Skywatchers' Journal

[Turtle]

___I have watched the sky since childhood and I still find it spellbinding. I remember buying my first sky maps from Edmund Scientific & trying to track down stars & constellations.
___Lately I use a video cam feeding to a TV for my telescope as the cold nights cramp up the old joints. I save the outside stuff for warmer weather or special occurences, eg the comet that came by last Summer.
___I saw that big fireball a few months back over the NorthWest while using the video cam/TV setup to watch the Moon; didn't get it on tape but saw it through an open window.
___Well, you get the idea of this thread, so what skywatching do you do & how, where, when, with who, etc.
___Tonight is a Moon/Jupiter conjunction; I was out a minite ago & we have some high clouds obscurring Jupiter. Keep looking skyward!

[Buffy]

Living in the city, we don't see much, although we do go to the local observatory (Chabot in Oakland) where on the warmer, clearer Friday nights they have a couple of big ol refractors to look through and a bunch of amatures with their own bring them up for the public to view. Great planetarium there too...

My daughter and I make it up to the eastern Sierras a couple of times a year though and go where there's no lights at all and stare for hours. Its awe inspiring....

Cheers,
Buffy

[C1ay]

I'm an infrequent amateur astronomer. I've got a 5" reflector and I try to catch all of the events that happen only once or twice in a life time.

[Qfwfq]

Not bad, I know a few people that have good scopes but I me only godda pair of 12x50s. Good ones though, Eschenbach.

When Hale-Bopp was around we all went up the mountains with a guy, astronomy student, that had a good reflector. Before the comet was above the horizon he was setting it up to look at some other interesting things. I waited till he peered into the ocular to focus and I bent down, face into the tube, gave him a sec or two to attempt focussing and said: "I dunno, I can't see a darn thing!"

This guy laughed but another guy I was with, a year or two before, leapt up and chased me away with kicks in the arse.

[lindagarrette]

Has anyone been here? ASV (Arizona Sky Village) Located in one of the darkest deep-sky sites in North America, Astronomers will watch in awe as the Milky Way rises like a gathering storm and will re-discover the Universe in pristine dark skies. [img]./assets/images/autogen/a_Copy_of_Zodiacal_Light___milkyway.jpg[/img]

This could be a nifty event!
http://arizonaskyvillage.com/html/star_party.html

[Turtle]

___Thanks Linda; we have similar events around our area & the nearest observatory is at Goldendale Washington.
___I have the video camera I mentioned & small binocs (I'm blind in one eye so I don't see in stereo).
___Last night we had a penumbral (partial) lunar eclipse but it was in the wee hours so I didn't get up for it. No doubt pictures of it are showing up on the astronomy sites.
___I also have a beat-up old 3" refractor which I use to observe sunspots using the projection technique. When I move it's likely into the dumpster with it.
___Keep looking skyward; Full Moon tonight worldwide.

[Francium]

Yeah, full moon tonight! I love full moons.
I didn't catch the conjunction. I'm glad my Venus is back though I missed her.

I don't get out as much to really check out the stars as I would like. This winter was cold and I let it keep me in. I've got a new Meade NGC-70 (2.8" Refractor). It's a basic telescope for novices like myself but I like how it hooks up to my laptop, handy dandy

Anybody catch the solar eclipse?

Looking skyward

[orbsycli]

i saw the eclipse. reminded me of pac man.

[Buffy]

Originally Posted by orbsycli

i saw the eclipse. reminded me of pac man.

Munch!

My daughter and I always refer to the first/last quarter as "The Cheshire Cat". I suppose Turtle calls it GETE...

Cheers,
Buffy

[orbsycli]

ah i've written about that. a planet was right underneith that cheshire cat one night, venus i believe. (the morning star, i believe that's the planet) and it was like a beauty mark to the sky. i was standing on a dock in the gulf of mexico a day after one of the hurricanes, waves for once! it was magnificent.