Uranium235 Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 This is something that happened in my last session (6 days & counting now!.. getting withdrawal symptoms). I only recently got my scope, so each new thing I see and image is quite exciting... and there is a lot of stuff to see so it will keep me occupied for years to come The stars never go out of fashion (or in for that case...lol), unlike music production - a very fickle industry indeed.... Anyways.... back to the point.While viewing M45 through the eyepiece, Im sure I saw something pass throught the FOV at least 2 times. Fast moving objects, that im sure were meteorites but later I thought they might have been satellites since they werent very bright.How common is it to see meteorites in this way? Im just thinking from an imaging point of view, as things like this might look nice if included in a final image... or prove to be an annoyance by ruining it:)But I was rewarded with a real beauty later on in the session, a very bright meteorite streaking down towards the western horizon, splitting into 2 before vanishing. Shame I couldnt get a pic cos the cam was tied up with imaging at the time - anyways, its impossible to predict stuff like that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 It's quite common to see meteors and satellites go through the field of view but it still makes a nice sight when it happens although imagers might not be so impressed !.Those that actually fall to earth are called meteorites - the meteors we see, although sometimes spectacular, are caused by tiny grains which burn up high in the atmosphere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uranium235 Posted January 22, 2010 Author Share Posted January 22, 2010 Good.... I wasnt going crazy then it was one of those "did I just see that?" moments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris H Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 About ten years ago I visited Australia on a backpacking trip. I spent about a month in the Northern Territory which has very dark skies at night we slept in swags (a kind of sleeping bag in a sack) on the ground and every night I would gaze up into the night sky and see an almost constant barrage of tiny dim meteors. These were probably caused by dust or maybe sand grain sized particles. You can't see these with the naked eye from the UK but I often see them streak across my field of view when using my low power eyepiece. I miss outback Australia it was amazing I would love to be there now with my dob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotastro Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 So you can tell the difference, a satellite will appear as a point of light moving rapidly through the FOV. A meteor always looks like a streak in the EP as it is moving so fast.Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeSkywatcher Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 The more time you spend observing over the weeks and months your eyes will become very sensitive to the slightest movement in your FOV. It will get to the stage where you will be looking at something and in the corner of your eye you will be able to see the satellites passing. Some of the brighter ones you can see with the naked eye (i dont mean Iridium flares). I get a real buzz out of spotting satellites. The most i have ever seen was 27 in an hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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