeha:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on April 06, 2010, 07:49:54 pm
Hey planet-hunters,

right now I can clearly see Mercury right besides brilliant Venus through my closed bedroom-window. :wOOt:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on April 16, 2010, 06:41:31 pm
Look. For. Volcanic. Sunsets!!

Watch out for an unusually long and colourful dusk.

Cheers!

Markus Vulcanicus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lady Sa'iltu on April 16, 2010, 08:01:09 pm
I don't know if it can be seen here. I was in the tube when the sun set down :hug2:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on April 16, 2010, 08:37:04 pm
Definitively, not here (yet). A lot of flight cancellations, but not dust in our skies at the moment. It's expected some minor dust in the following days, but I don't think it enough to create a volcanic sunset  :spock:

PS. I've just watched the foorecast: the man has sad to watch out for exceptionally intense sunsets  :blink:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on April 16, 2010, 10:42:28 pm
Hey folks,

the cloud must be here because all the flights at the local airport apparently have been cancelled. I work within sight of the airport, and we saw or heard not a single plane today. This alone is fascinating because I have never before experienced any direct consequences of a volcanic eruption. :blink: I didn't even believe such a thing could affect us here.

And I'm pretty sure I saw the cloud, too. In the late afternoon there was an unusually intense glare around the sun. When the sun was about to set there was a strong yellow glow around it, with quite a clear border to the blue sky above. Finally, at 9.10 pm - more than one hour after sunset - there was quite a bright and colourful dusk: Reddish brown near the Western horizon, followed by a turquoise hue which then quickly faded into the black of night. That must have been the cloud of ash.

But the most beautiful sight was Venus in the dusk, brilliant as it is, and a very slender lunar crescent right above it, with a very clear earthshine. Oh, what a sight!

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on April 24, 2010, 03:22:05 am
Hi folks :) It's 4:16 AM and I just ended up the observation of ISS on the sky :) It's first time I saw it - knowing about it. They wrote about it in newspapers cause it have had a pretty big "shine" (It does not really shine but it should make a reflect of sun with it's solar pannels) this time - they mentioned some -3,5 number but I don't understand it. :)

Anyway, I can tell You - IT'S BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGGG.  :wOOt: ::) :wOOt:

And hell... it's so F-CKING FAAAAASSTT!   :blink: :blink: :wOOt: :blink: :blink:

Good night again :)


(Oh, it showed up on west-west-north at 4:10 and "fall" under the horizon at 4:16 on east-east-south :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on April 24, 2010, 08:14:23 am
Congrats, Miri!  :thumbup:

Now you know how easy the ISS is to see when you know when and where to look. And I find it pretty impressive because the ISS is such a big and peaceful international project. In fact there are many satellites visible each night, but the ISS is definitely the brightest one. Using a telescope you can even take photos of the space station which will show details of the structure. :wOOt:

You can find flyby-details for your place using the satellite tracker by spaceweather.com (http://spaceweather.com/flybys/index.php). :)

Cheers!

Markus



Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on April 24, 2010, 08:29:33 am
Thanks for the web Markus! :)

Oh yes, my bf wants to buy some cheaper telescope just to watch things on the sky and I like the idea too :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on April 24, 2010, 08:33:08 am
I wanted to post that here a few days ago, but I didn't found the time. On Wednesday, I had one of the most amazing dawn experiences ever, thanks to the volcanoe ashes! You have to know that I'm travelling every day on train going to work, and it's soon enough for being able to watch the dawn during great part of the year (I'm in the train between 6.40 to 7.40). Even better, all the travelling happens besides the shore line!  :wOOt: I use to choose the seat next to the window, and to the dawn direction. In fact, when I'm not able to do so, I feel very grumpy!  :ninja:

Well, the point of this post: the forecaster of our local channel already told these days we could have longer and more intense sunsets and dawns. And I could certify that on Wednesday!! Usually, when weather is the good one, I can see the red of the dawn for perhaps 10 minutes, some time before seeing the sun, and briefly after it. That day, I had an incredible experience of more than 40 minutes fully intense crimson-skies! There were several long thin cloudsm which of course helped to the effect. A lot of time before the real dawn skies were already reddish, and it increased its intensity when approaching the moment when the sun had to appear. Perhaps 10 minutes before it was half the sky with an incredible reddish huie  :wOOt: The most fantastic is that, after the Sun appearing, red still continued for long time, perhaps 20 minutes or more. Some mist (ashes?) in the lower part of the horizon helped me to be able to look at the Sun without harming my eyes for long, long time... Sooo beautiful!!! I even took some pictures... with the camera of my mobile. Of course, they can't show the real beauty of the moment, but you can grab some of it.

I wish Markus was there  :wOOt:

The quality is awful, and you can see unwanted reflections... remember the pictures were taken from the train! And there is no actual order... although all are from the same moments:


(http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d80/Luthien32/DSC00173.jpg)

(http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d80/Luthien32/DSC00176.jpg)

(http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d80/Luthien32/DSC00177.jpg)

(http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d80/Luthien32/DSC00179.jpg)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on April 24, 2010, 08:46:59 am
Nice!!

Thank You Luth for sharing it with us :) Hmm, it really seems that some volcano ash was there :)

They are wonderful! :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on April 24, 2010, 08:51:10 am
Wow, everybody's making wonderful observations! :)

Thank you both for sharing!

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on April 24, 2010, 11:18:01 am
One addition : it was flying with speed:  7706.6 m/s - 27743.8 km/h - 17239.2 mph  :blink: :o :o
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on April 24, 2010, 06:08:33 pm
It's gotta be so fast lest it drop from the sky. But up there you wouldn't notice that speed - as little as you notice the 30 km/s with which we are all travelling around the Sun. :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on June 28, 2010, 06:58:42 pm
Hi folks,

the night from Saturday to Sunday might well have been the brightest night of this year here. The sky was very clear, it had been steel-blue all day long. At true midnight there was still a lot of dusk=dawn to the North - you can clearly see that we're close to the Northern summer solstice. On top of that was the bright light of the full moon. It was so bright I could not see more than three stars in the little dipper, but it was natural light so it was really beautiful. :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on June 28, 2010, 07:04:30 pm
We had a very yellow moon yesterday :) and today there was another flight of ISS. But I found out late :(
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on June 28, 2010, 07:55:13 pm
Yeah, the moon tends to hang very low these days in Europe. On Saturday it started out very low, too, and had a wonderful honey-colour, but later on it crept high enough to shine a silver light. :)

There are many visible passes of the ISS right now, up to five per night! So check your websites and you'll easily find more chances.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on August 12, 2010, 07:41:08 pm
I'm kinda upset, should be falling Perseides but it's cloudy and supposed to be cloudy for other days (nights more likely) too :(
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on August 13, 2010, 07:21:44 pm
Awww, don't be too sad, Miri! There will be other chances to get a lot of meteors. For instance there are the Geminids waiting in December, so you don't even have to wait until next August.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on August 13, 2010, 07:33:49 pm
It's always cloudy when the meteors are falling. :( I never experienced clear sky with such chances :( I wonder where the hell are the astronomes are making the observations when it's always cloudy  :blink:  :mad3:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on August 13, 2010, 07:40:47 pm
Nah, sometimes you'll be lucky, Miri.  :wink2:

Oh, and you don't need a meteor-stream in order to see shooting stars! You get a couple per hour on each clear, dark night. So next time the weather is fine and the moon does not disturb, go out to the darkest place you find, lie on a blanket and look up into the sky. You'll feel like getting lost between the stars, and you'll get to see meteors as well.

Don't forget some hot tea and perhaps some titbits to eat.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on September 06, 2010, 06:37:48 pm
Hey folks,

this morning we had clear skies. I saw Orion, Taurus and Gemini... When you see the winter-stars just before dawn that's a clear sign of autumn approaching. And I saw a wonderful lunar crescent, unusually high in the skies, very thin, and the nightside strongly illuminated by earthshine. What a sight!

Look tomorrow morning as you might see an even thinner crescent. That's beautiful to behold - and for the Kuwaitis among us it signals the last days of Ramadan.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on September 06, 2010, 06:47:24 pm
Orion  :wub: my favourite. I like it because it's mainly to see from my window during wintertime and I always felt it as a great warrior watching behind my back!
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on September 06, 2010, 06:49:48 pm
Ey Markus!

This morning, Xiquet and I (not together) have seen the unusual clear descent too! I notized no Orion or anything else than the Moon, but it was really beautiful  :wOOt:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on September 06, 2010, 08:44:22 pm
Markus, is it true that the emblem of Subaru shows the Pleiades? :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on September 06, 2010, 08:46:40 pm
It is :) I think that the name Subaru even is derived from the name of the Pleiades cluster :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on September 06, 2010, 08:49:02 pm
Just checked that Subaru is supposed to be "Pleides" in Japanese. :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on September 06, 2010, 08:52:08 pm
Fantastic! :wOOt:

Do you know how they are called in H? They are the "Hen with her little chicken". :wub:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on September 06, 2010, 08:57:30 pm
 :wOOt: In Chech they are called Little Chicken! How amazing that it is so similar.

I miss the Hungarian lang a lot. Hopefully this year will be able to join Finnish and Hungarian courses on the phil. faculty. It should be for free.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on September 06, 2010, 08:59:04 pm
Oh, that's so nice! I love such similarities between our folks. :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on September 06, 2010, 08:59:56 pm
Me too. :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on September 07, 2010, 02:29:22 pm
Hey folks,

I did it! One of the few advantages of this hateful early shift are the morning skies, and this morning I saw a very slender crescent in the rising dawn. Imagine: Dark blackish night-blue above, going through lighter blue and an almost turquoise layer to the yellow and red hues where the sun is about to rise half an hour later. Somewhere in that lighter blue there's a very slender crescent with an earthshine so bright that you can still perceive the whole globe despite the morning light!

At my latitude that is a rather rare sight which you have only a couple of chances to see each year. This time I saw the moon less than 31 hours from new moon. :yeha:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on September 07, 2010, 09:22:35 pm
Today no beautiful sunrise, because of clouds, but I use to see the sunrise almost every morning... I wish the hour changes as soon as possible, as I'm seeing the sun rising when I'm almost entering the tunnel... and I can't see it anymore! Hour changing RIGHT NOW!!!!! (as our High Priest says, that's one -if not the only- good thing of the early shift)  :ninja:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Aluqak on September 08, 2010, 12:07:21 am
Too much clouds, too much rain... I don't even know how the moon looks like anymore :disgust:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on September 08, 2010, 08:45:21 am
Here the same - we are supposed to have a cloudy autumn for some days now.   -_-
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on September 24, 2010, 06:26:57 pm
Hey folks,

I still haven't told you of the full-moon-night from Wednesday to Thursday. The moon accompanied me all through the night... I saw it in honey colours after it had risen in the eveninig, I saw it in a bright silvery white at midnight when I couldn't sleep, I saw it in white again in the early dawn on my way to work and finally I saw it in honey once more from the office, just before it set. Rarely have I seen such an extremely fullmoony night!

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on September 24, 2010, 07:23:43 pm
I saw it too, it was really nice. :) Equinox, full moon, my sister's birthday on the 22th... important period. :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on November 16, 2010, 03:45:32 pm
I have seen these beautiful double rainbow circles on my way back to home from Barcelona:

(http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/5079/szivarv1.jpg)

(http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/7506/szivarv2.jpg)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Mystique on November 16, 2010, 03:48:45 pm
OMG, that's beautiful!  :wOOt:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on November 16, 2010, 03:51:52 pm
Wonderful, Lucy,

thank you for posting this so fast!

In fact this is not a rainbow but another member of the huge family of halos. This one is known as "Brocken spectre" because you can see it from high mountains as well. Luc(k)y you!

Cheers!

Markus Halophilus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on November 16, 2010, 03:55:36 pm
I didn't want to, but I fell asleep during the flight. The sound of the signal woke me up, as the captain called the stewards, so I immediately jumped on the window the usual way. :lol: You know, I had to rub my eyes twice. :lol3: :wub:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on November 16, 2010, 06:40:44 pm
Oh, that's so great!  :wOOt: I miss flying a lot :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on November 16, 2010, 07:28:00 pm
It's nice!! And I bet it might have been even nicer from the plane, not from the camera  :lol3:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: saphira on November 18, 2010, 11:30:52 am
Wow !  :wOOt:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on November 18, 2010, 01:29:40 pm
Hey folks,

I think you might like this one (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap101117.html), a winter-skyscape with a pretty foreground.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on November 18, 2010, 01:35:39 pm
Aa :wub:

Quote
although you might have to provide your own leaf.
:lol3:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on November 18, 2010, 01:41:36 pm
Yeah, I loved that one, too! :roll:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lady Sa'iltu on November 18, 2010, 07:30:13 pm
Cooooooool! Loving this)!
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 03, 2010, 10:20:07 am
What a sight I saw this morning!

The old, very slender lunar crescent was rising, still orange from the horizon haze - yet earthshine was clearly visible. Some degrees straight above the moon, brilliant Venus was blazing as morning star. Just plain beautiful!

The moon will disappear now for new moon, but Venus will linger on.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Monade on December 03, 2010, 08:17:07 pm
I like you guys' describing :wub:
Today when I still in Shanghai there was plain blue in the sky, very rare in this city. And when I get my hometown, (there was bright sunshine all my way home. Today the sun seems to very proud of showing his power :wOOt: ) the evening glow was so soft :wub:



This topic also reminds me of Xinjiang in August.
(When I go out with camera, what I shoot are always tree, sky,  tree, tree, sky,  sky,  tree, sky, sky,  sky,  sky,  sky……)
So I keep doing that when I go to Xinjiang last summer
I can't forget how expanse there was , so , put photos

(http://i79psw.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pH06Dykd9kYCntdjKdLiG0YZx-w6AZsZ6aciEk29V-J_lyaTrEDRMT7cb2u9b9qHrXmi7ejw0KG_MWZaTT8SWLAyDePe1c0Dq/2010.8.5-2010.8.10%E6%96%B0%E7%96%86%E8%A1%8C%EF%BC%88Aeon%EF%BC%89%20065%202010.08.12.0101.31.jpg?psid=1)


(http://i79psw.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pdgRHWHX8CZtGcKCAMltaRjQf5aWazDFKRTtRsuteUsGDdLQYImmkb3NRcWB3fvl567geU88z87E-Qoyeu19pok3tLGaMV532/2010.8.5-2010.8.10%E6%96%B0%E7%96%86%E8%A1%8C%EF%BC%88Aeon%EF%BC%89%20117.jpg?psid=1)


(http://public.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pbM6fdlba5mq3cQol1zY2nbgWEFi9T0TFAMEtlebqjx7-zSrFwihbR4kIF0h-RXVuEL15m2DXd8HktrDhI3Yhfw/2010.8.5-2010.8.10%E6%96%B0%E7%96%86%E8%A1%8C%EF%BC%88Aeon%EF%BC%89%20291.jpg?psid=1)



I'm not good at shooting, the real sky there is really beatiful.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on December 03, 2010, 08:47:22 pm
What a nice pics Monade! I like the middle one especially!  :wub:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on December 03, 2010, 09:29:10 pm
Wonderful photos! :wOOt: Thank you for sharing! Yes, the middle one: could you tell us please, what's that interesting building? :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: The One on December 03, 2010, 10:16:41 pm
The sky looks awesome in China! :thumbup:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Monade on December 04, 2010, 02:10:19 pm
The middle one was taken in Colorful Riverside (a sight located in Burqin, Aletai, Xinjiang China)
That building is a kind of watchtower or signal station.

But I couldn't sure whether it is ancient building or an imitation... :unsure:
That place wasn't easy to approach...and the horse near the signal station was a fake one :biggrin: I didn't know why they put a fake horse there but it looked good in sunset :hop:


Glad to know you like them  :wub:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Nighthawk on December 04, 2010, 02:20:58 pm
Together with Peru (Machu Picchu, to be more precise), China is my number one place see one day (http://www.koalicija.net/hamsterz/Smileys/koulishn/cerek.gif) Oh glorious day.

The only problem is the language barrier. I only know a bit of Chinese - and that bit's confined to curses and swear words (http://www.koalicija.net/hamsterz/Smileys/koulishn/zubo.gif)

I blame "Firefly"!
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 05, 2010, 01:51:43 pm
Hey Monade,

clear skies in Shanghai? You must be kidding me!  :wink2:

Yes, these are very beautiful pictures. Each is fascinating in its own way... The tall trees on the first one, the piece of the Great Wall with the low sun in that half-desert landscape on the second, the utterly blue sky with the white clouds on the third. Very well done; thank you for sharing!

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Monade on December 05, 2010, 02:49:35 pm
Oh,Nighthawk, I love Machu Picchu too! :wub: I get knowledge of Machu Picchu from books about archaeology, I have longed for there from when I was a kid :wub: :wub:

In fact, language barrier isn't a big problem in visiting China. Since China is a multinational country and the wide land, even feel at home in Mandarin Chinese, there also exsist language problem in places like Xinjiang, where Uygurs formed the majority in local minority nationality and Uygurs speaks Uighurs……

Just take preparing like to learn some local customs, which are different in each part of China, or just find a good guide  :wink2:
Respect local tradition and customs is enough to provide a wonderful journey. And China isn't short of good guide who good at English :thumbup: and most Chinese are very hospitable
So don't afraid of the language barrier :hop:
And welcome to China :wOOt: :yeha:


So Markus you didn't stay for a long time in Shanghai! :innocent:
In China' s South - East coastal areas, when the winter came, dry weather always bring clear blue skies……without clouds!  :yeha: but it's very rarely of course……
And in summer, a few days before the typhoon came, the sky will be so blue that……totally inconceivable  :wub:

PS: in the second pic it wasn't the Great Wall :wink2: It's a individual signal station. The existing Great Wall ends in Gansu Province in the west side, not extended into Xinjiang :)
I love the way you describe the pictures :wub:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Nighthawk on December 05, 2010, 03:08:02 pm
In fact, language barrier isn't a big problem in visiting China. Since China is a multinational country and the wide land, even feel at home in Mandarin Chinese, there also exsist language problem in places like Xinjiang, where Uygurs formed the majority in local minority nationality and Uygurs speaks Uighurs……
Dunno if you've watched "Firefly" - it's an excellent scifi western show that got tragically cancelled, in which chinese culture prevailed over american at one point, so everyone knows a bit of Chinese. Pretty much the same way everyone knows at least a few words of English nowadays.

That's where I got the swear words from :D Granted, they don't always pronounce them right. Exactly like English nowadays ;D

More precisely, everyone knows a few words of Mandarin Chinese.

Quote
Just take preparing like to learn some local customs, which are different in each part of China, or just find a good guide  :wink2:
I think I'll need a guide who'll have enough patience to wait while I sit atop every damn hilltop, read my Little Black Book of Chinese Poetry and get all introspective and mushy for the next few hours :D

We sit together, the mountain and I,
Until only the mountain remains.


Quote
So don't afraid of the language barrier :hop:
And welcome to China :wOOt: :yeha:
It's like I'm already there ;D

Quote
And in summer, a few days before Typhon came, the sky will be so blue that……totally inconceivable  :wub:
Selective reading ftw.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Monade on December 05, 2010, 07:25:44 pm
Dunno if you've watched "Firefly" - it's an excellent scifi western show that got tragically cancelled……
Oh, that's "Firefly", I didn't know about it ever before :idea: So it put on from 2002-2003 ? I found it was 9.5 score in IMDb, WOW!

Quote
We sit together, the mountain and I,
Until only the mountain remains.


You left me totally speechless...WOW!
Li Bai's Poem! Oh!
I googled to get that. I have to say it's really amazing to read Li Bai's poem in English version :thumbup:
That translation is so brilliant! By Sam Hamill, right? I like that!
However, there is fewer mush in original text :wink2:

I HAVE FOUND 12 ENGLISH VERSIONS OF THIS POEM JUST NOW!

All that I can say is ...........
 WOW!  :hop:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Nighthawk on December 05, 2010, 09:28:00 pm
Oh, that's "Firefly", I didn't know about it ever before :idea: So it put on from 2002-2003 ? I found it was 9.5 score in IMDb, WOW!
That's the one (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefly_(TV_series)) :)

Browncoats, unite!

(Slight correction: according to Wikipedia, the USA and China merged into one culture. Not that it makes a lot of difference :D)

There's also a fantastic "Firefly" movie, "Serenity", but I wouldn't recommend watching it before seeing the 13 episodes of the series. You'll understand once you see the film ;D

Serenity (http://schoolgirlmilkycrisis.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/serenity-image.jpg) :wub:

"You know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I go get and beat you with 'til you understand who's in ruttin' command here!" (Jayne Cobb)(http://www.koalicija.net/hamsterz/Smileys/koulishn/rofl.gif)

It's the show where you'll learn such lovely phrases as "wo de ma he ta de fong kung de wai sheng dou" and how to wish your enemy "da xiang bao za shi de la du zi" (http://www.koalicija.net/hamsterz/Smileys/koulishn/rofl.gif)

Quote
That translation is so brilliant! By Sam Hamill, right? I like that!
However, there is fewer mush in original text :wink2:
Yup :) The only thing I changed was the end of the first verse, where I wrote "I" instead of "me", but beside that purely cosmetic change, that's Hamill :)

Quote
I HAVE FOUND 12 ENGLISH VERSIONS OF THIS POEM JUST NOW!
Yeah, and that confuses me to no extent - I find one version that I really love, then another that's okay, then yet another that's great... Make up your damned minds, already :D
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 06, 2010, 12:26:50 pm
So Markus you didn't stay for a long time in Shanghai! :innocent:
In China' s South - East coastal areas, when the winter came, dry weather always bring clear blue skies……without clouds!  :yeha: but it's very rarely of course……

Indeed not, just for a couple of days in 2008 and 2009 when I went to China for two solar eclipses. But it was enough to get an impression of the Shanghai skies. I had read in the travel guide that Shanghai rarely has really blue skies: when it's not cloudy it's often hazy instead. :lol3: Everybody told me the same, and I made the same experience when I was there.

The eclipse of 2009 I observed outside Shanghai, and we had a little luck with the weather there. But in the city itself the eclipse was clouded out, which was doubly cruel because there had been some unusually clear days before that. Such a pity because so many millions of people could have seen the full glory of a total solar eclipse, millions of people of which many won't ever get a second chance for that.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Monade on December 06, 2010, 05:18:27 pm

There's also a fantastic "Firefly" movie, "Serenity", but I wouldn't recommend watching it before seeing the 13 episodes of the series. You'll understand once you see the film ;D

Serenity (http://schoolgirlmilkycrisis.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/serenity-image.jpg) :wub:

"You know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I go get and beat you with 'til you understand who's in ruttin' command here!" (Jayne Cobb)(http://www.koalicija.net/hamsterz/Smileys/koulishn/rofl.gif)

It's the show where you'll learn such lovely phrases as "wo de ma he ta de fong kung de wai sheng dou" and how to wish your enemy "da xiang bao za shi de la du zi" (http://www.koalicija.net/hamsterz/Smileys/koulishn/rofl.gif)

Thanks for the introduction :wink2:
Interesting, and it reminds me of Douglas Adams' series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy  :roll-eyes: Indeed I am also reading Mostly Harmless now. I feel a little similar in their style.   :)
Thank you Nighthawk, I will search more about it and try to find the series, then the film :wOOt:


Quote
Yup :) The only thing I changed was the end of the first verse, where I wrote "I" instead of "me", but beside that purely cosmetic change, that's Hamill :)
That cosmetic change is excellent ;)  I think in this position "I" or "me" is both fine in grammar, and “I”  rhymes. And in original text, “I” is even more accurate :thumbup: :thumbup:
Sometimes to read more version could provide not only more viewpoints but a brand new mix version made by reader self :biggrin:

Indeed not, just for a couple of days in 2008 and 2009 when I went to China for two solar eclipses. But it was enough to get an impression of the Shanghai skies. I had read in the travel guide that Shanghai rarely has really blue skies: when it's not cloudy it's often hazy instead. :lol3: Everybody told me the same, and I made the same experience when I was there.

The eclipse of 2009 I observed outside Shanghai, and we had a little luck with the weather there. But in the city itself the eclipse was clouded out, which was doubly cruel because there had been some unusually clear days before that. Such a pity because so many millions of people could have seen the full glory of a total solar eclipse, millions of people of which many won't ever get a second chance for that.
Oh I must apologize for the weather that day  :bawl:
Yes, it's a pity that it ought to be a solar eclipse presented in millions of people. Now I feel the bitter of your saying... :hug2:


Back to the topic  :)
These days the night sky is mixed by purple and pink, paper coulds float with some bright stars decorate
quiet and peaceful
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 06, 2010, 06:54:30 pm
No bitterness, Monade! :)

I knew how the climate is when I booked the journey. And we were quite a bit outside Shanghai where we got a hole in the clouds just for totality, so I did see the black sun. :wOOt: I'm just sorry for those that stayed in the city.

And one year before that, when we observed another eclipse in the Gobi desert, we had wonderful conditions, so that one was pretty much perfect!

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 14, 2010, 08:43:30 pm
Watch out for the Geminids tonight and don't forget about the lunar eclipse at the next full moon. :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Monade on December 15, 2010, 05:54:52 am
Watch out for the Geminids tonight and don't forget about the lunar eclipse at the next full moon. :)


There was heavy cloud cover above, I have missed all  the meteor showers happened in my life for all kinds of reasons :blink:
Looking forward to the lunar eclipse nest week [url=http://www.smiley-faces.o
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 20, 2010, 11:33:50 pm
Hey folks,

it's just a few hours until the lunar eclipse begins. :wOOt: Here, the weather is finer than expected. Right now it's clear outdoors, let's see if that lasts long enough for me to get a glimpse of the shadow of the earth again.

The partial eclipse begins at 6.33 CET in the morning, totality starts at 8.41 CET. But for most of the Europeans and South Americans the moon sets before totality starts. In North America you can see all of the eclipse, in Asia the moon rises when the eclipse is in progress. Kuwaitis get no eclipse this time. :cht:

Cross your fingers for clear skies, and cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on December 20, 2010, 11:38:19 pm
Yes, I know. The forecast man told us about how we won't be able to see the end part of the eclipse, as the moon hides before it, and how it will never be completely dark, etc etc... To say, as soon as he finished to explain all that, that it will be so cloudy that we won't be able to see anything  :blink: :fish:

If clouds happen to let me have a glimpse of the eclipse, I'll be able to watch it from the train from 6.40 to 7.30 more or less... But as I say, clouds are expected (not wanted  :ninja: ).
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 20, 2010, 11:46:17 pm
Hey Luth,

it's not really much better over here as clouds are expected to roll in just for eclipse-time. :mad3: But I'm going to try to see something of it, anyway.

I won't be too disappointed if it doesn't work out. Firstly I wouldn't be able to see the Red Moon this time, anyway, as it sets before totality. Secondly I've seen so many eclipses already that I can afford to miss a minor one.

That being said, GET AWAY YOU GO**AM F***ING CLOUDS! THERE ARE PEOPLE DOWN HERE WHO WANT TO SEE SOMETHING, SO MOVE YOUR FAT UGLY A**ES AND GET THE F**K OUT OF F***ING SIGHT, G*DDA**IT!

Now, THAT being said you can find all the details here (http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHfigures/OH2010-Fig04.pdf) and some text here (http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2010.html#LE2010Dec21T).

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on December 20, 2010, 11:47:45 pm
Is not a cloud, but hides anyway.  :afaid:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on December 21, 2010, 08:28:21 am
:lol:

I haven't seen anything, but we have a beautiful, milk-like mist here. :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 21, 2010, 12:59:59 pm
Hey folks,

there was only one single cloud here at eclipse time! Unfortunately it covered all the sky from horizon to horizon. :bawl: Had it come just a few hours later, I would have seen the eclipse...

Well, there's still the solar eclipse on the 4th of January which will be a sunrise eclipse for most of Europe. Let's hope for clearer skies then! I'll give you details before this year ends.

Cheers!

Markus

Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on December 21, 2010, 01:59:59 pm
I think that the very same cloud was (and is) in our skies  :ninja:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 21, 2010, 02:26:02 pm
Nasty, nasty cloud!

Well, you can find images on spaceweather.com (http://spaceweather.com). If you go there later, use the archive to go to the 21st, 22nd or 23rd of December.

Oh, the winter solstice is coming up, too! That will be at 23.38 UT = 0.38 CET tonight.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 23, 2010, 02:06:50 pm
Hey folks,

the lunar eclipse was on the astronomy picture of the day today (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap101223.html).

As a foretaste of the solar eclipse on the 4th of January I also want to show you a sunset eclipse on Mars (http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-427).
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Monade on December 23, 2010, 04:44:52 pm
Hey folks,

the lunar eclipse was on the astronomy picture of the day today (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap101223.html).

As a foretaste of the solar eclipse on the 4th of January I also want to show you a sunset eclipse on Mars (http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-427).

The former one is beautiful :wOOt:
and the later one is cute ;)
Thank you for sharing :wub:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 31, 2010, 10:37:49 am
Veszprem Sun (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap101231.html)  :thumbup:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on December 31, 2010, 10:39:02 am
Oh, this is really interesting pic  :blink:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 31, 2010, 10:39:45 am
Oh, this is really interesting pic  :blink:

Do you understand it or do you have any questions?
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on December 31, 2010, 10:40:25 am
I understand I think... it's just - to be hones - I have never wondered about that question  :lol: So it was really a surprise.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Monade on December 31, 2010, 07:17:42 pm
INTERESTING!!

Well, just now when my friend and I came back from the new year celebration we look upon the sky we saw something shining.
"So many starry stars!"She said.
"Yes,"I said, "it's cold but thanks to the dry weather the sky looks so clear...OH WAIT" :blink:
I found these points slightly moving.
"I think...these are Sky Lanterns..."
Many Sky Lanterns (Or called Kongming Lanterns, named after its inventor Zhuge Liang [Zhuge Kongming]) floating in the sky.
I didn't take camara with myself. But you can imagine with these photos.


(http://i55.tinypic.com/mrfcwk.jpg)


(http://i51.tinypic.com/24ewfaw.jpg)


(http://i54.tinypic.com/2hfqvpy.jpg)

I want to know who did that :wub: It looks so beautiful...
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on January 01, 2011, 12:07:48 pm
Oh, :) Yesterday we saw many of these on the sky :) It's now very popular in here. I thought it came from China!  :blink:

We call it here a "wish lantern" :) I pity we did not have one - I'd like to try to fly it!
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on January 01, 2011, 02:52:34 pm
Where is she from?  :whistle:

Btw... I MUST look for my solar eclipse glasses... for 4th January  :ninja: :ninja: :ninja:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on January 01, 2011, 03:49:59 pm
(http://i51.tinypic.com/24ewfaw.jpg)



Oooh! :wOOt: :wub:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Monade on January 01, 2011, 04:23:02 pm
Oh, :) Yesterday we saw many of these on the sky :) It's now very popular in here. I thought it came from China!  :blink:

We call it here a "wish lantern" :) I pity we did not have one - I'd like to try to fly it!

Yep it comes from China :wink2:
Nowadays it is used for praying and make wished here (all the world around I think :) ), even it was mean to send SOS signal in the past  :lol3:
Easy to make but a little hard to fly it :lol: and some time to fly it does make some dangerous in traffic or cause fire :ninja:

Where is she from?  :whistle:

Btw... I MUST look for my solar eclipse glasses... for 4th January  :ninja: :ninja: :ninja:

Oh you all can see it :bawl:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on January 01, 2011, 04:37:33 pm
Oh yes, I read about it on wiki that it was used as and SOS signal in China cause it was so easy to watch from far (like we used to make big fires on visible places in past here in Europe in case of danger).

Don't worry not all :)....  I pity I cannot, but the sky is absolutely unclear.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on January 01, 2011, 04:40:42 pm
Very cloudy here too... Already blowing to kick them away for 4th  :ninja:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on January 02, 2011, 01:23:27 pm
Hey folks,

Monade, we used to have these lanterns - these small hot-air-balloons - here, too. I didn't know they were used as signals originally, but of course it makes sense. :nosweat: But in late 2009 they were banned because there had been to many accidents with them. Once I saw one dropping from the sky in flames which looked impressive in a way, but you don't want one of those to fall onto your roof or a ripe wheat field or something. Still we dared to launch one on New Year 2010, just after midinght. :unsure:

But yeah, they look beautiful and it's fun to let them fly!

And don't be too sad about missing the partial eclipse on Tuesday.  :wink2: Your country was blessed with so many solar eclipses in the past few years, and in 2012 there's another annular coming to you.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Monade on January 02, 2011, 06:21:12 pm
@Luth
 :unsure:
I have experienced enough cloudy days when interesting astronomical phenomena happen...  :wicking:


@Markus
These lanterns were also banned in my hometown in many situations as it was regarded as more dangerous than firecracker :-X (Cause it CAN FLY Oh the firecracker is no way to be banned; it plays such a important role in festivel here.  :pop: )
It surprised me so much that the sky lantern was and is so popular in Europe ;)
Hail the annular! :idea:
I wish I am lucky enough to touch the legendary 2012 :lol:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on January 04, 2011, 08:09:20 pm
My dear folks,

right now the sky is clear here and in the afternoon it was sunny. In the morning, however, it was densely clouded. :mad3: There were a few small gaps, but none where we needed it. So we did not get to see the eclipsed sun. I had the strong impression, though, that daylight came on much too slow today, so I like to think that I observed at least some effect.

Still it was the right thing to do, to meet with my astronomy friends on some hill on the edge of town with a good view to the Eastern horizon. :) The official TV of our federal country was there, too. I just saw their report, which was nicely done and even features a very short comment by me.

I'm glad, though, that Luth saw it and that my eclipse glasses were so helpful to her! I'm even proud that you allowed so many people to have a look through it. :thumbup: Thank you for that!

But please, folks, don't watch the sun without proper protection. The nasty thing is that you don't feel the damage immediately because it grows in the hours after the exposure, even if no more light enters your eye. So you never know how long you are on the safe side! Watching the sun on the horizon, when it's rising and when it's dimmed by the haze so much that it doesn't seem bright is ok, of course - but when you feel that you want to close your eyes instinctively, then it's too much.

Well, my next attempt is probably Australia 2012...

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on January 04, 2011, 08:23:10 pm
Indeed, Markus, your eclipse glasses were VERY helpful! It was really funny seeing all my colleagues (from my department and from all the others) in the cue and looking at the sun through the glasses :biggrin:

At first, I thought that clouds would not allow me to see anything, as they looked too thick. After a while, I realized that the clouds were not so bad, but the building you can see in the photo, as the sun was still below that level. When sun rised higher, clouds were still too thick, but sometimes I could have a little glimpse of the eclipse, even without glasses (almost no real light through the cloud). But after a while, when the sun was even a little higher, clouds were thinner and... YES, the eclipse was clear witht the glasses!!!! Only one or two minutes before the clouds covered it again, and only my nearer colleagues had been able to look through it at that moment. Luckily the sun was higher and higher in the sky (singing: hiiiiiiigher, than the skyyy where!! Hiiiiiiigher than the sky!! Sky! Sky! Sky!), and clouds thinner for long time, so I, and ALL the enterprise where I work, was able to watch the eclipse, and even make some photos. A lot of people was really amazed of how clear they could see the sun and the eclipse, and how beautiful it was  :biggrin:

Here I leave the best picture. You can see the clouds, but you can see even better the sun. It was not the most covered part of the sun, but that moment happenened when sun was still too low, or clouds too thick   :ninja:


(http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d80/Luthien32/P1000674.jpg)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on January 04, 2011, 08:36:29 pm
Wow, thank you, Luth! :wOOt: you know I'm really glad that you and your colleagues enjoyed this much. Admittedly, even a deep partial eclipse is nothing compared to a total one, but still it's a beautiful sight and still watching it means that you're consciously experiencing a trip through the shadow of the moon. :) So I'm glad about everybody who made it.

My dad sent me some pics he'd found online in order to comfort me. :) He included the link: Sternwarte Radebeul (http://www.astroclub-radebeul.de/sofi2011/sofi2011.html), an observatory in the East of Germany. They have some creative photos of the partial eclipse there, including nice examples of pinhole projection. Take a short look! As usual, you'll find great pics on Spaceweather.com (http://spaceweather.com/) when you go to the archive of today, tomorrow and perhaps Thursday.

Cheers!

Markus Umbraphilus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on January 05, 2011, 10:29:30 am
Hey folks,

it's me again. :nosweat: You can find the short TV-report from our observation site here (http://www.mdr.de/mediathek/suche/8068007.html). It's going to be online for a couple of days only, so watch it soon. :wink2: You will see a solar crescent recorded somewhere farther East and you will see the hill we were on, the sights we had, the clouds that obstructed our view (please boooh at them!) - and us. Those who know me will recognise me, tired and unshaved. :lol3:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on January 05, 2011, 09:06:38 pm
Oh, oh... who is this guy at the end of the video... I can't understand a word of him... Only thing I know is that he's a little crazy: you can see everybody wearing heavy jaquets and cap, and he wears an unzipped jaquet, no scarf, no cap... What would he do if he was here, in Barcelona? Wearing shorsleeve at almost winter?  :evil2:

PS. Perhaps you can translate the words of this guy...  :innocent:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on January 05, 2011, 11:49:04 pm
Right you are, Luth! That man has to be a bit :insane:

They asked him if anything was seen so far, and he said that they hadn't had a direct view of the sun. It was the time of maximum eclipse, he said, and that it would have been beautiful to see the lunar silhouette against the sun. He also added that according to his personal impression daylight took much longer to come up than you would expect on a normal winter day.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on January 06, 2011, 08:25:44 am
:roll:


I know that guy too! Hooooooooooooo  :biggrin: Now I know what is Your voice like! But acutally, it sounds so telvizisch in the tv :D

Hmm, I saw the eclipse in the end where it was only a little bit of dark part :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on January 06, 2011, 11:32:48 am
But acutally, it sounds so telvizisch in the tv :D

Hmm, I saw the eclipse in the end where it was only a little bit of dark part :)

Well, then we should arrange a live meeting. :ninja: Oh, and I'm glad you saw something of the eclipse - but next time let me tell you about safe watching first. You really scared me! :afaid:

Next time, next time... I'm afraid the next time we get to see a solar eclipse here in the middle of Europe will be 2015. :bawl:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on January 06, 2011, 06:19:05 pm
Only 4 years? Oh, that's not that much. I will never see the total solar eclipse ever in my life! :) (again). I am fine waiting "only" four years for the next one.


Yes mum... :blush: I know... I just could not find the glass and I had only few minutes left :blush:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on January 06, 2011, 06:51:01 pm
I've read that, I think it's in 2027, we'll have a total solar eclipse!!  :wOOt:

I don't know where will it be seen... all south Europe? Only Spain? I don't know... Only thing I know is that it will happen, and there's still a lot of time for that  :insane:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on January 07, 2011, 12:09:37 pm
Hey folks,

never say "never", Kris! If you want to see another total solar eclipse then I'm sure you'll find a way to travel for one. Perhaps not next year, but there's still so much time left...

Luth, you're right! Your country is quite blessed by the lunar shadow in the 2020s. See this page in the World Atlas of Solar Eclipses (http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEatlas/SEatlas3/SEatlas2021.GIF). From the blue areas you can see a total eclipse, from the red areas an annular one. Near these blue and red lines you can see a deep partial eclipse, but the partial ones are not represented in the atlas because it would simply be too much. So your country gets two totals and an annular in 2026-28. :wOOt: Your city is on two of these paths, or at least very near. OMCD! :w00t_jump:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on January 07, 2011, 12:33:12 pm
By then, we can make an NTSMS gathering, together with our children and their classmates...  :lol3:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on January 09, 2011, 05:41:10 pm
By then, we can make an NTSMS gathering, together with our children and their classmates...  :lol3:


Absolutely! :lol3:

Markus, I think I know that guy from somewhere... :unsure: ...but the one he reminds me speaks English. ???
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on January 09, 2011, 06:39:32 pm
Lucy, perhaps he has a doppelgänger in Germany? :afaid: Or it's the same guy and he's learnt German in the mean time. :wOOt:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on January 09, 2011, 07:32:45 pm
He CAN'T learn German THIS well. -_-
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on January 09, 2011, 07:33:20 pm
Eya Lucy! What a coincidence! I know a guy that reminds me to THAT guy too, and he also speaks English. But I think the accent is very similar, both in English and German  :afaid:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on January 09, 2011, 08:39:11 pm
I suppose the specific configuration of gravitational fields during the eclipse opened a gate to a parallel universe where that guy speaks German instead of English.  :shifty:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: The One on January 09, 2011, 10:15:26 pm
It must be the waves from the solar photons somehow interfering constructively with a certain German's probability wave, causing two points with equal amplitude and hence with equal probability for this German to exist in the time-space fabric. :ninja:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Gevurah on January 11, 2011, 10:00:17 am

I've see this month's eclipse from work. It was cloudy but right during that time the clouds got thinner around the sun creating a natural filter. It was a great day to start the year (first day at work for 2011  :-\ )
I'm thinking of getting a telescope this year (was about to make it a xmas gift but new hiking equipment was more necessary  :unsure: ) ..does any of you know of a software that allows you to connect the telescope to the computer and record the images? I know i should probably google it..and i did but didn't clarify things for me very well. Perhaps if you know one that is good and doesn't suck all the memory of your pc i would be grateful if you told me it name.

G.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on January 11, 2011, 03:54:50 pm
Hey Gevurah,

a telescope? :wOOt: That's a good choice!

Unfortunately I'm not really into astrophotography, so I can't give you much advice. What I do know is this: If you want to record high-quality astro-photos there is good free software for processing them. You'll want a very decent telescope, though! Large optics of high quality, a very strong and stable mount plus a very decent camera with suiting connections. So you should find out first what exactly you want to do with the telescope. Just watch the skies or make images? What kind of objects - do you have anything special in mind or do you want an all-rounder? Where are you going to observe from? Dark skies or near the city? Will the telescope be fixed somewhere or do you want it to be mobile?

I recommend you to look for a local group of amateur astronomers and to ask for their advice.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Gevurah on January 12, 2011, 04:29:44 pm
Hi Markus,

i have a few decent options so i am still deciding. I am not really into astrophotography but i like to know that if i want to i can record some images.. as for objects i just fell the need to wonder around.. I live in the countryside so i  have plenty of space (with no city lights or buildings)  to watch the skies. It would be a shame not to get a telescope :) such perfect places here. For now i look at the sky and just imagine what is there..it would be really nice to have the freedom to actually see.
Still... I will look into it and see what i can find here.

thanks !

Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on January 12, 2011, 05:46:45 pm
Hi Gevurah,

that sounds like a reflector telescope on a good equatorial mount is the thing to go for - something like a Maksutov, Schmidt or Cassegrain. They make good all-rounders which allow you to watch planets with nicely high magnification while at the same time gathering enough light for some lovely deep-sky-excursions - plus it's easy to attach a camera and shoot a few pics.

Whatever you choose, enjoy!

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on January 18, 2011, 12:12:31 am
Hey folks,

last Saturday I saw Venus just before dawn, and OMCD! I had forgotten how bright she is. :blink: If you have a chance to take a look at the pre-dawn skies, take it!

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lady Sa'iltu on January 18, 2011, 12:50:06 am
When I was reading the phrase "last Saturday I saw Venus just before dawn", I suddenly recalled one thing.. When I was about 5 or 6 years old (if I'm not mistaken) I took a look at the sky and saw the 2 disk therein. It was like 2 suns were shining; it was at midday, I think. I often recall this view. Once I told my dad about it and he said that he had watched the same long ago and he didn't remember when. What could it be?..... I'm an increadible ignoramus so I have no idea about that).
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on January 18, 2011, 10:32:27 am
Hey Siren,

what you've seen is probably a sundog, also called parhelion - because they can look as bright as extra suns, next to the real one. You can read about them here (http://www.atoptics.co.uk/halo/parhelia.htm) or browse some images of them and their closest relatives here (http://polarimage.fi/) (click "Halo..iridesc..rainbow..lightning..").

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lady Sa'iltu on January 18, 2011, 11:42:35 pm
Thank you very much for the useful sources of information! I've never heard about these phenomena before!! And I guess that what I've seen may be this!
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on January 19, 2011, 07:26:37 pm
You're welcome, Siren!

Halos, parhelia and all their relatives are anything but rare, you just have to know they exist and when and how to look for them. But such a bright parhelion as you describe it is something pretty rare indeed, so congrats. :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lady Sa'iltu on January 20, 2011, 01:49:21 am
Indeed! Unfortunately, I was too young to guess to take a pic of it
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Aluqak on January 20, 2011, 07:28:09 pm
Today, if you watch the sky in Tenochmetal you'll see the smoke fumed by the mighty Popocatepetl :cht:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on January 21, 2011, 08:45:00 pm
Siren, check this out :) Met it within articles about my beloved Aurora Borealis :) Immediately had to think of You.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/01/090115-sun-dogs-weather-photo.html (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/01/090115-sun-dogs-weather-photo.html)

Check these:
 :wub: :wub: :wub:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/08/photogalleries/100810-northern-lights-solar-cme-aurora-borealis-pictures/ (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/08/photogalleries/100810-northern-lights-solar-cme-aurora-borealis-pictures/)

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/07/080724-auroras-lights.html (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/07/080724-auroras-lights.html)
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/02/photogalleries/light-pillars/ (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/02/photogalleries/light-pillars/)




Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lady Sa'iltu on January 24, 2011, 12:07:12 am
Thanks!!!!!!!!
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on January 29, 2011, 06:57:11 am
How art thou accompanied by the lunar crescent with its clear earthshine, oh Heylel ben Sharach! :roll: :wOOt: :wub:

P.S.: At 08.17 CET I still saw Heylel - with Shamash already above the horizon! :wOOt: :yeha:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on March 06, 2011, 09:34:22 pm
Hey folks,

I saw a wonderful lunar crescent tonight, slender, almost lying horizontally, right next to Jupiter in the clear dusk. Very beautiful - perhaps some of you noticed it, too. :) If not, the moon will remain a crescent and be easy to see for the next few days right after sunset.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lady Sa'iltu on March 06, 2011, 10:09:34 pm
Must be awesome! Unfortunetely, the sky over Moscow is covered with clouds, and the Moon cannot be seen(((.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on March 07, 2011, 09:44:42 pm
That's a pity, Siren,

because the view tonight was beautiful, too. I really had fun with the moon... on my way home from work, waiting for the train, I was scanning the skies strainedly before the sun set but didn't find the moon. A minute later when I was casting just a casual glance up I had it right in my view, ghostly in the bright skies and still very slender.

Later on in the city, waiting for my tram :fish: I managed to put myself in such a position that the lunar crescent was right on top of a church tower, creating an alternate version of German history. :lol3: That was an alignment so delicate that I could watch the moon gliding away within less than a minute as Earth just kept on spinning.

Finally, as the sky darkened, the earth-lit nightside of the moon became visible. Because the crescent was still pretty much horizontally aligned - unusual for my latitude - I managed to hide it behind a distant roof so only the nightside was sticking out. I still saw it, thus proving that the earthshine was not merely an optical illusion created in my brain but that it was really really there, the lunar landscapes lit by the almost-full Earth in the lunar skies.  :wub:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on March 07, 2011, 10:32:27 pm
an alternate version of German history. :lol3:


:roll:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on March 19, 2011, 04:35:47 pm
I've heard that tonight there's the most nearest, the most powerfull moon for 18 years. Of course, I'll go to the beach to look at it (or is ti her?  :lol3:).

I've also read a retired geologist in America who says that it's very probably that there's a huge earthquake in California, among other reasons, because of the moon. I wish he's mistaken, although I know San Francisco is expected to suffer a powerfull eartquake one day or another...  -_-

Ok, let's enjoy of tonights Moon, in the meanwhile  :wOOt:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: The One on March 19, 2011, 08:40:39 pm
The moon looks glorious. :biggrin:
As for California, if anything strikes it's just karma paying back CalTech for rejecting me. :ninja:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on March 20, 2011, 12:43:32 pm
Right you are, Luth! The full moon was pretty close last night. (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110320.html)

The moon is that close once a month, but this time this so-called perigee happened almost exactly at the instant of full moon. This did lead to slightly stronger tides, but could it cause earthquakes? Surely not. It might trigger one that's been overdue, but then the perigee full moon would only be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

I saw the moon last night and yes, it seemed bigger than usual. I saw it when it was rising, and that's when the so-called moon illusion kicks in, making the moon appear bigger than it is. But even when I consider this, the moon still was bigger than usually. Very nice! :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on March 29, 2011, 09:31:23 am
Hey folks,

ever seen a double rainbow at night? :wOOt: Lo and behold! (http://spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=29&month=03&year=2011)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on April 18, 2011, 07:28:47 pm
Today I left home at 6.30 a.m., as usual, and I've seen the most beautiful moon I've seen for ages  :wOOt:  It seems it was not full moon yet (it's tonght), but it was almost almost almost full. I've seen it from the street (for some German astromist-lover, and a Diamond Lady, they may remember the main street that crosses my own street  :ninja: ), and I looked up to the sky just in front of me: the (almost) full moon showing just in the middle of the sky, filling almost all the visible space of the mountains just in front of my view. Low, yellowish, big... beautiful  :wub:

I had to share it with you  :spock:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on April 18, 2011, 07:38:06 pm
(for some German astromist-lover, and a Diamond Lady, they may remember the main street that crosses my own street  :ninja: )


:bawl:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on April 18, 2011, 07:40:08 pm
It was not my intention to make you cry, Lucy  :hug2:

So... remember that it's very likely we can meet again in Prague!!!  :wOOt: :hop: :drunk:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on April 18, 2011, 07:44:08 pm
All routes lead to Prague! (http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/4569/emotcrossarms.gif) (and none from Prague)  :cht:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on April 18, 2011, 09:17:12 pm
:w00t_jump:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on April 18, 2011, 11:30:54 pm
Wow, thank you for telling us! That must have been quite a sight, Luth!

That street... oh... reminds me of our moments at the sea. See you again this August, miladies, respectively for the first time!

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on April 26, 2011, 11:11:05 am
Hey folks,

I just found a beautiful video of a sunset with clear green flashes (http://spaceweather.com/swpod2011/25apr11/greenflash.wmv).

Enjoy and cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lady Sa'iltu on April 27, 2011, 08:33:46 pm
Incredibly beautiful video!
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on April 28, 2011, 05:29:33 pm
I've never seen anything like this. :bow: Thanks for sharing!
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on April 28, 2011, 08:44:23 pm
I'm unable to play it :(
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on April 28, 2011, 09:19:30 pm
It's a wmv...

Really beautiful video Markus! Thanks for sharing! :wOOt:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on May 05, 2011, 05:15:34 am
Hey folks,

look West right after sunset tonight - when the skies are clear you should be able to see a lovely lunar crescent. :)

Good luck and cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on June 14, 2011, 09:00:32 pm
My friends,

when the sun sets this Wednesday (i.e. tomorrow) watch out for the moon rising right opposite the sun. It will be in eclipse!

There will be a total lunar eclipse on the night from Wednesday to Thursday. It will be unusually long (1 hour 40 minutes of totality) and unusually deep as the moon crosses almost right through the middle of Earth's shadow. See spaceweather.com (http://spaceweather.com/) for details.

And mainly see the moon in total eclipse! It rises eclipsed for Europeans, but as the night sets in you can see the red colour and the subtle differences in brightness on the lunar surface, both changing over time as the moon progresses through our shadow. Maximum eclipse occurs at 22:13 CEDT and totality ends at 23:03 CEDT. You can see the moon still partly inside the dark core shadow of the Earth until 0:02 CEDT.

Don't miss this, please! You'll find the moon rather low in the Southeast, progressing higher and westward ("up and right"). The moon might become unusually dark due to the deep eclipse and due to volcanic ash in the air - or it might not, you never know. But it WILL look beautiful in any case. Luth, I envy your sight across the sea!

Cheers!

Markus Umbraphilus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on June 14, 2011, 09:02:37 pm
If the moon is visible from the beach, I intend to make a photo of Her  :ninja:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on June 14, 2011, 09:28:20 pm
Was that a conditional clause, oh Regina Anglissima Mea?

Anyway, if you make a photo of the eclipsed moon I intend to enjoy it a lot! Perhaps Mr. Eclipse (http://mreclipse.com//) can help you with instructions or just inspiration from his galleries.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on June 14, 2011, 10:05:46 pm
Well... if not seen from the beach, buidlings won't let us make a good photo, that's all  :whistle:

Don't expect a good high quality picture if I manage... very few zoom in my camera  :bawl:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on June 15, 2011, 05:04:31 am
That's why I was suggesting Mr. Eclipse, milady. :wOOt: If I remember well he has some ideas for wide-angle-shots, too.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on June 15, 2011, 05:24:38 am
I had no time to read that site, but it's not only the angle, but the visibility itself. If the Moon is hidden behind the buildings, angle or not angle, I won't be able to watch it  :innocent:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on June 15, 2011, 06:32:12 pm
If it's hidden behind the clouds I won't be able to see it, either. :bawl:

Death to the clouds! :wicking: DEEEEAAAAATH! :wicking: :wicking:

A-hem. Good luck, I meant to say, and enjoy the eclipse.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on June 15, 2011, 06:41:23 pm
It's cloudy here too :( I suppose we won't see anything.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on June 16, 2011, 12:10:00 am
Too bad - it was cloudy here all the time.

Of course I saw the moon through the clouds on my way back home, after the eclipse had ended.  :tongue:

Cheers, anyway!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on June 16, 2011, 08:50:24 am
I'm sorry :(

Here it was completely cloudy whole night. No moon visible. :(

When is the next eclipse?
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on June 16, 2011, 10:03:20 am
Oh well, it's not the end of the world. :) Luckily I've seen many eclipses before so I can take this failure more easily. Of course it would have been beautiful... when I find good pictures on the net I'll show you some.

It's quite a bad joke, though, that now the sun is really scorching from the sky.  :tongue: :mad3: :lol3:

The next one? That will be on the 10th of December (http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHfigures/OH2011-Fig06.pdf). There will be two more solar eclipses this year, but they will only be partials seen from the South-pole-region. The lunar eclipse in December will be quite unfavourable for Europeans as the moon will rise during the eclipse - most of the event will take place before the moon has risen for us so we will only see the last stages.

The next Solar eclipses visible from Europe will be 3rd of November 2013 (only for the Royal Couple  -_-) (http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEplot/SEplot2001/SE2013Nov03H.GIF) and 20th of March 2015 (http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEplot/SEplot2001/SE2015Mar20T.GIF). The next decent lunar eclipses for us will be 28th of September 2015 (http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEplot/LEplot2001/LE2015Sep28T.pdf) and 27th of July 2018 (http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEplot/LEplot2001/LE2018Jul27T.pdf).

Next year, be sure not to miss the transit of Venus (http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/transit/venus0412.html): No person alive today has seen more than one of these, and the next chance after 2012 will be in 2117. :ninja:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on June 17, 2011, 09:12:46 pm
Thank You for the info :) I'll try not to pass the transit of Venus  :ninja:


Check this out!!!  :wOOt: :wOOt: :wOOt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkO7SHCWno0&feature=youtu.be (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkO7SHCWno0&feature=youtu.be)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on June 21, 2011, 01:00:16 pm
Hey folks,

this (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110621.html) is what you would have seen under clear skies, here in Spain.

Oh, and this (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110618.html) is what you would have seen under thunderstorm-clouds with a gap in just the right place. :wOOt:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on June 21, 2011, 01:35:32 pm
Wooow, that's nice!!  :wOOt:

"HERE" in Spain???

Is there something you have to tell me, Markus? :roll:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on June 21, 2011, 02:10:03 pm
 :lol: :lol:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on June 21, 2011, 06:06:05 pm
"Here" referring to "in this particular case", miladies. How could I go to Spain without asking for an audience with the Royal Couple?
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on June 21, 2011, 06:31:37 pm
Oh, well... then, I can call my spies back, right? Perhaps it was not necessary to send half my army to search and bring the High Priest to me, dead or al... well, to bring him to me  :whistle:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on June 22, 2011, 01:01:03 am
Being brought to you at the expense of someone else is always a pleasure, my queen! :ninja:

Kris, that's a great video indeed. Well, SDO is great, anyway.  :)

Looks like the next big celestial event is the Perseids in mid-August. In the middle of our visit to Prague, actually. :wOOt: Kris, is there some place nearby, just out of town, with rather dark skies we could go to to spend a night out?

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on August 16, 2011, 05:55:58 pm
Hey folks, hey Kris,
Say, have you seen this (http://twitpic.com/662hqp)?
When the Perseids rained...
Here's (http://spaceweather.com/swpod2011/16aug11/labeled.jpg) the image explained. :)

Cheers!

Markus Astropoeticus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on August 16, 2011, 10:31:32 pm
Good! I follow that guy on my Twitter account but nowadays I am so busy I have not time to check the Twitter! :D Thanks for showing me!. The astronauts use to post pretty good pics actually every now and then!
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on August 17, 2011, 08:23:06 am
Yeah, this one is lovely. :) Today the full picture is on APOD (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110817.html).
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on September 22, 2011, 08:43:15 pm
Hey folks,

watch out for thin, old lunar crescents at dawn these days! It's equinox time - the Sun crosses the celestial equator tomorrow at 12:04 CEDT - and the moon is approaching its new phase. This is a good time to see thin crescents with lots of earthshine before dawn, so watch out! While doing so you will see the first messengers of the upcoming winter, like Orion with Taurus after midnight.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on September 23, 2011, 10:42:38 am
So merry Equinox, guys! :wOOt: :wink2:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on September 23, 2011, 12:21:07 pm
Enjoy the autumn! x)

I am so much looking forward to my beloved Orion  :wub:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on September 23, 2011, 05:17:17 pm
Indeed, merry equinox! :drunk:

Kris, you'll easily see him when you look Southeast after midnight. :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on September 24, 2011, 12:38:58 pm
Oh yes, I know :-) Thank You Markus. I can see it easily from our balcony as it is south oriented x)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on September 26, 2011, 08:08:50 am
Hey folks,

get your old eclipse-glasses out or look for the setting resp. rising sun - there's a sunspot so huge that you can see it without magnification! All you need to do is protect your eyes from the overly bright sunlight. Use special eclipse glasses for that or, weather permitting, the dimming of the sun at the horizon.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on October 07, 2011, 03:22:29 pm
Nice article :)

http://www.space.com/13204-crab-nebula-high-energy-pulsar-beam.html (http://www.space.com/13204-crab-nebula-high-energy-pulsar-beam.html)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: The One on October 07, 2011, 03:39:53 pm
Mind blowing! :biggrin:

...I joined my university's astronomy club.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on October 08, 2011, 10:53:50 am
Hey folks,

good one, Kris! And Jorge, great decision - tell us more about it on occasion. :)

Îf you get clear skies tonight, look out for a meteor storm! :wOOt: See here (http://spaceweather.com/).

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on October 08, 2011, 01:10:47 pm
Yes! I noticed the news about the storm too but guess what  ¬¬ :roll:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on October 08, 2011, 09:53:33 pm
Another kind of storm, Kris? More earthly, with non-meteoritic material falling from the sky?

Nothing spectacular here but at least I saw something. It's quite cloudy here, too (plus city- and moonlight) - but there was a gap in the clouds which allowed me to gaze for a while. So in a comfy lawn-chair on the famous priestly roof-deck I counted four doubtless Draconids within quarter an hour or so.

So if there really has been an outburst - and so it seems because that's an unusually high number of shooting stars under these conditions - I can at least say that I've seen a little bit of it. :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on October 09, 2011, 12:27:09 pm
It's great You saw at least something. :)

Here is completely cloudy sky since Wednesday so I could not see anything.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on October 09, 2011, 11:54:11 pm
Yeah, I'm pretty glad. Sorry you didn't get to see anything. :( Perhaps you'll be more lucky with the Geminids in December. :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on November 17, 2011, 11:01:12 pm
Markuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuus  :biggrin:

This one is for You. Though it doesn't really fit the topic's name! It's... WHEN YOU HEAR THE SKY!

http://youtu.be/0u3SMkcP7wc (http://youtu.be/0u3SMkcP7wc)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on November 17, 2011, 11:10:31 pm
Lovely finding, Kris! Are we sure that the sounds haven't been edited / modified? Sounds so much like strange modern music... But pleasantly so! Somehow quite calming.

Look outside right now and you can see Jupiter in the sky, weather permitting. :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on November 18, 2011, 12:05:58 am
I think particular is original.... though there are some videos about which I got a serious doubts... Anyway. I am downloading the "original" NASA CDs right now and I found after some time a very expensive (for me) box set of 10 CDs and some extras - for 160 USD.

I am definitely going to buy that. I need more SPACE. I definitely need to calm down  :lol:  I am so tensed and upset in last time...
Buying the box set will wait after Christmas... so far I hope I will be fine with those 5 CDs I am downloading.

Wish I could. But we have grey smog mixed with fog for at least a week already and it's so strong You can barely see few meteres in front of You sometimes. :(
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on November 18, 2011, 06:37:15 pm
Oh my... it's not so calming anymore when you forgot that the video is running and start the computer. I was thinking "Hell, the hard disk is about to break - or is it 'only' the fan? :afaid:" Then I went "Oh, wait... umm... :lol3:"

Enjoy those CDs, Kris! Five of them sounds like a lot of space for the time being. :thumbup:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on November 18, 2011, 06:56:31 pm
Haha  :fish:  That must have been pretty creepy!
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on November 18, 2011, 07:41:35 pm
Jupiter and Saturn, Oberon, Miranda and Titania
Neptune, Titan, stars can frighten
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on November 18, 2011, 09:37:49 pm
I got the music few hours ago.

There's one "song" called simply "Space Sounds Music" - it is mix of all those together - possibly the "most interesting sounds". It's pretty awesome I have to say. I spent few minutes crying when listening to part of the song. The tears came out and I simply even didn't know why :)
Please don't laugh at me. :) But I just felt like telling to someone and I guess NTSMS is possibly the only place I can tell. No one else except my ex girlfriend Hana would understand it :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on November 18, 2011, 10:09:53 pm
Congrats, Kris! And sure I understand. I mean, those recordings are one way to watch the skies, and that's always something that may bring up a tear or two. :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on November 22, 2011, 05:09:01 pm
I can see Jupiter from the balcony now. Pretty clear. Pity I have no binoculars. :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on November 26, 2011, 07:01:51 pm
Did You know that ESA launched 2 Galileo satellites? :-) It's pretty cool programme! It's not supposed to be just passive navigation system like American GPS but it's planned to make it active so in future in case somebody needs help his watch or cell phone should be able to communicate with the satellites so the rescue knows precisely where to search and also let know the person in need that they are on their way!

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Galileo_IOV/SEM167GURTG_0.html (http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Galileo_IOV/SEM167GURTG_0.html)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 06, 2011, 09:36:47 pm
Hey folks,

Kris, that's a cool plan indeed! Too bad it's been delayed so awfully, but it's good that they're getting on with Galileo at last.

Do you see the moon outside right now, standing so close to bright Jupiter? What a lovely sight! Watch the moon growing full - for at the next full moon there is going to be a total lunar eclipse. :wOOt: That will be next Saturday, the 10th of December. Only a part of it will be visible from Europe or Canada, though, and Southern America gets nothing at all this time - sorry, Eresh. The Europeans get to see the end of the eclipse at moonrise (which is at sunset at that day) while the Canadians get it at moonset (sunrise). See the NASA map (http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHfigures/OH2011-Fig06.pdf) or your local media for details and ask me if you don't understand it all.

Enjoy and cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on December 06, 2011, 10:05:21 pm
Thanks a lot for the info, Markus! :-) I would possibly missed that. Well, still I guess it will be cloudy anyway as always :-) But let's give it a try.

Searching for info on Czech observatories' websites I came upon astro events for next year and I've been horrified by certain one! I have only one chance and then... 115 years nothing! I will have to start praying for good weather since January!
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 06, 2011, 10:15:43 pm
That must the transit of Venus on the 6th of June, Kris. Venus will already be in front of the sun as the sun rises, so we won't get to see the ingress. But then again that would be such an amazing sunrise that it's probably worth losing the ingress.

Luckily I've seen the previous transit of Venus in 2004, so at least I've seen one of those in my life. Of course I hope to add the second one to my list, too! A good place to start reading about it is the TOV2004 page on the NASA eclipse website (http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/transit12.html), of course.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on December 06, 2011, 10:18:45 pm
Yeah, I knew You will immediatelly get what I am pointing at :D

Oh, wish I could see that!
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on December 10, 2011, 09:14:56 pm
Well, it was cloudy and we had a very high horizon in the mountains. So... I saw only the end - only shadow on the moon and very small. No part of eclipse. Still it was very nice ;-)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 10, 2011, 09:28:05 pm
But the eclipse is nothing but a shadow on the moon, so basically you saw what there was to see. :)

I caught a pretty good view and will post a short report tomorrow.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on December 11, 2011, 10:28:31 pm
I mean - there was no... eclipse shadow (like a black part).. I can't really explain - there was another kind of shadow, I don't know how it's called in English... It was the end of umbra - turning penumbra - so it was really like a shadow on the moon - like if there was a cloud on it or something but it was not black.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 11, 2011, 11:58:04 pm
Hey folks,

so here's what the eclipse was like for me:

I had gone into the Dölauer Heide, the city forest of Halle, and climbed the Kolkturm (http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Datei:Kolkturm.jpg), a viewing tower from which I hoped to get a good view of the horizon. I was there around 15.45, the sky was clear above but mostly cloudy on the horizon. I could see Venus, though - 15 minutes before sunset!

Two young men with cameras came up, and I thought they'd be there for the eclipse, too. They only took a photos of the surroundings, kept chatting about firefighter jobs and complaining about the cold, and then they left me alone again.

15.55 - just before the end of totality - I got a last view of the sun, a bright glowing red through lead-grey clouds. Six minutes after that, the sun would set, two more minutes later the moon would rise. The Northeast, where the eclipsed moon was about to rise, was clouded, but the clouds were moving swiftly and I hoped to get a view of the eclipse.

A young family with two small agile children appeared, another one followed later. But the clouds didn't move as fast as I'd like them to. Well, I kept watching the skies with my naked eyes and also with  8x30 binoculars, scanning the region where the moon had to be - and so I was the first to notice its glow through the clouds at 16.25. :wOOt: Its yellow shine disappeared in the clouds, though, too fast to notice its shape. Immediately after that, some graupel / soft hail fell. What a timing!

However, a few minutes after that we got another, slightly longer glimpse and could recognise that the moon was only half lit: The darkness of the clouds was moving across the lunar surface, that other darkness on the upper right side of the moon wasn't. The umbra! :yeha:

That was enough for the families so they headed home. I stayed on top of the tower, though, waiting and hoping for another glimpse. A big cloud - the soft hail bringer - had moved from the West to the zenith. Jupiter was visible and dusk was still bright. A friend called me and we talked for a while. Around 16.45 I told her: "Wait a moment, it's coming out now. It's coming out now!" And then I screamed right into her ear in triumph and jubilance: For I did not only see the moon, still yellow from its low altitude, with a bit on the upper right missing due to the eclipse. No, I even saw the red light inside the umbra! For the shadow of Earth is not completely dark, it's brightened up a little by a red light which the atmosphere of our planet casts into the otherwise black shadow. This red light makes the moon visible even in total eclipse, and I was still able to see it on the eclipsed part of the moon - in my binoculars and even with the naked eye. This was so much more than I had expected, so I really had to shout it out! :yeha: :yeha: :yeha:

This image (http://www.n-tv.de/img/49/4973161/O_1000_680_680_31tu2257.jpg582051459273704629.jpg) is similar to what I saw, but not nearly as splendid as the real view.

Kris, perhaps this is what you saw, too? At what time did you get your glance of the moon?

Oh, I just had to get out my mp3-player and listen to "The Seal of the Bleeding Moon" by Sobre Nocturne and "Draconian Trilogy" by a certain Swedish occult symphonic metal band. I couldn't help myself but to sing along - but that's ok, I was alone up there. :lol3:

Well, I kept watching the rest of the eclipse with clear skies towards the moon. I could follow the umbral light until a few minutes after 17.00. First I lost it from the naked eye view, then even in the binoculars. Now it really looked simply as if someone had taken a bite out of the moon. Some cloud had approached in the meantime and covered the moon about ten minutes before the end of the partial eclipse. I got another clear glimpse at 17.17 - 17.18; just in time to see the moon leaving the umbra.

After that I climbed down from the tower and started to go home, happy to have successfully observed an eclipse after two complete failures / clouded-outs this year.

Cheers!

Markus Umbraphilus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 12, 2011, 12:55:06 am
P.S.: You might want to check the spaceweather.com gallery for this eclipse (http://spaceweather.com/eclipses/gallery_10dec11.htm).
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on December 13, 2011, 03:20:43 pm
Thank You :-)

Tonight: Geminides. Tonight: Cloudy skies.

- it's getting boring You know, dear weather....  ¬¬ -_-
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 14, 2011, 05:37:06 pm
Yeah, there's a kind of a pattern, isn't there?  ¬¬

I helped to correct today's APOD caption (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap111214.html). :wOOt: At first they had written that the eclipse hadn't been total in India. But that's nonsense, a lunar eclipse is total anywhere the moon is seen during totality. Some folks pointed that out in the discussion board and the caption was changed. :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on December 14, 2011, 05:45:49 pm
What a wonderful APOD!!!

Oh, great You found a way to do so! :-)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 15, 2011, 01:00:51 am
Thank you, Kris!

BTW I've seen three Geminids tonight! :wOOt: Kris, you can have the brightest one. :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on December 15, 2011, 10:54:34 am
Thank You :blush: gratefully accepts it and wishes on a star

We had cloudy weather again even though it was very strong wind which actually came here from Western Germany - and it came with rains and heavy cold (cold!!!) storm. :-)

Haha, the sky is so covered with clouds that even though it's 11AM it's so dark I nearly feel like switching on the lights.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 15, 2011, 09:38:08 pm
Yeah, we're getting a storm here, too - but perhaps more on that in the weather thread.

Make that four Geminids - I saw another one from my roof-deck last night. :)

Have you seen today's APOD (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap111215.html)? :wOOt: It's another composite of the latest lunar eclipse. I love this kind of photo because it makes the shadow of the Earth itself visible.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on December 15, 2011, 09:50:37 pm
Very cool :-)

I think this is what I saw. The grey shadow (not the orange-reddish one).
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 16, 2011, 11:12:31 am
Ah, I see, Kris. But the outer parts of the umbra are grey or sometimes even blueish. So what exactly did you see? A more or less clearly defined shadow - or just a tiny, hardly perceptible brightness gradient? The latter would only be the penumbra indeed, but the first would be the outer part of the umbra. Of course you can also recognise it by the time: Until 17:18 CET the moon was in the umbra; if you've seen the moon before that then you've still seen the partial phase of the eclipse with the moon still inside the umbra.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on December 16, 2011, 08:19:41 pm
I am sure I saw only the penumbra, cause I definitely came outside later than 17:20. :-)

Hmm, would You believe that my colleague from school wrote me yesterday asking me about astronomical stuff like if I was some profi? : )))
She asked me why does the Moon appears to be every day on a different place when it's the same time like the day before. I have to say I had to think for a while  :lol:

I really enjoy the Jupiter lately. It's like my guiding star. Even when it's cloudy a lot I can see him almost every evening. Like if the clouds were at least with this case so polite to step out for few seconds to let me see him. It's so big even on the sky...
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Ereshkigal on December 16, 2011, 09:22:00 pm
When I watch the sky I always see a very big bright star.

My mom asked me the other day: Is that a planet? or a star?

I said: Mmm I dunno, could also be a satellite!

Enlight me! oh masters of the universe!  :lol: I am not very educated in this matter. How can I find out what is it that I see up in the sky?

Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on December 16, 2011, 10:13:22 pm
I think the brightest thing next Moon is Jupiter.

Take a look at the programme at http://www.stellarium.org/ (http://www.stellarium.org/) If You install it and set Your GPS and the altitude it can show You Your sky map ... when the Moon will rise, the trajectory of it, other trajectories... (planets...).
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 17, 2011, 01:32:38 pm
Dear skygazers,

right you are, Kris - at that time it should have been the penumbra. You're a pretty good observer when you noticed that! :thumbup: For a penumbral eclipse doesn't strike the eye; you have to look very closely to perceive it. And you are, it's very nice of the clouds to let you peek at Jupiter even on a cloudy night. :)

Eresh, I suppose Jupiter. A program like stellarium is surely a good way to check that. Even a website like CalSky (http://calsky.com/) may be help. But in the case of a single bright "star" it's even easier: Did it move fast across the sky, in similar speed as an airplane? Was it gone within a Then it was a satellite. Or did it move slowly, turning with all the other stars? Then it was a star or planet.

Some planets are much brighter than any star, so they're most likely to strike the eye. Was it a very bright object in the West at dusk? That was Venus. Or was it a very bright object somewhere East, climbing higher as the night progresses? That was Jupiter. For comparison you may have a look at Sirius, the brightest genuine star in the sky. Can you find Orion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Orion_IAU.svg)? you'll recognise him by his hourglass- or butterfly shape and the three equally placed, almost equally bright stars of his belt. That belt points to a pretty bright, blueish-white star - Sirius. That's the brightest fixed star we have on Earth's skies. When seen near the horizon it will flash in white, blue, green and also red. That's due to our atmosphere and it's something you most likely won't observe on a planet.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Ereshkigal on December 23, 2011, 05:29:08 pm
I haven't paid attention to these questions....position, movement, etc....I will observe this today.

The other day I just noticed it did not twinkle and it was dawn. It was the only visible star when the sun was hiding.

*takes notes of your comments*
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Ereshkigal on December 24, 2011, 02:01:46 am
Hey guys.

Downloaded the software at http://www.stellarium.org/. CalSky seemed a bit complicated for a noobie like me  :innocent:

I am playing around with Stellarium today. Too bad the sky is cloudy today and we have some drops of rain. I cannot even see the moon :-/ and it's a shame no star in the sky.

Will try again tomorrow!
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 24, 2011, 08:00:45 am
Eya Eresh,

I am playing around with Stellarium today. Too bad the sky is cloudy today and we have some drops of rain. I cannot even see the moon :-/

But neither can I nor anybody else because it's new moon. :nana:

Well, enjoy the software and better luck with the weather soon!

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Ereshkigal on December 24, 2011, 06:46:24 pm
LOL! Gimme back my moon! XD I could not spot it last night, but then again so many clouds.

Hmm this software is pretty cool. I keep playing with it today.

Today it is windy and there is not a single cloud in the sky. I hope the nice weather stays tonight! *crossing fingers*
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Ereshkigal on December 27, 2011, 01:34:41 am
Nice weather and clear skies today.

So, it is definitely Venus. The bright star I used to watch. It's beautiful tonight and right above the moon, I can see Capricon's horns  :ninja: or maybe Capras   :evil2:.

Hopefully when it is a bit more dark I get to identify more stars  :thumbup:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Ereshkigal on December 27, 2011, 03:55:49 am
I took a picture with my crappy BlackBerry. Don't laugh! The resolution pretty much sucked! But just so you get an idea :)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v640/Eresh_Fuentes/El%20Salvador/venusmoon.jpg)

Venus meets the moon  :drunk:



Update: 9:30pm: Venus and the moon left for a drink  :ninja: that leaves bright Jupiter up in the sky looking pretty bright and handsome!

I identified Delphinus earlier today.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 27, 2011, 03:19:30 pm
Thank you, Eresh! Isn't it a good feeling to know the name of that bright shiny thingy up there? :)

Thank you for the photo. I like it! Yeah, its resolution is low, but you can tell how utterly bright Venus is and how the lunar crescent is oriented. Lovely! :thumbup:

Have you seen comet Lovejoy? It's visible from the Southern hemisphere just before dawn in the East. That's a bright comet which passed so close to the Sun that everybody expected it to simply evaporate, but it survived the passage and is now an impressive sight for you folks down there.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Ereshkigal on December 27, 2011, 04:40:35 pm
Markus,

Yes. I thought this last night: It is not the same to watch the stars w/o knowing the names than to know them! I also registered for our national astronomy association and if possible, I want to take the basic astronomy course that they offer once a year. I hope my schedule allows me too  ;D

I had no idea about Lovejoy! I will investigate now. Thanks for the information.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 27, 2011, 05:47:42 pm
So welcome to the club, Eresh! :thumbup: :biggrin:

For Lovejoy I can recommend you spaceweather.com (http://spaceweather.com/) which is updated daily.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on December 28, 2011, 05:46:30 pm
Oh, now browsing my pics when looking for some nice wallpaper I came over a pic I made too... It's says: Hello Jupiter :)

(http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/1368/hellojupiter.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/155/hellojupiter.jpg/)

Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Ereshkigal on December 28, 2011, 06:33:24 pm
I like!  :thumbup:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on December 28, 2011, 06:42:45 pm
Hihi, thanks Rebecca :)

Yeah, I have to say that it was taken by phone camera too :) Not a good one but we don't have any real camera. So... When I uploaded it later I was pretty suprised that there is visible even something!
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 28, 2011, 07:28:06 pm
Amazing for a cellphone cam! :thumbup:

It looks as if you've really depicted the disc of Jupiter. It's hard to tell if that little starlet next to it is just a background star or even a moon. :wOOt:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on December 28, 2011, 07:46:32 pm
Hm, that's really hard to say :-)

Thank You :)  ;D
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on December 30, 2011, 10:09:20 pm
I tried to catch it again, tonight from our balcony. But definitely didn't. That was obviously a big luck that night :)

And btw I wanted to share something with You. This wonderful photo with Jupiter and aurora borealis :-) I use it as a wallpaper now.


(http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/8317/sebastianvoltmerauroras.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/12/sebastianvoltmerauroras.jpg/)

Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 31, 2011, 05:26:08 pm
Beautiful indeed! :)

Well, I hope to see some more auroras at home as the sun approaches the next solar max. :wOOt:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Ereshkigal on January 04, 2012, 03:19:16 pm
Meteor shower this morning at 2:20am. Unfortunately, I could not see it. I sat my alarm and went out, but was not able to catch even one and it was so cold outside! I hope I have better luck next year :-(
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Ereshkigal on January 07, 2012, 02:46:20 am
So, today, I found out that red star in the sky is not a planet like I thought. It is Betelgeuse. It's beautiful! and was able to fully contemplate Orion. Great clear skies today to the West. The moon lies between Taurus horns.  :evil2:

To the east, Venus lies low, but very very big and bright!

Mmm skies are so mysterious, intriguing, vast and beautiful...makes me wonder  :med2:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on January 22, 2012, 10:10:24 pm
Hello Markus,

I found and amazing website of some Japanese institute!

Ceck this out: http://polaris.nipr.ac.jp/~acaurora/aurora/Tromso/ (http://polaris.nipr.ac.jp/~acaurora/aurora/Tromso/) The pics are wonderful (changing everyday) and the video "Daily animation" (click in the right corner) is pretty amazing too!

Oh, I love it.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on January 24, 2012, 10:45:36 am
Wonderful site, Kris! Thank you. :)

Quite fascinating that this is a Japanese site about a Norwegian site. :lol3: Anyway, it's a real treasure of images, and the presentation is very thoughtfully done.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on January 31, 2012, 10:32:06 am
http://vimeo.com/35586157 (http://vimeo.com/35586157) A video of auroras :-) from the time of the solar burst. Really awesome and great music too.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on February 09, 2012, 04:33:09 pm
http://images.4channel.org/f/src/589217_scale_of_universe_enhanced.swf (http://images.4channel.org/f/src/589217_scale_of_universe_enhanced.swf)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on February 09, 2012, 08:27:44 pm
 :wOOt: That's fantastic!!!!  :wOOt:

But... when we're further than the Sun, it appears an arrow showing... the total human height????   :fish:

I'm sharing that at FB  :ninja:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on February 24, 2012, 07:41:13 pm
My dear sky-watching folks,

keep an eye on the West after sunset these days! Tonight you might have seen a wonderful thin lunar crescent. But the best is: Venus and Jupiter are there, still getting even closer to each other, and the moon is passing them these days. You must see that!

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on February 24, 2012, 11:49:27 pm
Jaja, saw them tonight x)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on February 26, 2012, 10:56:12 am
Yesterday it was the "Carnival rua" in Calella, and they walk below our balcony. There were very clear skies, so I noticed the tiny moon and, I suppose, Venus and Jupiter not very far. It was nice to have been warned of them, or I would have missed them!  :wOOt:

Thanks, Markus Astrologus!
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on February 26, 2012, 11:21:27 am
You're welcome, my queen! So at least someone could check they're still around - over here it's too cloudy. Which is a pity because the sight must be quite beautiful. :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: The One on February 26, 2012, 05:09:07 pm
It was ridiculously cold outside last night. But while walking on one of our many adventures, my friends and I saw the beautiful arrangement of the heavenly bodies. We just stared at it for a while before realizing our hands were getting numb from the cold.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on February 26, 2012, 08:52:09 pm
Oh, lucky me, I saw them! :biggrin:

Blazing Venus, bright Jupiter, and amidst them - slightly off the line, to form a triangle - the crescent moon. :yeha: Sacred beauty! :bow: :pop:

Gonna see them again in a few minutes, when I'm taking the Beast for another peeing walk. :lol3:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on February 27, 2012, 09:16:50 am
I saw them too last night, as we came home from the countryside. It was an exceptionally breathtaking view. :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on February 29, 2012, 10:43:29 am
Hey folks,

is this (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120229.html) true, Luth or Xiquet? I can confirm about Venus, Jupiter and the moon. Saw them on Monday night, when the moon was standing between the two planets. What an amazingly beautiful sight! I showed it to the guests of mom's birthday party and they all liked it.

So yes, APOD is right about the celestial bodies. Can you confirm about the earthly place?

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on February 29, 2012, 07:58:14 pm
Hi Markus,

wow, wonderful picture!!!  :wOOt:

Although I didn't spot the place at first glance, with the help of Xiquet I've discovered that YES, it's Catalonia. And even more... YOU, O HIGH PRIEST AMONG THE HIGHEST OF ALL PRIESTS, have been there too!!! As it's Figueres, the town where we visited Dalí Museum! I didn't see the dragon, but I think I've always walked by the other side of the building you can see in the photo  :biggrin:

PS. WOOOOW!!! Look at the photographer's gallery... It's amazing!! See another picture taken in Catalonia by him HERE (http://www.twanight.org/newTWAN/photos.asp?ID=3002971&Sort=Site)!

Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on March 13, 2012, 04:29:01 pm
These pics I got few days ago :) It was a wonderful sight... the Moon was simply wonderful!

(http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/9110/sam1374l.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/213/sam1374l.jpg/)

(http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/747/moonmodifps.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/267/moonmodifps.jpg/)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on March 15, 2012, 12:32:07 am
Thank you for the confirmation, oh most Evil of Queens! And thank you for the other photo as well. Seems this guy has a hand for combining beautiful Catalan places with beautiful celestial impressions.

Kris, thank you for that moonrise! That's taken from your balcony, right? Lovely indeed! :)

Meanwhile, Venus and Jupiter are converging and forming a very beautiful sight in the West after sunset. Enjoy that if your local weather allows! and while waiting for the clouds to part, you might have fun with this (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120312.html).

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on March 15, 2012, 08:57:01 pm
Markus, I've been watching the telly, a programme conducted by the "weather man" of the catalan channel, and he was talking about the curiosity of Venus and Jupiter being so close... And he said: "and look at the picture the NASA uses to illustrate that phenomenon...". Of course, the picture was the one you showed us, the Figueres one! :roll:

Btw... yesterday we had clear skies (only my little city Calella, as all the northern and southern cities were covered by fog due to the low sea temperature and high day ones... I suppose we've some natural barrier  :nana: ), and I looked up at the sky: yes, there were those beauties, Venus and Jupiter very very close... I was in my way to yoga class, so it was a beautiful, peaceful sight to help me get into yoga mood  :wink2:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on May 01, 2012, 07:22:31 pm
Yesterday I took my newest lens, the 70-300 mm, I went out to the balcony and I looked up. The Moon was there, a little more than half of it. I aimed the camera... and that's what I took! Next time, full moon and with a tripod!  :ninja:

(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7132719511_1228107df4_b.jpg)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on May 01, 2012, 07:29:24 pm
Lovely, Luth! :thumbup:

Good luck with the tripod - that should yield an even clearer picture. Looking forward to that! :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on May 02, 2012, 08:21:16 pm
That's completely wonderful!
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on May 06, 2012, 12:05:03 pm
The Moon, yesterday. Unluckily, it's not so good as the first one. I think the big problem is there was too light, because I used the tripod and took my time. I've asked in a photographers forum, to see what they think about it. Even so, beautiful, although a little dissapointing to me!

(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7140/7001857012_65dce6dd31_c.jpg)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on May 06, 2012, 12:50:08 pm
But you have no reason for disappointment, my dearest queen! you don't get many crater details at full moon because there are no shadows that would make the craters plastic. What you get is differences in surface brightness, for instance the dark maria, the "lunar seas". And did you notice the bright streaks pointing away from some of the craters? Do you have an idea what you photographed there?

BTW, that was the largest full moon we're getting this year.

Perhaps you can try a shorter exposure next time, or an even larger magnification, or perhaps even a mild grey filter. Or you take the pic in raw mode and improve the exposure with a raw editor later on.

Anyway, good work! :thumbup:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on May 06, 2012, 01:24:24 pm
I took it in RAW, of course, and used a focus filter... But I can still darken it more, and use more filters... Do you want a pink Moon?  :insane:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on May 07, 2012, 10:03:28 am
Aww, stupid me! How could I assume that a professional like you would not use raw in the first place? :fish:

Pink moon? Ummm, no, thanks. :unsure: But by filter I meant physical filters for the lense.

Did you use a remote control or automatic release? Because when you push the button manually you might set the tripod into a short vibration which reduces image sharpness, especially at such high magnifications.

BTW, do make sure that you take a lot of photos of sunrise on the 6th of June! Not the 5th, not the 7th - it has to be the 6th... :ninja:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on May 07, 2012, 01:01:22 pm
At night I don't think a darkening filter would do good... I can use a closer f, or less time of exposition instead. Apart from the fact I can't have the filters for all lenses I own, as each one has a different diameter (3 lenses right now). Damn diameters!! :ninja:

And yes, I used the 2 seconds automatic realese. I did all but even so, it was not as good as I wanted  :bawl:

Btw... 6th of June is Sunday. I don't know the reason why you want me to wake up before 6a.m. on Sunday, but I think I will dream with the photo, if you want...  :lol3:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on May 07, 2012, 01:09:01 pm
I see, Luth. :) Well, you'll find a way of making your perfect moon shot! :thumbup:

This year the 6th of June is a Wednesday. And I want you you to photograph it because you will see something that won't be seen again on planet Earth for the rest of the century. You don't want to miss that, I suppose. :biggrin:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on May 07, 2012, 01:30:02 pm
Is maybe that? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transit_of_Venus)  :innocent:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on May 07, 2012, 02:07:43 pm
Smart girl! :thumbup:

you'll be able to see Venus without optical aid - all you need is a solar filter or beautifully reddened sunrise. So it will show up on any sunrise photo you take, as long as the sun is big enough. So the magnification you used on your moon photos will do!

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on May 07, 2012, 02:36:14 pm
The big problem is that, at that hour, I'm travelling by train. I can see the sunrise from there, but there's certain inclination to the horitzon and, with the glass window, it usually shows the reflection. Apart that it's not easy to take the picture while sitting in the train, with people looking at you with face "what is that (very young  :biggrin:) girl doing?"  :disgust:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on May 07, 2012, 05:59:17 pm
What camera do You use, Luth?

And can You recommend me some websites where can I learn how to use digi camera to get best results of every pic? :) 
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on May 07, 2012, 07:18:12 pm
Hi Kris!

I use the Sony Alpha 200 (http://www.livetr.org/share/blog/i/3/394606a200-10.jpg), one of the cheapest, yet quite good, reflex camera  :biggrin:

About websites... there are loads of them, and the ones I used when I was beginning to learn were mainly in Spanish: I looked for tutorials, PDFs with explanations about the characteristics of photography, etc. I can't recommend to you a particular website, but you can join any forum about photography and you'll learn a lot. There are forums only for the make of your camera, or forums about photography in general. I am in one (in Spanish) which has a sum-forum only for the beginners (The School). There you can post your pics and receive feedback, and give it to other's pics. It's a fascinating world   :spock:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Ereshkigal on May 07, 2012, 08:00:36 pm
I think the transit of Venus will not be visible here :(
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on May 07, 2012, 08:16:40 pm
Have you checked the map (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/VenusTransit2012-Map-2.gif), Eresh? Are you living too far South to see anything?

Well, there's an even bigger event coming up for you.  :wink2:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Ereshkigal on May 07, 2012, 11:11:34 pm
LOL! Yes, I checked out the map and yay! found out it will be visible.

I also asked the National Astronomy Association and they said that yes, it will be visible from 4pm and that they will be letting us know where their partners will be located.

I guess they will have some kind of special equipment to view.

Markus, can't this be seen with the naked eye? Maybe when the sun is setting and the eye can bare more staring directly to it?
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Ereshkigal on May 16, 2012, 07:28:45 pm
Annular eclipse this coming Sunday, but not visible in our region :(
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Ereshkigal on May 18, 2012, 08:10:54 pm
Huge halo around the sun! Haven't seen it because I am not sure if it can hurt my sight! I rather not :p
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on May 19, 2012, 10:24:32 am
What a nice sight, Eresh! :) It won't harm your eyes - as long as you don't look straight into the sun but block it with your hand.

You're really not getting to see anything of the upcoming solar eclipse, but you might get a view of the lunar eclipse on the 4th of July (http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHfigures/OH2012-Fig03.pdf) - if you live far up North enough and if you have any nerve to look at the setting moon then...

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Ereshkigal on May 19, 2012, 03:41:21 pm
Thank you Markus for the notice. I did not know there would be a lunar eclipse.

Next coming event is the transit of venus through the sun. I think it's this coming June 4-5.

There are so many events going on this year. But what is funny, is that everyone is freaking out about the Mayan prophecies. I personally, believe, that's a bunch of BS  :lol3:

Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on May 19, 2012, 04:26:27 pm
I wish I could see the transit of Venus :( But You know, the weather is never good when something's going on :(
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on May 28, 2012, 07:11:41 pm
Hey folks,

last evening I watched the sunset from my favourite sunset-watching-spot near our cottage. I found Venus quarter an hour before the sun would really set! Amazing to see it so clear and bright just ten days before the transit. :wOOt:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Gevurah on June 01, 2012, 10:39:45 am
will anyone be watching Venus next week? 
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on June 01, 2012, 11:08:31 am
I would love to BUT only in case the skies are clear which I am afraid WON'T. :( If it's like last days... I won't see a thing.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Gevurah on June 01, 2012, 02:29:35 pm
I would love to BUT only in case the skies are clear which I am afraid WON'T. :( If it's like last days... I won't see a thing.
the weather will be cloudy and with a lot  of thunderstorms here ..so i think i will not watch it.. maybe online or just pictures .. :(  i was so looking forward for this event..especially since its not like i will ever get to watch it again. 
It seems like the weather has gone crazy the past weeks. how about there?
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on June 01, 2012, 04:19:53 pm
I would love to BUT only in case the skies are clear which I am afraid WON'T. :( If it's like last days... I won't see a thing.
the weather will be cloudy and with a lot  of thunderstorms here ..so i think i will not watch it.. maybe online or just pictures .. :(  i was so looking forward for this event..especially since its not like i will ever get to watch it again. 
It seems like the weather has gone crazy the past weeks. how about there?

exactly the same here :( stormy weather... and yes, I particulary pity this cause I will not live so long to experience this ever again. :(
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Ereshkigal on June 02, 2012, 11:03:29 pm
Our Astronomy Society recommended some days ago not to try to watch the transit with the naked eye, nor sunglasses, nor smoked glass, or welding masks.

They said the best and safest way to see it either through internet images (boring LOL) or making a room dark and using a mirror to reflect the sun.

:-(
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on June 03, 2012, 08:53:58 am
Hey folks,

sorry to contradict your astronomical society, but I strongly disagree. The best way to watch the event is to look at the sun - either darkened by atmospheric extinction at sunrise / sunset or through a special solar filter. Just the same filters that you might use for a regular solar eclipse or just plain sunspot-watching. The same filters that the astronomers are going to use themselves! :lol3:

The weather here is not very promising. That's especially nasty because we've had several sunny weeks. :fish: But I'll try, anyway. I still might getr lucky!

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on June 03, 2012, 10:33:14 am
Our Astronomy Society recommended some days ago not to try to watch the transit with the naked eye, nor sunglasses, nor smoked glass, or welding masks.

They said the best and safest way to see it either through internet images (boring LOL) or making a room dark and using a mirror to reflect the sun.

:-(

I also disagree with that. The filters used for the solar eclipse are good enough :)

Years ago some observatory was giving out these for watchers for the eclipse. I can't find it anymore though so I belive that if something is visible at all, I will watch it for few seconds with naked eye or sunglasses or via camera.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on June 03, 2012, 10:52:56 am
Kris, I don't recommend using the camera... your eyes might not suffer the effect of the extreme light, but the camera can. To make a photo of the sun is not an easy thing, as you must do the photo with certain parameters or the sensor can be severely damaged  :unsure:

I don't know if I'll be able to see it: I'm on the train at the moment of the sunrise, but I think that I'll be able to watch the sun when it's already too high... I don't know if I can see it only at the sunrise or when it's already higher  :disgust:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on June 03, 2012, 02:03:49 pm
Dear Kris,

don't look without a filter! Sunglasses are utterly useless once the sun is up. It's really too dangerous.

While the sun is still on the horizon you may see Venus without a filter, thanks to the thick layers of air. Once it's up. it's too bright, anyway - I doubt that you'd really see anything against the glare. Perhaps the eye damage is all you get. Nah, that's not worth it. It's better to


Take care and cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on June 03, 2012, 03:20:14 pm
Sorry, I do not have the glass anymore and of course, I am not in condition to go to any public observation - besideds non was announced. :(

Anyway, I still don't believe that it will be clear skies.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on June 04, 2012, 08:50:42 pm
I've unburied certain eclypse-glasses with German technology. If clouds allow it, I think I'll have some minute of sun-and-Venus-gazing until Venus definitively leaves the Sun. I'll tell you if I finallly did it...  :ninja:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Gevurah on June 05, 2012, 07:04:43 am
I didn't get lucky :(  did any of you manage to see the event?
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on June 05, 2012, 07:08:50 am
It's tomorrow, isn't it??  :blink:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on June 05, 2012, 10:45:25 am
Yes, for Europe it's tomorrow.

Steel skies here. :(
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on June 05, 2012, 11:26:13 am
Indeed, folks, it's tomorrow at sunrise in Europe. That would also explain why Gevurah didn't see anything. :wink2: But it also means you haven't missed anything yet. :)

This is what I hope to get a glimpse of (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120603.html), despite the unfavourable weather, and this is a sure way (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120605.html) to get an unobstructed view.

Best of luck and cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Ereshkigal on June 05, 2012, 03:49:22 pm
Awesome picture!

Too bad I cannot get those special eclipse glasses :-( Have no clue were they are sold or can be found.

On the other hand, we have YUCKY weather. With yucky I mean, dark skies, no view of the sun, humidity is at its worst and the heat is annoying.

Anyways, I am going to have to settle with the web's report
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on June 06, 2012, 05:59:02 am
Too many clouds :-(

And now it's just finish, now I can see the Sun!!!! :mad3:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on June 06, 2012, 06:37:45 am
Great success here! Details to follow...
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: The One on June 06, 2012, 07:12:07 am
I got a pretty good glimpse of it actually. Multiple times. My friend and I decided to stay up until sunrise (I've been up for over 24 hours without sleep, but it was totally worth it) to see it. And wow, we managed to see it for the first few minutes or so while I was still relatively safe to see it with the naked eye. After that, it was looking through old x-rays that my parents were kind enough to provide, which we then taped to a pair of binoculars and just looked at the beauty of Venus crossing... It was awesome
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Gevurah on June 06, 2012, 07:37:39 am
2 of clouds and now its about to rain again... I'm glad some of you had more luck. The photos i found online are beautiful. 
@Markus:  :nosweat: i knew it  lasts for 2 days but really I admit I didn't know which one was for Europe. I was planning to check both days, found some old eclipse glasses but the sky was so cloudy i would not have been able to watch it in any of the days.
Well ..maybe in a next life :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on June 06, 2012, 01:29:16 pm
Nothing here :(
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Ereshkigal on June 06, 2012, 03:26:01 pm
I watched it on video.

Still pretty amazing. Would have love to see it like Jorge got the chance to :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on June 06, 2012, 06:40:04 pm
Hey folks,

sorry for those who tried and didn't get a glimpse! Congrats to those who made it. So, here's my story:

I went to our cottage yesterday with Dad and Abby (i.e. Maggie renamed) - Mom had to stay at home. The weather was very doubtful, forecasts saying that thick clouds would roll in just at the wrong time. We set the alarm clock anyway and got up at 4 am.

Dad told me the skies were clear but I didn't believe him until I saw for myself: Yes, it was mostly clear with dawn already bright, the less-than-full-moon hanging in the South and just some thin clouds. I got dressed, grabbed my stuff and the doggie and started while Dad meant to follow later, after a short breakfast. A crimson red pillar of light was pointing out the spot on the horizon where the sun was, ready to rise with the transit in progress. Just some thin stripes of cloud were in that vicinity - not perfectly clear but sufficient.

Within 15 minutes we reached our chosen spot: A beautiful hill which had its very own vegetation of low grasses, certain flowers and even some Sedum-species, very different from the surrounding plain meadows - much like an island in the landscape. Chiefly an island with a very good view of the horizon to the East and the Northeast. This early human visit scared away two roes, a female pheasant and some bird of prey.

The light pillar had grown dimmer and turned a reddish golden tone. A few minutes to go. Abby sat down in front of me and seemed to gaze at the spot where the Sun was about to rise. :wub: Dad was being late due to his breakfast; he missed the very start of sunrise and came up while the Sun was coming up, too.

But I didn't miss anything: Two minutes before calculated sunrise, a brighter orange horizontal stripe appeared at the base of those thin clouds. That early? Hell, yeah! Sunrise is calculated for the center of the solar disc; the upper limb has to appear before that. So I watched intently as that stripe grew broader and swelled upwards into a distorted Sun. And sure enough, I discovered a tiny black spot in the upper part! Harder to see than I expected, but it was there. :wicking: :yeha:

Meanwhile even dad had arrived and the Sun was up. There was a break in the observation because the Sun was too bright for direct watching but too dim for the special filters. But finally it became visible through the filters. Now we could observe the tiny spot that was Venus through the special eclipse glasses and even through the binoculars we had equipped with solar filters. How huge Venus was at 8-fold magnification! Not just a dot anymore but truly a small disc. Much darker and much clearer than the three groups of sunspots we could see.

We fled from the unpleasantly cold wind and left the top of the hill, going a few meters down its slope. A lark used the free space and sang its song just five or seven meters above the hilltop while we kept watching Venus as it slowly slid across the solar face, approaching its limb and thus becoming harder to see with the naked eye. What impressed me most were these things: The sheer rarity of the event. The clarity of the view - the perfect little circle with its sharp rim and the deep contrast to the solar surface - much deeper than the contrast of the sunspots. And of course the ability to watch the motions in the solar system within less than two hours - experiencing their motion live!

Well, the clouds rolled in before Venus and the Sun parted. It was 7.18 am CEDT when I last saw it; after that the Sun was nothing but a brighter spot in the clouds without any definite shape. So we missed the egress by half an hour, but so what? :wink2:

So there were two transits of Venus in our lifetime and I managed to see both! :wOOt: :yeha:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Ereshkigal on June 07, 2012, 04:40:06 am
Markus, reading you post made me feel like I saw it myself.

Thanks for sharing your experience!  :thumbup:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on June 07, 2012, 08:51:10 pm
Great review Markus! Seems like you really enjoyed, didn't you? :lol3:


As I said, no luck for me. I was on the train, on my way to my work, and I only had a fast glimpse of the sun when stopped on one station. Sky was cloudy and/or misty, and for a moment the sun was only behind some mist... too light to look without any protection, but too dark to look with the eclipse glasses. No way I could see anything in the 5 seconds time I was given  :bawl:

Well... next time... I mean... next Mercury transit (on 2016 I heard). Better that than waiting more than 100 years  :fish:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on July 25, 2012, 03:29:35 am
Hey folks,

if you get out during early dawn: Look East, look for Venus! It's so brilliantly blazingly bright - really beautiful. Jupiter is nearby; not that bright but still worth seeing.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on August 05, 2012, 01:49:48 pm
16 hours and 41 seconds to the Curiosity's landing on Mars :-)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on August 06, 2012, 10:04:01 am
New Martian inhabitant - Mars Curiosity rover has landed! :-)

First pic - Curiosity snaps picture of it's shadow. I am very happy person this morning! This makes me feel so great!

(http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/images/FrontLeftHazcam_PIA15969-br.jpg)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: The One on August 06, 2012, 02:33:21 pm
Hope in humanity - restored. :biggrin:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on August 06, 2012, 04:41:23 pm
Hope in humanity - restored. :biggrin:

 :lol: You wish!
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on August 09, 2012, 07:27:19 pm
Yeah, this is good news! Amazing technical performance and everybody hopes for lots of fascinating discoveries.

BTW, you should keep your eyes open for the upcoming visit of the moon to Jupiter and Venus at dawn. That's going to be beautiful sights! Oh, and of course you should be looking for Perseids. :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on August 09, 2012, 07:31:07 pm
Saturday we're going to a restaurant in the beach (near our town), a place we saw one week ago it's pretty dark. After dinner we're going to look for the Perseids  :innocent:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on August 12, 2012, 10:44:13 am
Ok, yesterday Xiquet and I went to the beach to watch the Perseids. It was pretty cloudy at first, but after some time we could see the sky, and we tried with some photos. Unfortunately, we could make some pictures of the stars, but the photos are not good enough, and no shooting star appeared on them. So, I had an idea: we had the camera, a tripod, a remote control and... a ligth!! So, that's the most interesting photos we made yesterday night (sorry if the photos are not sky-themed, but as some of them are made by Xiquet, and he's not a Loyal Member, I wanted to share them in the open forum  :whistle: ).

This is the first try. It was a simple, easy form to begin with  :nana:

(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7764483304_b8984af392_c.jpg)


Some other pictures...


(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7247/7764484846_6e0c141140_c.jpg)


(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7764485784_3e0c871f9c_c.jpg)


(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7764487896_9a88a6a21d_c.jpg)


And the last one... something happened to the photo!!!!


(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8306/7764490168_495c692d37_c.jpg)

Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on August 12, 2012, 08:49:01 pm
By the way... tonight, the maximum Perseids night, we're trying again. That time, no cloud to be seen  :ninja:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on August 13, 2012, 10:37:31 am
Oh Regina Mea Mala, and hi there, Xiquet,

very nice pictures that you made there! Really cute, especially the ship. And the last one - incredibly revealing! Who would have thought that a camera and an electric torch could show so much of the true nature of our queen...

The Perseids I watched from our cottage. Not for long, as I was too tired and the night was colder than I had expected and dressed for, but I watched for about an hour. Gazed up at the summer stars and those of the approaching autumn, at the Milky Way, dividing in Cygnus. Saw too many satellites for my taste, even though the bright ISS was kinda impressive. But there were some meteors (I counted six), moving fast and in the right direction, away from Perseus. Some of them were faint but three were as bright as any star up there. Those had a short afterglow, and one of them showed a greenish colour.

Oh, and this morningI had been awake at dawn, so I went out to my roofdeck. Yes indeed, blazing Venus was in the East and bright Jupiter up and to the right of it. Between the two, actually lined up with them, was a lovely lunar crescent, still presenting Earthshine in the already blue sky. :thumbup:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on August 13, 2012, 11:04:11 am
Hi Markus,

yesterday we went, again, to be star-gazers. This time we were a lot more successful, although the camera wasn't. I didn't count them, but I saw more or less 7 or 8 very clear Perseids, and some more which I'm not sure. The majority of them, when the camera was again in the bag and only my eyes could register that! Murphy's law never fails...

Curiously, the very second photo of the night registered something... although I'm not sure if that's a Perseid or a plane. The way the camera was hold in the tripod, the left of the photo is, more or less, the north, and the camera was directed just at 180º from the ground. The direction, I think, it's more or less the correct, but...  :cht2:

(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7271/7772545672_cd90a4f0fa_c.jpg)

By the way, the ship, and the little light man, were all Xiquet's creatures. Even the Evil Evil Queen is...  :lol3:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on August 13, 2012, 01:19:58 pm
I thought so that it was probably Xiquet's work. Very well done indeed! Must have been fun to do that. :biggrin:

I'm also glad that you saw a few Perseids at least and I'm looking forward to seeing your photo (which I can't from here).

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on August 13, 2012, 06:47:06 pm
I like a lot those pics, Luthy :-) Amazing stuff!


About the Perseids... unfortunately I haven't been able to catch any. Too much light pollution in this place :-/
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on August 16, 2012, 05:44:27 am
These photos are fantastic, Luthy! :wOOt: How did you do?
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on September 12, 2012, 10:02:22 am
Hey folks,

have you seen the moon these days? I've been watching it in the morning from the end of last week... first as a half moon at the Golden Gate, the passage of the ecliptic between the star clusters Pleiades and Hyades. Then passing bright Jupiter and, waning more and more, approaching brilliant Venus. Even if you've missed it: Take the chance to look at the winter constellations like Taurus, Orion, Gemini before dawn! They're beautiful and they've been absent for a while, returning now as autumn approaches.

Oh, and on Saturday night I've seen a wonderful summer sky with my Dad at our cottage. Cygnus flying high above us, along the Milky Way... just plain beautiful!

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on September 12, 2012, 11:24:03 am
I did so too. About two days ago I could not fall asleep and then I watched for a moment from a window and got an awesome view :-)

I tried to take pictures but as my camera is very far from being as amazing as Luth's and I do not have any tripod - they are not any good. I had wonderful view of the half-sized red moon trying to hunt Jupiter and also the Pleiades :-)

(http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/8186/sam0010r.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/826/sam0010r.jpg/)   (http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/7329/sam0016ch.th.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/842/sam0016ch.jpg/)

You have to click the full view to see the pics properly. :-)


Winter sky is my favourite. I always very much look forward to Orion, my favourite constellation. :) It's some kind of my "personal amulet".
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on September 19, 2012, 09:51:47 pm
http://www.wechoosethemoon.org/# (http://www.wechoosethemoon.org/#)

Anyone who loves interactive stuff - this is amazing! :-) It is about the trip of Apollo and it's completely MINDBLOWING.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on September 20, 2012, 04:17:56 pm
Hey folks,

yeah, that's really a wonderful site! :thumbup: Thanks a lot for sharing. :)

I'm also very fond of today's APOD (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120920.html). Great choice for this time of equinox 2012 (which is exactly on Saturday). And of course I'm very fond of the low crescent moon I saw hovering above the horizon last night and the splendid winter skies with Jupiter and a blazing Venus just at at early dawn today.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on September 21, 2012, 12:41:41 pm
That's a very nice picture! I like the place where it was taken (all the cranes) and not even mention the awesome Sun stuff of course! :-)  Did You find the transit from all the suns there?  :lol3:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on October 03, 2012, 08:54:21 pm
Today's APOD is very nice! :-) And it is "interactive" - just move the mouse over it :)

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap121003.html (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap121003.html)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on October 04, 2012, 07:03:45 pm
Yeah, that's really beautiful! Though I tend to see an eagle there, not a goat. :nosweat:

Well, as the Sun is slowly approaching a new solar max there might be auroras coming up even at our latitudes.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on November 21, 2012, 09:50:03 pm
So, have you heard the latest news about Curiosity? :-) They say it's breaking news stuff! Should be released in few weeks when they are completely sure.  I can't wait!

Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on November 22, 2012, 10:41:50 am
No, Kris,

haven't heard of that yet. I'll keep my eyes and ears open. Where do you have the hint from?

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on November 22, 2012, 09:29:38 pm
All around the interent :-) NASA confirmed it - that the rumours are true. So Curiosity found really something amazing but they still want to do all the confirmations. They do not wish to sent big news to the world followed by dementi :-) That's why they say that the discovery will be released in few weeks, when they are sure.

http://www.space.com/18565-mars-rover-curiosity-discovery-mystery.html (http://www.space.com/18565-mars-rover-curiosity-discovery-mystery.html)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on November 22, 2012, 09:42:04 pm
Mmmhhh, these news item hasn't made it to the sites I read regularly, so doubly thanks for the hint. When they're making such a big fuzz about it, only one topic comes to my mind...

Who knows, perhaps they still have to negotiate about the publication of their results with the Martian government?

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on November 22, 2012, 10:00:19 pm
 :ninja: :ninja: :ninja: :ninja: :ninja:


(http://ad009cdnb.archdaily.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/500da3e628ba0d609d00000d_the-martians-have-landed-lava_thesydneystoryfactory_themartianembassy_11197brett_boardman-1000x624.jpg)

Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on November 22, 2012, 10:20:22 pm
And the embassy is empty - because everybody's negotiating at a secret site. See, everything fits together! :ninja:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on November 22, 2012, 10:30:19 pm


(http://funny-pictures-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/thinking-meme.png)



:roll:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on November 27, 2012, 10:45:01 am
Hey folks,

see today's APOD (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap121127.html)! :) Nothing spectacular, nothing sci-fi - just a deep photography of a sight that you can all see with your own eyes. But it's a beatiful sight and one that belongs to this very time, as Jupiter will move on soon.

Enjoy and cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on December 16, 2012, 10:35:02 am
I was not sure where to place it but since the topic of the video is clear :D

You have to see it, I really laughed when watching the video. Bunch of students at JSC made a vid and some really famous astronauts joined them etc - it is a parody of gangnam style and really well done :roll:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2Sar5WT76kE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2Sar5WT76kE)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on December 16, 2012, 11:02:07 am
:roll:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 16, 2012, 11:36:58 am
OMCD - this is hilarious! :roll:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on January 25, 2013, 07:14:08 pm
Hey folks,

according to a recent study, scarabs watch the sun resp. the moon for orientation - and if neither is visible, they use the milky way. :blink:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on January 30, 2013, 08:56:58 am
Hey folks,

you might enjoy this moonrise (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130130.html). :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on January 30, 2013, 12:45:38 pm
That's nice :-) Thanks for sharing, Markus!

Btw, when I am back again in this topic... on Friday, there's a sad anniversary of the space shuttle Columbia's disaster. It happened on 1st of February 2003. I guess that most of you can remember that.
NASA launched a website connected to it - also in a remembrance of other crews - Challenger and Apollo 1.

http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/DOR2013/index.html (http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/DOR2013/index.html)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on February 02, 2013, 09:09:57 pm
Oh dear,

I do remember that day but I couldn't have told you the exact date. Yes, it's sad. They took the risk for a greater good - and lost. Makes me wonder how they'd like to be honoured...

The topic is on the media, however. A German TV station has a special space day to remind of them...

Perhaps a good way to honour them is to marvel at the skies? I certainly did so tonight, beholding the splendid winter constellations and bright Jupiter at the Golden Gate.

Cheers despite it all!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on March 13, 2013, 08:33:29 am
Hey folks,

if you're in the Northern hemisphere and if your local weather allows it: Scan the low Western skies after sunset. You might find - right below the moon tonight (http://spaceweather.com/images2013/13mar13/skymap.gif) - the comet PANSTARRS. You might find it with your naked eyes or you might use binoculars for help. It only takes a minute or two, and seeing a comet like that is nothing you get every day.  :wink2:

Best of luck and cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Agnes on March 13, 2013, 09:17:50 am
unfortunately, it's snowing all the time.. I can't see a plane so it means I won't see the comet..
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on March 13, 2013, 10:16:14 am
Big news from the Mars Rover :) Did you get them? :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on March 13, 2013, 12:23:33 pm
Good luck with the comet, folks! Don't despair if you don't get it tonight - it'll remain visible for a few more weeks, climbing higher and higher in the dusky skies (although getting dimmer at the same time).

I heard the news, Kris: They found chemical compounds required for life in the Martian soil, right? This is exciting, but I'm curious for more details. :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on March 13, 2013, 02:51:13 pm
Me too :) Curiosity's task is far from being finished!  :wOOt:

I do not suppose I might be able to see the comet. It's cloudy here as hell. And it is supposed to be for at least few more days. :(
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on March 14, 2013, 12:00:36 am
Darn,

tonight we had a wonderful clear dusk, but I was stuck in a meeting. :mad3: Didn't get to see PANSTARRS, but at least I got to behold a very beautiful, very slender, almost horizontal lunar crescent.

Perhaps I'll get another chance tomorrow?

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on March 18, 2013, 11:51:03 am
Before yesterday, I went to visit a friend at work then went to do some big shopping and on my way home it was already dark outside. I could not see the Panstarrs but I saw once again (quite rare in Prague) the heavenly skies at night. :)

It was wonderful. It was about -7°C, but despite that I stood in front of the house about 10 or 15 minutes. My head raised high up watching the stars. I could see my beloved Orion and Pleiades.  And some other things I haven't seen before (at least I do not remember) because the place I used to live had a different world-sides direction (south-north, this building is west-east) so I had it covered by a roof back then.

It was ... simply great. I have no words for that because I really enjoyed the moment. The freezing cold fresh air, and the stars spread on the black milk above my head? :) Amazing. You know, I always feel so peaceful when watching night sky with stars. It's so soothing and keeps me so calm to see that there is The Great Universe out there (and yet I am a part of it on our tiny lil' planet Earth).

I just wanted to share this short moment of joy with you :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on March 18, 2013, 03:44:55 pm
Very nicely written, Kris, I even had the image of Tyn church in my mind. :lol:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on March 18, 2013, 04:49:10 pm
Thank you, Kris! I guess I know how you felt. :) It's so amazing and beautiful and overwhelming - those can be perfect moments.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on April 20, 2013, 11:10:36 am
My dear skygazers,

you might like today's APOD (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130420.html): It's a beautiful sight and it shows two lights you rarely see even on photos, even less with your naked eyes.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on April 20, 2013, 11:21:00 am
Beautiful!!!! c :wOOt: :wOOt: :wOOt:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on April 20, 2013, 11:29:05 am
Thank you, Luth! Beautiful and fascinating, when you think of how those lights come to be. :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on April 25, 2013, 05:52:45 pm
Hey folks,

watch out for the moon tonight! From 20:54 to 21:21 CEDT there's a tiny lunar eclipse, with its maximum (1,47%) at 20:09 CEDT.

Good luck, death to the clouds and cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on April 25, 2013, 06:15:03 pm
I'm sorry to say that our forecast is the following:

-Clouds and rain today, night and day.
-Clouds and rain tomorrow, night and day.
-Clouds and rain on Saturday, night and day.
-Clouds and rain Sunday, night and day.
-Clouds and rain on Monday, night and day.
-And, most probably, rain and clouds on Tuesday!

 :ninja:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on April 26, 2013, 12:02:19 pm
I wish for some of your rain, Luthy, could you please pass to me? :D

Oh... I didn't check the forum yesterday evening. We had clear skies and the moon was an unusual beauty. But I didn't look for more. :unsure:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on April 26, 2013, 05:58:44 pm
We've got rain prediction since Sunday, so I think the rain will reach Hungary soon too, Diamond Lady! :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on April 27, 2013, 09:44:15 pm
Seems none of us saw the eclipse. :bawl: At least my dad got a glimpse and told me about it happily. :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Agnes on April 28, 2013, 07:08:51 am
Somebody has sent the rain to me  :hit:



 :wink2:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on April 28, 2013, 02:40:34 pm
The air mail priority service between our countries is really terrible. -_-
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on April 28, 2013, 02:51:51 pm
files a complaint
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on April 28, 2013, 03:41:05 pm
Not me... we still keep the rain for ourselves. And, what it's worse, somebody has opened the Gates of the Hurrycane  :ninja:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on April 28, 2013, 05:54:00 pm
...gazes thoughtfully into the stars and has the splendid idea that we should get a weather topic. :wOOt:

Gets disappointed because he's too late as there already is a weather topic. :fish:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on April 29, 2013, 12:34:17 pm
Sorry to stick to this topic, but the title is perfect...

I'm afraid. I watch the sky... and it's brown. Not grey, but intensely brown... and not only the sky!! The atmosfere is ALL brown. I'm afraid... when it decides to rain, we'll be covered in a thick layer of brown mud...  :afaid: :afaid: :afaid:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on April 29, 2013, 02:33:07 pm
Sounds like rehearsing your stay on Mars, oh Regina Mea Mala. :afaid:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on April 29, 2013, 04:35:08 pm
That's Nesquik rain  :lol:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on April 29, 2013, 07:50:00 pm
Here you have the sky which brought us the Nesquik rain  :ninja:

(http://estaticos.elperiodico.com/resources/jpg/5/9/1367238497195.jpg)

(http://img01.lavanguardia.com/2013/04/29/Cel-rogent-a-Barcelona_54372976665_53389389549_600_396.jpg)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: The One on April 29, 2013, 10:39:33 pm
You guys, that almost looks like Kuwait during sandstorms (http://www.majhost.com/gallery/jorge/Various/2012-05-22_15.33.41.jpg).
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on April 30, 2013, 05:13:34 am
In fact, that color is due to the sand of the desert  :ninja:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on April 30, 2013, 09:15:28 am
That's true mastership of Photoshop! :thumbup: Looks almost like real... :ninja:

Or... is it? :afaid:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on April 30, 2013, 11:45:13 am
Believe me... it IS real!  :ninja:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on April 30, 2013, 12:39:35 pm
Hey Luthy, are these your photographs? I like the one with the buildings a lot :)

Jorge, that looks like... sulphur attack.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on April 30, 2013, 12:58:30 pm
No, not mine. I tried to take a picture with the mobile camera, but the damn white balance balanced too well: the picture looked like a normal day  :ninja:

Those are taken from the news in Internet  :ninja:

Jorge... I can't watch the photo from here. I'll try at home  :bawl:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on April 30, 2013, 10:07:17 pm
Ok, now I see the photo. And, incredlibly, there's not so much difference :roll:

Of course, it was only rain, and some wind... but not any sandstorn. Or better said... There was a lot of sand, floating in the air, and falling afterwairds in form of nasty rain...
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on May 04, 2013, 08:23:22 pm
And one morning picture from my bedroom window :-)

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/946092_10200878424780235_196598021_n.jpg)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on May 04, 2013, 08:29:16 pm
Ooooh, nice!! You had to wake up early to take that picture, didn't you?

(well, in fact, I usually wake up before the sunrise, but not when I can stay at home  :shifty:).

The sky has a red-bluish hue I really like.  :wOOt:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on May 04, 2013, 08:55:42 pm
It was 5 AM :-) I wake up at that time on Thursdays as I have to be at work before 7 AM.

Pity I was in a such hurry that I did not have time to properly set the camera. It was more intense red-bluish and the sun more intense red-yellow. It was an amazing view.

Thank you :blush:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on May 04, 2013, 09:43:42 pm
5 AM? OMG! I see the sun appearing on the horizon at 6.45 aprox, those days... I think the timetable of the sun is not exactly the same in our countries...  :insane:

Next time, have the camera ready... although I'd have the eyes closed, if I were you! (still sleeping  :ninja: ).
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on May 05, 2013, 11:15:20 am
Beautiful indeed, Kris! Thanks a lot.:)

Was the sun still subdued enough to watch it pleasantly? Or was it too bright already?

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on May 05, 2013, 11:52:54 am
That's it :) It was completely pleasant to look at. The clouds covered it perfectly.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on May 12, 2013, 05:59:53 pm
My dear sky-watchers,

you may have noticed on the news that there was an annular solar eclipse recently. You will find some amazing photos of annularity at sunrise here (http://joe-cali.com/eclipses/PAST/ASE2013/index.html). Some of them show the chromosphere, a thin layer of the sun above the usually visual surface. The chromosphere is invisible normally, but here the photograph managed to catch it outside a total eclipse. And do watch the video which is just plain amazing!

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on June 20, 2013, 08:53:28 am
Hey folks,

last weekend I managed to view a clear night-sky outside town. We were at out cottage and the afternoon was rather cloudy, but after sunset some stars came out. Dad and me watched the ISS flying by in the vicinity of moon, Saturn and Spica. Well, and then for a while all the clouds vanished and gave me a clear view of so many brilliant stars, the faint milky way and the unending dusk-dawn to the North. Wonderful!

Oh, speaking of Saturn... you might like this: We're all to be photographed. (http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/18jun_bluedot/)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on June 20, 2013, 01:01:26 pm
You're able to see the Milky Way????  :wOOt:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on June 20, 2013, 01:06:52 pm
Yeah, sure! Even the dark dust lanes inside and near Cygnus, the swan. :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on June 20, 2013, 05:48:28 pm
I haven't seen Milky way at least 2 decades. I think it's just urban legend  :nosweat:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on June 20, 2013, 09:34:32 pm
Urban legend? Perhaps - but cosmic truth!
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on June 21, 2013, 06:29:58 am
:roll:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on July 22, 2013, 05:46:05 pm
My dear skygazers,

you should have seen last Saturday's sunset from my sunset hill near our cottage! I went to see it with Abby and as we left the cottage, the very last rays of the sun were golden on the ripe wheat. The sun was still blazing bright as it set, almost too bright to behold directly. But the sky around was glowing with gold  - and the most beautiful sight was opposite it: Towards the southwest, beneath the pink bow called "belt of Venus", the night was rising in leaden gray, and an almost full moon was rising above and to the right of that. Wonderful!

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on July 22, 2013, 08:02:34 pm
I cannot even imagine what you describe but I am glad you've seen this :) Must been a great experience.
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on July 22, 2013, 08:27:09 pm
Oh sure, it was!

You've seen every ingredient of it, Kris: A setting sun still blazing through very clear air, a rising moon in skies that are still blue, and also the rising night beneath the shadow of Venus. Here's (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120207.html) a rather good photo of it. That evening, all of these common ingredients came together to form a truly magnificent sunset.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on July 22, 2013, 09:30:58 pm
I see, thank you, Markus. Well then... I've seen it too few times :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on August 17, 2013, 10:13:32 pm
Hey folks,

have you ever seen the fireball of an Earth-sized hydrogen-bomb? I have just seen the Nova Delphini 2013 (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130816.html). :yeha: I'm out in the cottage with my Dad. Unfortunately, the hazy sky is too moonlit to see this faint star with the naked eye and I had forgotten my binoculars, but Dad has a tiny pocket-monocular here which was enough to make the nova visible to me.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on August 24, 2013, 10:38:06 am
Yesterday night I went with Xiquet to a "beach bar" to have dinner and hear some live music (Bruce Springsteen covers). While eating, we were amazed by the moon: very low, just emerging from the sea, with a very dim light, intense red. As minutes and hours passed, the moon was more and more high, more and more clear and the intense-red turned to reddish-orange and, at the end of our stay, only yellowish-white. The firs minutes of the sight, when the moon was so low and red and dim, it was a fantastic sight!! In fact, not only us noticed, as I saw some of the customers pointing at the moon and telling their partner/s to watch.

A very nice sight!!  :yeha:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on August 24, 2013, 01:25:23 pm
Congrats, my queen! :thumbup:

You've discovered something that rather few people are aware of: That a moonrise or -set may be as beautiful as a sunrise or -set. The distorted shapes, the colours ranging from deepest red via glowing orange and honey-hued yellow to pure white, the changing ambient light - it's all there, equally beautiful and yet few people ever notice. So, well done!

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on November 01, 2013, 11:13:09 am
All of you stargazers will find this (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap131101.html) quite definitely :roll:

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on November 01, 2013, 11:33:22 am
Some god is smoking!  :ninja:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on November 01, 2013, 04:33:35 pm
And looking around, I sometimes wonder what God has been smoking... :ninja:

Nah, the really funny thing about the photo and the explanation is that it's totally fake astronomy. A water sprayer, some smoke, some coloured flashlights. NGC 7841? This catalogue contains only 7840 objects. Several light-nanoseconds? Sure - that's several 30 cm. :roll:

And at a first glance the photo really looks like some cosmic nebula!

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Lucy on November 01, 2013, 05:01:27 pm
It's funny astronomers' humour! :lol3:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on November 01, 2013, 05:19:45 pm
Definitely insiders' humour. And definitely cleverly done - just the kind of stuff I like. :)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on November 20, 2013, 08:44:59 pm
Today, going to the train in Barcelona, I noticed a super-brilliant Venus. Once in Calella, I've noticed a super-giant, super-yellow moon. It seems tonight the sky is asking me to look at it!  :wOOt:

Both sights are very powerful! I very rarely notice one of those phenomena with such a power, leave alone both the same evening!  :wOOt: :wOOt: :wOOt:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on November 22, 2013, 12:40:21 am
Thank you for letting me know, Luth! I'm happy to hear that these sights impressed you so much.

All of you skygazers should get ready for comet ISON, which is about to pass very close to the sun. If it doesn't crumble to pieces in the heat, it might emerge as an extremely impressive object.

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on November 26, 2013, 05:11:44 am
I had to think of you these days, Luth,

when I saw Venus at dusk.  It's not shining anymore - it's blazing!

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on November 28, 2013, 09:26:59 pm
Sad news for all of you skygazers: Comet ISON has obviously crumbled and dissolved in the solar heat. :bawl:

This (http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov//data/REPROCESSING/Completed/2013/c2/20131128/20131128_1912_c2_512.jpg) is the photo that taught me of these sad news.

Cheers, anyway!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on November 28, 2013, 09:31:47 pm
 :bawl: :bawl: :bawl:

I read today that we had to know something... but you've informed me before any Internet o TV news. Sad news, indeed!  :bawl:

Btw... I definitively don't understand the photo  :spock:


Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on November 28, 2013, 09:51:14 pm
You can see the comet's tail and it's shockingly faint. Perhaps this animation (http://spaceweather.com/images2013/28nov13/rip_anim.gif) makes it easier to see for you: The comet is entering the field of view, brightening - and then suddenly it fades. That's when it crumbled to a cloud of dust.

Cheers, anyway!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on November 28, 2013, 10:42:40 pm
Yes, I now understand, thanks!

A real pity... I can't imagine... being travelling at work, where I see the horizon some time before the sunrise, and being able to watch the comet... it might have been marvelous...  :bawl:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on November 29, 2013, 12:24:24 pm
I've read the nucleus may be still alive! There's still some hope!  :ninja: :biggrin:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on November 29, 2013, 02:40:12 pm
This morning, I found the same information. If it survived, it probably won't become the great comet we've been hoping for - but still better than nothing.

Cross your fingers for icy ISON!

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 05, 2013, 08:24:14 am
Unfortunately, no: Even the remaining fragment has faded to virtually nothing meanwhile. For us, nothing will be seen. :bawl:

Let's look forward to the Geminid meteors instead!

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on December 05, 2013, 10:08:10 pm
These are bad news!  :bawl:

The good news are: today I've watched the sky... and I've seen a just new Crescent Moon with a nice hiper-shining Venus at its left!  :wOOt:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 05, 2013, 11:41:51 pm
Whoa, that must have been the kind of sight that makes me do a reality check! :thumbup: I'm glad that you saw this and that you're able to appreciate it. :)

Did you notice any earthshine?

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on December 06, 2013, 12:02:22 pm
It was easy to see! The sky was really clear; the Moon, just crescent (very very tiny!), and Venus at its left, pretty far away but close enough to be seen in the same sight. Another beautiful image is only the Moon: it was so tiny that you could see the shadow of the not enlightened part, so you could really see all the circle, but only a little part enlightened. Beautiful indeed! :wOOt:

What do you mean by "earthshine"?  :unsure:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 06, 2013, 02:29:54 pm
Dear Luth,

earthshine is a phenomenon occuring near new moon and described by some observers like this:

Quote
[The moon] was so tiny that you could see the shadow of the not enlightened part, so you could really see all the circle, but only a little part enlightened.

Near new moon you can see the nightside of the moon because the Earth is reflecting sunlight at the moon. The lunar landscapes are lighted up by the almost full Earth in the lunar sky - i.e. by earthshine. :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on December 06, 2013, 03:30:02 pm
Well, yes, I think I saw the earthshine! :roll:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on December 27, 2013, 09:24:00 pm
When you're in the car, on the highway, and you see in front of you a long long shooting star, that's a special thing!! Xiquet and I have seen a shooting star while on the road. We had time to see something on the sky, wonder if that was a plane, deciding it was not, and saying out loud "What's that?", "Yes, it's a shooting star!", and even watching it fading away. Several seconds, for sure!  :wOOt: :wOOt: :wOOt:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 30, 2013, 10:10:15 am
Congrats! Must have been quite a big one when you noticed it from the car and could watch it for so long. :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on December 30, 2013, 10:26:58 pm
Markus, perhaps that photo (not mine!) can be a good example of the "earthshine"?

(I suppose it has been taken with a long shot...)

(https://scontent-b-cdg.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1484262_608764242506191_2040906968_n.jpg)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on December 31, 2013, 01:41:38 pm
Yes, milady, that's it! Wonderful photo - it even shows the dark "lunar seas".

Thank you and cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on January 01, 2014, 12:35:17 pm
Here's another beautiful picture (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140101.html), which does not show the moon.

Enjoy and cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on January 01, 2014, 01:08:19 pm
Venus???  :unsure: :wacko: :wOOt:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on January 02, 2014, 01:53:46 pm
Right, Venus. Lovely, isn't it?
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on February 26, 2014, 09:03:50 pm
Waking up so early is worthwhile from time to time... Like today, when I was waiting for the train, and I saw something up there, in the sky... Unluckily, the photo taken by my movile is quite bad, and moved, but it shows what I wanted to show: the very tiny moon, and Venus very near, and very very bright.

No Markus, if you see Venus as a crescent is not because it's a crescent (which it is, I know), but because of the zoom, my hand shaking and poor light made the photo to be very moved!  :nana:

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/t1/1959799_10202404674470575_1401395665_n.jpg)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on February 27, 2014, 10:22:01 am
My Photographic Evil Queen,

thank you for sharing this! Yeah, I know that this photo doesn't show so many details and that it's quite shaky. But still: You can easily recognise the crescent shape of the moon. It's blurred and there are at least two or three overlapping images of the moon due to the shaking - but you can still recognise the original shape. The same is valid for Venus!

That must have been a beautiful sight, hasn't it?

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on March 13, 2014, 12:43:18 am
Hey folks,

earlier tonight I've seen Jupiter for the first time with my naked eyes - before sunset. :wOOt: So technically it was still in the day-sky.

My lunch-break in the late shift happened to be around sunset and we've had a very clear day. The moon has passed Jupiter just two days ago, so I could still use it as a guide. I simply tried when I took a short walk during my break, and there it was! This was the first time I ever observed Jupiter with the sun above the horizon. So far, I was only aware that this is possible with Venus. :)

Cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on May 26, 2014, 07:43:18 pm
Today, in my way home, I've seen an amazing vision... a double rainbow over the sea, really wide and clear. So clear that my poor camera from the mobile has been able to show it quite well! The train continued it's way, and three cities later, also above the sea, another rainbow, a lot smaller and fainter, and simple, but nice nevertheless! And, already out of the train, walking home, and not above the sea, I saw "the colours of the rainbow": only the colours, not the arch, but pretty clear, over the city.

Is there any superstition about seeing three rainbows (one double, one simple, and one not-rainbow-at-all) in only half an hour?  :nosweat: :yeha: :yeha: :yeha:

PS. The picture is from the first of the rainbows... of course, the natural was a lot more impressive, but you can imagine a little how it looked like.

PS2. There's a prize if you are able to see the hidden image in the photo!  :innocent:

(https://scontent-a-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/t1.0-9/10373724_10202980082175408_1748461202072444223_n.jpg)
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Persephone on June 05, 2014, 11:33:24 am
Ha ha! Thank you for sharing the picture! It is beautiful  :hop:

Some time ago I noticed a wonderful double rainbow from my window and as I went for the camera to take a picture - in few seconds it was away!
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on June 12, 2014, 08:46:33 pm
Great photo, my queen! A rainbow, a beach, a sleeping traveller... Thank you for sharing!

Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on June 12, 2014, 08:53:24 pm
Du hast richtig gesehen!  :ninja:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on June 13, 2014, 10:28:54 am
Sleeping beneath the rainbow...  :wub:

Did you find any gold? :wOOt:
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Markus on June 21, 2014, 08:20:06 am
Hey folks,

today at 12:51 CEDT, just after noon, the summer solstice takes place. That's the beginning of Northern summer. :biggrin:

Enjoy and cheers!

Markus
Title: Re: When you watch the sky...
Post by: Luth on June 21, 2014, 12:22:20 pm
Mmmh... I'm a northener? Really?

Looks at the thermometer, at her clothes, at the sweat she's pouring...

Yes, I might be!

Happy Summer Solstice!!!! :yeha: :yeha: :yeha:

PS. Btw... Markus, no gold from the rainbows. Sadly, somebody might have stolen it before I arrived  :cht: