Biggest surprise

[saturn5]

We have a biggest disappointment thread so why not tell us the biggest surprise you've had,beit some piece of equipment that was far better than expected or some celestial gem which far exceeded your expectations.

Mine would be Leonids "night of the fireballs" 1998/9 i think when they peaked a night early.

Went out to see if i could catch a few early ones only to be met with meteors brighter than venus travelling almost from east horizon to west,leaving bright blue/green trails lasting for up to 15 mins. :shock:

A pleasant surprise indeed.

[Naz]

I had exactly the same experience, woke up early the night before the expected peak, thought I would have peek to see if there was any early ones there was trails every where, most of them had very high persistence, leaving a visible trail, some of which showed evidence of vortices

Archie

[timetraveller]

hiya guys my best moment well i have two of them i guess my first was first ever sighting of Saturn years ago now but still sticks in the mind rather like you're first ever kiss .

my second well that has to be my observing session earlier this week ( see my post in deep sky objects observations ) I cannot honestly recall such excellent seeing conditions from my home location the stars were just still points of light. And to be able to cross off so many first light objects in one session well my only comment is that my skywatcher explorer P200 absolutely rocks. regards Pete

[661-pete]

Well, I suppose this sounds more like a boast than a surprise, but I do remember netting Uranus way back in the 1960s: early 1967 I think it was, when Uranus was in Leo and quite well placed. No online ephemeris in those days, no internet, no computers even; and I didn't have any decent star atlas (Norton was beyond my means): the only guidance I had was the monthly astronomy column in the newspaper.

Anyway I sketched the stars through binoculars in what I thought was the likely bit of sky, went back a couple of nights later and lo and behold: there it was! It had moved more than I'd expected and was also brighter than I'd expected (perhaps I should have tried for Neptune?). After that I was able to home in on the planet with naked eye, and follow it, still with naked eye, for several weeks after.

And this was from South-east England...

Of course my eyes were a lot better in those days (*sigh*) and there was far less LP. Don't suppose that feat could be repeated today...

[Wedge]

It has got to be Comet 17/P Holmes for me!

It happened a year ago (to this day I think) and it was amazing how much detail I got from my telescope which I had just received under a fortnight ago! :shock:

Equally, on the 4th November, I went to Sir Patrick Moore's house - what a brilliant thing to discuss with him!

Remy:D

[Tiny]

One surprise to me is that so many people never look up an see the stars. Thousands of years ago they did nothing else - then we got civilized and don't stand outside staring up with mouths open. I find most grown ups are totally indifferent to all that up there - all they want is light pollution outside and them indoors. They seem almost embarrassed when you point out Jupiter as the flee to their cars after a pint at the pub.

[supernova]

My first view of Jupiter with 2 moons with my fathers first scope.

A submarine gun sight that he bought from an Army surplus store in the early 60s it had an aperture of 2in and that got me sorted for life.

I will never forget it,

It looked like 3 white dots one bigger than the other 2.

But it was my imagination that got me going.

Bernie.

[Doc]

What got me interested in the stars was a holiday in North Wales.

Walking the dog one dark night, was out for a while so well dark adapted. I looked up and was just gobsmacked.

It's like I've never looked up before. The milkyway was just awesome, like a river running through the sky.

Really got me hooked and have not looked back since. Just wish I have these dark skies.

[ottoman]

My friend bought a cheapy telescope from argos and the very first thing we found was saturn, found it by pure chance! now whats the odds of finding that for the very first time?

Saturn 5, i like you fear of a black planet album cover signature!

[saturn5]

Saturn 5, i like you fear of a black planet album cover signature!

Aha,a Porcupine Tree fan.

[ottoman]

Saturn 5, i like you fear of a black planet album cover signature!

Aha,a Porcupine Tree fan.

one of the best new bands around so far i think. Saw them in oxford not long ago, just amazing. Going off the subject a bit!

[legion48]

....They seem almost embarrassed when you point out Jupiter as the flee to their cars after a pint at the pub.

Embarrassed? They should be ashamed. Drinking and driving.

[part timer]

Biggest surprise is easy

Can't remember it's name now but a year or two ago there was a spectacular daylight comet.

It was too low to see from a town location and I had no idea it was even there.

Anyway one night I was working late on the seventh floor of the only high rise building in the area.

It started to get a bit dark and I looked up to gaze at the sunset. At this point I saw several contrails including a really big curving one that looked a bit weird (you have to bear in mind the sun was still partly above the horizon not far from this!). A few minutes later I looked again and that trail was still prominent while the others had faded, infact it seemed a bit brighter and more 'comety'.

'It can't be ' I thought!

I Googled as I watched it and found lots of references to the new unexpectedly bright comet that would only be visible in the northern hemisphere for a couple of days.

I got a really magical view which I never would have seen from street level And on the only time I have ever been there at such a time

[661-pete]

Can't remember it's name now but a year or two ago there was a spectacular daylight comet.

That was Comet McNaught. Brightest since 1965, it seems, but very close to the sun. Well spotted! :thumbup:

I missed it.

[Talitha]

Just one? You've GOT to be kidding!

#1: The night I 'discovered' a planetary nebula (ngc2438) inside of M46. As a newbie, I didn't know it was in there... what a kick!

#2: I bumped into ngc253 (newbie) while scanning the southern horizon. Had no idea it was there and hoped (just for a second ) that I'd discovered a comet.

#3: At the end of June 2000, I was scanning the SE horizon with the 11x70s and saw what appeared to be a thin silver line gently floating towards the north. It had something sparkling at the bottom of it, and it took about 5 minutes for it to drift into the trees to the NNE.

The next day I found out it was the TiPS (tethered) satellite. It's a pretty cool bino target... check Heavens Above for pass predictions. After entering your location, click on "Select a satellite from the database" in the 'Satellites' section in the left sidebar. On the generated page, type in "TiPS" in the third text box (Satellite name).

#4: And most recently, my 5 minutes of fame. 8)

[part timer]

That's the one

Thanks

[Ant]

I think that seeing something for the first time is always special.

I suppose I have three..

1. Seeing NCL a few months back for the first an only time.

2. Watching the Milky Way rise from the TSP - They looked so much like cloud we thought it was going to rain.

3. Omega Centauri through a rather large pair of Bino's (2 x 8" IIRC) from the same TSP.

The is a week I will never forget!

Ant

[Andrew*]

It's a tough question, as I can't remember any real surprises. As in events that came out of the blue, unless you count meteors.

Comet Holmes was very exciting.

Another special moment, somewhat surprising, was when I was peering in the eyepiece where the Veil nebula was SUPPOSED to be, but it just wasn't. I passed an OIII filter over the eyepiece and suddenly this great bright stream was goign right through the FOV.

Every time I view the moon, I'm surprised at how crisp the view is - quite mesmerising.

Andrew

[Tiny]

Just one? You've GOT to be kidding!

#1: The night I 'discovered' a planetary nebula (ngc2438) inside of M46. As a newbie, I didn't know it was in there... what a kick!

#2: I bumped into ngc253 (newbie) while scanning the southern horizon. Had no idea it was there and hoped (just for a second ) that I'd discovered a comet.

#3: At the end of June 2000, I was scanning the SE horizon with the 11x70s and saw what appeared to be a thin silver line gently floating towards the north. It had something sparkling at the bottom of it, and it took about 5 minutes for it to drift into the trees to the NNE.

The next day I found out it was the TiPS (tethered) satellite. It's a pretty cool bino target... check Heavens Above for pass predictions. After entering your location, click on "Select a satellite from the database" in the 'Satellites' section in the left sidebar. On the generated page, type in "TiPS" in the third text box (Satellite name).

#4: And most recently, my 5 minutes of fame. 8)

Venus pillars - you live and learn - nice one Carol

[michaelmorris]

Greatest surprises;

1) - Waiting out side my house for a taxi to take me to the airport at stupid o'clock one morning only to look through a break in the clouds to see Comet Hyakutake in all it's glory, stunning!

2) - The clouds keeping away for the whole of the Transit of Venus.

[Wobbly Bob]

a. 1st light, with my 1st scope, an ETX90. My mate and I viewed Saturn through it, we were like kids, leaping about yelling Wow. Small but perfectly formed.

b. Seeing the Viel though my 6" refractor at the Dower House, Thetford. Had an OIII filter from the US and used it on the 6" in my light polluted back garden trying to see the Viel but no joy. So I was thrilled and surprised to view it at Thetford in all its glory.

c. How cold it got during the total eclipse (partial were we are). We had a few friends in the garden and i gave some of them experiments to do, one was to plot the Temp at 5 minute intervals. It was quite suprising how the Temp Dropped plus the birds stopped singing.

[John]

Mine was finding that I could see galaxies through my Tasco 60mm refractor when I 1st started in astronomy 30+ years ago. I thought it was only big professional scopes with cameras that could see galaxies - then much to my amazement I found there were 2 in my field of view at the same time - M81 and M82 - they have been my favourite galaxies ever since then - far more impressive than the Andromeda Galaxy in their own way.

John

[jfastro]

Not long after I'd put together my scope together in 1994,we had the news that a comet,Shoemaker-Levy, was to smash into Jupiter,but most pundits,including the experts from my local club,though nothing would be visable. What a surprise to see Jupiter sporting two black eyes!! Each which would have been far larger than the Earth.This was followed over the next week by a series of dark spots/collisions completly changing the face of Jupiter.Awesome.

Talitha ,your Venus and satellite views were really cool ,had'nt heard of them before,going to check out on Heavens Above if TiPs is visable from the UK.

Looks like a clear night here,fingers crossed.

Regards Jeff

[digitaldave]

My biggest surprise is finding out how good a basic pair of 10x50 binoculars can be for astronomy. So good in fact that I'm looking to get a pair of 15x70s.

Dave.

[Talitha]

Venus pillars - you live and learn - nice one Carol

Talitha ,your Venus and satellite views were really cool ,had'nt heard of them before

Thanks Tiny and Jeff, the Venus Pillars and TiPS satellite were both new to me too.