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Showing results for tags 'uranus'.
Found 29 results
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The February Binocular Sky Newsletter is ready. In addition to the usual stuff on DSOs and variable and double stars, this month we have: Uranus still available Occultation of δ Cnc X Oph near maximum Grazing occultation of 63 Tau (Devon only) I hope it helps you to enjoy these chilly winter nights. To pick up your free copy, just head over to http://binocularsky.com and click on the Newsletter tab. You can also subscribe (also free) and have it emailed each month.
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The first Binocular Sky Newsletter of 2019 is ready. In addition to the usual stuff on DSOs and variable and double stars, this month we have: Uranus still available Comet 46P/Wirtanen fading X Oph brightening Two (difficult) grazing occultations Here's hoping that 2019 brings us all an abundance of clear, dark skies. To pick up your free copy, just head over to http://binocularsky.com and click on the Newsletter tab. You can also subscribe (also free) and have it emailed each month.
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- lunar grazing occultations
- comet 46p
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I've not yet seen Uranus through my scope and am going to make an effort once the clouds blow away (of course we get a storm the moment I get back into astronomy!). Based on the equipment i have (please see signature) can you all give some tips on how I might have success in this endeavor? Would be much appreciated!
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The November edition of the Binocular Sky Newsletter is ready. As well as the usual overview of DSOs, variable and double stars, this month we have: * Uranus still available * Comet 46P * Mira brightening * Asteroid occultation for southern England So grab those binocs (or small telescope) and enjoy the glories that the night sky has to share with us. To pick up your free copy, just head over to http://binocularsky.com and click on the Newsletter tab. You can also subscribe (also free) and have it emailed each month.
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Does anyone use eye glasses *just* for astronomy?
Sedna posted a topic in Getting Started With Observing
Does anyone here use eye glasses *only* for astronomy? I'm a young guy with good eye sight. But here's a story that makes me wonder if I need eye glasses. I went to Death Valley National Park in early November last year (2017), just about three weeks after Uranus was at opposition. I set up a modest (~2 inch) telescope I had borrow from a friend at Ubehebe Crater, which is at the northern end of the park. The northern end of park has a virtually perfect sky. If you check lightpollutionmap.info, this site is a Bortle class 1 sky, artificial brightness = 0.17 ucd/m^2. In other words, this was the best possible place and time to see Uranus. In fact, I did find Uranus, but only with the aid of the telescope and a star chart app that told me exactly where to look. The app had enough background stars that I could identify Uranus through the scope, and it had the same blue color as in Voyager pictures. (Later that night I even found Neptune!) But I also wanted to see Uranus with my unaided eye. This was my best chance, and how cool would that be, to say you really saw the seventh planet with your own bare eyes? Unfortunately, even when I knew exactly where to, I had no such luck. Some of the main stars in Pieces (where Uranus was) were even so dim that I could barely see them with averted vision (and even then I had to kinda wonder if I was only imagining seeing them). Why I couldn't see Uranus near opposition in Death Valley, with a clear, dry sky and no light pollution and knowing exactly where to look? My best guesses are (1) vision problems and (2) eyes never fully dark adjusting. 1) I'm in my late 20s and don't wear glasses. Last I checked, I had 20/20 vision. But maybe I've become very subtly near sighted (my job involves staring at a computer screen all day). 2) I was checking the star chart app fairly frequency to orient myself. Maybe my vision never fully adjusted? I think I must have gone at least 20 minutes without looking, which should be enough to fully adjust? I've also had some difficultly seeing M31 and other "easy" targets with the naked eye. I really don't think I can get a prescription for eye glasses from the doctor, because I see fine in daily life and had mine checked about a year ago (no problems). So my question: Does anyone here use eye glasses *only* for astronomy? If so, where do you get a good pair? I really want to experience the joy of astronomy with my bare eyes and not just the telescope. If anyone has insights here, please let me know. Thanks everyone! -
Venus and Uranus will be in conjunction, less than 4' apart, close enough to fit within a low power telescopic view. It will be a challenge to see Uranus at magnitude 5.9 in the evening twilight. Use Venus as your guide. A great astrophotography event!
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I already posted an AS!2 rendition of a few Uranus captures in my 6-planet thread but I redid this one in Registax and surprisingly it seems I get a much better result in the latter. This is a 400% blow-up:
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The latest edition of the Binocular Sky Newsletter is ready. The nights are getting longer so, as well as the usual overview of DSOs, variable and double stars, this month we have: * Several lunar occultations, including a (somewhat tricky) graze of HIP 38975 for observers in Eire and the north of England * Uranus and Neptune are now observable in the evening (as well as the morning) * Ceres and Vesta are difficult, but back! * A mini-review of the Levenhuk Sherman PRO 10x50 binocular To grab your (free!) copy, or to subscribe, log on to http://binocularsky.com and click on the Newsletter tab
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The Binocular Sky Newsletter, December 2013
BinocularSky posted a topic in Observing - with Binoculars
The Binocular Sky Newsletter for December 2013 is now available. Things have been a tad hectic recently at "BinoSky Central" , so this is a tad shorter than usual but, I hope, will still be useful. What I try to pass off as "normal service" will be resumed as soon as possible... In addition to the usual selection of good DSOs and Solar System objects to observe, in this month's issue we also have: * Comet Lovejoy * Many lunar occultations * A selection of variable stars To grab your (free!) copy, go to http://binocularsky.com/ and click on the Newsletter tab. I hope you find it useful. -
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From the album: Starchasing
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Skysafari success to find Uranus in 20x80 binos with shakey
Astroegg posted a topic in Discussions - Software
I'm fairly proud of myself... in a grab and go moment, I ventured out the door for a glimpse at the sky with my Celestron 20x80 binoculars, but couldn't be bothered to setup the tripod. With the Square of Pegasus in front of me I thought it would be a good game to try and fix the Andromeda Galaxy in my view through the binos. Shortly after I had the fuzzy smear of M31 centred in the field of view but my shakey grip on the heavy binos without tripod or in fact any support was beginning to tell - and my neck and arms were beginning to ache too! Having achieved a satisfactory observational aim, I reached for my phone then used the Skysafari Pro app to have a look at and identify the visible star field around me. When I caught sight of the name Uranus on the screen I was intrigued. I had observed the planet before through my 11" scope when it was auto-aligned and picking out objects using the GOTO. I had also had success observing Uranus with a small 3" telescope (Skywatcher 76P) which proved nearly impossible as it had no finder scope or tracking, and was mounted on a bowl (!!!!) - Yes, it's the "Pingu scope" if anyone is familiar with it. But trying to pick out a mag 5.8 object amongst a sea of sparkling stars whilst my arms were shaking like a break-dancer’s under the strain of the mighty 20x80 binos, nearly causing me epilepsy from the jittering image I was peering at, proved to be an entirely different exercise of futility altogether. Determined to avoid a certain divorce if I dared to suggest to my better half I needed image stabilising binoculars, I persisted in trying to locate and centre the gas giant with a bit of tightened elbow control and some star hopping assistance using the Skysafari Pro app to try and pinpoint any mini-asterisms I caught sight of in the view. By chance, a reasonably straight line of stars with another reasonably straight line of stars at near right angles to it was close to a tree line and proved easy to relocate in the binos if I lowered them to give momentary muscle rest and tried to find them on the star map. This is where Skysafari Pro first showed me my most expensive phone app was actually pretty cool! (Apologies to Southern Stars but I always found their twenty-five quid asking price rather steep when there were other similar apps available for free.) Anyway, low and behold, the mini-asterism I has spied in the binoculars just by the treeline showed up on the Skysafari app when I pinched the zoom in and out a bit. What a stroke of luck - I now knew where I was looking and where Uranus was in relation to that spot... Zooming in the display on the phone app, I picked out a star hopping trail I could follow with the binos and end up with Uranus in the field of view. Up with the binos, hop along the stars a bit, back down check the map, and back up with the binos and so on... Following the trail I eventually had the icy world which is currently a little over 19 times further than our Sun from Earth right in view! It was at that moment I suffered a slight spasm in my neck, nearly lost my grip on the binos and almost sent my phone on a drop test too. Then I stepped on the cat who had probably come to investigate why I was ruining his street-cred and decided I'd better pack in my observations before my neighbours get disturbed anymore and think I am a pervert with a giant pair of binoculars prowling around in the dark! Astronomy heh? For those interested, I used some stars in the 'tail of the whale' of Cetus to help locate Uranus... Using Skysafari Pro and starting with '13 Cet' (or 'HIP 2762 A' according to Stellarium) I moved in a straight line to 'HD 2995' ('HIP 2612') and on to '12 Cet' ('HIP 2352'), then the other straight line of stars veering off nearly at a right angle took me to 'HD 2593' (HIP 2312'), 'HD 2612' ('HIP 2323'), 'HD 2830' ('HIP 2496'), continuing upwards until I saw another straight line of equally spaced stars: '15 Cet', '14 Cet' and 'HD 3024' ('HIP 2994', 'HIP 2787', and 'HIP 2641' respectively). I then got a fix on '10 Cet' ('HIP 2100 A') before moving into the constellation of Pisces and finding '44 Psc' ('HIP 2006') and hooking back Eastwards (or left in the bino view) to finally locate the target Uranus. Neptune would have tempted me to brave being arrested for prowling if only it wasn't hidden by the trees, but perhaps that's a blessing? I wish you all clear skies. -
halloween observation 2016 Halloween Observation Night 2016
MarsG76 posted a topic in Observing - Deep Sky
Halloween Observation Night Date: 31 October/ 01 November 2016 @ 22:30-01:00AEDT Location: Robertson Equipment: Celestron 8SE on CGEM, Televue 31mm Nagler Type-5, 17mm Ethos, 2X 2" Powermate, Astronomik UHC Filter I finally had a clear moonless night of observation, it just happened to be on Halloween night. I was looking for a new spot in the mountains where I could setup and a couple of months ago I came across a nice little oval miles away from the city and light sources so I was hanging to check it out. When we arrived, there were people having a BBQ and playing tennis with all of the court lights on, this was a bit of a bummer but I figured that they won't be forever and eventually we'll have a clear night of viewing, they left just after 22:30. Once they left and lights were off we had some nice views of 47Tuc, Tarantula Nebula area, Orion Nebula, The Sculptor Galaxy, NGC362 Globular Cluster, The Helix Nebula, an Open cluster in the south near/around Theta Carnia, Uranus and Neptune. 47Tuc: The globular cluster clearly stood out with its millions of glistening stars becoming denser toward the core. As I was observing the cluster in the 17mm Ethos, a slow moving and bright satellite flew past it. Those views are an event that makes a already great view even better. The view of 47Tuc were all awesome using both 31mm Nagler and 17mm Ethos with and without the 2X powermate. NGC362: This globular was a lot smaller and fainter than 47Tuc but still had a lot of individual stars all around it and individual stars visible within the core. Not as impressive as 47Tuc but still a nice view through the 17mm Ethos that's very easy to see with direct vision. NGC 2070: The Tarantula Nebula was a very nice view in all powers. The loops around a obviously brighter tentacular center were faintly visible, especially when observing it using the averted method. I started the viewing using the 17mm ethos through which I saw a fair bit of detail on a quite big tarantula nebula in the eyepiece. The surprising view was when I had a look at it through the 31mm T5 Nagler. The FOV was large enough and magnification low enough for being able to position the Tarantula in left lower with nebulosity amongst hundreds of stars to the right visible where a bit of the large Magellanic cloud was coming into the FOV. There was some fuzziness and nebulosity above it, I thought what a great view, this would make a great photo. The view of the tarantula system through the Nagler was amazing, I saw nebulosity, hundreds of stars and it was all easy to see. M42/43/Running Man: Orion Nebula was a bit of a disappointment. Granted that I was waiting for the Orion nebula to come above the trees and it was not very high in the sky at the time, but I am comparing it to the view I had in the past. The shape was visible, with the trapezium clearly visible with the stars being very stable and sharp points of light, so I figured that the seeing was good, so why do I not see more detail in Orion Nebula? I saw way more nebula and detail in the past. I added the UHC filter in the eyepiece and sure it faded the stars but it did not bring out more detail like it did before, actually it made the view worse! Using both the Nagler and Ethos, in both magnifications the nebulosity was not as defined and clear as in the past but definitely there. M43 was not as defined as I saw from the dam at the start of the year, back then the "comma" shape was clearly visible and even detail visible with in it, not tonight, I was struggling to see the comma shape. The Running Man was nearly visible, I actually think that at times I saw the running man shape, about as good as I remember seeing it at the beginning of the year, so seeing was (most likely) good so why am I not seeing the nebula like before? I started to investigate. First I checked to make sure that the corrector plate was not fogged over, it was not, that I removed the real cell filter in the back of the scope on the visual back thread, thinking that maybe it takes away from the view. When comparing with and without it, I saw no difference, even suspected the dew shield perhaps causing some kind of a slight blockage and compared with and with out it, no difference, finally I re-collimated the mirrors, they were slightly out, but after collimation it again made no difference. I put it down to a combination of Orion nebula being too low in the sky just above the trees and in the direction of the city. Here I'll mention that the sky did seem quite bright, I thought that maybe my eyes were dark adapted and it seemed like it but maybe not, more on this later with my experience when I was packing up for the night. I guess I have no choice than to try again and see if a darker/more transparent sky will make a difference next observing session. NGC253: The Sculptor Galaxy was relatively easy to see, whether inverted or direct vision I could see a brighter center in a squashed oval, cigar, shape. Occasionally I think I saw some darker "cracks" through the brighter core along with 3 to 5 faint stars glistening within the elongated shape. Sculptor is big in the FOV so I kept it on the 31mm Nagler, the Ethos did not make the view any better or easier to see. I could see the galaxy clearer the more I looked at it and feel like I didn't spend enough time looking at it. NCG7293: The Helix Nebula was a faint but a big ghostly smoke ring in the 31mm Nagler. It is very faint but the smokey ring can be made out using averted vision, or slowly moving the view with the keypad set to "3". I could make out the central neutron star, very small and faint but definitely there. Next time I observe this object I'll have to try looking at it through various filters instead of just bare, maybe more will be visible. Southern open star cluster: visible with eye as fuzzy patch closer to a dust cloud rather than stars but in binoculars and in the scope was visible as heaps of scattered stars, Looking at a star map it seems to be the cluster around Theta Carina. Looked like hundreds of pin point stars were spilled into the FOV. Quite a nice view, no nebulosity visible within its vicinity. Uranus: It is a pale greenish tiny disc that's discernible from the stars around it due to its color and a little disc as opposed to a point of light, I saw no moons. Neptune: Neptune was a pale tiny grey-blueish disc barely bigger then the two stars next to it. As with Uranus, I didn't spend much time on it since there's no hope of seeing any more detail. As a last object due to its late rising this time of the year, I wanted to see the rosette but it wasn't above the trees by 01:00 when we left. Still I found it in the eyepiece and identified the 7 stars located in the center making a rhomboid shape. I read online that this nebula is one where a UHC filter really makes it stand out, so I had to try it. The center stars were still behind tree tops and sad to say that with and without the UHC filter I did not spot any nebulosity. This object will have to wait a couple of months for a darker night and when it's higher in the sky. The 31mm Nagler, 17mm ethos, 2" 2X Powermate and the Astronomik 2" UHC filter is all we took... Honestly you don't need any more than this to observe using a 8" SCT. This combination covered various magnifications and limited fumbling around in the dark for eyepieces or filters allowing more time at the eyepiece. We had some great views tonight and I can't wait to be in a dark site when the seeing is even darker with less or no sky glow. Surprisingly the Astronomik UHC made the views worse on all occasions. Not like the Lumicon that gave me the wow views on the past, unfortunately the Carina Nebula was below the horizon so I couldn't test on it, the Carina is really breathtaking through the Lumicon UHC. Next time I'm going to compare the Astronomik 2" to the Lumicon 1.25" which I didn't have with me, I'm hoping that it was just the seeing otherwise I'll eBay it and get the 2" Lumicon. Another combination I want to try the 2" TVs with is through the f6.8 reducer. It seemed like there was heaps of skyglow. We made sure that we were in total darkness, no lights except purely red lights. Yes lots of objects and stars were visible, more than from home but when we were packing up when I turned on the car head lights and we were hit by white light destroying our night adaptation. After we were packed up, I turned off the head lights and I looked up and to my surprise the sight was similar to "dark adapted" eyes!!! Perhaps it was a night of bad seeing after all, which would explain the lack of nebulosity and detail within. The skyglow was obviously quite severe and it wasn't the best I've seen in a dark site, but still an awesome night of observing, leaving me with a hunger for more. Thanks for reading, clear skies, Mariusz -
Had a superb night last night / this morning at Seething. From about 00:30 to about 02:30 (just before the clouds and rain hit). Milky Way was superb, could easily see constellations that I struggle to see from home such as Sagitta. Andromeda and Double Cluster visible naked eye too. Haven't had many nights like that for some time. Used the "precise GoTo" function on my 5SE mount to see Uranus and Neptune - at about 02:18 the ISS made a very very bright pass too - awesome. Think that the massive thunderstorms and torrential rain we had during the afternoon must have "cleaned" the air. More nights like this please. Chris
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From the album: Planetary
My best Uranus shot to date - 29th July 2012. -
Neptune: Neptune & Triton, note very faint mag. 14.34 start left of 12 o'clock: Uranus: Uranus, Titania, Oberon, Ariel and just possibly a very faint Umbriel:
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I've always had a favourite spot for Uranus as its blue prettiness rolls about the sun with its Shakespearean moons...and then this ! http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-24/uranus-smells-like-rotten-eggs-scientists-find/9692186
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As the season progresses I have been meaning to observe Uranus which is currently in the constellation of Pisces. From my back garden I get usable views of the West and part of the South and as such have to wait until late in the evening to get any sort of view of Pisces. Last night wasn't particularly good for viewing as there was quite a bit of high thin cloud despite the generally clear weather. In addition as the night went on the waning gibbous Moon was brightly scattering it's reflected sunlight off the wispy clouds. I'm sure there was also a severe amount of aircraft vapour trails adding to the cloud. By 23.30hrs Pisces was high enough in the sky for me to attempt to find Uranus. With the Stellarium computer program as a map I used Hamal and Sheraton in Aries to point to Eta Piscium and from there on the same straight line across to the other side of Pisces, Epsilon Piscium (the conditions were such that this star was barely visible to the naked eye). Moving along this tail of the constellation in a southernly direction you come across two stars quite close together, Zeta Piscium and 88 Psc. With these stars on the left of my finderscope view a faint well defined bluish 'star' could be seen up a little bit off to the right hand side. I couldn't tell if this was a planet or not from my finderscope view but after centering it in the finderscope and observing the object through the telescope it was indeed a planet and therefore Uranus. I was using a Sky-Watcher Explorer 200P on a EQ5 mount with a Vixen SLV 6mm eyepiece. Even at this 166x magnification Uranus appeared as only a small disk. There wasn't much colour to it other than a slight bluish white, if that wasn't just my imagination. I haven't been observing for long but the colours seem to be more obvious at lower magnifications or maybe my eye/brain just needs better training. It took me at least half an hour to find the planet so now that I know how to navigate this part of the sky I hope to revisit Uranus on a clearer night.
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Hi Guys, My first attempt at Uranus. Used 10mm eye piece projection method to capture this shot, 0.5sec sub at ISO1600. Many lessons were learnt in the end and now looking forward to imaging again next time with better planning/foresight. Enjoy
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After getting to grips with 2nd hand 10" scope got some great views of Uranus in the early hours of 31/8 2nd with 2.5x barlow added Thanks for looking
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A clear night sky and lots of free time were a recipe for a satisfying night of observing and imaging with my Mak. My imaging targets were the freshly opposed Uranus and its more distant cousin Neptune. A trick I use to find Uranus is to star hop from Hamal to Sheratan in Aries to Eta Piscium and Omicron Piscium in Pisces. Uranus is just above Omicron. This is a single 2 second exposure at ISO1600: Neptune was a little trickier to image as I only had the viewfinder on the scope to guide me and Neptune was undetectable through the camera. I had to point the scope in the general area that I knew Neptune was in, using Lambda Aquarii as a guidepost, and I took several test shots to look for familiar star patterns. But, I got it, using a 10 second exposure time at ISO1600: Had a great night imaging and star chasing, and even saw an Orionid before all was said and done! Clear skies to all, Reggie
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Seems to have come round again very quickly! The latest edition of the Binocular Sky Newsletter is ready. Despite the short, not-very-dark nights, as well as the usual overview of DSOs, variable and double stars, this month we have: * χ Cyg is brightening nicely * Neptune and Uranus are now becoming observable * We have the grand total of 3 observable lunar occultations To grab your (free!) copy, or to subscribe, log on to http://binocularsky.com and click on the Newsletter tab
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Here is a prime focus shot I took of Uranus through my 127mm Mak a few weeks ago just before the Mars/Uranus conjunction: Cheers! Reggie
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Here is a single two-second exposure of the close conjunction of Venus (the brighter object on the left) and Uranus (the fainter, bluish-green object to the right) at ISO 1600. It is a prime focus image taken through my 127mm Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope about an hour after sunset. A striking pair visible in a telescopic view! Reggie
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Here are some more images I took of the Venus/Uranus conjunction in addition to the one already posted. And to think, I was wondering what that pesky star was above Venus! Reggie
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From the album: Starchasing
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