www.skyandtelescope.org copy pastes.

[Dukasaur]

I tried to take a picture of the moon with my phone one night when it was particularly nice looking. Didn't work at all, I wanted to buy a camera because of that, my wife rejected the proposition.

Tell her you're buying a camera to get quality pictures of the grandchildren. She'll love you!

Six months later, buy yourself a nice telephoto lens for astronomy work. If you don't break the bank on it, she won't care.

Battle won.

[2dimes]

Thanks for the tip, could work. Whose grandchildren?

Totally different time and financial situation. I could just buy one now. "Hey, want to see my new camera?"

[Maxleod]

Are you going to try to look at that Maxloed? Do you have a telescope?

Nope. Only clouds up there...

[2dimes]

That's a bummer.

I didn't know it was cloudy so often before I got a telescope.

[jusplay4fun]

That's a bummer.

I didn't know it was cloudy so often before I got a telescope.

I have gone out many nights only to find CLOUDS and few, if any, stars. Certainly disappointing.

[2dimes]

Blue supermoon tonight.

I just looked, it's definately bright. I would probably use a filter if I set up a telescope.

It does look a bit larger than usual though not as large as it would appear closer to a horizon.

[jusplay4fun]

Photos of the Night Sky from NASA I like the centering of the Milky Way over Stonehenge; the meteor shower enhances the photo. I want to get to a dark sky area ( away from much of the light pollution in my area) and get to see some good sights with my telescope soon.

Perseid Meteors over Stonehenge
Image Credit & Copyright: Josh Dury
Explanation: What's happening in the sky above Stonehenge? A meteor shower: specifically, the Perseid meteor shower. A few nights ago, after the sky darkened, many images of meteors from this year's Perseids were captured separately and merged into a single frame. Although the meteors all traveled on straight paths, these paths appear slightly curved by the wide-angle lens of the capturing camera. The meteor streaks can all be traced back to a single point on the sky called the radiant, here just off the top of the frame in the constellation of Perseus. The same camera took a deep image of the background sky that brought up the central band of our Milky Way galaxy running nearly vertical through the image center. The featured image was taken from Wiltshire, England, being careful to include, at the bottom, the famous astronomical monument of Stonehenge. Although the Perseids peaked last night, some Perseid meteors should still be visible for a few more nights.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240812.html

The Dark Tower in Scorpius
Image Credit & Copyright: Mike Selby
Explanation: In silhouette against a crowded star field along the tail of the arachnological constellation Scorpius, this dusty cosmic cloud evokes for some the image of an ominous dark tower. In fact, monstrous clumps of dust and molecular gas collapsing to form stars may well lurk within the dark nebula, a structure that spans almost 40 light-years across this gorgeous telescopic portrait. A cometary globule, the swept-back cloud is shaped by intense ultraviolet radiation from the OB association of very hot stars in NGC 6231, off the upper right corner of the scene. That energetic ultraviolet light also powers the globule's bordering reddish glow of hydrogen gas. Hot stars embedded in the dust can be seen as bluish reflection nebulae. This dark tower and associated nebulae are about 5,000 light-years away.

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

[jusplay4fun]

Moon Eclipses Saturn
Image Credit & Copyright: Pau Montplet Sanz
Explanation: What if Saturn disappeared? Sometimes, it does. It doesn't really go away, though, it just disappears from view when our Moon moves in front. Such a Saturnian eclipse, more formally called an occultation, was visible along a long swath of Earth -- from Peru, across the Atlantic Ocean, to Italy -- only a few days ago. The featured color image is a digital fusion of the clearest images captured during the event and rebalanced for color and relative brightness between the relatively dim Saturn and the comparatively bright Moon. Saturn and the comparative bright Moon. The exposures were all taken from Breda, Catalonia, Spain, just before occultation. Eclipses of Saturn by our Moon will occur each month for the rest of this year. Each time, though, the fleeting event will be visible only to those with clear skies -- and the right location on Earth.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240827.html

[ConfederateSS]

----------Trying to find thread...

[ConfederateSS]

----------Trying to find thread...

--------Found it...There is another Astronomy...I was looking for this one...
-------- All those SiFi movies...Where a planet has 2 moons...Well later this month , for 53 days...Earth will have 2 moons...
-------- An Asteroid, named 2024 PT5...Will be stuck in Earth's gravitational pull for 53 days...As it makes it's way through space... Giving the Earth 2 moons in the sky... ... ConfederateSS.out!(The Blue and Silver Rebellion)...
-------- Nicknamed..."Second Small Moon" ...

[jusplay4fun]

Explanation: This snapshot from the International Space Station was taken on August 11 while orbiting about 430 kilometers above the Indian Ocean, Southern Hemisphere, planet Earth. The spectacular view looks south and east, down toward the planet's horizon and through red and green curtains of aurora australis. The auroral glow is caused by emission from excited oxygen atoms in the extremely rarefied upper atmosphere still present at the level of the orbiting outpost. Green emission from atomic oxygen dominates this scene at altitudes of 100 to 250 kilometers, while red emission from atomic oxygen can extend as high as 500 kilometers altitude. Beyond the glow of these southern lights, this view from low Earth orbit reveals the starry sky from a southern hemisphere perspective. Stars in Orion's belt and the Orion Nebula are near the Earth's limb just left of center. Sirius, alpha star of Canis Major and brightest star in planet Earth's night is above center along the right edge of the southern orbital skyscape.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240913.html

[jusplay4fun]

----------Trying to find thread[/size]...

--------[size=150]Found it...There is another Astronomy...I was looking for this one...
-------- All those SiFi movies...Where a planet has 2 moons...Well later this month , for 53 days...Earth will have 2 moons...
-------- An Asteroid, named 2024 PT5...Will be stuck in Earth's gravitational pull for 53 days...As it makes it's way through space... Giving the Earth 2 moons in the sky... ... ConfederateSS.out!(The Blue and Silver Rebellion)...
--------[size=200] Nicknamed..."Second Small Moon" ...

Yes, apparently earth to get a Second Moon, temporarily:

Earth to get a new moon? Meet 2024 PT5, our temporary mini-moon for 53 days!

Earth is about to welcome a new mini-moon for a short period. Starting from September 29 until November 25, a small asteroid named 2024 PT5 will temporarily be captured by Earth's gravity, according to researchers Carlos de la Fuente Marcos and Raúl de la Fuente Marcos from Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

The asteroid, approximately 10 meters wide, was discovered through the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System. Researchers found that its size, speed, and trajectory are suitable for it to be caught by Earth's gravitational field for 53 days. During this time, it will orbit Earth before resuming its path through the solar system.

2024 PT5 will circle the Earth one time before it escapes back into space," the researchers stated in their paper. This event is known as a "temporarily captured flyby," where an asteroid enters Earth's gravity but does not make multiple orbits.

Read more at:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ne ... aign=cppst

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/science/earth-to-get-a-new-moon-meet-2024-pt5-our-temporary-mini-moon-for-53-days/articleshow/113355633.cms?from=mdr

[jusplay4fun]

Looking ahead:

Dec 7: Jupiter at Opposition

The largest planet in the solar system, Jupiter, lies opposite the Sun in the sky, and is visible all night.

https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/sights-to-see.html

[jusplay4fun]

Explanation: New stars are born from the remnants of dead stars. The gaseous remnant of the gravitational collapse and subsequent death of a very massive star in our Milky Way created the G296.5+10.0 supernova remnant, of which the featured Mermaid Nebula is part. Also known as the Betta Fish Nebula, the Mermaid Nebula makes up part of an unusual subclass of supernova remnants that are two-sided and nearly circular. Originally discovered in X-rays, the filamentary nebula is a frequently studied source also in radio and gamma-ray light. The blue color visible here originates from doubly ionized oxygen (OIII), while the deep red is emitted by hydrogen gas. The nebula's mermaid-like shape has proven to be useful for measurements of the interstellar magnetic field.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240918.html

[Votanic]

Explanation: New stars are born from the remnants of dead stars. The gaseous remnant of the gravitational collapse and subsequent death of a very massive star in our Milky Way created the G296.5+10.0 supernova remnant, of which the featured Mermaid Nebula is part. Also known as the Betta Fish Nebula, the Mermaid Nebula makes up part of an unusual subclass of supernova remnants that are two-sided and nearly circular. Originally discovered in X-rays, the filamentary nebula is a frequently studied source also in radio and gamma-ray light. The blue color visible here originates from doubly ionized oxygen (OIII), while the deep red is emitted by hydrogen gas. The nebula's mermaid-like shape has proven to be useful for measurements of the interstellar magnetic field.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240918.html

I like 'Betta Fish Nebula' betta'.

[jusplay4fun]

I like both; I see both in that photo, betta and mermaid.

[jusplay4fun]

https://youtu.be/ExGvwNuKyMc
Above is a NASA video; only about 50 seconds

A bright comet is moving into the evening skies. C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) has brightened and even though it is now easily visible to the unaided eye, it is so near to the Sun that it is still difficult to see. Pictured, Comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS was captured just before sunrise from an Andes Mountain in Peru. Braving cold weather, this unusually high perch gave the astrophotographer such a low eastern horizon that the comet was obvious in the pre-dawn sky. Visible in the featured image is not only an impressively long dust tail extending over many degrees, but an impressively long and blue ion tail, too. This month, as the comet moves out from the Sun and passes the Earth, evening observers should be able to see the huge dirty ice ball toward the west just after sunset.

and
This image is too large to copy, but worth a look, if you want to look at a nebula.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241005.html
While hunting for comets in the skies above 18th century France, astronomer Charles Messier diligently kept a list of the things encountered during his telescopic expeditions that were definitely not comets. This is number 27 on his now famous not-a-comet list. In fact, 21st century astronomers would identify it as a planetary nebula, but it's not a planet either, even though it may appear round and planet-like in a small telescope. Messier 27 (M27) is an excellent example of a gaseous emission nebula created as a sun-like star runs out of nuclear fuel in its core. The nebula forms as the star's outer layers are expelled into space, with a visible glow generated by atoms excited by the dying star's intense but invisible ultraviolet light. Known by the popular name of the Dumbbell Nebula, the beautifully symmetric interstellar gas cloud is over 2.5 light-years across and about 1,200 light-years away in the constellation Vulpecula. This impressive color image highlights details within the well-studied central region and fainter, seldom imaged features in the nebula's outer halo.

[jusplay4fun]

We need one; it's been a while:

Between Sunday evening and Monday evening for the Americas, the waxing gibbous Moon creeps eastward past Saturn in the evening sky.

https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/observing-news/this-weeks-sky-at-a-glance-october-4-13/

why not make it a double:

[jusplay4fun]

https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/comet-tsuchinshan-atlas-climbs-brightens-and-delights/

Don't miss it.

[jusplay4fun]

https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/comet-tsuchinshan-atlas-climbs-brightens-and-delights/

Don't miss it.

I am sure that I saw the comet on the night of Oct 28. It was directly above Venus. There is too much city lights near to really make a clear and definite identification; I did not spot the tail.

Look here (link below) for good image. The comet is fading in brightness, so look before it disappears.
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/observing-news/this-weeks-sky-at-a-glance-october-25-november-3/

And yes, from Sky and Telescope, the BEST way to find heavenly bodies, for me anyway.

[jusplay4fun]

Astronomy Picture of the Day (NASA)

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

Albireo: A Bright and Beautiful Double
Credit & Copyright: Richard Yandrick (Cosmicimage.com)
Explanation: Sometimes, even a small telescope can help unlock a hidden beauty of the heavens. Such is the case of the bright double star Albireo. Seen at even slight magnification, Albireo unfolds from a bright single point into a beautiful double star of strikingly different colors. At 380 light years distant, the two bright stars of Albireo are comparatively far from each other and take about 75,000 years to complete a single orbit. The brighter yellow star is itself a binary star system, but too close together to be resolved even with a telescope. Albireo, pictured above, is the fifth brightest star system toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus) and easily visible to the unaided eye.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap050830.html

and:

Crab Nebula Mosaic from HST
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Hester, A. Loll (ASU)
Acknowledgement: Davide De Martin (Skyfactory)
Explanation: The Crab Nebula is cataloged as M1, the first object on Charles Messier's famous list of things which are not comets. In fact, the cosmic Crab is now known to be a supernova remnant, an expanding cloud of debris from the death explosion of a massive star. Light from that stellar catastrophe was first witnessed by astronomers on planet Earth in the year 1054. Composed of 24 exposures taken in October 1999, January 2000, and December 2000, this Hubble Space Telescope mosaic spans about twelve light years. Colors in the intricate filaments trace the light emitted from atoms of hydrogen, oxygen, and sulfur in the debris cloud. The spooky blue interior glow is emitted by high-energy electrons accelerated by the Crab's central pulsar. One of the most exotic objects known to modern astronomers, the pulsar is a neutron star, the spinning remnant of the collapsed stellar core. The Crab Nebula lies about 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Taurus.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap051202.html

and

A massive star ends life as a supernova, blasting its outer layers back to interstellar space. The spectacular death explosion is initiated by the collapse of what has become an impossibly dense stellar core. Pictured is the expanding supernova remnant Puppis A - one of the brightest sources in the x-ray sky. Now seen to be about 10 light-years in diameter, light from the initial stellar explosion first reached Earth a few thousand years ago. Recorded by the Chandra Observatory's x-ray cameras, the inset view shows striking details of the strong shock wave disrupting an interstellar cloud as the shock sweeps through preexisting material. The larger field ROSAT image also captures a pinpoint source of x-rays near the remnant's center. The source is a young neutron star, the remnant of the collapsed stellar core kicked out by the explosion and moving away at about 1,000 kilometers per second.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap060217.html

[Dukasaur]

Some beautiful pics there.

[jusplay4fun]

Thanks, Duk. I like best the (top photo) Binary star one (actual binary star system within the larger binary system, at least from the earth).

[jusplay4fun]

BREAKING NEWS:

Fireball observed over six U.S. East Coast states
By
Teo Blašković
Monday, October 28, 2024
A bright fireball was observed across six U.S. states — Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia at around 23:57 UTC on October 26, 2024.

https://watchers.news/2024/10/28/us-east-coast-fireball-delaware-october-2024/

Huge Fireball: Beams Across Skies Seen Over Numerous US States And Canada

The American Meteor Society received over 730 reports of a fireball over 12 US states.See footage captured by home security cameras in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/article/huge-fireball-beams-across-skies-seen-over-numerous-us-states-and-canada/vi-AA1tvCgH?ocid=winp2fptaskbar&cvid=2f5879cf644546e9838d675f231b6a95&ei=18#details

[jusplay4fun]

Two far-away galaxies have been described as “blood-soaked eyes” by NASA after the Hubble and James Webb Space telescopes captured an intriguing video of the two colliding galaxies.

NASA says the galaxies have been analyzed in order to better understand the physics of the two colliding galaxies and the rapid star formation caused by their collision. They earned the name after NASA said they resemble a macabre vision.

“They appear as if blood is pumping through the top of a flesh-free face. The long, ghastly “stare” of their searing eye-like cores shines out into the supreme cosmic darkness,” NASA said in a press release.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/nasa-video-shows-2-galaxies-forming-blood-soaked-eyes-figure-in-space/ar-AA1tvdYF?ocid=BingNewsSerp