The Stargazing Thread!

[_Augustus_]

According to my records I spent 85 nights observing this year.

I hope I can get up to at least 100 next year.....

[cubinator]

Aldebaran's about to be hidden behind the Moon! It's clear, too! Only one slightly worrisome cloud formation. I'll be looking through binoculars because it's too cold to justify putting the telescope out.

[cubinator]

I saw Aldebaran disappear instantaneously! Apparently it's about 20 milliarcseconds wide, so not surprising. 

Edited December 30, 2017 by cubinator

[_Augustus_]

4 hours ago, cubinator said:

I'll be looking through binoculars because it's too cold to justify putting the telescope out.

Sounds like you need a small refractor.

[Guest]

4 hours ago, cubinator said:

Aldebaran's about to be hidden behind the Moon! It's clear, too! Only one slightly worrisome cloud formation. I'll be looking through binoculars because it's too cold to justify putting the telescope out.

CLOUDY IN HOUSTON!!!! UGH!!!!  

[cubinator]

47 minutes ago, _Augustus_ said:

Sounds like you need a small refractor.

I have a small refractor, but it doesn't have its own stand attached, which means two trips each way. I really didn't want to be outside longer than I needed in -22° C. Binoculars worked just fine.

37 minutes ago, dundun92 said:

CLOUDY IN HOUSTON!!!! UGH!!!!  

Actually, I think it might not have happened in Houston anyways. There's enough parallax (just like with a solar eclipse) that you could have seen Aldebaran all night. I could be wrong about the Moon's exact position, though, so I may be wrong.

Edited December 31, 2017 by cubinator

[Guest]

I am going outside now to photograph the super moon. Clouds might have ruined 2017s, but not this one!

[Just Jim]

20 minutes ago, dundun92 said:

I am going outside now to photograph the super moon. Clouds might have ruined 2017s, but not this one!

Is that tonight? It was cloudy earlier... I have to go see if it's visible... 

 

OK.... update... it's not happening here in Florida!  It's cold, and rainy, and quite honestly, complete crap!  blehhhh.... 

But I'm super glad I saw your post, @dundun92... I didn't realize how cold it was, and I'm heading back out right now to put a sheet over my new Christmas cactus! 

Edited January 2, 2018 by Just Jim

[Guest]

Supermoon 2018 #1

[cubinator]

I went out to see the supermoon as well. Very clear, and very bright. The sky was blue! Almost like the tenuous atmospheres of Triton or Pluto.

[cubinator]

Mars and Jupiter also looking nice together this morning. I read that Saturday they will be 0.2° apart!

[_Augustus_]

On 1/2/2018 at 8:28 AM, cubinator said:

Mars and Jupiter also looking nice together this morning. I read that Saturday they will be 0.2° apart!

They were about the same distance this morning (would've gotten up yesterday but the wind would've knocked over the scope). There's a foot of snow on the ground, temperatures below zero Fahrenheit, and bad seeing, but I went out with my little 60mm refractor for a look anyway. Mars was a mushy blob but Jupiter's bands were good and you could see the GRS.

[cubinator]

Weather looking iffy tomorrow morning, but I will still get up early to try to see the eclipse.

[Guest]

Supermoon!

Used a binocular and my phone. 

Edited January 31, 2018 by Guest

[cubinator]

There's a thin layer of clouds so I can just see a very fuzzy moon, but I can see where the eclipse is starting. There's a chance they'll clear out enough to get a good look later. If nothing else, I'll get to see an eerie red glow through the clouds.

[Guest]

All clear in Houston!

 

[cubinator]

The wind is blowing on the clouds, so I might get to see them break up. For now, though, I've tuned into the live stream on Youtube.

[Guest]

Im setting up my 3.5 in refractor now.

[munlander1]

Lucky! It set below the tree line. Luckily NASA has a live stream.

[Joseph Kerman]

Super Blue Blood Moon

[cubinator]

The clouds cleared out! I got a great view of the partial eclipse, and a little bit of totality, but it's below the treeline now (not saying much in northern winter) and will set soon, and it's my usual time to get up and make breakfast anyway. That was very nice! Expect a song and/or some pixel art in the next few days.

[Guest]

[cubinator]

Just saw Iridium 911 spinning fast, once every 6 or 8 seconds. Anyone know what caused it to lose control and get going like that? Was it an explosion or a faulty thruster, or something else?

[cubinator]

HOLY ####

I JUST SAW A SATELLITE DEORBIT

It was flying north, and I counted six or seven fragments, all glowing red points of light. I thought it was a group of military planes before a few of them went dark. At that point I realized what I was seeing. One of the fragments actually veered east and the plasma varied in brightness, presumably as the thing was wobbled by the atmosphere. 

Gonna write an awesome theme for it now.  

Edited February 11, 2018 by cubinator

[_Augustus_]

I rarely post on this thread (I have a telescope making thread in the Science subforum) but here's my new 16" Dob (still needs a mount and some parts, but it's 90% done).

My 6", for comparison:

I'm 6' 1" for scale.