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the sky at night venus transit episode

Pete Presland

By Pete Presland
in The Astro Lounge

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Pete Presland

Pete Presland

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i have just watched the latest sky at episode on catch up and its not to be missed.

i have to say, i can not remember enjoying one episode as much as this one for ages.

The Sky at Night team travel to the Arctic Circle and the archipelago of Svalbard to see the transit of Venus, but as ever the clouds test the team's nerves. some absolutely tremendous images from pete lawrence.

well done to all involved!

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Pete Presland

Pete Presland

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i watched it with my wife, who was particularly impressed with the whole transit thing.i did try to explain just how rare this event was.i suggested that it was so rare, that virtually the entire population of the planet would all be dead and replaced with a new population by the time it happens again!

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John

John

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It was a very enjoyable programme. I liked the relatively informal presentation style on location - it seemed to capture the nervous excitement of the event.

I was lucky enough to see the 2004 transit under superb conditions and projected it with a small scope for friends and neighbours to watch. They are lovely events - it was a shame that the timing and weather were not so favourable for the final one of the pair, in our lifetimes anyway.

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x6gas

x6gas

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What a great show; really enjoyed that one and thought all of the presenters did a great job.... sooooo much better than the rather disappointing Horizon special on the transit and a shame that Horizon got the prime time slot rather than S@N!

Loved Pete's rather improvised counterweight hanging off his Vixen!

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mallorcasaint

mallorcasaint

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It was a great show but one thing struck me and that was how useless the team were with the telescopes? they barely new what they were doing at one point and the kit they were using was awful. Did you see the counteweight on the mount? It was a brick on a string! :smiley:

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John

John

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.....Did you see the counteweight on the mount? It was a brick on a string! :smiley:.....

I reckon the counterweight was left at home to save excess luggage costs. A brick on a string does the job and saves 5kg of luggage. The BBC are watching their costs !

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glowjet

glowjet

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I watched the episode online whilst soaking in the bath with a glass of wine and a couple of custard creams - how refined is that! :smiley:

It was a great episode.

I think that`s what they call laid back entertainment, custard creams, memories of long ago, forbidden fruit to me being Diabetic :mad:

John.

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Brinders

Brinders

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Watched it on I-player last night and agree that it was the best episode I have seen for ages. As for Pete Lawrence's mount, I was surprised he didn't use a proper counterweight too. But in view of the trouble he had aligning the eq mount with not being able to see stars, I was equally surprised he didn't use an alt az mount such as a Celestron SLT, as I noticed one of the other teams had. This would have made his kit lighter and no need to polar align. The high speed of the video images would not result in blurring. I use an alt az mount all the time for both imaging and observing of the brighter planets, the sun and Lunar with no problems with regard to motion blurring with a web cam.

Can't be too critical of Pete, though, as he does produce some superb images, which he occasionally posts on this forum.

Brinders

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x6gas

x6gas

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Think Pete Lawrence is great and really enjoyed the "I'm going to bed" comment. He really keeps the amateur astronomer spirit going on the show and I think he makes a great foil to Chris and Lucie....

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Woking

Woking

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I've never seen an 'Imager' in action so it was great to see Pete L hard at work, whilst Chris and Lucie were 'messing about' with the sun projector and having a nose at other folk's equipment.

They all looked to have had a great time and a great special feature episode.

What were those Skywatcher refractors the pros were using for the Venetian Auroa spotting? They looked like extended ED80s

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M4lcs67

M4lcs67

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Just watched it on the iplayer. Very good, although at first it looked like the cloud was going to conspire against them, but with seconds to go it began to clear. What a relief. Some excellent footage and I love the images in hydrogen alpha. Utterly stunning. Good also that the beeb gave us a 1 hour programme for a change instead of the usual 20 30 minuites they allocate us every month. Maybe with a bit of pressure they could give us a bit more in the future. They give up loads of time to these rubbish reality tv shows and the xfactor esq type programmes each week.

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JonnyP

JonnyP

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What a great show; really enjoyed that one and thought all of the presenters did a great job.... sooooo much better than the rather disappointing Horizon special on the transit and a shame that Horizon got the prime time slot rather than S@N!

Loved Pete's rather improvised counterweight hanging off his Vixen!

Exactly what I thought. Perhaps Horizon should pay attention!

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