The Universe All About Me

[John]

This is not a detailed report, but just a celebration of what is observable in the sky currently.

Last night I had my ED120 refractor out complimented with 11x70 binoculars. Over a period of around 3 hours I was treated to superb views of a wide range of nebulae, clusters, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars and Venus, galaxies, coloured binary star systems, the star clouds of the milky way and of course that fabulous, still naked eye visible, comet. On the man-made front, a bright pass of the ISS right overhead put a crick in my neck and a smile on my face. Whichever way I looked, there was something to marvel at 

It really is a beautiful Universe and a privilege to be outside gazing up at it

 

 

 

 

[Stu]

I totally misread your title first off John, and was thinking ‘well, it’s about some other people too....’ 😉

Great post, there certainly is a lot going on at the moment and I guess I felt similarly the other night when we were at our dark site.

When viewing Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Venus and the Moon a week or so ago, the line of the ecliptic was so obvious that it really did give a huge sense of the 3D layout of the solar system, almost giddy making to look at!

[andrew s]

A poor life, this if, so full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

W H Davies

Regards Andrew 

Edited July 22, 2020 by andrew s

[John]

I guess I was thinking of the old BBC2 nature / geography series "The World About Us" when I thought of the title. I used to watch that as a kid and it kindled my interest in nature and geography at a young age

 

[andrew s]

2 minutes ago, John said:

I guess I was thinking of the old BBC2 nature / geography series "The World About Us" when I thought of the title. I used to watch that as a kid and it kindled my interest in nature and geography at a young age

 

I always find joy and inspiration in the complex slightly oily surface of our planet to the vastness of the Universe and the miniature of the sub atomic . The fact that we can comprehend so much of its constituent parts and how they work is another wonder.

Regards Andrew 

[Sunshine]

Agreed! 

[RobertI]

9 hours ago, John said:

This is not a detailed report, but just a celebration of what is observable in the sky currently.

Last night I had my ED120 refractor out complimented with 11x70 binoculars. Over a period of around 3 hours I was treated to superb views of a wide range of nebulae, clusters, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars and Venus, galaxies, coloured binary star systems, the star clouds of the milky way and of course that fabulous, still naked eye visible, comet. On the man-made front, a bright pass of the ISS right overhead put a crick in my neck and a smile on my face. Whichever way I looked, there was something to marvel at 

It really is a beautiful Universe and a privilege to be outside gazing up at it

 

 

 

 

Couldn’t agree more John. I was out too for a couple of hours, trying some AP, and using my 10x50s whilst the camera did its thing. There was a real  ‘buzz’ in the air, with the comet, Jupiter and Saturn shining proudly and the Milky Way glittering overhead, like performers in a celestial play. I ended up lying in the grass scanning the Milky Way with the bins, a really wonderful immersive experience. 
 

Oh, and the ISS actually went through my shot of the Veil Nebula (I’ll do a post about that!). 

Edited July 22, 2020 by RobertI

[sputniksteve]

Love this thread. 

 

On Monday night I fell asleep in the armchair. When I awoke and glanced out of the window, I could see Ursa Major grinning down at me, with the comet just below it. So I grabbed my binos and spent a short while looking at the comet through them - whilst in my lounge. I then decided to go to bed, which must involve checking the doors are all locked. As I checked the french doors at the back of the house, I gazed out and could see Jupiter and Saturn to my right; at that moment a Perseid streaked across the sky above me. All this without even leaving the house!

At the weekend I used the binos to have a look at the comet and the Andromeda Galaxy. Last week, I was out there with a crappy little 76mm Tasco reflector which nonetheless gave me views of the two belts of Jupiter. 

And this is Bortle 5. 

It's amaxing.