Re: Night Sky : Wed Nov 04, 2015 10:48 pm  

Feck me, your gormcloptitude is of a fierce preserve.

Latest evidence update.

Link to a You Tube video where the author freely admits that they have manipulated a piece of software that demonstrates something else to prove their own idiotic viewpoint.

Can you hear that sound?

Probably not as there won't be many echoes on your Earth, it's the sound of seven billion people giving you a slow hand clap whilst feeling awfully sorry for you and patting you on the head, me, myself, am a charitable Goose, i'm just warming some milk to mix in with your Farley's rusk.

Please tell me, this is you Mugwump, conducting some sort of online Milgram.

Re: Night Sky : Thu Nov 05, 2015 9:32 am  

Sandro II Terrorista wrote:

Please tell me, this is you Mugwump, conducting some sort of online Milgram.

Do I strike you as the type of person who requires an alternative account to get under folk's skin?

That said, I am watching the debate with incredulity.

Previously unknown member with thirty posts suddenly starts spamming multiple threads with controversial rhetoric ... I mean, c'mon!

The disconcerting thing here is not that supposedly intelligent people are responding to an obvious troll - it's that I suspect many of you KNOW he's a troll and are responding anyway. What THAT says is an interesting debate for another time.

Anyhow. I'm nipping any more discussion on earth's flatness in the bud insofar as this thread is concerned. One is quite enough (as I've already stated).

I'll let this message sink in and then cut the garbage out of this thread later on. And yes - if it continues I'll just cut the account because it is annoying for those people who use this thread often.

Re: Night Sky : Fri Nov 06, 2015 1:03 pm  

Friday 6 November - LIVE NOW coverage, including live video when available, of a 6+ hour spacewalk on the ISS by astronauts Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren. The spacewalk is due to end maybe 6-7pm depending how it goes. http://www.space.com/17933-nasa-televis ... ce-tv.html

Friday 6 November - LIVE NOW coverage, including live video when available, of a 6+ hour spacewalk on the ISS by astronauts Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren. The spacewalk is due to end maybe 6-7pm depending how it goes. http://www.space.com/17933-nasa-televis ... ce-tv.html

Re: Night Sky : Wed Nov 11, 2015 11:58 pm  

Chill. Grab a beer. Click view on full screen. Sit back. And watch this absolutely stunning 30 mins of ultra-HD video of the Sun as you have absolutely never seen it before. http://anonhq.com/nasa-captures-suns-da ... -ultra-hd/

Chill. Grab a beer. Click view on full screen. Sit back. And watch this absolutely stunning 30 mins of ultra-HD video of the Sun as you have absolutely never seen it before. http://anonhq.com/nasa-captures-suns-da ... -ultra-hd/

Re: Night Sky : Mon Nov 30, 2015 8:49 pm  

Amazing (2013) image of the Earth and Moon from the Japanese Hayabusa-2 probe as it travels across space to rendezvous with an asteroid.

Re: Night Sky : Fri Dec 04, 2015 3:44 pm  

Ferocious Aardvark wrote:

Amazing (2013) image of the Earth and Moon from the Japanese Hayabusa-2 probe as it travels across space to rendezvous with an asteroid.

That's a cracking image. Amazing stuff.

Re: Night Sky : Fri Dec 04, 2015 10:27 pm  

After professing an interest to a family friend they recently turned up at my door with a telescope they had safely packed away in their loft many moons ago.

So, does any one have any very, very basic advice on the best way to use one/what I should expect as a newbie to telescopes?

Re: Night Sky : Fri Dec 04, 2015 10:52 pm  

Him wrote:

After professing an interest to a family friend they recently turned up at my door with a telescope they had safely packed away in their loft many moons ago.

So, does any one have any very, very basic advice on the best way to use one/what I should expect as a newbie to telescopes?

I'm fairly new myself, but what I've learned is to know the basics of your rig. Once you've got the hang of using your telescope to find anything in the night sky, I've found that approaching a session with it requires a little planning. In so much as it's a good idea to have a plan for the evening for what you want to see rather than randomly pointing the scope. Don't get disheartened if you can't find what you want when you want. Patience is key. Always opt for a nice wide angle for finding stuff before swapping-out your lenses for more detailed stuff.

Concentrate on things like the planets to start with, as they are very rewarding, especially the likes of Saturn and Jupiter. Seeing Saturns rings and moons in real time is always a thrill.

I'm sure there will be others with better advice that I can't think of...

Re: Night Sky : Sat Dec 05, 2015 2:00 pm  

My general advice to people before they get a new telescope, or maybe even after getting a new telescope - find the contact details for your nearest local amateur astronomical society - they usually meet monthly, especially in winter - and just go along, with or without telescope. You will probably learn more in a couple of hours than going on a course. My general advice to anyone buying a telescope "blind", as it were, is "don't". The big problem is we are all inundated with beautiful multicolour HD images of nebulas and galaxies and through your backyard telescope it just isn't remotely like that. Once you understand the limitations, and learn what is possible and what isn't, and are competent to find targets, it is a fantastic experience with the right telescope in the right conditions and very rewarding. Where most fall down is having completely wrong expectations and therefore being irrationally disappointed. What is the spec. of the telescope, and I'll gladly make some suggestions or post some links. In the meantime, fresh back from Pluto, the latest HD images http://www.nasa.gov/feature/new-horizon ... s-of-pluto

My general advice to people before they get a new telescope, or maybe even after getting a new telescope - find the contact details for your nearest local amateur astronomical society - they usually meet monthly, especially in winter - and just go along, with or without telescope. You will probably learn more in a couple of hours than going on a course. My general advice to anyone buying a telescope "blind", as it were, is "don't". The big problem is we are all inundated with beautiful multicolour HD images of nebulas and galaxies and through your backyard telescope it just isn't remotely like that. Once you understand the limitations, and learn what is possible and what isn't, and are competent to find targets, it is a fantastic experience with the right telescope in the right conditions and very rewarding. Where most fall down is having completely wrong expectations and therefore being irrationally disappointed. What is the spec. of the telescope, and I'll gladly make some suggestions or post some links. In the meantime, fresh back from Pluto, the latest HD images http://www.nasa.gov/feature/new-horizon ... s-of-pluto

Re: Night Sky : Wed Dec 09, 2015 11:44 am  

9 December onwards - make a note that (clear skies permitting) there are some very good views of the ISS (International Space Station) sailing serenely across the sky to be had in the current period. Tomorrow (10 dec) there is a Decent pass between 18:24 and 18:26, but after rising from the WSW, and reaching a height of around 39 degrees, the ISS will 'disappear' as it passes into the Earth's shadow (at 18:26:27 if you want to synchronize your watch and impress someone by clicking your fingers and 'making it disappear!). 11 Dec the best view is 17:30 - 17:36 when it will cross most of the southern sky before disappearing Saturday 18:15 - 18:18 is a good one, it will be very bright, and disappear as it reaches due south. Monday will do very similar, but even higher and even brighter. 18:05 - 18:09:10 The best finder is an iPhone app called GoISSWatch. Just be aware the map is the "wrong way round" if you hold it up to the sky - the ISS will always approach from your right, low in the west, never from your left. Live stream (when transmitting), map locator, and 10 day predictions available on http://www.n2yo.com/space-station/

9 December onwards - make a note that (clear skies permitting) there are some very good views of the ISS (International Space Station) sailing serenely across the sky to be had in the current period. Tomorrow (10 dec) there is a Decent pass between 18:24 and 18:26, but after rising from the WSW, and reaching a height of around 39 degrees, the ISS will 'disappear' as it passes into the Earth's shadow (at 18:26:27 if you want to synchronize your watch and impress someone by clicking your fingers and 'making it disappear!). 11 Dec the best view is 17:30 - 17:36 when it will cross most of the southern sky before disappearing Saturday 18:15 - 18:18 is a good one, it will be very bright, and disappear as it reaches due south. Monday will do very similar, but even higher and even brighter. 18:05 - 18:09:10 The best finder is an iPhone app called GoISSWatch. Just be aware the map is the "wrong way round" if you hold it up to the sky - the ISS will always approach from your right, low in the west, never from your left. Live stream (when transmitting), map locator, and 10 day predictions available on http://www.n2yo.com/space-station/