Astronomy?

[theqnoumenon]

Anyone here likes astronomy? I love it and I spend an insane time with my telescope when I can and the light pollution allows me.
Here's a photo of today's Moon, it doesn't have enough quality, but it's the best photo I can take in the city and without all the equipment :3

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[Dena]

This was with a 16 meg camera and a 500mm zoom lens on an Arizona night. What can I say, I like long lenses. Click on the image for full size.

[Devlyn]

My neck, shoulders, and back don't let me go out and play like that  anymore, especially in cold weather. Anyone ever go looking for Iridium satellites? Very predictable and easy to find, good for a "Holy crap!" moment if you're in the right spot, and the whole experience only takes a few minutes from getting off the couch to getting back on the couch. 

Hugs, Devlyn

[Rayna]

I like to zoom in on the north pole, where the shadows give a great 3D perspective of distance and depth.

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[Joelene9]

  Here's one of mine:

The Elephant Trunk Nebula:


Joelene

[Jennifer RachaelAnn]

Oh my god, I love astronomy. The nebulas, quasars, neutron stars, planets 100 billion light years from earth. Then there's our solar system. The planets here are so different and mysterious. Mercury is the closest planet to the sun, yet Venus is the hottest. Pluto was demoted to a dwarf planet, and is now being reconsidered to be promoted to full planet status again. Then there's Eris, just past Pluto beyond the asteroid belt. And the gas giants? I wish we could build a probe that was strong enough to fly in Jupiter's atmosphere and send back images and information on what's going on deep down. The same goes for Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. If I could I would love to be on a star trek type mission to explore the universe. Meet any new life forms we happen to come across. And there is a story in my unexplained book about a man who claimed to have met a Venusian here on earth. Several times. As for that kind of thing, I have seen something I can't totally explain, but I'm not going to go so far to say it was an alien craft.

I have the first 3 seasons of The Universe, and I drive my wife nuts with them because I'm constantly watching them. The more astronomy I can get my hands on the better. I would go to college and study astronomy. There's just 2 problems. I can't afford it, and I'm a lousy student.

Oh well. It will just have to remain a hobby and passion, instead of a profession. But that's fine too.

[SailorMars1994]

OMG I love it!! I have had moments of deep love of planets, galaxeys, ect through out my life. I love space!!

[theqnoumenon]

Woah, I see I'm not the only one here (I didn't see any related post), and amazing photos!
I didn't know about that effect in the north pole, I'll try tonight, thanks Also I'll look into those Iridium satelites, looks interesting.

Do you have a telescope or study something related to this? I'm studying social sciences degrees, but I'd love to study physics in the future <3

[Devlyn]

Chris Peat runs a great site with daily satellite predictions and Iridium flares (even daytime ones. Yes, they're THAT bright!)  http://heavens-above.com/

[theqnoumenon]

Chris Peat runs a great site with daily satellite predictions and Iridium flares (even daytime ones. Yes, they're THAT bright!)  http://heavens-above.com/

Interesting website, thanks for sharing! :3

[findingreason]

I love astronomy, but more so than that, I love chasing for the aurora borealis. <3 Since moving to Finland, it's been a hobby of mine, and while I don't always get lucky to find good auroras, occasionally I score big and get ones like the images I have below. They were part of a coronal mass ejection event that occurred on October 13th, 2016 and pushed a KP level of 7.66 (G3 geomagnetic storm) and bZ levels of -22. (these are extreme numbers) The altitude was 63 degrees north, which is nowhere near the Lapland region where there are even more intense viewings. They were taken with a Nikon D5000 SLR camera. To give you an idea of the intensity of these auroras, there was a full moon at the time I shot these. The fact they were so vibrant despite that was incredible. Most of the time, a visible moon is your worst enemy searching for aurora.

[Fresas con Nata]

Anyone ever go looking for Iridium satellites? Very predictable and easy to find, good for a "Holy crap!" moment if you're in the right spot

Yes!! It's truly awesome to see how bright they can be even in broad daylight! And there are so many satellites, it doesn't take long for one flare to be visible from wherever you are.

Edit: oh, and there's also the ISS.

The Elephant Trunk Nebula:

Deep sky astrophoto is something I'd really love to do. There are some threads in susans asking "Transition done, now what?" and I'm a bit scared that I might end up like that, but fortunately I have this astrophoto thing, and also playing the piano and maybe painting. That photo of yours is stunning and I'd love to be able to take one. We in Spain are lucky enough to have some areas where light pollution is not too bad. The rest of Europe is a lost cause

Too bad astrophoto is expensive but hey, transitioning is really expensive

Do you have a telescope or study something related to this? I'm studying social sciences degrees, but I'd love to study physics in the future <3

I own a reflector 114/500 (f/4.4) with equatorial mount but not motorised so taking deep sky pics if out of the question. I used to spend my spare time browsing a spanish astrophoto forum, where I learned most of the stuff I know. Back then, the chinese Skywatcher made some affordable scopes at only 2000 EUR that enabled you to get your feet wet.

I also own a Canon EOS 40D. For some reason, though, I'm unable to focus if I attach it to my scope. I'd have to shave the focuser a couple of millimetres, something that I've never got to do.

pushed a KP level of 7.66 (G3 geomagnetic storm) and bZ levels of -22. (these are extreme numbers) The altitude was 63 degrees north, which is nowhere near the Lapland region where there are even more intense viewings. They were taken with a Nikon D5000 SLR camera.

Awesome pics! I'd love to see and shoot auroras too. What exposure time did you use? And, what's KP and bZ? Just a quick definition would be ok, it's only that I don't expect a web search for "KP" will yield useful results



So, with no motorised scope I'm pretty limited on what I can share, and I would be insta-outed if anyone found this but, anyway:



(large version at http://imgur.com/RSjq8LD, I'll remove it in a few days)

[findingreason]

Awesome pics! I'd love to see and shoot auroras too. What exposure time did you use? And, what's KP and bZ? Just a quick definition would be ok, it's only that I don't expect a web search for "KP" will yield useful results

If I recall right, I used 6 seconds of exposure time to take those photos. The KP index gives a general indicator as to the strength of the solar winds going on. anything above a 5 is considered a geomagnetic storm. bZ refers to the strength of north/south polar strength. anything in the negative numbers is considered good as it is aligned south, and solar winds will react more with Earth's magnetic field, giving more visible light.

[theqnoumenon]

I don't know how's the weather in your towns, but today Jupiter was amazing. I couldn't take any pictures though.

What is your favourite planet? ^^

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[Fresas con Nata]

What is your favourite planet? ^^

Well I like deep sky more than planets so I don't have a fave but:

Mercury: difficult to catch
Venus: very bright and lovely!
Jupiter: easily resolvable, and visible satellites
Saturn: well this is a no brainer due to its rings

[Kylo]

Yes, I adore astronomy.

I live where there is little light pollution in the area and can see a lot of stars. I've been meaning to replace my broken telescope for years now, an upgrade is in order.

The best place for a night sky I've ever seen is the High Atlas. Naturally there is zero artificial light. Lie down there on a nice night and you'll see dozens of satellites, hundreds of shooting stars and a very nice view of the Milky Way. If you don't mind scorpions around your feet, that is.

[Jennifer RachaelAnn]

OMG findingreason, your pictures are amazing. I live in the southern/midwestern US, so at the moment I'm no where near close enough to see the northern lights, but a trip to either north Alaska, or north Canada is in the cards. I have wanted to see it firsthand since I was a child. I've seen pictures and videos of them, but I know it's nothing like experiencing them for yourself. You're so lucky.

[Kylo]

Jupiter's looking good about now.

[theqnoumenon]

I live where there is little light pollution in the area and can see a lot of stars. I've been meaning to replace my broken telescope for years now, an upgrade is in order.

Oh, what luck! Then it's about time to get your telescope repaired. I live near a capital city and light pollution is terrible (and have no car to transport the telescope), so I have to manage with some filters and do what I can.

btw, I asked you all what telescope yo have, but I didn't say a thing! I have an Omegon 150/750, I'm so happy with it ^^

[KathyLauren]

Astronomy is my first love.  I was into it long before I can remember.  I remember listening to an audio tape made when I was no more than about 4 years old, of me talking about the stars.  I have an observatory in my backyard, and love taking photos of all the neat objects out there.

Here is one of my better photos.  It is the Iris Nebula, NGC7023:


Here's a link to more of my work: http://www.dulcemelos.ca/en/catalogue.asp