What are you looking at?

Ostrom

So...what occupies your typical nights viewing?

A general browse?
Something specific?
Particular interests?
Any specialists?

I notice a lot of recurring individuals spread across different threads, so it might be nice to get a sense of how everyone 'does' their own particular astronomy.

A general discussion thread maybe??

jumpguy

There hasn't been great weather for the past week so I haven't done much. The ISS and other random satellites are fun to spot. Try spotting some galaxies on Stellarium (spotted Andromeda the other night). Planets and this Comet 22P Kopff. Alot for a binoculars.

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efla wrote: »

So...what occupies your typical nights viewing?

A general browse?
Something specific?
Particular interests?
Any specialists?

I notice a lot of recurring individuals spread across different threads, so it might be nice to get a sense of how everyone 'does' their own particular astronomy.

A general discussion thread maybe??

Great Topic

will reply later , sorry got to go for a bit

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Hauk

In the past few weeks I've observed Jupiter, the Andromeda Galaxy, the Ring nebula, the great cluster in Hercules, Alcor and Mizar in Ursa Major.

Most of my interests lie with planets, galaxies, and nebula's. And with Mars coming up soon, I'm quite excited.

I tend to keep it to what I can view in Stellarium. And as new stuff appears above the horizon, I aim to try and view that during my observing sessions.

Any questions just ask.

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Howya doin efla

Great question , im Just like hauk id say , when reading his post i kept nodding in agreement , work for me starts very early and that in itself has drawbacks as i cant stay up till 4am in the dark mornings and have a good winters night viewing , but ill have the scope( Clestron 8 " ) out most times the moons up early in the evening , or theres no cloud cover , as we are ALL aware in this country its hard to get good viewing conditions , but same as Hauk its planets, galaxies, and nebulas etc , comets if they are visible and of course ISS and SS , i suppose if me and hauk said we like to look at " everything " we would have covered it hahaha

Regards
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I'm into tracking both comets and planets; I love to track their progress relative to the background stars over the course of several months. Apart from that, I'm interested in everything really: nebulae, other galaxies, star clusters etc., anything really.

Edit: Oh, and Iridium flares. I'm addicted to spotting them.

Flukey

My bedroom faces south, so most of my observing is just spent looking out the window with the naked eye. I have a good pair of binoculars, so I use those for a closer look sometimes. I have a telescope which I use, though not very often. Saturn is a great favourite when it does come out, as it is fascinating to observe. As Jupiter shows itself earlier in the coming months, I'll be out looking at it and its moons again. I could see them with my binoculars a few nights ago. The moon is a good one to look at, with the naked eye or equipment. The list could go on.

From time to time we have special events. Over the last couple of weeks, as we've seen, we've had the ISS and Endeavour to see passing. Although I've often seen the ISS before, it is still good to see it. Other specials include things like comets and meteor showers.

The next big thing will be the Perseid meteor shower, which peaks on August 12th. However, I would say to people to even start looking now. Meteor showers are not a one night show. For the weeks before and after the peak, you can see some too. So although the peak is nearly 3 weeks from now, and there won't be many to see at this point, start looking. Any clear night in the coming weeks, take a look. We don't know what the night of the peak is going to be like weatherwise, but many people that hear about the shower, only hear about the peak night and if it is cloudy, they don't bother looking again. But it is worth watching for a few weeks before and after the peak.

At different times of year there are of course various things to see. It is great to see Orion starting to rise as we come into the autumn months. Then in the months through the winter we see it even better. It is of course the finest constellation of them all, but there are also many other bright stars in the vicinity, so that whole area of sky is great to watch, aided by the long nights.

A fun thing I like to do sometimes is to try and see the stars come out. We all know you can't see them during the day and then you come out a few hours later and they are everywhere. At some point in between those two times, they had to appear. Trying to see that actually happen is a good challenge. You need a few clear nights in a row to help you know more or less where a particularly bright star, or planet, will appear, and the time it will come out. So at dusk you spend time scanning that area of sky for your chosen object. Sometimes you'll look and won't see it, and then a few minutes later it is there. Sometimes you will be lucky enough to actually see it coming out.

Orion is a great one to do it with, as there are plenty of bright stars in it. It is particularly good in spring, as it fully risen before it comes out. Once one star comes out, if you are familiar with Orion you know a bit better as to where to look to find the next one. Sirius, in the nearby constellation of Canis Major, is always first out. Once you see it, you can start looking for Rigel and Betelgeuse in Orion and Procyon in Canis Minor. Procyon, Sirius and Betelgeuse form a nice triangle, helping to pinpoint them. When Betelgeuse and Rigel are out, it is not too hard to look for Bellatrix. Then there is Orion's belt of Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka to try and spot, and of course the Orion nebula. You also have Gomesia, Procyon's nearby neighbour.

Of course all of that is a long way off now. But there are others to try at this time of the year. The summer triangle of Altair, Vega and Deneb are good. Once you see Altair in Aquila, you can watch for its neighbours, first Tarazed, above it and then Alshain, below it. Altair and Tarazed are an easy to see pair, and Altair always comes first, followed soon by Tarazed. You have to look a bit closer to try and spot Alshain, even when it is dark, as the other two are easy to see and immediately grab your attention when you see them.

So, those are some of the things I like to do. But just looking out and watching the night sky at nothing in particular, and seeing whatever is there can hold your attention in itself. Even if you can't identify one of the stars or other things you are seeing, it is still fascinating. Then when you start to think about the scale of things and how far away they are, it becomes even more fascinating.

Sometimes as you watch, you'll be lucky enough to see a meteor or a passing satellite by chance. I've done that, and even seen the ISS by chance a few times, not even knowing it was passing at that time. I once saw a fireball, which was amazing, by luckily happening to be looking in the right direction at the right time. So even when you are familiar with what is out there, you never know what you might see. It's all part of the wonderful hobby we have.

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-JammyDodger- wrote: »

I'm into tracking both comets and planets; I love to track their progress relative to the background stars over the course of several months. Apart from that, I'm interested in everything really: nebulae, other galaxies, star clusters etc., anything really.

Edit: Oh, and Iridium flares. I'm addicted to spotting them.

Hiya -JammyDodger-

My son text me today and called me a " JammyDodger " in reference to something and i burst out laughing it was a funny moment !

Hope your well?
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