I just saw the moon

TheMadDabber

I ° The Magician
And........I wasnt even high.

I had an opportunity to see the moon, Jupiter and mars last night through a high powered telescope. The moon was very detailed with craters and grey like in appearance. It was as good as it gets the next best thing would be to actually go to the moon itself.

Jupiter was at a distance but I could clearly see the planet with the ring around it and Mars was pretty red. I feel blessed that I had the opportunity to see these and I feel even more grounded than I was before.

I am not boasting but rather wanted to share this because I think everyone should find the opportunity to view the planets in their lifetime and I wanted to share this with my brothers and sisters here. Peace, love and happiness.
 

just_the_flu

they say im crazy but i have a good time
... space is the shit :rockon:

i nerd/geek out hard when it comes to anything space related.

I'm happy you enjoyed your experience! i feel a lot of people miss out even on simple star gazing.
Star gazing, high or not, is fucken awesome!

... the moon itself is quite interesting considering everything :tinfoil:...
 

kellya86

Herb gardener...
Don't get me started on space, and how when you really think about it, and the unimaginable scale of the universe, make's you realise your are an insignificant virus, multiplying and dying, clinging to a rock just as insignificant, in a space we have now understanding of....

It could all just end at any time...

The moon is moving away by 4cm per year....once it was much closer, once it was a planet that collided with earth....

Oh man I love science....
 

TheMadDabber

I ° The Magician
Don't get me started on space, and how when you really think about it, and the unimaginable scale of the universe, make's you realise your are an insignificant virus, multiplying and dying, clinging to a rock just as insignificant, in a space we have now understanding of....

It could all just end at any time...

The moon is moving away by 4cm per year....once it was much closer, once it was a planet that collided with earth....

Oh man I love science....

Thank you for all your feedbacks..... you speak the truth brother, it seems in the grand scheme of things, the universe is the body and within the system we are the cells. Similar to our body, if not the same, it all works in a natural perfect rythym.
 

kellya86

Herb gardener...
The universe is nearly 14 billion years old, advanced civilisations have no doubt been and gone, and still are somewhere,

Once you get your head round space time, you realise that the universe is much more than empty space, I love the film 'interstellar' and 'prometheus' .

A good take on things....

Although my knowledge comes from books not Hollywood films....
 

kellya86

Herb gardener...
It's certainly is hectic and violent out there, Jupiter and our magnetic core as well as the moon and many other factors, are what keep us separated from the majority of violence.....

But there is only so much lucky protection...

We are destined to collide with andromeda at some point anyway....
 

crawdad

floatin
chaos has a rhythm and we are suspended from it.

been starring at the sky since i looked up. when i was in college i studied physics and formed up a small group of other students and we put an experiment on the shuttle, i felt like an astronaut at the time...after i had kids i picked up a cheap scope and some half way decent lenses (and a lame ass magnifier) so i could see things from my backyard, really puts you in perspective to see it yourself and not from a photograph. will say that if you want to see anything half way close to what you see online you gonna have to spend some $$$.

im gun shy on which scope to upgrade to so if anyone has suggestions (prefer model number versus a full education on f numbers) im listening, ability to snap pics would be a plus but not a primary concern. my current setup makes most things look like a star no matter what im looking at.

local astronomy clubs will setup for the public (some do it monthly) so check into that if you cant afford your own setup.
 

Ricardo

Well-Known Member
So I've just started taking a strong interest in Astronomy, can't believe I've spent 57 years barely looking at the sky, but hey - this is the ideal hobby for my Autumn years (if it weren't for back and neck pain) and it is totally compatible with vaping weed although I find I'm favouring my DaVinci Ascent over my VapCaps - a session vape for a stargazing session.
Anyway, I am a novice in the game and decided to start with binoculars rather than a telescope. But, they are high powered and heavy and needed a parallelogram mount which cost $300 while the 'nocs only cost 90. I'm happy with the set up but my big mistake was not to just lie on my back and just look at the sky. Now I'm learning about the elliptic, and have a couple of apps on my phone - I can even synch Google calendar with astro events. I know it's easy to spend tens of thousands on kit - I hope I don't go down that road, but I had my first good look at the waxing moon last night and man, I got goosebumps. I stuck my crappy phone up to an eyepiece and took this snapshot at 20.31 UTC at approx 28N 15W
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Ricardo

Well-Known Member
^^Ah! Not quite The Whole of the Moon^^
Have you learned a lot over that time? Spent much cash?
I love that an infinite new avenue of learning /entertainment /pleasure has opened up for me. I mean, all those Sky At Night TV programmes & podcasts, NASA, Sky & Telescope. Little guides like Turn Left at Orion - and all those loverly glossy deep space photos to drool over. And lots of lovely weed to go with it :D
Plus, it's perfect for anyone with even a hint of OCD - every heavenly body is in its place and we know, precisely, when and where to find them - eg: I'll be looking out for the Geminids meteor showers on Friday and Saturday nights.
 
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lookhigh

FC member
^^Ah! Not quite The Whole of the Moon^^
Have you learned a lot over that time? Spent much cash?
I love that an infinite new avenue of learning /entertainment /pleasure has opened up for me. I mean, all those Sky At Night TV programmes & podcasts, NASA, Sky & Telescope. Little guides like Turn Left at Orion - and all those loverly glossy deep space photos to drool over. And lots of lovely weed to go with it :D
Plus, it's perfect for anyone with even a hint of OCD - every heavenly body is in its place and we know, precisely, when and where to find them - eg: I'll be looking out for the Geminids meteor showers on Friday and Saturday nights.
there is always new stuff to learn.
I now use an all singing and dancing 10' skywatcher, so yes expensive hobby.
Then it starts again with eyepieces, prices are sky high..pun.
 

Dank_Star

In space no one can hear you purr.
So glad this thread has been started here. I'm also an 'autumn years' hobbyist I only got really interested in astronomy the summer before last and started some backyard stargazing last winter at the tender age of 55 lol. I mostly use Olympus 10x50 binoculars but have also invested in an Orion StarBlast 4.5" telescope (it appeared to be the best choice for my level of knowledge and portability is important in our climate) A really gratifying turn of events is that I recently found out that my youngest nephew has an interest in astronomy too. I bought him binoculars, a planisphere and some other material to enrich his experience. He takes his oldest daughter, who is 5 years old, out stargazing with him (I bought them 8x40 binoculars for this reason) So not only is this a new interest for me, I get to do some nurturing and turn it into a bit of a family affair.:D
 

Dank_Star

In space no one can hear you purr.
@ Ricardo It sure is my friend ! Unfortunately we're having more than our fair share of cloudy nights this winter so far. I'm hoping that will change as the winter progresses and temperatures drop...To be an astronomer in Scotland is to acquire much patience lol. My Fury 2 is my new stargazing buddy :leaf:
 
Dank_Star,

Dank_Star

In space no one can hear you purr.
May I begin by wishing you all a happy, peaceful and successful 2019....I just saw the moon...and Venus this morning. This was only the second time I've seen Venus, the first being the morning before Christmas eve. I still cant quite believe the magnitude and quality of light. A truly awesome sight (and no better reason to rise early on a winter morning !) Peace :leaf:
 

Ricardo

Well-Known Member
Happy New Year to one and all :clap::wave::peace:
We were so lucky to have a totally clear sky last night - helped to pass those looong hours between dinner and las doce uvas. Papa Noel brought me the (inevitable) Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ :) - how frustrating is the blooming finderscope? Still, We saw stars! We saw more stars behind those stars! We saw deep space! I have so much to learn......:D:D:D
 

NYC_Frank

"A man with no vices is a man with no virtues"
So cool to find this thread ... Planning on pursuing my interest in the stars in the new year joining the NYC Amateur Astronomers Association. They have some great classes and viewing nights and maybe with the help of my Dynavap I'll see that elusive flying saucer over NYC as John Lennon did all those years ago ... :peace:
 

Tranquility

Well-Known Member
I've had telescopes in the past and the hobby has not connected with me. Then again, the telescopes were fairly cheap and the usual sight you'd see was a white light. The planets were better, but, how long does the fun last?

Another way to search the sky can be done from your home computer.
https://www.reddit.com/r/RTLSDR/

Software Defined Radio can "see" a LOT of things out there. Catching a satellite data stream might not be as cool as the rings of Saturn, but, it's kinda cool.

If you have a computer already, you can get set up for far less than a budget telescope. It takes some time in study and effort to get things to work, but I haven't gotten bored yet and I've been messing with the tech for about a year.
 
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