The Night Sky

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Bunnylump
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Re: The Night Sky

#161 Post by Bunnylump » Sat Aug 27, 2011 9:46 pm

SHOULD have been able to see lots of stars (we were right in the middle of nowhere) but unfortunately it seemed to be cloudy most nights. Did see one shooting star.
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Re: The Night Sky

#162 Post by Bunnylump » Wed Sep 07, 2011 7:58 am

You've probably all seen this on the TV anyway, but just in case...

Apparently it may be possible to see a supernova (exploding star) for the next 10 days using binoculars. Find the second star in the Plough "handle" - then follow a line from that. Four stars above that you should be able to see a fuzzy blob with a bright centre. That is an exploding star.
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Re: The Night Sky

#163 Post by Bunnylump » Wed Nov 23, 2011 4:53 pm

Some things to look out for at the moment...
Mercury 30 minutes after sunset, looking southwest.
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Re: The Night Sky

#164 Post by Bunnylump » Wed Nov 23, 2011 4:55 pm

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Re: The Night Sky

#165 Post by Bunnylump » Wed Nov 23, 2011 4:56 pm

Mars one hour before sunrise, looking south.
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Re: The Night Sky

#166 Post by Bunnylump » Wed Nov 23, 2011 4:57 pm

Jupiter one hour after sunset, looking east
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Re: The Night Sky

#167 Post by LAT » Wed Nov 23, 2011 7:21 pm

You expect me to be up an hour before sunrise! :shock: :lol:

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Re: The Night Sky

#168 Post by Bunnylump » Wed Nov 23, 2011 7:48 pm

Welll, probably after you've finished talking to me in the wee small hours...
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Re: The Night Sky

#169 Post by chazzie » Wed Nov 23, 2011 8:23 pm

LAT wrote:You expect me to be up an hour before sunrise! :shock: :lol:

I managed it this morning - silly o'clock flight from Gatwick - but foggy foggy foggy! Not a star to be seen..

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Re: The Night Sky

#170 Post by Bunnylump » Wed Nov 23, 2011 8:27 pm

I was thinking of you with all this fog. It must be a total pain when you rely on frequent air travel...
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Re: The Night Sky

#171 Post by eirian » Wed Nov 23, 2011 8:40 pm

at least I'll know what I'm looking at on my walk to the tram stop in the mornings :lol:
Thanks for this Bunny, much appreciated.
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Re: The Night Sky

#172 Post by Bunnylump » Sun Aug 05, 2012 12:42 am

So as to not upset SparkOut, who likes me to be predictable, here's the annual notice to look upwards if you can...

PERSEID METEORS

This year peak activity comes Saturday night, August 11/12 The display is best seen after midnight, especially as morning twilight begins. They should appear to radiate from somewhere below the W of Cassiopeia.

As I will be away in the wilds of Geordieland at this point, as long as it's not raining, I'm hoping I might be able to see better than I can here these days. The council has kindly shut off all the streetlights, but next door still (apparently) need to have a massive floodlight on ALL NIGHT at the back of the house. :evil: It sort of keeps the annoying windchime company, I suppose. :roll:

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Re: The Night Sky

#173 Post by clvrlad » Sun Aug 05, 2012 12:59 am

i managed to see them whilst staying at durham university a few years back,
i was doing a ou course
we all stayed up most of the night on our backs looking heavenwards (with brief trip[s back to the bar)
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Re: The Night Sky

#174 Post by Bunnylump » Sun Aug 05, 2012 10:48 am

Code: Select all

we all stayed up most of the night on our backs looking heavenwards
Yeah, I've heard about you students... :mrgreen:

I have done this a few years - if it's nice weather, we get sleeping bags and lilos and lie out in the garden and watch the display. I won't be able to do that this year because of next door's floodlight though. :evil:
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Re: The Night Sky

#175 Post by Looby » Wed Aug 08, 2012 3:29 pm

First time I saw them was on a camping holiday in France but now I do go out most years and lie on the sunlounger for an hour or so. This year I'll be in Bristol on Saturday night at my daughter's hen do, so if I see stars they may be my own personal ones!
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Re: The Night Sky

#176 Post by Bunnylump » Wed Aug 08, 2012 4:27 pm

:lol: Will they be spinning, too?
Hope the hen do goes well!
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Re: The Night Sky

#177 Post by Looby » Wed Aug 08, 2012 4:57 pm

...and they could be multi-coloured!

Thanks - for some reason Janine is really worried about it?!
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Re: The Night Sky

#178 Post by Bunnylump » Wed Aug 08, 2012 7:30 pm

Hope you make it memorably, and suitably outrageous. And knowing you, you will achieve that with perfection. :lol: :lol:
You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.

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Re: The Night Sky

#179 Post by eirian » Fri Aug 10, 2012 11:10 am

insomnia is a pain, but it did mean I was up at 2am, so I went outside and saw 2 meteors. Don't think I'll aim for more insomnia just to watch some more though!
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Re: The Night Sky

#180 Post by Bunnylump » Fri Aug 17, 2012 6:23 pm

We laid outside in Geordieland on our picnic bench in the garden, and watched loads of them. The skies up there are so BIG and there are so many stars!! MBH I envy you your lovely dark skies.
You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.

“Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it yet.”

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