All Discussions - Astronomy Central Forum

kepler space telescope

Stephen — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:44:47 -0400

Kepler's took another tumble with another reaction wheel breaking down and has lost its ability to point accurately. Only 2 reaction wheels remain but it needs 3 to find earth like worlds. Engineers haven't scrapped it yet but things look grim...

Skywatcher 127 SynScan AZ GOTO

Newbie32 — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 10:50:21 -0500

Hi,
Does anyone have the above telescope (or it's alternatives)? I am hoping to buy one in the next few weeks and would just really like to hear from someone who already has one and hear their opinion on it. E.g. what views are like with it, if it is really as quiet as it sounds on the YouTube videos i've watched lol, etc, etc. Any info would be much, much appreciated as this will be my first scope (yipeeeee lol), i have 10x50 bins and my partner has an 80mm Spotting scope that i've used (he's upgrading also to a Vixen). I would just really like to know what to expect from it.
Many thanks,

Claire

Telescope id help needed

karl — Sun, 05 May 2013 12:20:47 -0400

Hi I got a cheap orion optics telescope off ebay but i'm not sure what model it is.
the tube is 140mm di and is 840mm long. i'm thinking 114 x 900mm
it looks very well made and I would say about 6-8 years old.
any idea's
karl

Commander Chris Hadfield Sings Space Oddity

John_Brady — Wed, 15 May 2013 03:09:14 -0400

This is great, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield sings David Bowie's classic onboard the International Space Station

Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury in late May

John_Brady — Wed, 15 May 2013 02:31:45 -0400

These three planets are in conjunction at the end of May, low in the north west at dusk http://astronomycentral.co.uk/venus-jupiter-mercury-conjunction-may-2013/

Good to be back

kensamay — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:41:05 -0400

Hi all,
Just wanted to say hi again to all the old & new members , I've been away working for a few months & am looking forward to spending sometime out searching the night skies again :)

monocular

canopus7 — Sat, 11 May 2013 15:40:36 -0400

Just had a large 10x50 monocular delivered which in water proof so I shall use this for local star gazing.This should pic.out M51 which Ive see in an 8x42 I had but never in my 8x25.Ill keep the 8x25 as a travel monocular,as the 10x50 is quite big.Tried for M51 ON wEd.nite near Tackley,Oxon,but no luck with my 8x25.

Solar Images

John_Brady — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 02:46:25 -0400

These are images taken with my Solarmax 60 hydrogen alpha scope, and DMK 41 mono camera on the 20th of April 2013. Images were stacked in Registax.
Click to enlarge in Flickr.

The full solar disk

Seething with activity, the huge active region 1726 showing lots of bright areas, and multiple sunspots.

Sunspot 1723 with long dark filaments and an active region snaking away from it.

Sunspot 1727 near the sun's north west limb.

This last one highlights some impressive solar prominences.

M1

canopus7 — Fri, 03 May 2013 14:47:58 -0400

Has some modicum of common sense finally settled on the lighting industry?I took a trip on a National coach from London to Hartlepool overnite last nite and much of the M1 was in darkness,I recall last time I did such a trip by long distance bus the road was lit all the way from London to nr.Leicester.I was able to see Saturn,Arcturus,Spica and Antares out the bus window on that 6 and a half hr.trip north.Heres one for the lighting industry,what causes most road accidents?Speed!What will lighting a road increase?Speed!

Saturn Hurricane!

andyavery — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 08:25:06 -0400

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22351048

Amazing!!!

scorpius

canopus7 — Wed, 01 May 2013 12:40:10 -0400

Walked from Oxford to South Hinksey last nite,wonderful view of Scorpius at about 0100 minus its tail[too low],can u see the tail from anywhere in England ie/Lizard or Isle of Scilly?Last time I saw it was up in the Troodos Mtns.in Greek Cyprus about 2 years back.

south georgia

canopus7 — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 08:12:13 -0400

Some beautiful photos of the night skies over South Georgia in the Sky At Night mag..Would love to get down that way reckon Omega Centauri would be overhead at its zenith there.They call it sub Antartic but I reckon,hardly at 54 deg.south,Im sat in Seaton Carew in n.e.England now at 54,5 ish deg.north and u wouldnt call that sub Artic.

Saturn on camera - finally!

andyavery — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 18:52:47 -0400

My first attempt at Saturn. I couldn't convince my camera to take a photo so I had to use a video.

Still, I'm quite pleased as a first attempt.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ntousvgeke9dwx8/Saturn.wmv

HELP HELP !!

jack — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 19:02:38 -0400

I would really like to snap awsome pictures of Saturns rings , the moons of Jupiter and other wonders in the night sky . is there any specific equipment i should buy ? I'm totally new to this and don't have a clue where to start. help would be appreciated.

finding saturn tonight in the southern uk,

thatmonkey — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:39:35 -0400

anyone give me any hints ??? total beginner,cheers in advance,
Mark

Satellites???

Newbie32 — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 10:07:19 -0500

I'm wondering if someone can please help me with this. My partner and i are new to astronomy, but we have been spotting satellites going through our field of view when using the telescope or binoculars, sometimes even with the naked eye. Now these look just stars that have started moving, and i saw a few of them last night again (well, we're assuming these are satellites anyway?). But last night we were trying to find Uranus, and as we don't have a go-to we were star-hopping. Anyway, we were going from Algenib in Pegasus and working our way down to Pisces from there, when i got distracted by another satellite flitting across the sky and decided to follow it. As i was following it with my binoculars i came across what i thought were 2 stars, the reason they stood out was because they were quite bright and were sitting in a parallel line about 2 degrees apart (now i am still trying to get my head around the directions - east-west, etc), at an approximate angle of 45 degress to the horizon. When i moved the binoculars to start from the top again (i.e. from Algenib down to Pisces) these 'stars' had got even brighter, maybe even slightly brighter than Jupiter (which was nearby). They seemed to have become brighter, peaked slightly brighter than Jupiter (pretty much dominating the sky), and then started getting dimmer, eventually disappearing, simultaneously (getting brighter and dimmer simultaneously). We don't know if they moved away or just got dimmer or what? We are stumped!! They were in Pisces/Pegasus around 5.40pm, our location is Ayrshire, Scotland (N-55 degrees, W-4 degrees). Did anyone else see this or can tell me what it was please?

Bargins

karl — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 07:47:36 -0400

Anyone know of any telescope bargins as im looking for a new or s/h 8"-10" telescope.

A Year on The Sun

John_Brady — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 02:22:58 -0400

This image is Pretty cool...or rather hot! http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130426.html

New comet might blaze brighter than the full Moon

Stephen — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 04:39:20 -0400

Just read this article on C/2012 S1

www.astronomynow.com/news/n1209/25comet/

For anyone who needs a laugh!!!!

Newbie32 — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 11:22:09 -0400

Hi everyone,

My partner found this advert on a website while browsing for telescopes. Thought it might be appreciated on an astronomy site.

Here's the link

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/clearance/hubble-cassegrain-reflector-telescope.html

Hope you are able to access the link okay, and if so, enjoy lol!

Claire x

Partial lunar eclipse April 25th

Andromeda — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:45:00 -0400

At it's maximum at 21.07 - http://earthsky.org/tonight/lunar-eclipse-for-eastern-hemisphere-on-night-of-april-2526?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook#what-time

tal 1 lens

bob — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 05:05:12 -0500

Hi i just bought a a tal 1 on ebay great scope but only one lens 25 mm.I also have a second scope which is also 1.25 inch lens but there do not work on the tal scope there seem to be to long and will not focus on the tal scope. Will only tal lens work on tal scopes. All replys welcome

Moon Images, 19th April

John_Brady — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 15:31:09 -0400

Here are some images I took of the Moon on April the 19th with my Skywatcher 200p and DMK41 ccd camera. It was a good night for lunar observing as the crater Copernicus was highlighted right on the terminator.

Click to enlarge in Flickr.

The image below shows Copernicus, the Alpine Valley, & Montes Apenninus.

This one shows a closer view of Copernicus.

This is a shot of the lunar south pole.

..and this one is with Copernicus to the edge of the image, with the rugged 370 mile long Montes Apenninus mountain range.

This last one shows the crater Plato, with the Alpine Valley below.

antares

canopus7 — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:35:14 -0400

A night time walk over the hills west of Oxford last night to Wooton.Good views of Antares coming up plus Saturn but the Moons getting over powering now.When its gone Im going to try for M13 with the naked eye.

Comet panSTARRS

John_Brady — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 05:58:49 -0500

The 'Upcoming Astronomy Sights' page is now updated with Comet panSTARRS, showing you where to look and when.

Look out for it during mid to late March http://astronomycentral.co.uk/upcoming-astronomy-sights/

Lyrids Meteor Shower

John_Brady — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 05:42:29 -0400

The Lyrids shower peaks on the 21st/22nd April

http://astronomycentral.co.uk/major-meteor-showers

Location of members

karl — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 07:30:06 -0400

The location of members would be nice so we could meet up for a star party or chat.
I live in witham essex and never know where to go with my telescope.
I dont really want to join a club as i dont do crowds

What are the best new sights for a complete beginner

daz1057 — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:30:28 -0400

I got my first telescope at Christmas and I have to say I'm enjoying it every chance I get. I am just staring to get used to setting it up properly and aligning the finder scope with the main one etc. The moon and the planets fascinate me but I now finding myself wanting to look at other stuff.

I live in a city so there's lots of light pollution, there's a football field behind my house so I usually go up there because it's a bit darker. I would like to know what are the best things to look for with a small scope 70mm aperture in a large city.

Venus Returns

John_Brady — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 03:04:01 -0400

Look low to the north west from the end of April for the return of Venus back in our skies at dusk. http://astronomycentral.co.uk/planets-to-see-in-the-sky-tonight/

TAL 2 telescope

thatmonkey — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 16:41:25 -0400

Please can anybody help with my TAL 2,really hope so,
from Mark in southampton