Astronomy Stuff

[Lord Thag]

Posted on: April 23, 2008, 10:20:55 PMPosted by: Pcenginefx 

Hey, let me know.  I'd be interested in anything that would improve the scope.
 

I'll check this evening and get back to you. I'm sure we could work out a trade or something. I *think* I have a spare Super Plossl as well. Those are nice

[Pcenginefx]

So it finally cleared up in Seattle to go out stargazing....I borrowed a crappy $30 telescope from a friend of mine (I don't have my awesome scope yet) and was determined to see Jupiter or die trying...well I didn't have to try that hard because once I realized what I was looking at, Jupiter was the 2nd brightest thing in the sky next to the almost full moon that was out tonight.

Jupiter is VERY easy to spot in the sky and can be viewed in full city lights if you wanted to...I was very surprised that it was so bright!  After verifying that I was indeed looking at Jupiter I began to notice some small "stars" very close to the planet...I then realized that I was seeing 3 of the 4 moons....Io, Ganymede and Europa...amazing considering how crappy a scope I was using.

I managed to snap this photo from the telescope...this is a hand-held shot with a point-and-shoot camera.  I was hoping that the moons would show up in the photo and they did..really amazing!

[Keranu]

Wow, that photo turned out great!

[ceti alpha]

Yeah, that's amazing. I really need a telescope bad.

hmmm....new TV, or telescope. 

[Michael Helgeson]

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-science/20080616/SCIENCE-SPACE-PLANETS-DC/

[Pcenginefx]

So just some additional notes about my Jupiter viewing last night:

- I was using a "Vivitar 50x/100x Refractor Telescope with Tripod" for viewing.  I'd not recommend this scope for any purposes due to being so cheap ($30) and the tripod is so flimsy that a good gust of wind will tip it over

- Taking the shot was extremely hard mostly because I could hardly keep still enough to get a sharp photo.  To fix this, I plan on going back out tonight (if clear) and attaching the Xbox 360 Vision camera to the eyepiece and capturing the photo on my laptop.  I fully expect a huge jump in clarity using this method (we'll see!)

- Jupiter was very low to the horizon last night, so this was probably the worst way to view it due to atmospheric distortion.  If the planet was higher, the viewing would have been much more sharp (the least amount of atmosphere is straight up).

- Viewing Jupiter with the naked eye, the moons looked like faint colored blinking stars around Jupiter, and Jupiter had a light-brownish hue, but no cloud detail was able to be resolved.

[Nintega Turbine Trio-CBS]

Not for nothing but what is so interesting about looking at stars?

[Necromancer]

Not for nothing but what is so interesting about looking at stars?

Either you find it interesting or you don't; just like all hobbies.  Asking such a question is pointless, as the draw is obvious for those with inquisitive minds and can never be explained to those that don't care.

[Keranu]

Yeah, that's amazing. I really need a telescope bad.

hmmm....new TV, or telescope. 

Buy a new big TV and use it to watch Star Gazer on .

[Joe Redifer]

Why the Xbox Live Vision Camera?  Why not the PSEye?  Are you BIASED???   

[Pcenginefx]

Why the Xbox Live Vision Camera?  Why not the PSEye?  Are you BIASED???   

LOL....because the Playstation Eye doesn't have drivers for the PC (I have the PS3 Eye).  I just finished a test of the XBLVC and it's good to go...and should be clear skies tonight!

I'll have video this time too

Not for nothing but what is so interesting about looking at stars?

We live in a galaxy full of billions of stars & planets...and our galaxy is just one of billions of galaxies in the universe...this alone should spark interest in what is in the sky at night! There is much more to see than just plain old stars as well - there are dozens of galaxies, nebulae, star clusters, and our own planets that are visible right from your back yard.  Being able to view all of these objects with your own eyes make them seem real than just looking at them in photos.

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-science/20080616/SCIENCE-SPACE-PLANETS-DC/

Hey those super-earths are only 42 light years away...we could get a signal there fairly quickly at light speed (42 years is "quick" when you are talking about space!)  Active SETI (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_SETI) should send them a signal...

[Joe Redifer]

I'm sure there is plant life on those "Super Earths" and very likely some weird-ass animals as well.  They'd probably be way stronger than us due to the likelihood of the crushing gravity they must have.

Actually, wouldn't there HAVE to be some form of plant life on an earth-type planet?  Also, you can bet there are bacteria in the waters.  It may not be as bad as the water in Tijuana, but I'm sure there are organisms in it.

[awack]

Some people think there is possibility of life underneath the surface of Europa, one of Jupiters moons.

Another thing about the largest of the super earths is that it must have taken god almost 57 days to make

[ceti alpha]

Why are they calling these planets Super-Earths? Do they know there's water on these planets, or do they just know that they're rocky planets and not the typical gas giant they usually find? Anyway, I love hearing about the discovery of new extra-solar planets. And only 42 light years.  Truly awesome.

Ah, OK. Here's an article from Space.com. It says that it's unlikely that there's life on these planets, but again, still a very cool find.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/super_earth_040825.html

[Nintega Turbine Trio-CBS]

I think Earth is the ONLY planet that has living things. NASA is just wasting their time and the government's money putting 2XL in Mars.