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Re: A reason to get up early

Posted: 01:59 Fri 29 Nov 2013
by LGTrotter
Glad I managed to resist the few cheapies that have come and gone. I remember having the Graham, dull and short. Hey ho, shame about the comet.

Re: A reason to get up early

Posted: 02:07 Fri 29 Nov 2013
by DRT
LGTrotter wrote:shame about the comet.
Indeed. I was looking forward to not being able to see it because of the cloud for 18 days out of 19.

But it has worrying implications: cataclysmic astronomical events are not a thing of the past. If a comet can leave the Oort cloud and crash into the sun at 1million kph it is not too far a stretch of the imagination that Royal Oporto might one day make a vintage port worth drinking. Worrying times.

Re: A reason to get up early

Posted: 02:14 Fri 29 Nov 2013
by LGTrotter
DRT wrote:If a comet can leave the Oort cloud and crash into the sun at 1million kph it is not too far a stretch of the imagination that Royal Oporto might one day make a vintage port worth drinking.
Relax, it couldn't possibly happen. Or at least not until the end of the world. Sweet dreams.

Re: A reason to get up early

Posted: 11:19 Fri 29 Nov 2013
by jdaw1
LGTrotter wrote:it couldn't possibly happen.
It could.
â‘  All Royal Oporto properties and brands are sold to a competent port company.
â‘¡ Things that long ago should have been are then done, and good Port is made.

Re: A reason to get up early

Posted: 14:48 Fri 29 Nov 2013
by Alex Bridgeman

Re: A reason to get up early

Posted: 00:18 Sun 01 Dec 2013
by DRT
Still no sign of Ison, but the Orion Nebula* is looking rather splendid this evening.



* Not my picture, but very close to what I could see through my telescope this evening.

Re: A reason to get up early

Posted: 02:35 Thu 05 Dec 2013
by LGTrotter
Leo is looking good tonight. My star sign.

Re: A reason to get up early

Posted: 20:56 Thu 05 Dec 2013
by djewesbury
Stunning pictures of Ison on tonight's Sky at Night.

Re: A reason to get up early

Posted: 21:26 Thu 05 Dec 2013
by DRT
Thanks. I have a feeling I will be out there tonight. The sky is clear and my two fancy new lenses arrived this morning :cool:

Re: A reason to get up early

Posted: 21:28 Thu 05 Dec 2013
by djewesbury
DRT wrote:Thanks. I have a feeling I will be out there tonight. The sky is clear and my two fancy new lenses arrived this morning :cool:
Post any pics you get.. And you'll be listening to England build a convincing first innings lead too. Perfect.

Re: A reason to get up early

Posted: 21:38 Thu 05 Dec 2013
by RAYC
Derek,

Do you know much about telescopes? Is there something within a reasonable budget that is a plausible astronomy tool but could serve equally well for snooping on the neighbourhood...?

Is amazon a good place to buy, or are there specialist internet shops that would be better?

Re: A reason to get up early

Posted: 21:40 Thu 05 Dec 2013
by djewesbury
RAYC wrote:snooping on the neighbourhood...?
I won't tell anyone!

Re: A reason to get up early

Posted: 22:13 Thu 05 Dec 2013
by DRT
RAYC wrote:Do you know much about telescopes? Is there something within a reasonable budget that is a plausible astronomy tool but could serve equally well for snooping on the neighbourhood...?
I cannot claim to know much about telescopes. I am to the world of astronomy what a Port lover who has only ever tasted Tesco LBV is the the world of Port.

I own a Skywatcher Heritage 130p Dobsonian (purchased from that site) that I find to be easy to use and to give good results when pointed upwards. I have not pointed towards anyone's window so can't comment on its performance for watching showers of a non-astronomical nature. I bought this scope after many, many hours of research and it seems to do what it says on the tin. More research has persuaded me to purchase higher grade eyepieces which I will be road testing on Jupiter this evening.

I also own a pair of Celestron 71008 25x70 Skymaster Porro Prism Binoculars (purchased from Amazon) which are good for looking at the moon and would probably work quite well when pointed horizontally at terrestrial objects.

Re: A reason to get up early

Posted: 22:57 Thu 05 Dec 2013
by PhilW
Seems like a lovely clear night for star-gazing, provided you're not too close to the coast. The moon last night was an amazing golden sliver as it crept above the horizon yesterday evening (now back to 'normal'). Post some pics of the comet if you get any and there is anything left of it?

Re: A reason to get up early

Posted: 23:12 Thu 05 Dec 2013
by jdaw1
NASA, in a [url=https://twitter.com/NASA/status/408700678941315072]tweet[/url], wrote:While most agree that #ISON was destroyed, we're searching for what's left of the #comet. http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/nas ... qDWnnfziqQ
The picture shows real strength in depth.

Re: A reason to get up early

Posted: 23:26 Thu 05 Dec 2013
by DRT
DRT wrote:research has persuaded me to purchase higher grade eyepieces which I will be road testing on Jupiter this evening.
The new Celestron X-cel LX eyepiece is a significant improvement on the standard kit. A much brighter, sharper image and the first time I have had a clear view of four of Jupiter's moons. I normally only see three. This gives me a problem. Celestron X-cel LX eyepieces each cost the same as a bottle of Graham's 1970 and I now need to buy at least three more :sad:

A reason to get up early

Posted: 23:35 Thu 05 Dec 2013
by djewesbury
'Need'?

When I used to own and use a 16mm film camera, I used to salivate over lenses too. A Canon 8-64mm zoom was a steal at only approx. £2500. A set of secondhand Russian primes would set you back about £7500 if you were extremely lucky. But the image quality was staggering.

EDIT: Perhaps you can see why I took up G70 instead!

Re: A reason to get up early

Posted: 01:03 Fri 06 Dec 2013
by djewesbury
BBC4 now!

Re: A reason to get up early

Posted: 01:05 Fri 06 Dec 2013
by LGTrotter
My God! It's full of stars!

Re: A reason to get up early

Posted: 01:08 Fri 06 Dec 2013
by djewesbury
Damn right.

Re: A reason to get up early

Posted: 01:42 Fri 06 Dec 2013
by DRT
Are you as excited as I am that it's only 1 hour and 20 minutes until Mars reaches an altitude above the eastern horizon that will enable me to view it through my new lens for the first time?

Re: A reason to get up early

Posted: 01:44 Fri 06 Dec 2013
by LGTrotter
DRT wrote:Are you as excited as I am that it's only 1 hour and 20 minutes until Mars reaches an altitude above the eastern horizon that will enable me to view it through my new lens for the first time?
Oooohhh baby!

Re: A reason to get up early

Posted: 02:22 Fri 06 Dec 2013
by LGTrotter
Let us know how it goes. Night.

Re: A reason to get up early

Posted: 04:13 Fri 06 Dec 2013
by DRT
LGTrotter wrote:Let us know how it goes.
Cloudy :cry:

Re: A reason to get up early

Posted: 04:40 Fri 06 Dec 2013
by DRT
+20mins the cloud lifted. Mars was low in the sky and decidedly bright and red, but I couldn't see Daniel.