The Astronomy Enthusiast's Thread!

Started by Raggit, Thu 14/06/2007 00:54:23

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Raggit

Come one, come all, let's talk about astronomy.

I've always been fascinated by the cosmos (credit that to early influences of SQ :D)

One year, my dad bought a 10" Orion telescope.  Well, I think its safe to say its crap, because the only object that can be really seen through it is Jupiter, and even then it's a tiny dot with barely visible bands of color on the planet.  Saturn appears, at best, as a tiny white dot. 

Because my interest in astronomy has come back recently, I can occasionally be found lugging that old telescope into the backyard to see whatever I can.  But I want to invest in a better one, this time from Meade, as I understand Orion isn't always the best company.

So anybody else here own a telescope?  What can you see?  Any recommendations on models and brands? 

Anyway, we can talk about skywatching tools, experiences, or just talk about space and all the wonders that are out there.  Do you think there's intelligent life beyond our Solar System?  Will they ever contact us?  Will we ever find them?  Have we/they already?

Oh yeah, and if you're a space enthusiast, you MUST have Celestia.  It's a FREE, open-source, 3D space simulator.  You can cruze the cosmos and see anything you want up close.  If you really want to enjoy the sights of space, you'll have to download a lot of extras and stuff, but it is TOTALLY worth it. 

http://www.shatters.net/celestia/index.html
--- BARACK OBAMA '08 ---
www.barackobama.com

Domino

I got to see Jupiter through a telescope back in the mid 1980's. My 9th grade science teacher brought his large and very powerful telescope to the school late at night for us science geeks to come by and check out. Jupiter looked as clear as day through it. I was amazed by the experience.  I also had my own less powerful telescope (the ones with the mirrors) when i was in my teens, and i would take that outside, even during the freezing winter months to just stare at the moon. That telescope didn't have enough focus to look at anything else, but i could pretty much see the detail of the whole moon with it.

It sucked when the mirrors went out of alignment, because i had to spend a lot of time trying to refocus them.

Also, There is life on other planets, and the movie Independence Day proved that.  :)

space boy

I have a telescope but havent used it in ages. Some part inside got broken. I should really get that fixed.
I sometimes look at the moon with my binoculars and I often observe the night sky without any tools. The view is just amazing and it never ceases to amaze me. I just look up and go "wooooow". Once I got so hypnotized by the stars that I lost my balance and landed really hard on the ground.

Speaking of software for astronomy fans there's a space flight sim called orbiter (http://orbit.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/) which is also freeware. I used to spent hours with that and I actually feel like taking off into space again.

Another cool link. Phil Plait answers interesting questions about astronomy:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=thebadastronomer

And just to prove what a big astronomy nerd I am:
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z69/space_boy_album/ace.jpg

Spent two weeks on that thing. The rest of my room is full of astronomy posters.

Quote from: Domino on Thu 14/06/2007 01:44:32
Also, There is life on other planets, and the movie Independence Day proved that.  :)

It also proved that the aliens are lazy when it comes to antivirus updates.

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens

#3
It also proves that human beings are very, very paranoid and self-centered creatures who think superior lifeforms have nothing better to do than torment 'lesser' beings that can somehow defeat them with gumption and a healthy dose of patriotism; hell, I loved the original Body Snatchers so I guess I'm a bit paranoid and narcissistic, too!  John Carpenter's The Thing was great, too.  How come when 'good' aliens come to Earth they're always silly looking things like E.T. or Mac of Mac and Me fame, or Meathead (anyone remember him?).

Disco

Quote from: space boy on Thu 14/06/2007 02:40:16
I have a telescope but havent used it in ages. Some part inside got broken.

Let me guess, when you turn it on way, everything gets kind of blurry, but when you turn it the other direction, everything....becomes....clear? :)

space boy

I don't have to kiss you now, do I?

MillsJROSS

I've always been interested in space, though I don't own a telescope, I used to read books about space all the time.

I do believe that there are other forms of life outthere. It's just too big, and statistically impossible for there not to be. Now, it doesn't necessarily mean there is intelligent life, but I think there is. Whether or not aliens would be friendly or not is entirely up to them. But if they think anything like us, I'd assume it could go either-way. To go this far out into space, I'd assume they's be looking to either mine planets, or find one to live on. They could be peaceful, maybe not. It would almost be like when the America's were found and the Native Americans were forced off there land.

But to subject. Space is a very big interesting place. If I could afford it, I want to be "buried" in space.

-MillsJROSS

radiowaves

Well, especially since we have already found Earth-like planet, I believe there is life out there. Otherwise it would be an awful waste of space, as someone said...
I am just a shallow stereotype, so you should take into consideration that my opinion has no great value to you.

Tracks

FruitTree

#8
a friend of mine (who plays drums in my band) has got a decent telescope!
we often drive to places that are as dark as possible to get a glimpse of the worlds around us.
he knows his share of astronomy and we often track down mercier objects for fun.
other cool stuff sighted through his scope are:
mars (the poles were clearly visible)
saturn (obviously an orb with a ring around it)
venus (pretty small planet not much to witness)
the moon (looking for craters and trying to find prove for the theory of the moon being made of cheese)

and random stars or clusters

with the naked eye we try to spot as much starsigns as possible and falling stars and satalites, often enough we check what time the ISS is flying over and see if we can spot it!

ow the fun we have

an interesting site if you like looking up is www.heavens-above.com a detailed site about wich stars/planets/clusters/meteorites/satalites and such are visible at what time in your little corner of the world!

have fun!

radiowaves

All of you telescopers, anyone seen some UFOs?
I am just a shallow stereotype, so you should take into consideration that my opinion has no great value to you.

Tracks

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