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Post by antichrist on May 28, 2009 20:10:21 GMT -5
"Any tips for finding Uranus?" Damn, this site is getting naughtier by the day. Both hands and a mirror. |
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Post by Bluefinger on May 28, 2009 20:28:10 GMT -5
A useful tool for finding those planetary objects in the sky based on your location: www.heavens-above.com/Also pin-points when certain satellites are visible to see, such as the ISS, and even ones which can be seen during the day at certain times. |
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Post by Admiral Lithp on May 28, 2009 21:27:42 GMT -5
Regardless, I'll have to look into these things being mentioned, if I get the chance. If I could see the red spot out of the photography, that would be awesome.
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starbrewer
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Post by starbrewer on May 28, 2009 21:44:19 GMT -5
It's best to look at it many times during the same night. If you don't see it at first, try again hours later in case the red spot rotated into view.
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Post by Star Cluster on May 28, 2009 22:17:36 GMT -5
Three of my favorite objects to view are visible during the summer in the Northern Hemisphere.
1. M13 The Hercules Globular Cluster. This is a vast, closely packed cluster of several 100,000 stars located in the constellation of Hercules. It is about 24,000 light years away and is 150,000 light years in diameter. It is bright enough to be seen with a pair of binoculars, but individual stars can be resolved through an 8" telescope.
2. The Double Cluster, NGC869 and NGC884. Unlike M13, NGCs 869 and 884 are open clusters. They sit next to each other between the constellations Persius and Cassiopeia. These, too, can be found with a pair of binoculars. A very wide FOV (field of view) eyepiece is needed to see both clusters at the same time. I have a 50mm 2" wide eyepiece with a FOV of 82° and I can almost get the entirety of both clusters in my eyepiece.
3. Albireo. This is a beautiful double star and is the "head" of the constellation Cygnus (The Swan) The main star is a yellow star similar to our sun while its companion is a smaller blue star. With a small telescope, you should be able to resolve this pair of stars and see their colors.
There are many more objects out there and I'll mention some more later. The ones above are nice to view and rather easy to find.
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starbrewer
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Post by starbrewer on May 28, 2009 22:33:52 GMT -5
Almost as good as the summer Milky Way, in Saggitarius, is the stretch of Milky Way through Cygnus.
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Post by antichrist on May 29, 2009 0:37:56 GMT -5
Well I won't be seeing much of anything until we move out of the lower mainland. I remember sitting on the deck out in Vernon just looking at the night sky. There's nothing so awe inspiring as the night sky when you get away from the light pollution and clouds.
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Post by alwimo on May 29, 2009 0:48:24 GMT -5
www.astronomycast.comI've listened to this podcast before and recommend it to others. The two hosts have the best voices ever. 
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Dan
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Post by Dan on May 29, 2009 13:38:18 GMT -5
(Newtonian) Reflectors: they are the least expensive scope for any given aperture. Although the optics are simple and cheap, they are the only scope that can be placed on a Dobsonian mount. If you are good at collimating, they aren't too bad. I reckon a Nasmyth reflector would work on a Dobsonian mount. But then, you could probably argue that it's a modified Newtonian. I might try to do some astronomy tonight, the weather's looking good. |
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starbrewer
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Post by starbrewer on May 29, 2009 13:47:43 GMT -5
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Post by Star Cluster on May 29, 2009 17:29:36 GMT -5
(Newtonian) Reflectors: they are the least expensive scope for any given aperture. Although the optics are simple and cheap, they are the only scope that can be placed on a Dobsonian mount. If you are good at collimating, they aren't too bad. I reckon a Nasmyth reflector would work on a Dobsonian mount. But then, you could probably argue that it's a modified Newtonian. I might try to do some astronomy tonight, the weather's looking good. A Nasmyth Telescope is actually more of a modified Cassegrain style telescope, but with the eyepiece mounted on the side like a Newtonian instead of on the back of the tube. The placement of the focuser on the Nasmyth is on the opposite end of the tube from that of a Newtonian. Also, the tube itself is much shorter on a Nasmyth than is a Newtonian. While it may be possible to place a Nasmyth on a true Dobsonian mount, it would be impracticable as you would have to lay on the ground to view with it. |
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Dan
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Post by Dan on May 30, 2009 10:26:45 GMT -5
Unless it was a really big telescope. The big plus of the Nasmyth is that it brings the eyepiece within reach when you have a long focal length. Ok, I'll just admit it. I want one of these:  |
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Post by Star Cluster on May 30, 2009 10:58:57 GMT -5
Unless it was a really big telescope. The big plus of the Nasmyth is that it brings the eyepiece within reach when you have a long focal length. Ok, I'll just admit it. I want one of these: Yeah, that one does look more like a Newt than a Cass. And it would have one hell of a focal length. And I'll admit, I have never seen a Nasmyth except in drawings and exploded views and all I had seen had a short tube like a Cassegrain. So yeah, it appears you were right to begin with. The biggest advantage of a Nasmyth would be that the focuser and eyepiece is mounted in the hinge of the mount. This is especially helpful in imaging as the extra weight of the imaging device or other accessories does not change the balance of the telescope itself necessitating counter-balance weights on the telescope tube. There must be, however, some big disadvantage to them or it would appear that they would be manufactured by one of the companies that makes telescopes for the backyard astronomer that does imaging. |
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Dan
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Post by Dan on May 31, 2009 13:18:52 GMT -5
I would imagine that collimation is a bit of a pain with 3 mirrors. Anyway, some actual astronomy. These are the best of the mediocre images I captured on Friday:   I was trying out a focal reducer to increase my FoV, but it's introduced some nasty looking aberrations. I'll try again without it tonight. |
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starbrewer
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Post by starbrewer on Jun 1, 2009 0:57:07 GMT -5
Last night with the Minnesota Astronomical Society, I got to see some of the stuff in Saggitarius and the summer Milky Way. Know what it looks like, know what to look for. Lagoon Nebula, Swan Nebula, not much detail at all, but still know that that's what I saw last summer. If you want detail, look at the Moon. I'll leave you with M24, a wall of stars in Saggitarius:  |
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