Astronomy

[Sir Bandelot]

Anyone like it?

Mars is in the sky these days. Or nights rather. I would like to take a look at Mars but there's so many clouds all the time, skies are almost never clear lately.

:angry:

Edited January 19, 2010 by Sir Bandelot

[DogOnPorch]

Last time I had a really good look at Mars was 2003 during the 'very' close opposition.

Jupiter and the crecent Moon made a good picture the other night...last Sunday night.

[wyly]

Anyone like it?

Mars is in the sky these days. Or nights rather. I would like to take a look at Mars but there's so many clouds all the time, skies are almost never clear lately.

:angry:

love it but since moving to the big city I can't say I see to much anymore with all the light pollution...but when I was a kid I spent hours laying on the lawn at night it was so much clearer then...

[eyeball]

I live in an area that apparently rates a 7.8 out of 10 for dark night skies. Its pretty spectacular when its clear on the outer Pacific coast but you need to get at least 200 meters above sea-level or 20 or so km inland to get above and away from the fine mist right along the coast. This makes distant objects like galaxies fairly blurry.

I've given some thought to buying a few telescopes and binoculars and offering 'tours' of the night sky hereabouts. I was thinking about combining a mountaintop sunset followed by some astronomy once the stars come out. The iffy part is working around the issue of cloud cover not to mention black-flies, mosquitoes and no-see-ums.

Any thoughts on that?

[bush_cheney2004]

Unfortunately, this year's Mars opposition is not as favorable as in 2003. Closest approach for the 2009/2010 opposition is next week (Jan 29). I started CCD imaging Mars with telescopes last month but now have to wait until 3AM for Mars' "boring side" to rotate away. One benefit of the coldest time of year has been better than usual local seeing conditions because of heavy snow cover and fog from the temperature inversion.

http://seds.org/~spider/spider/Mars/mars2010.html

While waiting for Mars to rise towards the zenith (and steadiest air), Vesta is a challenge to find with binoculars or naked eye at dark sites. Saturn rises in the east with rings that are still close to an "edge on" view...cool. Here is a link to a free - open source planetarium program that displays the night sky for anywhere in the world with a removable horizon:

http://www.stellarium.org/

[Oleg Bach]

Growing up where there was no light pollution, the grandness of the cosmos was very impressive - and I was used to it... After years of personal urbanization and the sky being blacked out...Finally I spent some time up north at the older brothers house..I stepped out side and looked up - I had forgotten how powerful etnerity and the cosmos was _ I looked up and I was terrified for a moment..I was awe struck..and afraid as if I had just seen the face of God - funny how we have de-evolved away from nature.

[Sir Bandelot]

Cool. Nice to see there are a few astronomers here. As a kid I too lived in a very dark sky place, and remember seeing the milky way very brilliant and white against a dark sky. My eyes were also much better then...

I've been into this hobby for about two years now. I have pretty basic equipment. I've tried some imaging as well, but haven't "bagged" Mars yet. I have looked at it though.

For imaging, my scope can't get the focal length needed to resolve Mars as it is now. Mars is only 18 arc seconds across, and my focal length is about 2000 mm. Mars would be only 36 pixels in dieameter in the image.

How do you do it BC, do you have a catadioptric scope?

[Oleg Bach]

Having two friends that were astromomers.. One was a full time pro - the other an ameteur..It was stunning to see something that had exploded and appeared to be a white smoke ring..it is time travel to peer at something that might not even exist in real present time...seeing it can take a million years for the image to reach us. It is so grand..and having a look at the Hubbel Telescope material - why if that does not make you wonder about a God then nothing will... astounding...and the other fact that this speck we live on is looking out ..and we are so small yet so aware - is a MIRACLE.

[bush_cheney2004]

...How do you do it BC, do you have a catadioptric scope?

I have several 'scopes...including a C9.25 "cat"...but that is not the best way for me to bag Mars. Instead, I use a 155mm apo-refractor and increase the focal length (and Mars' size) with Barlow (negative) lenses or a Powermate to about 3000mm - 5000mm. Then a simple webcam (Toucam) captures live Mars video for stack processing of about 1000 frames to increase the signal to noise ratio (e.g. Registax). Final touch up for color and contrast is done in PhotoShop.

You are right about the smaller angular diameter this time around...makes for a bigger challenge. We got spoiled in 2003.

Amateurs have a lot of affordable options these days, and the "hobby" has really taken advantage of the open source movement, internet, and community that crosses all borders, just like the sky.

[DogOnPorch]

Sounds like a pretty cool set-up you have there my friend.

[bush_cheney2004]

Sounds like a pretty cool set-up you have there my friend.

Yea...the toys are fun and make for comfortable GoTo viewing from my den on a computer monitor, but it is still fun to go "old school" at a dark site or with public outreach in a park. Many people have never seen Saturn's rings or the phases of Venus "in the flesh", and that first look "Oooooo" from them is priceless.

[DogOnPorch]

Yea...the toys are fun and make for comfortable GoTo viewing from my den on a computer monitor, but it is still fun to go "old school" at a dark site or with public outreach in a park. Many people have never seen Saturn's rings or the phases of Venus "in the flesh", and that first look "Oooooo" from them is priceless.

There's a lot to be said for the 6 inch reflector that needs to be cooled outside for...oh...a month...as long as one gets that personal look a Saturn's rings 'in the flesh'.

[bush_cheney2004]

There's a lot to be said for the 6 inch reflector that needs to be cooled outside for...oh...a month...as long as one gets that personal look a Saturn's rings 'in the flesh'.

You're right about that...a warm telescope will buck like a bronc if taken outside this time of year. Best to keep them in an unheated garage or backyard "observatory".

[Oleg Bach]

Sounds like a pretty cool set-up you have there my friend.

B C is probably the coolest guy here..He knows a lot about just about everything. I really like it when he gets on line - but he only pays attention to my ramblings when the quality is up - that's because he is of high quality...Put the check in the mail BC - your promotional department has to eat also!

[Sir Bandelot]

I have several 'scopes...including a C9.25 "cat"...but that is not the best way for me to bag Mars. Instead, I use a 155mm apo-refractor and increase the focal length (and Mars' size) with Barlow (negative) lenses or a Powermate to about 3000mm - 5000mm. Then a simple webcam (Toucam) captures live Mars video for stack processing of about 1000 frames to increase the signal to noise ratio (e.g. Registax). Final touch up for color and contrast is done in PhotoShop.

You are right about the smaller angular diameter this time around...makes for a bigger challenge. We got spoiled in 2003.

Amateurs have a lot of affordable options these days, and the "hobby" has really taken advantage of the open source movement, internet, and community that crosses all borders, just like the sky.

Yeah I know what your saying exactly, I also use registax. As a kid I loved astronomy and had a small refractor telescope, and some binoculars. Even with very basic equipment there is a lot you can enjoy.

Webcam imaging is what got me interested in astronomy again a few years ago. I use an SPC900nc webcam with the lens taken off, to do prime focus imaging of planets. I have not done DSO's.

BC I assume you must be using a 5x powermate, or stacking barlows?

[bush_cheney2004]

Webcam imaging is what got me interested in astronomy again a few years ago. I use an SPC900nc webcam with the lens taken off, to do prime focus imaging of planets. I have not done DSO's.

Right...I have a brand new SPC 900NC still sitting in the box because my older Philips ToUCam (740K) still works fine. I think both have the identical Sony HAD chip.

BC I assume you must be using a 5x powermate, or stacking barlows?

Yes....a 5X Tele Vue Powermate or 3X Barlow. Basically I need to get to about f/25 to f/35 with the telecope and use a low frame rate to reduce the webcam's video compression to rawest mode. Since you are familiar with Registax, then you know how the video frame stacking process works. I get better results with the webcam using an IR cut filter because of the chip's sensitivity.

For those not familiar with what is possible nowadays by amateurs, here is a link for typical backyard techniques and results:

http://elvis.rowan.edu/marswatch/2005/images/marswatch.php?s=2005-09-14&e=2005-09-20

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.davesastro.co.uk/mars/mars_20051002_0202_composite.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.davesastro.co.uk/mars/index.html&h=582&w=618&sz=46&tbnid=mW0UJv9xxvK1yM:&tbnh=128&tbnw=136&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmars%2Bwebcam%2Bphotos&hl=en&usg=__CLZyoCcE-b0IKu3jXWDu3-zVHFM=&ei=fb1YS7WlEo7WNZnQtNgE&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=3&ct=image&ved=0CAwQ9QEwAg

Edited March 5, 2010 by bush_cheney2004

[Handsome Rob]

Interesting.

I've played around a little bit through the years, would like to at some point get more seriously into it. Going camping in our Canadian rockies in two weeks, 6,000 ft elevation. Came across the opportunity to pick up a CELESTRON PowerSeeker 80EQ , for pretty much nothing.

I know enough about telescopes to know you need to spend some cash to get anything decent, but not expecting the internet Hubble images, just something to start with, at absolute best something like this. Wondering if it'd be worth it.

Thanks for any opinions.

[Bonam]

Yep I was quite a bit into Astronomy a few years ago. Waned a little since then, since I haven't had time. I got an 8 inch one of these babies though:

http://www.meade.com/ls_series/lsseriesindex.html

Picked it up used for quite the discount.

I remember being absolutely blown away by the views I could get of the M5 globular cluster. Views of Jupiter and its 4 moons and Saturn's rings were breathtaking as well.

Also a fun activity (though not for everyone) was hauling the scope up to some mountain summits at night for views unhindered by the lower portions of the atmosphere. Amazing what 2-2.5 km of elevation will do to improve seeing. Best views I ever had were on a crystal clear winter night on the top of Panorama Ridge. Of course getting the 15 kg scope up there was quite the interesting endeavor too.

[kimmy]

Since moving away from Edmonton to a much smaller city, I have noticed the sky a lot more. There's so much up there that you just can't see when you're near large cities.

I don't have a telescope, but I've got this in my cell phone: http://www.google.com/sky/skymap/

It doesn't help see stuff any better, but it does help you figure out what you're looking at.

-k

[DogOnPorch]

Wonder no more...

http://www.shatters.net/celestia/

http://www.celestiamotherlode.net/

FREE!

Celestia is the best 3D Universe out there...try 'er out. Bigger vid-card = better detail.

[Sir Bandelot]

Interesting.

I've played around a little bit through the years, would like to at some point get more seriously into it. Going camping in our Canadian rockies in two weeks, 6,000 ft elevation. Came across the opportunity to pick up a CELESTRON PowerSeeker 80EQ , for pretty much nothing.

I know enough about telescopes to know you need to spend some cash to get anything decent, but not expecting the internet Hubble images, just something to start with, at absolute best something like this. Wondering if it'd be worth it.

Thanks for any opinions.

Whether it's worth it or not is up to you, but if as you say you can get it for almost nothing, what have you got to lose? As long as you understand the limitations of what you're getting.

The scope is an achromatic refractor, 80mm objective and 900mm focal length. This is made for high magnification views. You should be able to see the rings of Saturn, equatorial bands on Jupiter and it's 4 Gallilean moons. But with the achromatic lense, you will see what's known as "color fringing", a sort of purple ring that appears around the edges of bright objects. This will appear in any images that you take as well. But there are ways to work around it, such as using color filters.

The equatorial mount alone will be useful, even if you eventually don't use the scope. I have the exact same mount in fact. It has slow motion controls which are useful when doing high magnification observing or imaging, to help keep the object in view. You can also add a tracking motor to this mount.

Most people start out with an inexpensive scope and then decide if they want to move up to something better, once they know what they're doing. My first scope was a newtonian reflector which I got at a clearance store, and I've had lots of fun with it.

Mars was one of the most challenging objects I have tried to image, here is my only (somewhat) successful attempt-

http://i890.photobucket.com/albums/ac101/Bandelot/MarsFeb_20_2010b3.jpg

Edited April 30, 2010 by Sir Bandelot

[Sir Bandelot]

Yep I was quite a bit into Astronomy a few years ago. Waned a little since then, since I haven't had time. I got an 8 inch one of these babies though:

http://www.meade.com/ls_series/lsseriesindex.html

Picked it up used for quite the discount.

Nice scope, I think that one is their newest model with the built in camera?

Kimmy, even a pair of 10x50 binoculars is a great observing tool. And you can use them in the daytime as well, when hiking etc.

or checking on the neighbours...

[bloodyminded]

Mars was one of the most challenging objects I have tried to image, here is my only (somewhat) successful attempt-

http://i890.photobucket.com/albums/ac101/Bandelot/MarsFeb_20_2010b3.jpg

That's pretty cool. I like it.

[GostHacked]

I did not have a telescope or binoculars, but I was able to track it's movement over a few nights when outside having a smoke. First night it was near the moon and the next day it was a considerable distance from it, then it moved more and more each night.

Given the chance, send my ass to Mars !