Star gazin'

Phil · February 14, 2002, 05:21:24 AM

I think I've got a new hobby...

Several years ago, I bought one of those plastic star charts, but it never held my attention for very long at a time. Last night, I took it outside and learned a couple of new constellations: Gemini and Taurus. (Before, I was only familiar with Orion, the dippers and Pleides.)

Any other amateur astronomers in here?

Phil

Tom · February 14, 2002, 05:43:48 AM

I'm real amateurish. We bought a fair size telescope a few years ago and enjoy looking at the moon and stars sometimes. I am more of an Orion and Dipper type myself. I have some charts and National Geographic paraphenalial, and a software package that is supposed to help find the constellations, but my memory is as long as my attention span and it's a new sky every night.

It amazes me that the sky goes by so fast. It is a constant effort to watch the moon. Stars disappear from the field of vision almost as soon as I find them.

I find almost as much entertainment in looking at targets around the house. There is a big nut on a bolt at the top of the power pole about 250 feet from the house that usally catches my attention. It fills the field of view and I can examine each new little spot of rust that develops as well as be surprized by an occassional insect that wanders by.

I have watched wildlife that will sit still long enough. They are so far away that I couldn't hit them with a rifle if I were hunting but this thing makes them seem to be touchable.

The advertisements show rings around Saturn but they must have been pictures taken at mount Palomar. Even Mars is nothing but a brighter light and I have about given up on the other planets.

The scene that amazes me the most is a view of the Milky Way. When the word infinite comes into the conversation then this is a good place to start.

I have problems with the logic of the learned who declare that space is finite. I always ask myself "well what is on the other side of that?"

Perhaps there are some things we weren't meant to comprehend.

Usually star studiers are looking outward. You know, in the direction of the "Big Bang". If there was a "Big Bang", why doesn't anybody look the other way and instead of trying to figure out the history of the "infinite", try to figure out the future..........Huh? :-/ :D

psychotic1 · February 14, 2002, 12:08:13 PM

We have to know our history, before we can predict our future tom. You know that. Without it all we can do is guess, and there are enough politicians and science hacks doing that for us.

I don't recall anybody saying space is finite. Course I ain't been paying much attention. When you live somewhere the stars are clouded over 59 days out of 60 you just enjoy that 60th without thinking about it to hard. And then when the aurora kicks in as well... that's something special.

Bruce

Jeff · February 14, 2002, 12:55:11 PM

One of my favorite activities when I am at the cabin in the U.P. is to go out and look into the skies. There is absolutely no light polution up there. The sky is 3 dimentional, not like it is at home. With the naked I you can see layers upon layers of stars that I would imagine anyone south of there cannot see. We watch satalites moving easily with the naked eye.

And then, Aurora Borealis. It will humble you. One of the things on my list of things to do is to be dropped off on an Alaskan glacier on a very active night for the northern lights.

I figure that is the place where one's mind could almost leave thier body.

Don P · February 14, 2002, 05:22:09 PM

I like hitting refdesk.com every now and then and hitching a ride on the Hubble, neat pics. Check out some of the archives, I like the nebulas. http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

It is something to get really clear sky and just lay out and look. "The surest proof of intelligent life in the universe is that they have left us alone." :D

psychotic1 · February 14, 2002, 06:38:11 PM

Thank you Don
I've been using that line for a while now, and I'm not always sure my audience gets it. Nice to hear it used.

L. Wakefield · February 15, 2002, 10:33:30 AM

   I bought a Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector back in Denver in the '70s. Still have it- we haul it out for eclipses (both types) and 2-3 times a year for miscellaneous questions and stargazing. I really need to get it overhauled, as the clockdrive needs a power cord and everything is a bit stiff after all these years. They still make and service them. The front range and places like Mt Evans were incredible with this.

   There is a book still in print- Star Charts For Beginners, I think it is- I'll get the pub and etc when I get back home- that is just the best I've ever seen for your basic intro. Field guide to the Stars and Planets is good if you want the southern hemisphere as well.

   Those were my younger days, alright- the first time I got a good look at scorpio- right on down to the stars at the tail and the claws- the first time I saw the globular cluster in Hercules... it's weird. My dad died when I was 1 year old. I never knew him. I never knew til after i bought my telecope that he'd built a Newtonian reflector when he was still alive. My mom had never told me anything about that. But I wonder if he wasn't nudging me a little bit when I fell in love with the Celestron and just 'had' to have it (took me almost a year to pay it off..) My friends thought I was weird, lugging that thing around- it's easiest to set it up on the tripod and then pick it up in your arms- walking around to wherever- for small adjustments or getting around trees.. they were right about the weirdness, for sure. :D :D :D lw

Tom · February 15, 2002, 02:09:52 PM

I get those nudges sometimes. Funny. Sometimes I think my Grandmom hits me in the back of the head.

L. Wakefield · February 15, 2002, 04:08:20 PM

I'm sure some of the numb things I do they are just breathing fire and standing in line to take a swing at me. 'Honorable ancestors' need to be respected in this.. :/ lw

L. Wakefield · February 15, 2002, 04:15:36 PM

OH YEAH (duh..) I'm home now, and can tell you- it is indeed 'Star maps for beginners' by IM Levitt and Roy K Marshall- most recent is the 50th anniversary edition. Monthly maps are divided into quadrants N E S and W- and you hold them right side up with that base of the page representing the horizon. Every other book I've seen you have to either hold yourself upside down :D :D- or the book upside down- and I get all confused that way. With this book as you turn to face another of the 4 cardinal compass points you just turn the page so another edge points down. Also, if it is 10PM on Nov 15th instead of 8pm, you just go to the next or the preceding map and it shows you how the stars are at that point. There is a planet table, but in the 50th it only goes up to 1997. I guess they may come up with the next edition soon.

It's published by Simon and Schuster. lw

Phil · February 15, 2002, 07:22:14 PM

L.,

I'll search for the Levitt and Marshall book. Sounds like it'd be leaps and bounds handier than my little chart (details are too small and the images are pretty distorted).

Tom, a few years ago, a friend set up his telescope in my yard (sorry, don't know what kind it was, just know that it looked expensive), and we were able to see the Saturn rings. It was pretty amazing.

Outside magazine used to have a little column each month that told when the next meteor showers were coming up. Don't know if they still do that.

Phil

L. Wakefield · February 20, 2002, 04:53:17 PM

While you're at it, y'all- thank your lucky stars that you do live in a place where you can see the stars- not drowned out by air pollution or bright lights. So you may have to dance around a tree or find a clearing- it's God's earth, and God's sky- the magnificence of Creation. Aurora borealis, meteor showers- I'm in love..

lw

woodmills1 · February 20, 2002, 05:00:55 PM

i have one of those two disk circle things that you line one up for the day and the other for the hour and it quite maps the sky.

Bibbyman · March 06, 2002, 05:05:55 AM

Yesterday at daybreak, I drove past a large snow crusted field in a creak bottom, I noted about 20 wild turkeys out in it. A tom was strutting and looked as big as a 55-gallon drum. I've seen this scene many times before but never with snow covering the ground. It was somewhat surrealistic.

Stepped out on the porch last evening to bring in an armload of firewood to fill the stove before bed. I took a moment to look up at the starts that were out brighter than usual. Just then two shooting stars arced downward across the sky. It had been a while since I'd seen a falling star.

These two events of nature were nice bookends to my day.

JoeyLowe · March 06, 2002, 07:01:10 AM

I fancy myself a ~~amueter astromer~~. Oh the heck with it. I like gazing at stars too. I have a couple of telescopes and several charts laying around here. This was one of my top ten reasons for leaving the hustle and bustle of big city life.

Cedar Eater · March 06, 2002, 05:15:33 PM

I gaze at the twinklers every now and then. My favorite is Jupiter, because you can see some details and see the moons too. I've got an 8" Meade dobsonian reflector. Since I moved back to Michigan, I haven't had a big field to view from. I'm planning to put a small platform out in the swampgrass.

Forester Frank · March 06, 2002, 07:37:39 PM

The heavens are amazing! Look at the response this post gets. We are all touched in some way by God's creation.

Wakefield - you just about made me cry. :'( Your earlier post was very touching.

The most amazing place I have viewed the stars was in the Mojave Dessert. No influence of outside light. The stars felt as though they were on top of you. I wonder if our soldiers in Afghanistan have the time to gaze at the stars above and think about life back in the United States?

Forester Frank · March 06, 2002, 07:43:35 PM

I just thought of another great time to view the stars. While I am running in the early, early morning.

Last year while training for the Chicago Marathon I would get up and run before work. I had to get up pretty early, as marathon training requires that you run a few miles. Anyway the morning was so peaceful. No cars. No noise. The stars are beautiful are there to guide you.

I run for about an hour and I am amazed at the speed at which the stars change position (Yes, I know it's the Earth rotating). Anyway I love it, and encourage you all to get up and at least take a walk. My labs love it too!

L. Wakefield · March 07, 2002, 03:35:36 PM

Honestly, I do recommend- look for the globular cluster in Hercules. It is marked in the Levitt and Marshall book- that's how I knew to look for it. Herc is overhead in July, at 10PM. Depending on the type of telescope, overhead may or may not be a useful place. With the Celestron it's fine once you locate the object, but using the finder scope is usually an on-your-knees, broken-neck-feeling thing. Once you find it, it'll knock your sox off. Glob clusters are just different. I can't imagine what it would be like to have one close.

lw

Frank_Pender · March 08, 2002, 05:59:12 PM

We look at the stars her in Oregon, when the clouds part long enough. We try and sleep out on deck most of the Summer around here. ;) but, the best stars iI get to see, are the ones in my wifes eyes when she looks at me. 8) 8) 8) 8) :D :D

Forester Frank · March 09, 2002, 05:53:42 AM

Oregonian Frank

That doesn't sound like March Madness, but LOVE!

Will the Ducks prevail this tournament? It may be written in the stars.

Now we will need a new thread - March Madness. Maybe Jeff can provide a link to ESPN.

Forester Frank · March 09, 2002, 05:54:57 AM

Oh and Wakefield. You inspired me to want to get a telescope rather than new hcokey skates. Stars in sky rather than stars on ice.

Phil · March 13, 2002, 01:06:31 PM

The Mojave Desert and a cabin on the UP sound like great places to view the evening sky. Here in eastern Kentucky, reclaimed surface mines are pretty good, too. Ain't much to look at in the daylight, but not bad for star watchin'.

Phil

Frank_Pender · March 16, 2002, 07:47:59 PM

Looking at the stars got me this Tree Farm and my Wife all in the same night. We were argueing as to which was the kite or the big dipper in the sky on our first date. We were walking in the Dallas City Park (after hours, another story) and could not view to well through the trees in mid-October. So, we drove out a highway headed to the Pacific Coast. Out there on a high secluded hill, over which the highway went, lost the bet. We then decided to go the additional 40 miles to the beach and watch the sun rise. It was already 4:00 am. When I brought her home she asked if I wanted to go for a walk on "her farm". ;) I agreed. after about 30 min. of walking on some old skid trails I looked around and saw all of the timber surrounding us and asked her to marry me. ;) Here we are. 8) 8) 8) 8)

Phil · March 18, 2002, 03:02:38 PM

Frank,

I married a Kentucky woman (any Neil Diamond fans in here?) whose grandfather owns about 200 acres of forest land. We're now living on it rent free, with the freedom to walk on it, hunt mushrooms on it and so on. Not a bad dowry, I'd say. However, her grandfather chided her a bit when we first moved up here, saying, "You're supposed to marry OFF, not marry ON."

Phil