www.skyandtelescope.org copy pastes.

[jusplay4fun]

SpaceX launches two astronauts to orbit, igniting new spaceflight era.

The United States opened a new era of human space travel on Saturday as a private company for the first time launched astronauts into orbit, nearly a decade after the government retired the storied space shuttle program in the aftermath of national tragedy.

Two American astronauts lifted off at 3:22 p.m. from a familiar setting, the same Florida launchpad that once served Apollo missions and the space shuttles. But the rocket and capsule that lofted them out of the atmosphere were a new sight for many — built and operated not by NASA but SpaceX, the company founded by the billionaire Elon Musk to pursue his dream of sending colonists to Mars.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/30/science/spacex-launch-nasa.html

Since the first launch attempt and it being scrubbed was reported here earlier.....

JP

[2dimes]

I saw an article about a planet some think is quite earth like orbiting the star nearest our sun. I am amused at how the title was something like, "Sientists find closest habitable Earth like planet."

Yeah close being 100 light years away. You know, the distance light would travel in 100 years.

It took guys three days to get to the moon.


https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/20 ... zone-world










https://skynews.ca


https://www.skyandtelescope.com/interactive-sky-chart/
Banff Latitude: 51° 17' N - Longitude: 115° 57' W
Calgary 51.4 N - 114.7

https://cam01.sci.ucalgary.ca/AllSkyCam ... tImage.JPG

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

[DoomYoshi]

25th anniversary:
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200616.html

Here's a write-up from 5 years ago on the 20th anniversary:
https://www.theverge.com/2015/6/15/8779 ... al-history

[2dimes]

25th anniversary:
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200616.html

Here's a write-up from 5 years ago on the 20th anniversary:
https://www.theverge.com/2015/6/15/8779 ... al-history

I nabbed the YouTube video for later.

show

Update: Ah, your link goes back to it so I did not need to save the YouTube but it's there if anyone doesn't want to go back to the site.

Looks like I should see Saturn pretty good for under $1200 Canadian.
I'm not sure about Jupiter's moons.
https://www.all-startelescope.com/sales ... ucts_id=46
https://www.all-startelescope.com/sales ... cts_id=764

The next size up does 354x magnification for an extra $580.

https://www.all-startelescope.com/sales ... cts_id=259

[DoomYoshi]

10-year timelapse of the sun. Grab some popcorn since it's just over an hour:
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/20 ... nasa-s-sdo

[jusplay4fun]

JULY 2020: WELCOME JUPITER & SATURN

https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/sky-tour-podcast-july-2020/

This month's Sky Tour astronomy podcast provides a fun and informative guide to what's visible in the nighttime sky. Host Kelly Beatty offers you some valuable tips for getting the best views when you head outside to look up at the nighttime sky. For example, did you know that your eyes take at least 30 minutes to fully adjust to darkness?

The Moon is full on July 4-5, and that night there'll be a lunar eclipse. Will you get to see it? What might you see? Check our this month's Sky Tour to find out.

also: https://astronomy.com/news/observing/2020/06/the-sky-this-week-from-june-26-to-july-3

JP4Fun

[WILLIAMS5232]

Last year I bought some property way out in the country. Amazing to see a rural sky vs the city. Anyway, it was about 11pm and I saw a planet rising, im almost sure it was Jupiter, but didnt have my binoculars.

[2dimes]

Last year I bought some property way out in the country. Amazing to see a rural sky vs the city. Anyway, it was about 11pm and I saw a planet rising, im almost sure it was Jupiter, but didnt have my binoculars.

That sounds really great.

Yesterday I took my son driving around to try to catch some of the illegal fireworks people were setting off around our city. It was pretty cloudy so there were no stars or planets visible here.

What do you think of this?
https://www.all-startelescope.com/sales ... cts_id=259

Or the smaller one from my post higher on the page?

Funny you mention Jupiter, last night I dreamed I could see Jupiter in great detail without any aid, it appeared about five inches across. Then when I tried to show my fathers cousin we saw a bunch of planets the same way.

I don't know much about gravity but I suspect if planets started getting that close together there might be trouble.

[DoomYoshi]

Last year I bought some property way out in the country. Amazing to see a rural sky vs the city. Anyway, it was about 11pm and I saw a planet rising, im almost sure it was Jupiter, but didnt have my binoculars.

Most likely Jupiter around that time. Saturn is following right behind it though.

[2dimes]

Doom do you have a scope?

[DoomYoshi]

Doom do you have a scope?

Yes, but it's a hunting scope and so not quite suited to Astronomy. Good for the moon or the Pleiades or other things, but not for finding galaxies or whatever.

[2dimes]

My father in-law gave us a spotting scope. I found it to just be frustrating at night. Possibly partially because of the unstable tiny tripod.

[jusplay4fun]

Less than 100 years ago, everyone could look up and see a spectacular starry night sky. Now, millions of children across the globe will never experience the Milky Way where they live. The increased and widespread use of artificial light at night is not only impairing our view of the universe, it is adversely affecting our environment, our safety, our energy consumption and our health.

What is Light Pollution?
Most of us are familiar with air, water, and land pollution, but did you know that light can also be a pollutant?

https://www.darksky.org/light-pollution/

The inappropriate or excessive use of artificial light – known as light pollution – can have serious environmental consequences for humans, wildlife, and our climate. Components of light pollution include:

Glare – excessive brightness that causes visual discomfort
Skyglow – brightening of the night sky over inhabited areas
Light trespass – light falling where it is not intended or needed
Clutter – bright, confusing and excessive groupings of light sources

Last year I bought some property way out in the country. Amazing to see a rural sky vs the city. Anyway, it was about 11pm and I saw a planet rising, im almost sure it was Jupiter, but didnt have my binoculars.

[WILLIAMS5232]

What do you think of this?
https://www.all-startelescope.com/sales ... cts_id=259

Or the smaller one from my post higher on the page?

personally, i think it's too much for too little. youre basically paying for the star finder tech.

really it has to do with how you want to view the sky. the two you posted are like 7-8 inch aperture. you'd be able to see quite a few things with that, but for the most part alot of the things you see will look similiar with an 8 inch scope. just some fuzzy smudges

for me, half of the joy is being able to locate things on my own, so i'm not interested in scopes that you enter the number, and it goes to the object, tracks it.... and you look for 30 seconds and then go to the next. with that you'll never retain where the object is or the constellations for that matter. but it's not for me to say how another enjoys the stars.

this would be my personal pro-con list of those 2 scopes.

pros;
1. portable
2. easy to locate objects
cons;
1. small aperture for the money
2. i wouldn't learn where the deep sky objects are and it wouldn't force me to learn the constelations

if i were going to spend the $1600 for that, i would just go ahead and spot it another $400 and get this;
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1436554-REG/meade_204012_lightbridge_plus_406mm_f_4_5.html/?ap=y&ap=y&smp=y&smp=y&lsft=BI%3A514&gclid=CjwKCAjwi_b3BRAGEiwAemPNU5xCOgBpJGlwHFvgMATRuevUl95HfSKyyoBp86Mzf8nflBm-wePBcRoCI68QAvD_BwE

this is going to be my next buy. it is collapsible, with some work. it probably won't be fun to take down, but will be worth it to take it out somewhere like arizona. this thing probably stands 6-8 feet tall once it's set up

right now i have an orion 10", and it just makes you want bigger. the good news is, after 16" the price of scopes get too ridiculous to consider for common folks. so, that will be my limit. i think an 18" runs about $10k

[WILLIAMS5232]

Doom do you have a scope?

Yes, but it's a hunting scope and so not quite suited to Astronomy. Good for the moon or the Pleiades or other things, but not for finding galaxies or whatever.

you can catch the andromeda with it. i have some 8x50 binoculars that i usually carry around in my truck. i can catch the jupiter moons too. sometimes it's just fun to sit outside and look at stars. you can see so many more with just common scope

[WILLIAMS5232]

Less than 100 years ago, everyone could look up and see a spectacular starry night sky. Now, millions of children across the globe will never experience the Milky Way where they live. The increased and widespread use of artificial light at night is not only impairing our view of the universe, it is adversely affecting our environment, our safety, our energy consumption and our health.

What is Light Pollution?
Most of us are familiar with air, water, and land pollution, but did you know that light can also be a pollutant?

https://www.darksky.org/light-pollution/

The inappropriate or excessive use of artificial light – known as light pollution – can have serious environmental consequences for humans, wildlife, and our climate. Components of light pollution include:

Glare – excessive brightness that causes visual discomfort
Skyglow – brightening of the night sky over inhabited areas
Light trespass – light falling where it is not intended or needed
Clutter – bright, confusing and excessive groupings of light sources

Last year I bought some property way out in the country. Amazing to see a rural sky vs the city. Anyway, it was about 11pm and I saw a planet rising, im almost sure it was Jupiter, but didnt have my binoculars.

i doubt they really care anyway, because of tiktok and hating boomer

[2dimes]

What do you think of this?
https://www.all-startelescope.com/sales ... cts_id=259

Or the smaller one from my post higher on the page?

personally, i think it's too much for too little. youre basically paying for the star finder tech.

really it has to do with how you want to view the sky. the two you posted are like 7-8 inch aperture. you'd be able to see quite a few things with that, but for the most part alot of the things you see will look similiar with an 8 inch scope. just some fuzzy smudges

for me, half of the joy is being able to locate things on my own, so i'm not interested in scopes that you enter the number, and it goes to the object, tracks it.... and you look for 30 seconds and then go to the next. with that you'll never retain where the object is or the constellations for that matter. but it's not for me to say how another enjoys the stars.

this would be my personal pro-con list of those 2 scopes.

pros;
1. portable
2. easy to locate objects
cons;
1. small aperture for the money
2. i wouldn't learn where the deep sky objects are and it wouldn't force me to learn the constelations

if i were going to spend the $1600 for that, i would just go ahead and spot it another $400 and get this;
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1436554-REG/meade_204012_lightbridge_plus_406mm_f_4_5.html/?ap=y&ap=y&smp=y&smp=y&lsft=BI%3A514&gclid=CjwKCAjwi_b3BRAGEiwAemPNU5xCOgBpJGlwHFvgMATRuevUl95HfSKyyoBp86Mzf8nflBm-wePBcRoCI68QAvD_BwE

this is going to be my next buy. it is collapsible, with some work. it probably won't be fun to take down, but will be worth it to take it out somewhere like arizona. this thing probably stands 6-8 feet tall once it's set up

right now i have an orion 10", and it just makes you want bigger. the good news is, after 16" the price of scopes get too ridiculous to consider for common folks. so, that will be my limit. i think an 18" runs about $10k

Star finder? They do not even come with a tripod.

Also I would probably not use that giant lightbridge unit. $2712 Canadian before shipping, holy monkey!

BH sells the next size down SkyMax with a gti mount,
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... s=pi&pim=Y
but I am worried I would end up with a dead battery out in the middle of no where.

The prices at All-Star are Canadian dollars.

I would love to spend as little as possible.

I am trying to figure what is best for looking at planets.

Try this:

https://lovethenightsky.com/best-telescopes-to-see-planets-your-complete-guide/

I wonder how much you need to spend on a telescope to view Saturn's moons?

You have to click the link(s) to get the prices. Have FUN looking and planning and dreaming.

JP4Fun

The article seemed to suggest Maks work well for planets.

Maksutov-Cassegrain (MKC) telescopes are perhaps 'the daddy' of telescopes for viewing the planets.

My current equipment lets me view Saturn as a small fuzzy oval. It leaves me disappoint.

[Dukasaur]

Yeah, light pollution pisses me off.

Most of it is unnecessary. All kinds of buildings lit up all night even though they're completely unoccupied.

[2dimes]

Williams, to give you a more accurate idea of the cost, these guys in Seattle have lots of Sky Watcher scopes available in US dollars.

https://cloudbreakoptics.com/collection ... atcher-usa

I'm guessing the 150 and 180 maybe too heavy for the go to mounts from Sky Watcher which currently seem to be about $290 us.

They also recommend them for viewing planets.

https://cloudbreakoptics.com/collection ... -telescope

[WILLIAMS5232]

i don't have much experience with different telescopes, but i do understand the concept when it comes to aperture size.

i've owned a 5" celestron on an equatorial mount,
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007UQNKY?tag=theplanetsorg-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1
and i have a 10" dobsonian type.
https://www.amazon.com/Orion-8946-SkyQuest-Dobsonian-Telescope/dp/B001DJ4FEE/ref=sr_1_4?crid=30FIJ4GFL3V8T&dchild=1&keywords=10+inch+orion+telescope&qid=1593807246&s=electronics&sprefix=10+inch+orion+tele%2Celectronics%2C266&sr=1-4
also a pair of 8x50 binoculars

my suggestion is, yes... look at the planets. but there are just 2 that are interesting. 3 if you count mars. the polar cap is supposedly visible when it is on the same side of the sun as us. i've never taken the oppurnity to look.

in my 10" scope, saturn is amazing to look at, as you can very cleary see the ring. then a few minutes pass and you've seen enough.
jupiter and it's 4 moons are visible, along with few of the color bands in it's atmosphere... which also is amazing to see. but still, a few minutes pass and you're done. now what? venus is kind of bland... it looks like a very tiny half moon and there is no noticeable features. the moon is great to look at as well. especially when it's less than half.

so, i've been told that the common form of a telescope that we all know, is the best for planets.
something like this;
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LY8JWAQ?tag=theplanetsorg-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1

but the aperture is so small, that it's useless for deep sky objects. you need to let alot of light in to see detail. the planets are so bright, it's not really an issue. i'm not sure if saturn moons are possible to be seen from earth, but if they are i would think you would need a large aperture to see it.

my point is, i'd hate to see you buy a scope with just looking at planets in mind, because there are so many things to see. like you, i got interested because i wanted to see jupiters moons. i could barely make them out with my binoculars, and i decided to upgrade. well i bought the celestron 5". it was fine for viewing, but it was really hard to find stuff because the cheap aiming device it came with. once i bought the orion and saw how well the red dot sight worked, i basically know i'll never use the other one. on a side note, that equatorial mount is very nice, anyway, after i got done looking at the planets i said to my self what now? i ordered a few night sky books, and fortunately came across this one.
https://www.amazon.com/Field-National-Audubon-Society-Guides/dp/0679408525/ref=sr_1_17?dchild=1&keywords=night+sky+book&qid=1593809292&sr=8-17

the other two were junk, and really terrible at explaining things. the audubon society one is excellent in that it will show great maps of each constelation and where all the deep sky objects are in them. on my apartment balcony i could see the constelation lyra and there is a nebula called "ring nebula" in it. after about 2 hours i finally spotted it, and that was what got me hooked.

so, i'm rambling, but i'm still trying to make a point here.

i think if you get the best telescope for planets it will be like this. i'm exaggerating to help make the point

scope A,
planet viewing score 10/10
deep sky objects 1/10
scope B
planet viewing score 7/10
deep sky objects 10/10

something like that celstron 5" would be great for you i think, just know, that the aperture is what makes the scope, not magnification. they may tell you , 'this can magnify up to 200x' but that is useless.... about 20-60x zoom is about the range that is usefull. so, you're basically paying for aperture....and also, another thing that gets overlooked, 8 inch isn't 2x's better than 4"
8 inch circle covers about 50 square inches
4 inch circle covers about 12 square inches
so buy as big as you can afford.
anyway, i'll shut up

what i meant about the star finder tech, is they are preprogrammed with all the messiar objects and lots of the stars where all you do is dial in what you want to see and it goes straight to it.

[jusplay4fun]

Jupiter and Saturn:

https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/this-weeks-sky-at-a-glance-july-3-11-2/

The Sky This Week: Catch a July 4 lunar eclipse
Thursday, July 2, 2020 | by Alison Klesman
From July 3 to 10, watch the Moon slide through Earth’s shadow and see Venus at its brightest.

https://astronomy.com/observing/sky-this-week

Friday, July 10
Venus is at greatest brilliancy this morning at 4 A.M. EDT, right around the time when it should be clearing the horizon for U.S. observers at mid-northern latitudes. The planet shines at magnitude –4.7 and sits just 1.25° above Aldebaran, the familiar orange luminary in Taurus the Bull. Lift your gaze another 12° to see the Pleiades. Venus’ disk is 27 percent illuminated and 37" across. Over the course of the month, its illumination will increase while its size decreases as its orbit takes it farther from Earth.
https://astronomy.com/news/observing/2020/07/the-sky-this-week-from-july-3-to-10


The Sky This Week from June 26 to July 3
There are plenty of asteroids and planets to find in the sky this week.

https://astronomy.com/news/observing/2020/06/the-sky-this-week-from-june-26-to-july-3

[WILLIAMS5232]

has anyone spotted the comet yet?

[2dimes]

Negative.

We took a drive with my little scope through some areas that are class 2 dark sky on Thursday but it was too cloudy with some rain so we came back before dark. Then when it was better conditions on Friday we were too tired to go out again.

Last night the clouds came back.

I have been watching some videos. This astrobiscuit guy takes pictures of planets. Sounds like the key is taking a bunch then using a program to stack them and combine details to create a clear image.

[riskllama]

Last night the clouds came back.

yeah, they'll do that.

[2dimes]

They do it way too much. I can't seem to get out when the skies are not all cloudy.