On the way back to E Sussex from SE7 I kept looking at the moon & the bright "star" (as I thought ) & remarked to Mr F how clear the night sky appeared.
We went up the Atlas mountains a few years ago. No light pollution at all. The night sky was mindblowing.
As long as they aren't behind the sun, you get really good views of Venus and Mercury during an eclipse. There's one in August in the US this summer, I still can't decide whether to go or not.
It's all I can do to resist making a weak (in both senses) bladder joke...
I may be wrong, but I think that the best place in the UK to view the night sky is in the middle of Dumfries and Galloway.
Moved down here in 2010 from Lee...massive difference when looking up into the night sky. We have the sea to the south and country park to the east so little light pollution.
Venus appears so brightly because its dense atmosphere and thick clouds reflect 70% of the sunlight. What with that and it being the closest planet to earth it pretty much always gives a bright, dazzling display.
(PS: The whole astronomy thing really fascinates me and is a bit of a guilty pleasure, or just escapism? I am sure that many of you have it already, but the free Mobius Sky Map app is a great bit of kit for learning about the nightsky and reading it 'live' so to speak. Just little things like the light from the closest star outside of our solar system takes 4 years to reach us intrigues me! So, as a minimum, when you look at the stars at night, that light has taken 10s, 100s, 1000s of years to come into view! And that's with that light travelling at 186,000 miles per second!!).
Stellarium is another good freebie for mapping the skies. It includes Satellites like the ISS too.
I was always told, stretch your fingers apart on one hand, point your little pinky finger at the horizon, follow the direction the third finger is pointing and that will be Venus. However Uncle Harry was jailed pretty soon after and we sort of keep it quiet in the family...
I was always told, stretch your fingers apart on one hand, point your little pinky finger at the horizon, follow the direction the third finger is pointing and that will be Venus. However Uncle Harry was jailed pretty soon after and we sort of keep it quiet in the family...
Did the advice include the direction in which you were facing (other than away from Uncle Harry, I would surmise - but that's me, a great loss to the world of detection)?
And while you're all waiting on the platforms tomorrow morning, the ISS passes directly overhead from West to East between 07.13 - 07.19. Forecast is for a clear sky so it should be in good view.
If any of you like reading about this stuff I recommend a book called Universe in Our hand by Christophe Galtard. PhD student of Hawking. Well written account of the Universe in layman terms. I've tried brief history of time and one other of Hawking's books. Although he tries I still think you need to have a decent knowledge of physics to follow.
Daughter (5) is asking about getting a telescope. Whilst it may be a passinf fad, I'm always happy to encourage her
Best advice I've read is to get some decent wide view binoculars. They would be pretty versatile as well. Anyone else has any thoughts?
A mate at work was bought one for Christmas 2015 and is still hooked. He has now bought a camera to attach to the scope to take pics which sounds easy but is very tricky to do.
Daughter (5) is asking about getting a telescope. Whilst it may be a passinf fad, I'm always happy to encourage her
Best advice I've read is to get some decent wide view binoculars. They would be pretty versatile as well. Anyone else has any thoughts?
That's the best place to start with McBobbin. I've been thinking long and hard about buying a telescope but I find that a good pair of astro binoculars on a tripod does the job. I've got some Celestron 15x70's, I think I paid about £90 for them.
There is also a very good astronomy club, Crayford Astronomy who are now based at Sutton at Hone. Have been a member for a few years, but now we've moved we don't get there too often.
**Edit just noticed your daughter's age. I think these astro bins might be a little too big, but a good pair of binoculars on a tripod might suffice.
Me and my Mrs was driving home from our friends house late one night before Christmas and saw a green fireball meteor going vertical towards the earth. We only identified what it was after Googling it.
You fellas are killing me here. That's two days running I've been out looking and I can't even see the moon, let alone anything else. Plenty of stars, but no moon.
Has someone stolen it? That fella from Despicable Me maybe?
You fellas are killing me here. That's two days running I've been out looking and I can't even see the moon, let alone anything else. Plenty of stars, but no moon.
Has someone stolen it? That fella from Despicable Me maybe?
You do know you have to either go outside or look out of the window right?
You fellas are killing me here. That's two days running I've been out looking and I can't even see the moon, let alone anything else. Plenty of stars, but no moon.
Has someone stolen it? That fella from Despicable Me maybe?
You do know you have to either go outside or look out of the window right?
Went out into the back garden, looked all around. Nothing.
Went out the front into the street and did the same. Nothing.
Gone. Disappeared. Stolen. Someone call the police.
Have you tried using a stepladder, that sometimes helps.
Yeah, good point, cos it's weird to the casual observer seeing a bloke at gone midnight in the freezing cold wandering round a back garden or out in the street staring up at the sky aimlessly, but when you throw a stepladder into the mix it all makes perfect sense!
Anyway, I presume I've missed it now, or will this extravaganza still be visible tonight?
If it is, which way should I be looking? (and don't say "up"!)
You fellas are killing me here. That's two days running I've been out looking and I can't even see the moon, let alone anything else. Plenty of stars, but no moon.
Has someone stolen it? That fella from Despicable Me maybe?
Nah it couldnt have been him... He's too busy trying to keep Coventry in League One
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Thanks for pointing out that it was Venus, @Stig.
I may be wrong, but I think that the best place in the UK to view the night sky is in the middle of Dumfries and Galloway.
Should have known it was Venus.
Cheers stig.
It includes Satellites like the ISS too.
Best advice I've read is to get some decent wide view binoculars. They would be pretty versatile as well. Anyone else has any thoughts?
I don't, this Galtard book was different
There is also a very good astronomy club, Crayford Astronomy who are now based at Sutton at Hone. Have been a member for a few years, but now we've moved we don't get there too often.
**Edit just noticed your daughter's age. I think these astro bins might be a little too big, but a good pair of binoculars on a tripod might suffice.
I genuinely thought it was gonna cause damage...
Has someone stolen it? That fella from Despicable Me maybe?
Went out the front into the street and did the same. Nothing.
Gone. Disappeared. Stolen. Someone call the police.
Anyway, I presume I've missed it now, or will this extravaganza still be visible tonight?
If it is, which way should I be looking? (and don't say "up"!)
Did you see me wandering about at gone midnight last night looking up at the sky aimlessly?