Astronomy thread/Kìng a teri tanhìä tìftia

[Vawmataw]

Kaltxì, oel tse'a sanhìt ngahu.
I created this thread, because I love astronomy. I like the stars, the planets and the universe and to watch the night sky. Another reason, it's because I had a lucky moment yesterday between 5:25 and 5:45pm ET.

I was on a highway (in the car), going home after a little trip in Boucherville, Canada. The sky was dark, so I looked at the stars. The rising constellation was Orion. I observed a small constellation looking like Ursa Minor. After, I saw a strange constellation near Orionis with a shiny star, and also two stars in Orionis. I went to a website when I was home, without getting interesting results, but I saw that Jupiter was near the constellation Orionis that I observed (remember the shiny star).

This morning, I went to another website, and discovered that I observed the Pleiades, Jupiter, Orionis and Orionis' stars Saif al Jabbar and maybe Nair al Saif. TEWTI! That's why I'm so lucky and happy.

This thread is about astronomy. Share the stories about your observations or about astronomy things, space news and talk about astronomy (and learn more about it).

Eywa ayngahu, ta Kameyu a Kepekmì

Edits:
December 2, 2014: Correction - Attempt at protecting the English language

[`Eylan Ayfalulukanä]

Ah! Nice idea for a thread!

I am an active amateur astronomer, and President of the Astronomical Society of Nevada.

The weather here has been wreaking havoc with observing as of late, but we might have a clear (but cold!) night on New Years Day.

The last few nights, Jupiter has been burning like a lamp near the zenith, poking through the clouds when everything else (except the moon) was invisible.

Tonight at midnight, the star Sirius culminates (reaches its highest point in the sky. When it happens at midnight of a given day, that is the star's 'midnight culmination).

Back to working on the base for my new observatory!

Tomorrow, the earth is at perhelion (cloest to the sun in its orbit. Something like .926 AU.

[Vawmataw]

The last few nights, Jupiter has been burning like a lamp near the zenith, poking through the clouds when everything else (except the moon) was invisible.

Jupiter is near Taurus constellation. And it was shiny.

[Vawmataw]

Oe flamä tsawa kanom relit hu Tsyupiter fa oeyä syeprel.

Spoiler: Tsyupiter

Kepek, mì mipa zìsìtä trr, mì 2013.

Sweylu txo oel kivanom relit hu Tsyupiter sì oe, talun moe... lu muntxa! 

[`Eylan Ayfalulukanä]

What kind of camera/lens did you use?

What were your settings? (ISO, aperture and shutter speed?)

Did you use a tripod?

Was the moon up at the time?

[Vawmataw]

1. I used a simple Kodak camera that everybody have (so the constellations were invisible) and I took the picture inside in my bedroom.
2. The flash was off.
3. No, that's why the picture is bad.
4. Yes, at east, but the planet was at west.

[Vawmataw]

I have a great website to check which star(s) you want to observe or to check which star(s) you observed: Neave's planetarium

There's the sky map with the constellations, the planets (sadly, not the galaxies) and the moon and the sun (for the day). Set your location and enjoy. You have informations about magnitude, distance, RA, DEC and the constellation (except for planets  ). Also, you can see the current sky, but also the sky as it was, for example, during your last observation or on Christmas night, even if it was cloudy that day.

Positive : Great for your observations.
Negative : If you're observing other objects than planets and stars and the constellations, don't care about this post.

[`Eylan Ayfalulukanä]

Ah I see. I take it then, the the fact that the planet image is dash-shaped is because the camera moved, and not due to the 'star trail effect'.

If you are looking at getting a good skymap program, consider Sky Safari. It is available in three flavors: basic $2.99, plus $14.99 and pro $39.99 I have the pro version, and it is so complete I no longer take paper star atlases anywhere but the most involved observing events. Your needs may very be met with the basic version, and probably by the plus version. If you ever invest in a computerized go-to telescope, the plus and pro versions will control your 'scope. It is available for Android, IOS and OS-X platforms.

I have taken just a few casual astrophotos. I'll have to post a couple of them here.

[Vawmataw]

Ah I see. I take it then, the the fact that the planet image is dash-shaped is because the camera moved, and not due to the 'star trail effect'.

Because of my hand. Jupiter came back in my sky part, but I didn't take another picture of it. Ngaytxoa, ma muntxate.

If you are looking at getting a good skymap program, consider Sky Safari. It is available in three flavors: basic $2.99, plus $14.99 and pro $39.99 I have the pro version, and it is so complete I no longer take paper star atlases anywhere but the most involved observing events. Your needs may very be met with the basic version, and probably by the plus version. If you ever invest in a computerized go-to telescope, the plus and pro versions will control your 'scope. It is available for Android, IOS and OS-X platforms.

If it was free, maybe I'd download it. But just for the skymap, because my telescope has not the good quality of a telescope costing like a laptop (it is a cheap one).

I have taken just a few casual astrophotos. I'll have to post a couple of them here.

Why not? It's the right thread here.

It's strange to not see Betelgeuse in the constellation Orionis (And I looked at the right place. So, did it explode? ), but to see (all) Pleiades, that have lower magnitude.

Spoiler: A joke

[`Eylan Ayfalulukanä]

Ma Kameyu a Kepekmì,
    I thought you might have allowed Jupiter to trail as an effect. (That said, you don't know how many pictures I have ruined by moving during the shot!)

Instead of buying a telescope, maybe you can borrow one from someone to try out. Some astronomy clubs also rent out telescopes. You are also correct in your assumptions that a skymap is still useful even without a go-to telescope.

I will post the astrophotos here. I just need to find them. 

[Vawmataw]

Kameyul a Kepekftu ngati kameie

I thought you might have allowed Jupiter to trail as an effect. (That said, you don't know how many pictures I have ruined by moving during the shot!)

I have picture of Jupiter, that's what I wanted. And it's just a little trail.

(Tse, why NASA sends space robes if we can take pictures of stars and planets? [I'm kidding])

Instead of buying a telescope, maybe you can borrow one from someone to try out. Some astronomy clubs also rent out telescopes. You are also correct in your assumptions that a skymap is still useful even without a go-to telescope.

Nah, I use my eyes behind my glasses. Sadly, astronomy clubs are near Montreal region, where I don't live (I live in Quebec city). 3 hours of car each weekend, it's not funny.

I'm just a fan, so what makes my pleasure is to observe the sky that I can see. Go in astronomy clubs and have the equipment for do observations is maybe interesting, but I don't like it. Also, I'm just 12.

I will post the astrophotos here. I just need to find them. 

No problem, they are still welcomed.

Since yesterday, it's cloudy here, so I can't observe. But I'm satisfied of December 30th and January 1st observations.

Kìyevame ulte Eywa ngahu

[`Eylan Ayfalulukanä]

Learning the night sky with your eyes is the very best thing you can do right now. Knowing the sky well will allow you to effectively use telescopes like Dobsonians. They give you the greatest amount of aperture per dollar of any telescope, but they do require you to know the sky well.

Our club's two biggest 'scopes are Dobsonians, a 20 inch and a 24 inch. The 20 inch has been well-accessorized, the 24 inch not so well, because it is so big. But I get to use the 24 inch whenever I want  (My regular 'scope is an 8 inch Schmidt-Cassegrain on a computerized mount-- a Meade LX-200. You can get a 16 inch dobsonian for well less than tha 8 inch cost new.)

I am 51 years old. You have a lot of your life ahead of you to develop a real love for astronomy!

[Vawmataw]

Learning the night sky with your eyes is the very best thing you can do right now. Knowing the sky well will allow you to effectively use telescopes like Dobsonians. They give you the greatest amount of aperture per dollar of any telescope, but they do require you to know the sky well.

Our club's two biggest 'scopes are Dobsonians, a 20 inch and a 24 inch. The 20 inch has been well-accessorized, the 24 inch not so well, because it is so big. But I get to use the 24 inch whenever I want  (My regular 'scope is an 8 inch Schmidt-Cassegrain on a computerized mount-- a Meade LX-200. You can get a 16 inch dobsonian for well less than tha 8 inch cost new.)

I am 51 years old. You have a lot of your life ahead of you to develop a real love for astronomy!

Telescopes cost too much, and my parents would not buy one at $150. I can buy binoculars at $1 or $10, if it works.

The only pleasure of observations I have now is to look sky with my own eyes behind my glasses, not behind a telescope. I'm learning the sky, but I'm before anything else observing it.

[`Eylan Ayfalulukanä]

Binoculars are a great way to view the heavens. Many deep space objects come alive, even in binoculars. Binoculars are generally suggested as an intermediate step betwen naked eye astronomy and a telescope. One of the most memorable binocular experiences I ever had was seeing the Beehive star cluster (M44) in Cancer, while in the middle of Serengeti National Park, back in 1999! Right now is a very good time of the year for seeing this object.

Too bad on the telescope pricing. Orion sells a little telescope called the 'firstscope' for around $50. It is a small, pedestal-mounted Dobsonian designed for tabletop use. Unlike what you might find in a department store, this should be a dcent little 'scope. Even though I have access to much better 'scopes, I am planning to pick one of these up when I can shake loose the $50.

It is currently available on Amazon.com for around $40.

[Vawmataw]

Binoculars are a great way to view the heavens. Many deep space objects come alive, even in binoculars. Binoculars are generally suggested as an intermediate step betwen naked eye astronomy and a telescope. One of the most memorable binocular experiences I ever had was seeing the Beehive star cluster (M44) in Cancer, while in the middle of Serengeti National Park, back in 1999! Right now is a very good time of the year for seeing this object.

Maybe they will be useful for observing Jupiter in my bedroom, but they are not for astronomy (first I should find them or I'd buy binoculars at Dollar store). But it's not sure that i'll do it.

About observations, I also observed some constellations in a city, near a source of light!

[Taronyu Leleioae]

Here in Massachusetts, it's impossible to get a clear sky due to all the reflected light from the cities.  But up north in central/northern Maine, we keep a 6" Celestron with a motorized mount.  Plus an image reversal prism so that I can use it for terrestrial application as we are in the mountains overlooking a lake.  Also have an older high end Zeiss binoculars (think 10 or 15x80) which are just spectacular (and honestly easier) to look to the sky.  They are so clear with just star light I have always found them amazing even during new moon (absent moon) time on the calendar.

[Vawmataw]

Here in Massachusetts, it's impossible to get a clear sky due to all the reflected light from the cities.

SAA!

They are so clear with just star light I have always found them amazing even during new moon (absent moon) time on the calendar.

Good.

Where will be planets this year:

Jupiter will disappear at west with Taurus in April after almost 8 months in the sky near Taurus. After, it will come back in October in Gemini constellation.

Mars will be back in 2014(?).

Hour used: 12am, Eastern time (Quebec city, Canada)

[Vawmataw]

Anything new in astronomy?

[Vawmataw]

`Eylan Ayfalulukanä, did you find your astropictures?

[Tsanten Eywa 'eveng]

Anything new in astronomy?

Yeah, actually. There is coming an asteroid at the size of 58 meter really near Earth next month, 15th of february

It will pass 0.09 lunar distances, that will say it passes 34,500 km. So I guess you can see it with telescope, and maybe a big possibility with binoculars.

check on spaceweather.com to see NEA(Near-Earth asteroids).
http://spaceweather.com/