YouCannotBeSirius

On March 20th 2014 at 6:07 UT Regulus will be occulted by an asteroid, an extremely rare event, viewable from NE United States and Canada, for those in the centre of the path, the star will remain invisible for around 12 seconds. Unfortunately for those of us in the UK, if I've worked it out correctly on Stellarium, the event will be out of sight just below the horizon and the sky would probably be too bright anyway.

Thanks very much guys. I really appreciate the help. Of course tonight it's cloudy, but now I have plenty to check out when it clears up. I suppose it's kind of lazy to ask when I could just look around the sky, but sometimes I only have a small window of time, so it's good to at least get names of objects or clusters so I can locate them on the map, without spending hours looking for something my gear wouldn't pick up, which I have done before... yes, I'm still new to this.

Weather permitting, if it's clear tonight as it has been the last two nights, I will be out with my telescope of course. I never tire of looking at the usual suspects: Jupiter, Orion Nebula, Pleiades, Andromeda galaxy etc at this time of year. But can anyone recommend any other realistic targets to have a gander at? I've got a 5.1" reflector (see signature for full list). I am hoping to go to a relatively dark site, i.e. a mile from LP (and with the new moon) it should be pretty good viewing conditions. Thanks!

Something is better than nothing! It's a shame the same isn't occurring tonight as we have clear skies again. I was out 8-9pm when most of the sightings were being reported, but I was busy looking at Jupiter's GRS for the first time and didn't see the reports until it was too late, I still kept an eye but saw nothing with or without the telescope this time, unfortunately. I can't complain, I saw the 'green curtains' overhead in Iceland last February. But I'd like my family in the UK to be able to see some of it at least. Better luck next time!

Nice, I would love to see them. I have a friend that lives near the Solway Firth, I don't know if she saw anything though, she may not have been looking. I'm not sure how you post a picture on this forum, I haven't done it before myself - sorry! There's probably a button for it somewhere.

Lots of sightings across Scotland and Northern England reported tonight, including Norfolk and Aberdeen around 8pm - 9pm, although I saw nothing in South Cumbria despite relatively clear skies.

Feb 13 Feb 14 Feb 15 00-03UT 2 3 5 (G1) 03-06UT 1 2 6 (G2) 06-09UT 1 2 5 (G1) 09-12UT 1 2 5 (G1) 12-15UT 1 3 4 15-18UT 1 4 3 18-21UT 2 5 (G1) 4 21-00UT 2 5 (G1) 4 Rationale: G1-G2 (Minor-Moderate) geomagnetic storms are expected during Feb 14 - 15 due to multiple CME passages.

Also, forgot to say (sorry can't edit posts) the best website to keep an eye on, imo, is 'Aurora Service EU' and their hourly forecast.

No problem. I'm hoping the awful 'stormy' weather will be over by then as a potential KP6 is a good sign for Cumbria, although I won't get too excited until nearer the time.

http://www.softservenews.com/en/aurora-borealis-breaking-news/noaa-two-solar-storm-watches-news300029.html STORM WATCH No. 1 (Possible strength, 5 Kp): Storm watch No. 1 begins on 14 February 2014 at 00:01:00 -- in 25 hours and 57 minutes (this info is automatically in your local time) The watch starts at the above time and continues for 24 hours. STORM WATCH No. 2 (Possible strength, 6 Kp): Storm watch No. 2 begins on 15 February 2014 at 00:01:00 -- in 49 hours and 57 minutes (this info is automatically in your local time) The watch starts at the above time and continues for 24 hours. The long term accuracy of "moderate storm watches (6 Kp predicted) is better, with a storm hitting the predicted mark about two-thirds of the time." Rutledge noted there is generally a higher degree of certainty when NOAA predicts a moderate storm as opposed to a minor one. The moderate storm watches imply a more clear-cut earth directed CME. The second storm watch is a "moderate" storm watch.

As the title suggests, I was just wondering if anyone, through their telescopes, have observed more than the 4 main Galilean moons of Jupiter, say perhaps, 6 at one time?

I find it more absurd that some people still think we are alone in the entire universe... if people could comprehend the sheer size of the observable universe, not only would they be much kinder to each other considering as far as we know so far, we may be alone, but also that the possibility of 'other life' is fairly reasonable. That's what I love about science, that it doesn't discount anything, but it strives for evidence and a lack of evidence doesn't automatically imply a lack of existence (in this case, of life elsewhere in the universe). I'm no expert, but I realise that science is always forming and reforming, chopping and developing theories and ideas. It wasn't that long ago I read a paper on the formation of black holes and how earlier theories are being proven 'wrong' (for want of a better word). I don't necessarily believe one way or another that we are not alone; I'm waiting to see it for myself, for the evidence to come to light. But I do believe that we don't know everything about the observable universe yet, never mind what lies beyond, so until we have explored every inch of what we can see, we can't say, there is no other life.

I also thought about getting a GoTo, finances wouldn't allow one immediately as it is, but I also wanted to learn my own way around the sky first, I enjoy the challenge of locating and tracking an object for myself (having said that, I have SupaTrak which I haven't used because it won't set up properly). For my first telescope I didn't want it all on a plate so to speak because I wouldn't learn as much as I am otherwise and I wouldn't appreciate the feeling of achievement when I find objects manually, it might take longer, but it's rewarding.

Unsettled to minor storm (G1-Minor) levels are expected on Feb 2nd as a glancing blow from the 30 Jan CME is expected to impact the geomagnetic field, causing unsettled to minor storm (G1-Minor) conditions resulting in a KP level of 5.

This thread is full of great advice. What magnitude is it expected/predicted to reach? I understand the peak is around 2nd Feb...