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Things that make you go *WOW*

Celeste

By Celeste
in The Astro Lounge

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Wurzil

Wurzil

Posted
Posted

Solar system objects are fun because they are always changing: Jupiter's lost belt, moon transits, red spot; Saturns rings opening and closing, the Lunar terminator, comets, conjunctions and occulations, Mars' 2 year hiatus etc etc.

My fave DSOs are the orion nebula, double cluster, M13 globular cluster, the pleiades, andromeda galaxy, and the ring nebula.

My favourite WOW though, is just being in the middle of nowhere on a clear night when there are thousands of stars visible with the naked eye.

w

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G4YVM

G4YVM

Posted
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The first object I focussed my first scope on - Saturn. I even said 'wow!' to myself. This was closely followed by the Orion nebulae, and I found those truly jaw dropping. 'That was up there all that time and I hadn't seen it'.

Absolutely verbatim what I was about to write.

So, "wot 'e said".

David

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Moonshane

Moonshane

Posted
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there are so many!

here's a short list of recent stuff

Saturn (obviously!)

Jupiter

Wild Duck Cluster

M13

Dumbbell Nebula under a dark sky

Milky Way under a dark sky

Little Dumbbell seen at home

M31 / M32 / M110 at a dark site

Comet Hartley - yes I'm serious! - through 15x70s.

Double Cluster of course, especially at a dark site - it really makes a difference - the first time I saw this in a 13mm Ethos at 128x, filling the view made me buy the 13E within days.

ET Cluster (NGC457 in Cass).

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simon84

simon84

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For me it was my 300P when I took it out of the box :eek:

Seriously though, the Double Cluster in Perseus with the Equinox......just mind blowing. The Orion Nebula with my bins and Andromeda with the 300P. Naked eye has got to go to The Milky Way, the first time I saw it I called everyone outside.....incredible.

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Beulah

Beulah

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Naked eye has got to go to The Milky Way, the first time I saw it I called everyone outside.....incredible.

And when they emerged from the brightly lit house, blinking, you had to pin them down from running back inside for at least ten minutes until their eyes adjusted to the starlight...:eek:

S'oright, I've been there, done that. :)

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Nick P

Nick P

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I had a drive around the countryside earlier this evening and upon reaching a suitable parking spot, stopped, got out of the car, and was astonished by the view of the milky way under dark skies on a clear night - quite inspirational.

And whats more I only had my eyes with me!

Adendum: Sorry Simon84 just seen your post!

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Beulah

Beulah

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During the Eyjafjallajökull Volcano activity this year, when those planes were grounded, the transparency was so excellent, and Ursa Major so well placed, that I saw M81 with the naked eye - I had to confirm this with the telescope several times.

In fact, those few days of wonderful, rare transparency were the very best times and definitely full of wow moments.

M42 and NGC 2024 created moments of awe for me as well.

I am so looking forward to studying them again this year, weather permitting.

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Whippy

Whippy

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I normally get a 'wow' moment when I start processing the previous night's data but the last time it happened whilst observing was the first time I used my ED120 with one of my old TV Naglers and pointed it at the Moon. I just managed to get the whole Moon in and it was the cleanest, crispest, most stunning Moon view I've had so far. I did actually go 'wow'!

Tony..

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Gweedo

Gweedo

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Saturn - definitely. One of those moments when you see it, pull back from the telescope in shock, say an expletive, and dive back in for another look.

Andromeda Galaxy for the first time.

And, most recently, the Ring Nebula.

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Talitha

Talitha

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My first 'wow' moment was the first time i saw a full-blown Aurora storm. It's one thing to see an occasional display, but when you stand under a blazing storm with the entire sky pulsating and flowing, you feel like you've died and gone to heaven. Others are the first time i saw the Moon, the Veil, and Saturn. But i'd have to say the biggest 'wow' of all was the Swan Nebula through the 16" LightBridge. It literally brought me to tears, something which had never happened before. I'd seen this nebula every summer for over a decade, but was totally unprepared for the amount of detail the 16" would pull out.

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rabbithutch

rabbithutch

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Jupiter and saturn, like so many others, were the most fascinating, but I saw them through an observatory scope. In my own viewing, the moon is certainly a great view on a clear night. Seeing the Milky Way in a moonless desert sky for the first time was also memorable.

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Andrew INT

Andrew INT

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My first WOW was Saturn (as ever!). My second WOW was my first 30 second exposure of M42 - so much colour and detail handed to you on a plate!

My biggest WOW now however has to be Europa. Having read a fair on this for my astronomy degree (still ongoing); it blows my mind to think it may hold life that this very moment.

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Celeste

Celeste

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I agree Andrew....the thought that life could exist on Europa is amazing!

I am one of those people who believe that somewhere out there, other life exists. Not little green men hell bent on destroying Earth lol, but life forms. I feel that we say life CAN'T exist somewhere because of 'X' (insert too cold/hot/acidic etc) but that's life that we KNOW.....this is life we DON'T know...I find it all exciting :eek:

What was that famous quote....It's life Jim, but not as we know it :) haha

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WayBig

WayBig

Posted
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The very first object that I saw was jupiter - it wasnt the planet that made me say wow, but all of the moons arranged in a neat line on one side of it.

Then the same as most others have mentioned, saturn, m42, andromeda.

I'll add the owl cluster, slightly off topic, because I remember saying "brilliant" rather than wow.

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WayBig

WayBig

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Saturn way back in 2007. Meteors always make me say WOW. I think i also said WOW when i saw my 1st & 2nd Iridium flares.

Oh yeah good point, the persieds and the ISS

aarghh you've got me started now, I'll be listing "wows" all afternoon!

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