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Astronomy & the ISS - Show the kiddies something cool


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The alien thread got me wondering if anyone on here has had a crack at a bit of Astronomy at any stage?

I got into astronomy myself about a year ago and it has been one of the best things I have ever done. Not only have I heard just about every Uranus joke out there, it has also been a real eye opener for my family, friends and me.

Since I was a kid I knew how to find south using the Southern Cross and Pointers and had looked at the moon through an el cheapo refractor telescope when I was a kid too (like most people I assume). Other than that I really didn't think too much about what was above me.

 

Short story is I did a lot of research, joined an Astronomy forum and got advice on what telescope to buy. Ended up with a 10” Dobsonian mount reflector which is quite a large mother but it gives some superb views. Hey, I know it sounds fucking nerdy but if you are on this forum you must have a bit of nerd in you anyway.

It honestly blows me away every time I look at Saturn, with its rings and its moons visible as plain as day. Then you have Jupiter with its bands (and moons), Orions Nebula, Omega Centuri & Tuc 47 (both globular clusters), Sombrero Galaxy, Jewel Box plus literally hundreds of other galaxies, nebulas, double stars, clusters, planets and of course the good old Moon. There is fucking heaps to look at.

 

I am posting this because I think many people don’t realise how interesting it can be and with Taiwanese manufacturers putting out very good quality telescopes that were worth over $10,000 10 years ago for under $500 it is relatively cheap to get into. My whole family loves it (except my 19 year old son because it doesn’t have tits) and it has been fun and educational for all of us.

 

Anyway, if you have an interest and want to see something pretty cool for free (and I am betting most of you probably have never seen it) check out the International Space Station (ISS) as it passes overhead on one of its bright passes (i.e. -2.0 to -2.4 - The higher the negative number, the brighter the object is) Go here, register and put in your coordinates and it will tell you when and where to look. It also gives you the Hubble passes, satellite passes and Iridium Flare info.

 

http://www.heavens-above.com/

 

Also, this is a great free planetarium program for showing you the sky as it is at your house. Again, you need your coordinates.

 

http://www.stellarium.org/

 

You can get your coordinates for your house from here

 

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/vbiis/latlonmap/latlon_popup.php

 

 

Dave

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nice post mate... I've always been into this though never serious enough to get my own telescope. Always wanted to though and I know, they're bloody cheap now a days!

 

Biggest problem I would have is finding a decent place for viewing... maybe easier here than some other capital cities though.

 

You kinda encourage me to get back into it :)

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nice post mate... I've always been into this though never serious enough to get my own telescope. Always wanted to though and I know, they're bloody cheap now a days!

 

Biggest problem I would have is finding a decent place for viewing... maybe easier here than some other capital cities though.

 

You kinda encourage me to get back into it :)

 

Yeah, it is sometimes hard to get away from light pollution but spare a thought for Europe and North America. Sometimes we forget how fucking good this country is.

 

http://www.lightpollution.it/worldatlas/pages/fig1.htm

 

Australia is regarded as one of the top viewing sites in the world due to our dark skies and lack of pollution. We also get to see far more interesting objects than those that live in the Northern Hemisphere.

Even if you don't have a scope there are other things to check out. I went outside with my 7 year old son at 4am in early May, got rugged up and laid back on a couple of deck chairs watching the Eta Aquarid meteor shower. There were only about 40 per hour this year but there were a couple of real beauties in amongst them.

 

You probably already know this but if you do decide to get a scope the number one rule is don’t buy one of the department store jobbies as they reckon they put more people off astronomy than anything else. If you see anything that says it has some amazing amount of magnification then stay well clear of it. You can’t beat aperture, a good mount and quality optics.

 

BTW, check this out. :)

 

http://www.techdo.com/images/largest-know-star.htm

 

 

Dave

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dave you ever gone to the one in college grove?

 

i remember as a kid my dad getting his out and staring at the moon for hrs

 

 

Funny thing is, I haven't mate. My old man lives about 100 metres from that observatory and yet I have never gone. I kinda like the fact that I can sit in my own back yard, by myself or with my family or friends and do my own thing.

Not sure how drinking rum with a durrie hanging out of my mouth would go down at the observatory either. :badgrin I still think of Astronomers as eccentric middle aged gentlemen that have wispy blonde hair, a goatee and wear matching tweed jacket and trousers so they might not be my kind of crew.... but hey I could be wrong. :)

 

BTW, you might want to change the way you worded the sentence about your dad, or at least explain what exactly he was getting out. :lol

 

Dave

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You probably already know this but if you do decide to get a scope the number one rule is don’t buy one of the department store jobbies as they reckon they put more people off astronomy than anything else. If you see anything that says it has some amazing amount of magnification then stay well clear of it. You can’t beat aperture, a good mount and quality optics.

 

Yeah, those kmart specials are such a joke!

 

There's actually a astronomy speciality shop over in Underwood near me. I go in there occasionally and dream about buying one! I still can't get over how damn cheap they are now a days.

 

Some guy who has a decent observatory (private) about three hours away from brissy runs courses on it. you go up, have dinner they spend a day teaching you stuff and then you go out and spend the night watching the skys. later you spend the night in the local pub.

 

I actually signed up and was gonna do it, but pulled out because of work conflicts :(

 

May still do it sometime, but now this arcade addiction is taking up a lot of my spare time :o

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The missus and I have visited many observatories around NSW in the past. I had a good tasco reflective telescope a few years back but gave it to my nephew when he started getting interested. Macquarie Uni used to do a monthly evening where the public could come and view the skies using their scopes. Many enthusiasts turn up also with their own rigs as do some commercial people with displays of the wares. The first time I went I was amazed at how many familes come along.

 

I'll get back into it one day when they kids are a bit bigger. At the moment I think I'd just be arguing with them on why they can only see their eye in the eyepiece!

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I have used the heavens above website in the past and it is very good.

 

 

Have you watched one of the -2.4 passes of the ISS? Each time they build a bit more on to the ISS it gets a bit brighter. Watched it just recently with the space shuttle following it which was pretty neat. Some of the Iridium flares at -8.0 are pretty good to watch too. The accuracy of the times and positions is incredible so it makes for good fun to tell the people (especially kids) that don't know about it "Just look up there and I will make a star appear for you"

 

Dave

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Have you watched one of the -2.4 passes of the ISS? Each time they build a bit more on to the ISS it gets a bit brighter. Watched it just recently with the space shuttle following it which was pretty neat. Some of the Iridium flares at -8.0 are pretty good to watch too. The accuracy of the times and positions is incredible so it makes for good fun to tell the people (especially kids) that don't know about it "Just look up there and I will make a star appear for you"

 

Dave

 

I saw the ISS one night , I don't know what magnitude it was but it was that bright I thought it was a planes spotlight until it disappeared and I realised what it was.

Every time I decide to have another look and plan on a night when it should be good, it ends up being overcast.:cry

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