Your best moments in astronomy.

[cotterless45]

Just a few of those wow moments that stay with me and have changed the journey,

Not in any order,

First star party.....meeting others , chatting away , looking through other gear and learning so much. Especially about weather and finding others can easily spend more than you ! If you haven't been tempted then go !

First view of Saturn......looked just like in a cartoon. Never thought it was possible to see such beauty. Similarly with the other planets , Dso targets and all that other stuff !

Sharing the view....with family ( be patient, yes it's just fuzzy !), friends, the forum ,local group ( long queues soon develop) and seeing the interest in the young. A couple of us help the local scout group with their astro badges. Think there's a great sigh of relief when they see us go !

Pristine dark skies....Western isles and the New Forest. Just blew my socks off when it's difficult to pick out the constellations and M33 is beautifully bright and structured , hurrah !

seeing the Northern Lights......some 7 times including a flickering green band display that covered the whole sky on North Skye. It's almost a religious experience making you feel very small .

There's probably loads more that keep me out when it's cold and dark

Skies,

Nick.

[rory]

nick , ive never seen the northern lights so im jelous.  hope to do so one day. if I had to pick one moment in my very short time in the astronomy world ,it would be seeing messier 13 for the first time through 8" of aperture. I was gobsmacked. obviously theres a lot more but im sticking to one........for now .

[nightfisher]

for me best moment is seeing a fireball

[RT65CB-SWL]

I have three. In order of preference, they are:-

1. seeing Saturn through a Tasco 4ETE (40x/40mm) refractor.

2. seeing the August 1999 solar eclipse.

3. anything else 'out there' as the universe is so vast and we do not have a lot of time to view it all.

[Mav359]

Nick i'd go with you first four, the northern lights is on my to do list.

the other thing i'd add is un-boxing, when it all turned up at the house in those massive boxes i was like a kid at Christmas   

[Stargazer_00]

Getting my first scope, opening the boxes.

Jupiter

First galaxies M31 and M81/2

Saturn

[ArcticCircle]

Total solar eclipse.

Devon coast, 11:13am 11th August 1999.

Student days, and so slightly under the infuence.  

It was cloudy. But seeing the moons shaddow come racing over the clouds and being plunged into sudden darkness was the most awe inspriring moment, bar none.

[starnut]

Getting my first scope, opening the boxes

Me too, after that it all went down hill

[Paul M]

It has to be the 1999 Total Solar Eclipse.

After much advanced planning we went to Bulgaria to see it. 

Perfect clear sky right on the center line

We went to Turkey to see the March 2006 Total Solar Eclipse and were again rewarded with a spectacular view.

But long before either of those I was quite taken by my first views of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn through my old 60mm Dixons refractor. Circa 1976

[Scott]

there are quite a few but I guess the four standouts would have to be

1. The first night I used a telescope was my own 200p on eq5. spent ages looking at nothing/everything and was completely sold on this astronomy lark

2. As mentioned, seeing Saturn. It's all been said but until you actually see it for yourself, you cannot begin to imagine the glory of this amazing planet and it's rings

3. I really wanted to find a galaxy and spent 2 or 3 weeks searching for M81/M82. when I finally found them and had them both in the same fov I was ecstatic and wouldn't look away for fear of "losing" them again. thinking about it, this is probably "the" best thing that has happened at the e.p.

4. Whilst in Australia for 4 mths last year, I bought an 1100d and had a crack at a widefield milky way shot. To see that pop up on the cameras display was amazing and although it's only around 20-30 very short subs, it's still one of my favorite images I've taken and Steve Richards had a little tweek of it which showed me what can be achieved. that was pretty special also.

sorry for waffling on

[crashtestdummy]

Probably seeing the markarian chain for the first time

[cassiewoofer]

Total solar eclipse Mexico '91, Todos Santos Beach Baja California.

Seeing Saturn through a car boot sale Tasco 3" (£20) reflector resting on my pillow on the window sill. (Astonished.... said out loud to myself....'F******g hell it's Saturn!)

[Stu]

Probably the one I will remember most is actually getting to see the Transit of Venus last year. Wife & I got up at silly o'clock and went up to the Heath with the PST. There was a solid cloud bank covering the sun, and I nearly gave up but the Mrs, bless her, kept saying 'it'll clear, be patient!'

Sure enough, a gap in the clouds opened up in just the right place, and for about 6 minutes we had a fabulous view of it, a little while before 3rd contact so we saw the entire disk of Venus silhouetted beautifully, far larger than I was expecting. Spectacular!!

Stu

[Moonshane]

So many really but for me:

1) Hale Bopp / Hyakutake comets, just amazing

2) Eclipse in 1999 - stunning even from the UK

3) The first view of Saturn through my 12" dob at the time

4) Orion Nebula through 16" dob and UHC filter at dark site

5) Veil Nebula through 16" dob and Oiii filter at dark site

[Wobbly Bob]

My first look at Saturn through my first scope an ETX90, Small but perfectly formed.

Viewing M104 through a monster 22" Dob at Kelling Heath.

There are many other memorable moments but my last WOW moment was looking at Sagittarius through Binoculars at the Salisbury Star party.

PS. before my adventures in astronomy, lying on the ground in the bushland of Victoria Oz absolutely mesmerised at the fantastic night sky in a totally light free zone STUNNING. 

[foundaplanet]

Lots of them now, the one for this year though has to be The Lagoon from a darksite, I would love to see this higher in the sky.

[r3i]

A couple spring to mind:

1. Capturing my first DSO image: it was M51 on a Meade DSI - terrible quality, loads of noise but being able to make out the whirlpool structure on an image taken from my back garden got me hooked.

2. Building my observatory, which had been a dream for years and has made a vast improvement to my hobby.

[Freff]

Watching the first Moon landing, then trying to see them on the surface with my first Winfield (Woolworth) scope.    Yes...I was just 16 and the Moon was the only astro object I could see through my plastic scope. Great times.

[johnrt]

Everytime the first sub of the night comes in on the laptop with perfect round stars. Makes me smile every time.

[Peter Drew]

Everything that has been posted so far! 

[Paul M]

Watching the first Moon landing, then trying to see them on the surface with my first Winfield (Woolworth) scope.    Yes...I was just 16 and the Moon was the only astro object I could see through my plastic scope. Great times.

Snap! 

My excuse is that I was even younger

[GeorgeB]

1. 1999 solar eclipse - we were camping near Newquay and the sky cleared just before totality.  There were people breaking down in tears around me.

2. Saturn in my Tasco 60mm

3. The Moon in my Tasco 60mm

4. Northern Lights

5. First high quality view of Jupiter in a friends 10" SCT - utterly breathtaking

6. Watching the shadow of Io pass across Jupiter over a few hours and then seeing Io pop out the side

7. Seeing Martian polar ice caps

8. Exploding fireball

9. Orion Nebula with a OIII filter

10. M45

[GeorgeB]

11.  Catching a few very fleeting glimpses of the ISS and seeing its structure through my Mak 127

[Beulah]

Hale-Bopp in '97

The eclipse in '99 - I was watching it from a remote churchyard in the middle of nowhere.

The first time I saw Saturn through the Skywatcher 200p a few years ago...

Being 1800ft above sea level watching the Venus Transit that was clouded out. I loved the fact I could come home and within minutes, see people's comments and images from areas where the skies were clearer. The sense of community across the UK on this forum was amazing.

Many nights of wonder looking through a 12" Dob...

More nights of wonder with the latest medication for my aperture fever which is now in remission..

[Brent]

Lots of the above for me, but the most recent moment (and I rank it in the top 5) was seeing the California Nebula in 10 x 50's from just outside an East coast caravan park 2 nights ago. I still can't believe it now.

Also saw M33 from the middle of the site.

I can't do that from home with my 6 inch - wish I could move to the sticks!