Astro Thread

I subscribe to these guys who send me daily emails of astral phenomenon.
http://earthsky.org/space/when-space-expanded-faster-than-light?utm_source=EarthSky+News&utm_campaign=23b7e798f7-EarthSky_News&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c643945d79-23b7e798f7-393912393
If you can ever get your hands on a set of night vision goggles, try them on a starry night you will be amazed at what you can see. Even some nights with little moon you can see way more than with the naked eye, and lots more meteors.

Casa Escarlata Robles Too said:

Not as clear a photo I had hoped for,but it was nice seeing it.
Last night (20 Feb) the moon after sunset had Venus and Mars with it.
Don't get to see a lot of night events as we get fog a lot of the evenings.

Tonight it's said Uranus will also be visible in the area between the moon and Venus/Mars.
No luck for tonight as it's already overcast.
Frank

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Glad you got to see the show and thanks for sharing your pic. It was cloudy here (still is), so no luck for me.

Earthrise!

a trip back to 1968

Thank you!
Paul

ski3pin said:

Earthrise!

a trip back to 1968

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What a magnificent and special time that was...and so far in the past, now.

June 30, 2015: A conjunction of Jupiter and Venus, when they'll be separated by less than ⅓ degree! That's less than the (apparent visual) diameter of the full Moon -- dang close!

Jupiter gets around a lot ...but Venus always sticks pretty close to the Sun, and right now she's following the Sun, so that means you should look to the southwest sky in the early evening to see this.

Will sparks fly when these two meet? We'll see...

I noticed when out camping this past weekend that Venus and Jupiter (the brightest and second-brightest objects after Sun and Moon) were nearing each other.

Perseids time again! It's time to head to a dark spot and set the alarm for midnight. The hard part is staying awake when you are comfortably wrapped in a sleeping bag in your reclining lawn chair looking for meteors.

No moon until very late, so it could be good this year. Here's the info:

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/press-releases/2015-perseid-meteors/

Thanks for the reminder and link, highz.

MarkBC said:

Thanks for the reminder and link, highz.

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Yes! Thanks!

Geminid Meteor Shower peaks tonight -- Dec 13/14.
Best at 2 a.m.

It's usually the biggest shower -- most meteors (theoretically up to 120/hr)...but doesn't get the same attention as the famous Perseids, probably because mid-December viewing conditions usually aren't as pleasant as August.

Unfortunately, weather -- cloud-cover -- doesn't look good for much of the West...but figured I'd post this anyway.

Good call, Mark! Too bad the storm will probably provide cloud cover, and rain & snow

Also I should give everyone a heads up about the Christmas full moon, which won't happen again until 2034,
according to the Weather Channel.

For the location of DV the 99.6% waning gibbous moon will rise at 17:23, about 45 mins after sunset. However, if you want more light on your foreground, for a rising moon photo, consider the day before. On Dec 24 the waxing 99.8% moon will rise at 16:26, just nine minutes after sunset. Could be interesting.

Not too soon to start planning where you will be in August 2017:

https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/best-places-to-view/

takesiteasy said:

Not too soon to start planning where you will be in August 2017:

https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/best-places-to-view/

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Nope, not too early at all!

Here's some previous on the topic: 4 years ago, and Total Eclipse 2017, and Solar eclipse in 2017, mid-morning August 21,,

From what I hear, lodging along the path of totality is generally booked up already -- long ago in some cases. I bet convenient camping locations will be similarly full by the time.

I may just drive up to Madras, OR...


...and sit in the Safeway parking lot.

May see you at Safeway's parking lot. I have camping reserved at Crater Lake. Just a short 3 hour drive.

We'll be staying with some friends in Terrabonne, then drive in to BLM land for viewing.

I hope the locals are planning to have extra fuel deliveries planned for the descending hoards.

Tuff Guy 62 said:

...I hope the locals are planning to have extra fuel deliveries planned for the descending hoards.

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They should do whatever the Gerlach fuel station does during Burning Man.

(of course...many thousands of vehicles drive US 97 through central Oregon every day, so not quite as big a shock as Burning Man)