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best time to see stars?


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OK as you have worked out when it's dark is a good start, the contrast helps.

As for evening or dawn I would have said dawn.

Reason: The atmosphere (local) will have had the night to cool to the same/similar temperature and so less atmospheric disturbance.

But no way do I intend to drag myself out of a warm bed to go looking at stars. Staying up to look is OK, then sleeping, even if the sleeping starts early in the morning.

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Thanks I'd hoped dawn would be the answer! However the last couple of nights its been clear at midnight but cloudy at 4am.

issue is I keep "strange" hours.. In Bed by 9pm, up at 4am weekdays, ( i have a lie-in till 6:00am at weekends) so for the next few months, it better for me to do my stargazing nearer dawn than dusk.

cheers

Martin

PS: I'm not a milkman!

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Hi, My hours are pretty much the same as yours, I have found that by the time I get in which is about 4.30am there is not much to see mainly because of the clouds but also it is starting to get light, but can I tell you about two awesome finds I have just had. I actually saw Jupiter and Venus, they were fantastic, and if I am right they can only be viewed around this time of the morning. For this reason and while they are there I would say get out and have a look around 4.50ish. The moon looked pretty good aswell. Regards Delilahtwinkle.

P.S: I'm not a milkman either, or should I say milklady... Do we need to be politically correct should we be saying milkperson?? Hope not !!!

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Perhaps I should mention, I was a milkman once! ( I dont want to offend anyone)

Back in the early 80's I was doing a post Grad research degree. The Milko's hours fitted in with my studies perfectly. Probably explains why I've been a "Lark" ever since.

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Pre-dawn is certainly the most evocative time for observing - it's wonderful to watch the sky lighten at the end of a session. And for planetary viewing you would possibly expect to have the stillest air then. But for deep-sky observing all you want is darkness. There might be a little less light pollution after midnight but I haven't noticed any difference - most of it comes from streetlights and they're on all night.

View whatever is available at the time you're looking. If you're a dawn observer then you'll see different constellations (and planets) from ones seen at sunset. At present you can enjoy a good view of Scorpius and other "summer" constellations - you'll see Cygnus high in the sky, and if you're at a dark site you'll see the milky way running brightly through it and down towards Sagittarius - the best chunk of it visible from this country.

Andrew

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I was out at half three the other morning.

The summer triangle and milky way were visible and Scorpio had risen nicely.

Seeing is normally much better before dawn, than after sunset.

THe very best views of the planets have been in the early hours.

Also Meteors (during a shower) are usually more frequent.

Cheers

Ant

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I was going to put this in my last post but thought you would think I was having you on. I used to be a milkman, well the daughter of a milkman. I used to deliver milk before I went to school, I used to admire the skies then aswell. The round was in a rural area with really dark skies. Why did it take me so long to buy a telescope? I am 36 now and love my little 130pm. Speak to you all soon, Delilahtwinkle,

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