I just saw the moon

NYC_Frank

NYC_Frank

"A man with no vices is a man with no virtues"
Having grown up through the 60s space race I've always had an interest in amateur astronomy but was never able to pull the trigger on the Questar scope I've always wanted. NYC light pollution and the high dollar price tag made it unreasonable to consider. So I learned to make do up till now using Celestron 11x80 astronomical binoculars I purchased when Haley's Comet made it last approach in 1986.

The Questar is ideal for the moon and inner planets + Saturn/Jupiter, and star clusters etc but not deep space nebula/objects as it's mirror is only 3.5". Its a small, portable work of art. Maybe I'll win the lottery and if I do this is my first purchase... OK ... maybe second after my Lamborghini Reventón ... :cool:
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Ricardo

Ricardo

Well-Known Member
I mean, yeah, we could all just watch Cosmos on our giant HD TVs. I have never experienced anything more awesome than pointing a scope on a target and finding it. Maybe it's only a fad with me. ... that has been known to happen... but there's nothing wrong with getting a bit of fresh air on a clear winter's night. :2c:
@NYC_Frank - Have you got that Vatican astronomer's book Turn left at Orion? Your post reminds me a bit of that. :tup:
 
NYC_Frank

NYC_Frank

"A man with no vices is a man with no virtues"
Ricardo said:
I mean, yeah, we could all just watch Cosmos on our giant HD TVs. I have never experienced anything more awesome than pointing a scope on a target and finding it. Maybe it's only a fad with me. ... that has been known to happen... but there's nothing wrong with getting a bit of fresh air on a clear winter's night. :2c:
@NYC_Frank - Have you got that Vatican astronomer's book Turn left at Orion? Your post reminds me a bit of that. :tup:
Click to expand...
Thanks ... I'll have to take a look
 
NYC_Frank

NYC_Frank

"A man with no vices is a man with no virtues"
Dank_Star said:
I believe you will find some inspiration there ;)
Click to expand...
I will definitely be ordering a copy .... It reminds me of my amateus astronomy bible i've referenced since the 60's, Olcott's "Field Book of the Stars" which I borrowed from the Brooklyn Public library and never returned (I think it cost me $6 at the time for the lost book :) ... Thanks for the recommendation ...
 
Ricardo

Ricardo

Well-Known Member
Two ghkkliant leaps for Ricardo today lads ;). First I managed to align the Finderscope on the AstroMaster - easy in the end, it just needed a strip of rejected credit card (shim? ) under the mount.....but the bigger thrill was learning to balance the thing. I'd be more a Humanities kind of bloke, all my life really. Never understood Science really but here we are... I'll be solving fates on "Return of the Obra Dinn" next :lol:. Honestly, this hemisphere of my brain has been severely neglected.......it's flippin' mind-blowing, all these "clicking into place moments........
Anyway, after a full afternoon of getting nowhere with the user's manual I finally came across this one. The key for me was to set up in the same position as in the video. I'll be back to visit this young chap's YouTube channel :tup:
What is the stars, boys. What is the stars?
 
Dank_Star

Dank_Star

In space no one can hear you purr.
Ok, woke up at 6:30am (some 30 mins after the end of the eclipse here) but the sky looked really cloudy at that point so I doubt if it would have been observable here. I may have stated in an earlier post but this winter has been incredibly frustrating because of the degree of cloud cover most nights...I better go because Maisie (my avatar star lol) is looking for some attention and will take some convincing its not quite dinner time yet.:love:
 
Dank_Star

Dank_Star

In space no one can hear you purr.
Hey guys how are we all ? I've just found out about CCD imaging, anyone have any knowledge/opinions/experience of these systems ?
 
Dank_Star,
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TiSteamo

TiSteamo

VAPEnsiero... sull'ali dorate...
You'll never believe it but one day two years ago I saw a very low, huge, dark golden moon. It looked like a giant bronze medallion on the road over there.
Since I was high, I asked a girl next to me who told me that she saw her too.

At the beginning I did not understand what it was, when I turned around. I thought it was another thing and I boggled a bit.:D
It will be something that I think I will always remember.
 
Ricardo

Ricardo

Well-Known Member
G'day all. We've had cloudy skies in Las Palmas pretty much since New Year - I've been watching old The Sky at Night and Stargazing Live TV shows and trying to balance the 'scope & learn how to use the slow motion controls.... baby steps.
We did get one clear night midweek when I kinda saw the Orion Nebula but the light pollution doesn't help :shrug: I've ordered a x3 Barlow lens from China but @ 8.90€ I'm not expecting great things :rolleyes:
I've also signed up for a "Star Party" night at the end of February so I'm hoping to pick up some advice/tips :tup:
Clear skies :wave:
 
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Ricardo

Ricardo

Well-Known Member
I saw Mercury set tonight boys :D Totally by accident. I thought "is that Mars? It's very low .... Hang on, Mars was way higher a couple of nights ago.... Yep, there's Mars.... Holy fuck, that might be Mercury!"
 
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