www.skyandtelescope.org copy pastes.

[2dimes]

Yeah, I'm full manual. I just meant I am still spoiled by being able to look at what will be where at certain times before I go. In the not so distant past you would need to learn where the planets would go, or know someone who had to find them.

Now I just use sites like these.

This one might be good. I can't get it to load.
https://theskylive.com/planetarium

This one works on iPad. I'm guessing because it is a simple animation and probably not as good.
https://in-the-sky.org/skymap.php

It even figures out your location based on Internet provider and costomised the sky for it.

Since I finally upgraded my hardware I can probably open that first link.

[jusplay4fun]

The Moon, fresh from eclipsing the Sun when it was new on the 10th, now reappears as a thin, day-and-a-half old crescent near Venus. In the next two days it will wax up past Gemini's head stars and Mars.

https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/this-weeks-sky-at-a-glance-june-11-19/

SUNDAY, JUNE 13

■ Spot Mars below the crescent Moon this evening. Mars is now fainter than even Castor; see the Mars-Pollux-Castor lineup in the first illustration above.

Once the night is fully dark, use binoculars to spot the Beehive Star Cluster about 4° left of the Moon (for North America).

THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
Mercury is out of sight in the glare of the Sun.

Venus (magnitude –3.8, in Gemini) shines low in the west-northwest during twilight. Catch it while you can; it sets before dark.

Mars (magnitude +1.8, in Cancer) glows modestly low in the west-northwest right after dark, left or upper left of Castor and Pollux. Now on the far side of the Sun from us, Mars is just about as faint and small as it can ever get (currently 4.0 arcseconds wide).

Jupiter and Saturn (in Aquarius and Capricornus, respectively) rise in the middle of the night, Jupiter about an hour after Saturn. They shine at their highest and telescopic best in early dawn, a time when the atmospheric seeing often steadies. Jupiter dominates at magnitude –2.5. Saturn, 19° to Jupiter's right, is a more modest +0.5. They'll reach opposition in August.

https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/fine-show-expected-from-the-perseid-meteor-shower/

If you want to learn more about the perseid-meteor-shower, check the link above. LOTS there

[jusplay4fun]

THIS WEEK'S SKY AT A GLANCE, JUNE 18 – 26

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23

■ Mars is passing through the heart of the Beehive Star Cluster, M44, this evening for North America. Get your binoculars or low-power, wide-field telescope on Mars, very low in the west-northwest, right at the end of dusk. (Faint Mars is about a fist at arm's length upper left of bright Venus.) At the time of dusk at other longitudes around the world, Mars will be more toward one edge of the cluster.

https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/this-weeks-sky-at-a-glance-june-18-26/

THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
Mercury hides very low in the glow of dawn.

Venus (magnitude –3.8, in Gemini) shines low in the west-northwest during twilight. It hardly moves now with respect to your landscape from week to week, but its background stars are certainly moving right along. Watch Castor and Pollux, to Venus's right, position themselves to line up with the dazzling planet on June 24th.Mars (magnitude +1.8, in Cancer) glows very modestly in late twilight low in the west-northwest, upper left of Venus. Mars is about as faint and small as it can ever get, glimmering with only 1/175 of Venus's light. The two planets narrow from 14° apart on June 18th to 10° on the 25th. They'll reach conjunction, ½° apart, on July 12th and 13th.

On the 23rd Mars is smack in front of the delicate Beehive Star Cluster, M44.

Jupiter and Saturn (in Aquarius and Capricornus, respectively) rise in the middle of the night, Jupiter about an hour after Saturn. They shine at their highest and telescopic best in early dawn, a time when the atmospheric seeing often steadies. Jupiter dominates at magnitude –2.5. Saturn, 20° to Jupiter's right, is a more modest +0.5. They'll reach opposition in August.

As dawn begins, look 20° below Jupiter for Fomalhaut, the "Autumn Star." It's emerging from the sunrise glow even before the official start of summer.

[2dimes]

I think we discussed light pollution earlier, when discussing viewing of the latest comet.

i one my goals (on my "Bucket List") is to see the Milky Way Galaxy in the night sky somewhere out west in the USA, with few city lights nearby to spoil the view.

I also want to see the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights), but I doubt I will travel far enough north when it is cold enough in the winter.]

i have a similiar list, one being the northern lights, and the other being taking my big telescope out to the western desert. i brought my binoculars, and it was great, i want to go back now just for a stargazing trip. i found a perfect place on some BLM land along the extraterrestrial highway north of Las Vegas which is slightly ironic, but i know there is millions of free acres in other states that would be just as good if not better.

WILLIAMS5232, Have you ever been to Big Bend national park in west Texas? Looks like it could be a 1 on the bortle scale.

https://darksitefinder.com/placemarks/b ... ed-states/

If I lived in Washington DC I would probably check out Spuce Knob West Verginia.

https://darksitefinder.com/placemarks/s ... ed-states/

As for Aurora B you guys should definitely wander up to Canada. Your dollar would go farther and even with the brutal light pollution of my wife's yard I have seen it out the kitchen window.

It must be even better somewhere it's right over head. It's pretty from here.

[jusplay4fun]

THIS WEEK'S SKY AT A GLANCE, JULY 9 – 17

MONDAY, JULY 12

■ Big, macho Venus, Goddess of Love, and wimpy little Mars, God of War, are at their closest together now, about ½° apart, low in the west-northwest in twilight. This evening the crescent Moon shines upper left of them, as shown above.

Look for Regulus a little less far to the Moon's left or lower left.

TUESDAY, JULY 13

■ Mars is now ½° under Venus. The Moon has thickened and moved farther to their upper left. Regulus is about midway between the Moon and Venus, as shown above.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 14

■ The ever-waxing Moon is now lower left of Denebola, Leo's 2nd-magnitude tail tip. They're less than a fist at arm's length apart.

The brighter star way off three fists left of the Moon is 1st-magnitude Spica.

THURSDAY, JULY 15

■ With the advance of summer, the Sagittarius Teapot, in the south-southeast lower left of Scorpius after dark, is starting to tilt and pour from its spout to the right. The Teapot will tilt farther and farther for the rest of the summer — or for much of the night if you stay out late.

FRIDAY, JULY 16

■ In late twilight, Spica shines three or four finger-widths lower left of the first-quarter Moon (it's exactly first-quarter at 6:11 a.m. EDT Saturday the 17th). High above them is brighter Arcturus, tinted with a lower color temperature: yellow-orange.



https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/this-weeks-sky-at-a-glance-july-9-17/

[jusplay4fun]

Venus and Mars are TOO LOW in the sky and in Virginia, there are too many trees for a good view of both, UNLESS I find a big field from which to view them. I did not see them a few minutes ago.

[2dimes]

It maybe time for another eyepiece.
https://www.all-startelescope.com/sales ... ts_id=2235

I guess the glut of expired images infringing Sky&Telescope copyrights has chased Williams away. Too bad I wonder if his country place is anywhere near that Big Bend national park?

I was just looking at http://www.theskylive.com/guide

Mars and Venus are out at sunset but soon set in my location.

Then Jupiter and Saturn come out for the rest of the night.

Might watch this again. Good times!

https://gizmodo.com/lunar-rover-footage ... 1844321664

Lunar footage adjusted to modern frame-rates and now synced with audio. Called the closest you can come to experiencing driving on the moon.

Time to bring my links forward, they're tough to find buried in the middle of this topic.
https://skynews.ca

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

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

This is pretty cool too.

show: planetary tilt and rotation video

I love this picture Duke posted.

Within my lifetime, black holes have gone from being a weird oddball theory, to being a generally accepted theory, to being observationally confirmed, to being routine.

I'm still awed.

Meanwhile, exoplanets are now so common nobody announces them any more.

Click image to enlarge.

[WILLIAMS5232]

Still here, I just don't check in very often. Since I don't play games anymore, but as long as I've been on this site, I don't guess I'll ever quit logging in every so often.

My place is about 900 miles from big bend, I've been alot farther, but never been there, one day I intend to. Actually I'm driving out to Nevada in a few weeks, and heading up towards north Dakota from there. I'll bring my binoculars for sure, but my big scope I'm afraid will stay on standby, one day I'll hope to go on a trip where the intent is to bring it, meanwhile I do have a smaller 5" that I'm seriously considering lugging with me.

I'd say go with the eyepiece, can never have enough.

Also, that is a cool picture, it's a damn shame how little data we have to ponder those planets.we just now got a glimpse of Pluto, and it's billions of times closer

[2dimes]

I have enough but that one might be a really nice addition.
https://www.cloudynights.com/articles/c ... iece-r1992

There are a few very low light areas in North Dakota. Better yet, the region north west of Miles City Montana has a lot of space without people, buildings or lights.

You should keep an eye out for a used Celestron C90. Pretty affordable and you could basically keep it in your vehicle ready to view.

I might try to get out for some naked eye viewing, though I need a new prescription in my spectacles so maybe I should wait.

Here's the link for the American meteor society meteor shower calendar that was lost to page 19 which got buried.
https://www.amsmeteors.org/meteor-showe ... -calendar/

I'm a fan of this link too.

https://cosmicpursuits.com/night-sky-this-month/

A fun picture of the comet that caused some commotion last year.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2007/C ... r_1920.jpg

[jusplay4fun]

I travelled to Western Colorado for a family matter. I have returned to Virginia.

I had hope to see the clear night sky with less light pollution. NO LUCK. Each day I was there the skies were cloudy and western forest fires did not help. And nearly every night was rainy, in an area that typically gets about 10 inches (25.4 cm) of rain annually. I did hear at least one local (a family member) refer to this time of year as "monsoon season." I joked that I brought the rain with me from Virginia.

On a side note, the air is typically so dry (30% or less) in that area that I have nasal issues (bloody nasal discharge, to be a bit gross here) in the mornings, JUS as I do in a winter morning in VA (before I set up my humidifier). And that dryness was present even during the "monsoon season" too.

[jusplay4fun]

We need an update on viewing the skies:



THIS WEEK'S SKY AT A GLANCE, JULY 30 – AUGUST 7

https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/this-weeks-sky-at-a-glance-july-30-august-7/

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4

■ If you use a telescope much you're probably familiar with Lyra overhead, harboring Vega, the Double-Double, and the Ring Nebula among other sights. And nearby is Albireo, the beak of Cygnus and one of the sky's finest gold-and-blue double stars.

But between Albireo and Lyra, what about the much-overlooked globular cluster M56? At magnitude 8.3 you might even be able to detect it with large binoculars in a dark sky. To pinpoint the spot, hone in with Matt Wedel's "Lost in Space," his Binocular Highlight column and chart for this lesser-known find in the August Sky & Telescope, page 43.

■ It may be the height of summer, but wintry Gemini is arisen in the east by the time dawn begins. The waning crescent Moon crosses it on Thursday and Friday mornings, August 5th and 6th, as shown below.

Jupiter (magnitude –2.8, in Aquarius) and Saturn (magnitude +0.2, in Capricornus) shine in the east-southeast after dark. Jupiter starts the night lowest, but it's by far the brighter of the two. Saturn glows yellowly 19° (about two fists at arm's length) to Jupiter's upper right. The pair levels out around midnight, depending on your date and location. By then they're nearly at their highest in the south, at their telescopic best.

Saturn reaches opposition on August 1st, Jupiter on August 19th, so they're already essentially as close and big as they'll get this year.

[jusplay4fun]

More good stuff:

11-12 August. The Perseid meteor shower peaks in the early-morning hours. This is the finest meteor shower of the year for northern stargazers, with 40-60 meteors per hour visible at the peak in the hours before dawn on August 13. Once called the Tears of St. Lawrence, this meteor shower occurs as the Earth moves through a stream of debris left by Comet Swift-Tuttle. This year the Moon is not quite at first quarter, so it sets and stays out of the way for the best part of the shower. You get the best view after midnight on August 11 and into the morning of the 12th. Stay away from city lights, if you can, and you will be rewarded with a bright meteor every few minutes or so. The Perseids are also a long-lasting show, running from July 17 through August 25. So if you miss the peak, you still have a good chance to see some meteors.

https://cosmicpursuits.com/night-sky-this-month/

2012 Perseids Meteor Shower over the Snowy Range in Wyoming (credit: David Kingham)

This is a real cool photo; I assume that this is a compilation over time and not a single snapshot, but I am a novice at such things.

[jusplay4fun]

THIS WEEK'S SKY AT A GLANCE, AUGUST 6 – 14

TUESDAY, AUGUST 10

■ Now the crescent Moon shines to the right of Venus in twilight, as shown above.

https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/this-weeks-sky-at-a-glance-august-6-14/

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11

■ The Perseid meteor shower should peak late tonight, and there's no moonlight to interfere!

Early in the evening the meteors will be rather few, because the shower's radiant will still be low (in the northeast). But for that same reason, early-evening Perseids overhead will be unusually long as they graze sideways through the uppermost atmosphere. Later in the night the meteors will become more numerous (and shorter) as the radiant rises high and they plunge more directly downward. The best show will be from about 11 or midnight until the first light of dawn on the 12th; the later the better.

Layer up warmly even if the day was hot; remember about radiational cooling under a clear open sky. A sleeping bag will serve for warmth and mosquito armor; use DEET where you remain exposed.

Bring a reclining lawn chair to a dark, open spot where no local lights get in your eyes. Lie back, and gaze up into the stars. Be patient. As your eyes adapt to the dark, you may see a meteor every few minutes during the evening, and every minute or so on average as the morning hours advance. You'll see fewer under light pollution, but the brightest ones will still shine through. The best direction to look is wherever your sky is darkest, usually overhead.

LOTS here about the meteor shower:
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/fine-show-expected-from-the-perseid-meteor-shower/

[2dimes]

We camped overnight yesterday. Not our usual kind of place. Small town campground one of the few not too far without a fire ban. Wheelbarrow of nice dry wood for 10 Canuck bucks.

Wasn't bad for bare eye star gazing. Looking for meteors mostly since Persiods is supposed to be going right now.. Saw a few. Clouds kept coming and going and my son packed it in at around 23:00. Then it pretty much clouded up. Later it rained.

We can find Cassiopia, Orion, and the two Ursas, fairly quick by memory. He can usually find bootes and a couple others when it's a bit more clear.


ADDITION:
I was looking for some starcharts and ended up on Orion's site. They have a little scope right now that looks pretty good for $199 us. I would definitely grab one if we needed a small practical scope. It's just over 20 pounds with an Equatorial mount on a tripod.

https://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/Re ... goryId=341

Early morning August 11:

Just got back. We drove to a park it was cloudy. Then we went over by the University we could see but we were under a streetlight so I found a nice dark ally. Score.

I only spotted one. Jr saw it plus two more. Then we got a bit tuckered and wrapped it up.

[WILLIAMS5232]

those pictures are great, also, i'm not an expert, i don't know how they capture the 3 things. landscape, stars, and the meteors all at once, and to be so clear. it's probably a trick the pros only know. anyway, still nice pictures.

i have a small scope similar to that 2dimes, i didn't bring it tho. i did bring my binoculars 10x50 which is better than nothing. tomorrow night i will be in the cimarron national grassland in southwest kansas, should see some things weather permitting.

my only beef with that 5" scope of mine, (it's a celestron) is the spotting scope is terrible. when i first bought it i almost hung it up because i couldn't find anything in it. but the equatorial mount is pretty nice. my phone only allows a 10 second exposure, but i think the newer once give you an option for 3 minutes or something like that. that would be great with that tripod. if i can get a good enough picture i'll try and share it. i'm hoping to see the milky way very vividly.

[Dukasaur]

The entire peak of the Perseid meteor shower, I had 100% cloud cover.

Last night was the first night with relatively clear skies, and of course I was tired from hiking all day and went to bed early.

[jusplay4fun]

https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/this-weeks-sky-at-a-glance-august-13-21/

FRIDAY, AUGUST 20

■ The bright Moon shines under Saturn this evening, and Jupiter shines to their left, as shown below.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 21

■ Now the Moon shines under Jupiter, with Saturn to their right.

■ As summer progresses and Arcturus moves down the western sky, the kite figure of Bootes that sprouts up from Arcturus tilts to the right (depending on your latitude). The kite is narrow, slightly bent with its top leaning right, and 23° long: about two fists at arm's length. Arcturus is its bottom point where the stubby tail is tied on.

The Big Dipper now slants at about the same height in the northwest, to the Kite's right.

[2dimes]

I only posted the link for that scope because at $200 us, it seems like it would be pretty decent for someone that doesn't have one yet.


We went camping Monday night was a mix of clouds and smoke. Last night it rained. I set up a nice camping cot we bought from Cabellas and of course left it out in the rain. It's probably going to take a week to dry out.

Still raining, going to be a while before I venture out looking for stars. Hopefully it will rain on some of the forest fires.

[HitRed]

Our moon needs a new name. Moon is boring. Other moons have great names like Titan, Oberon, Callisto and Europa.

[jusplay4fun]

Our moon needs a new name. Moon is boring. Other moons have great names like Titan, Oberon, Callisto and Europa.

You are correct in that the name can be boring, BUT:

That is the HONOR of being the "FIRST" and most visible most important to humans. Why are other moons called MOONS? same reason.

How many humans have seen other moons beside THE MOON? I would offer the conjecture that few have peered through a telescope to see them with their own eyes. Obviously some have seen PHOTOS of other moons. BUT to me there is a certain thrill of seeing other moons (e.g., the 4 Galilean moons of Jupiter) as well as other heavenly bodies. As I ponder such things, I am not sure I have seen the moons of Mars or Saturn. I have seen the RINGS of Saturn through a telescope, btw.

I like the names of Io and Ganymede, too. Triton, Phobos, and Deimos are also very COOL as is Charon.

[jonesthecurl]

The Moon has a name: Luna.
. Phobos and Deimos are named after Mars' hounds - 'the dogs of war'. Or they were the horses that pulled his chariot. Or they were his sons.Sources differ.Oddly enough they were described pretty accurately as having been seen by the astronomers of Laputa in Gulliver's Travels 150 years before they were actually discovered.

[HitRed]

You haft to go back to 2006 to find a post using Luna as in moon. Obviously it isn’t catchy enough.

[Dukasaur]

You haft to go back to 2006 to find a post using Luna

I always thought she was just waiting for Draco Malfoy's cock.

[WILLIAMS5232]

Seeing Jupiter's moons, and the Saturn ring was what got me so 3xcited about it all, not to mention seeing our moons craters in such detail I would think seeing the footprints would be possible.

I'm currently in Arizona right between fredonia, and Colorado city. I've never seen the milky way so vivid, and I have lights all around, I can't wait to get north of Las Vegas where there ain't shit.

I also found a way to take 10 second exposure pics with my phone, next time I get a motel I'll set up my laptop and try to upload some pics