Aurora Borealis

fatphilb

fatphilb

Well-Known Member
Who is all goin out to try and get a peek at the Northern Lights tonight?

Had planned on it, but 95% cloud cover :x
 
its only partly cloudy in Newcastle tonight apparently so might give it a go if I can get somewhere out of the town away from the lights...
 
gr8 shout, phil.

Had not read anything about this until reading this, clouds have cleared here in Yorks for the moment. Was really clear last night, sure we had a couple of planets visible.
 
WeLuvIbiza said:
gr8 shout, phil.

Had not read anything about this until reading this, clouds have cleared here in Yorks for the moment. Was really clear last night, sure we had a couple of planets visible.
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Those two planets are Venus and Jupiter...really big and bright in the sky and quite close at the minute compared to the rest. Mars is showing now to, and if you are up late enough Saturn to(the best one to see through a telescope for wow factor).
 
OlskiNotts said:
Those two planets are Venus and Jupiter...really big and bright in the sky and quite close at the minute compared to the rest. Mars is showing now to, and if you are up late enough Saturn to(the best one to see through a telescope for wow factor).
Click to expand...

Best app on android is Google's night sky thingymajig... just need to obtain me a big scope and an slr and join the hordes of new amateur astronomers dancing to Brian cox's tune... If anyone gets any DEECE photos innit post em up
 
fatphilb said:
Best app on android is Google's night sky thingymajig... just need to obtain me a big scope and an slr and join the hordes of new amateur astronomers dancing to Brian cox's tune... If anyone gets any DEECE photos innit post em up
Click to expand...
I was in to astronomy long before Cox turned up :)
If you want to go down the route of deep sky imaging then be prepared to spend at least 2k(for decent images it would be considerably more) to get started and then countless hours of time wasted due to this islands crap weather. I would not waste my money on that unless I live somewhere with a decent view of the night sky.
And the app is "google sky map" it is a great bit of kit for the novice who doesn't know what he/she is looking at in the sky.
 
OlskiNotts said:
I was in to astronomy long before Cox turned up :)
If you want to go down the route of deep sky imaging then be prepared to spend at least 2k(for decent images it would be considerably more) to get started and then countless hours of time wasted due to this islands crap weather. I would not waste my money on that unless I live somewhere with a decent view of the night sky.
And the app is "google sky map" it is a great bit of kit for the novice who doesn't know what he/she is looking at in the sky.
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indeed, i've always marvelled at the sky but anytime i looked a starchart i was just pfffft f dat, no chance id remember all that... can pick out a few things now though.... its class cause you can then Google image search a picture of what it is you're looking at... a mate pays a monthly subscription to a big telescope somewhere in south America i think, every month you get something like 3 5 minute sessions on it

I dunno man I've seen some pretty decent results from sub 2k equipment

Been wanting to book a weekend at this place in galloway, Google galloway astro tours.... Get someone that knows what they're talking about to show me around the skies...
 
fatphilb said:
indeed, i've always marvelled at the sky but anytime i looked a starchart i was just pfffft f dat, no chance id remember all that... can pick out a few things now though.... its class cause you can then Google image search a picture of what it is you're looking at... a mate pays a monthly subscription to a big telescope somewhere in south America i think, every month you get something like 3 5 minute sessions on it

I dunno man I've seen some pretty decent results from sub 2k equipment

Been wanting to book a weekend at this place in galloway, Google galloway astro tours.... Get someone that knows what they're talking about to show me around the skies...
Click to expand...
Sounds good, I would love to come to jockland for a weekend of stargazing and when I have the money I am going to come up with mother in law :?:D She us in to it to.
I meant over 2k for a telescope and mount capable of taking decent pics dont forget your camera would cost around a grand easy. It is a bloody expensive and fulfilling hobby but one for which I dont have the time right now although I will always keep a keen interest and have a scope in the garage but too much light pollution where I live :(

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Turn-Left-O...r_1_23?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331248281&sr=1-23
On a side note for anyone interested in this stuff, this is a great book to start with. You literally start at a focal point and the book talks you through which direction to go and what you are looking at.
 
Guys, what sort of budget would you suggest could buy a telescope for my boy aged nearly 7? The wife bought him a terrible national geographic thing that extends like a sailors scope, useless, but got him interested. If he had one that could distinguish the close planets (when visible) from stars, I think he would really get absorbed? Or is this not possible with spending a lot?
 
WeLuvIbiza said:
Guys, what sort of budget would you suggest could buy a telescope for my boy aged nearly 7? The wife bought him a terrible national geographic thing that extends like a sailors scope, useless, but got him interested. If he had one that could distinguish the close planets (when visible) from stars, I think he would really get absorbed? Or is this not possible with spending a lot?
Click to expand...

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-dobsonian.html
That is my suggestion, however if you want to buy him one then spend as much as you can reasonably spend. Reason being for every telescope there is a better one and once you get the bug you will want more. With this one you will get great views of jupiter and saturn and some decent deep sky like andromeda and orions belt. With a dob telescope you get a better tube for viewing but this makes the mount very simple and basic but you want to see the best you can see in budget so unless you have a couple of grand spare then you cant go wrong with a dob. You wont have a motorised mount or anything you simply push it round and look. And with a decent planesphere(look up the philips one) and some patience you'll get some amazing results.
Remember the images you see on pics are NOT what you will ever see in a telescope.
You will need to buy decent eyepieces to get the most of your scope as the standard ones that come are normally cheap mass made jobs from china. Again, the more you spend the better the quality it will be.
You will need a collimator for a dob, quite easy to learn how to collimate it before starting a viewing session.
You could look for your local astro society and go along they are normally free on open days and will let you have a look at different scopes and see what you want before you buy. If you let me know where you are from I will look for you. I have emailed the one in Ibiza but they never replied to my request to visit there observatory in June :(
You could also join stargazers lounge, they have a for sale section and there are some good bargains on there from time to time. Great set of folk to who always help when you need it.
Sorry for going on but this is literally the tip of the info you should do a lot of research before parting with any cash :)
 
Many thanks, Olski. His face would be a picture if opening that beast on his birthday! The reviews read very well, sounds like a decent priced model.
 
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