beatle juice

[quimby44]

hi there all you gazers out there i was looking at beatle juice in orion tonight and all of a sudan i lost it and it came back all shakey and fuzzy was it me or was it all to do with the weather as i could not focus on it again could it be wind or atmosphere playing mind games with me cheers stephen

[ronin]

Betelgeuse is a bit low now so the atmosphere will make it shaky.

You may simply have had a small cloud pass in from of it.

There are also 5 atmospheric layers that the light needs to pass through and they can all be doing different things.

[quimby44]

thanks i thought i was doing something wrong as i new to this

[Carina Lass]

That fan behind your head looks dangerous....

Sometimes a jet can pass in front of the lens (well between you and the target anyway) and the con trail will keep the view messed up for quite a long time.

Betelgeuse is kinda neat huh? Amazing colour and size.

Try looking for a globular cluster - they're amazing to look at in even a modest scope.

Not sure which ones in the Northern hemisphere are cool as I live Down Under.

[ronin]

Nothing "wrong" just a case of working out what the reason might be, and "might" is the correct term.

Weather a couple of days back pointed ot that it was windy, 45mph gusts here, but it also said that the Jetsteam was at 1500-1600mph.

Those atmospheric layers can be going different directions at insane speeds.

When anything gets low the effects of refraction get involved, one effect that is not realised is that when the lower edge of the sun touches the "horizon" then it is actually all below the horizon. The refraction effect is such that we can "see" the sun when it has dropped below the horizon. Makes you wonder about low angle stars and goto accuracy.

And with betelgeuse there is the situation that it will go nova one day, and someone somewhere will be looking at it. Trouble is that the "one day" is anytime in the next million years. I am sure some 7 year old will be looking and yell - "Dad, dad! Betelgeuse has just exploded". to get told "Don't be so B***dy stupid!"

If you want challenges in the "red" star option search for Carbon Stars.