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  1. #181
    Atheist Douchebag.
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    If it's clear out you can see some stuff. When I was in Manhattan we couldn't see shit though.

  2. #182
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    A large asteroid will pass by Earth this weekend and will be visible until May 27. If you have a powerful enough telescope you may be able to see it.

    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/asteroi...-nasa-reports/

    Viewing info:

    https://earthsky.org/space/double-as...st-may-25-2019

  3. #183
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    We may get a show in the night sky next month to distract us from the Coronavirus outbreak. In the last couple days new evidence suggests that it is dimming but I hope not.

    Bright Comet ATLAS could blaze into view this month
    Already visible in telescopes and high-power binoculars, the comet may be bright enough to see with the naked eye by the end of April.
    https://www.space.com/bright-comet-a...pril-2020.html

  4. #184
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    I remember when comet ISON was supposed to put on a show in the night sky back in 2013 but it ended in disappointed due to not surviving its trip around the sun. Hopefully ATLAS will come thru for us.

  5. #185
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    Wasn't there one within the last 10 years that couldn't be seen by almost anyone unless you lived in an area far from any major city due to smog/sky affecting visibility?

  6. #186
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    Quote Originally Posted by Koyangi View Post
    Wasn't there one within the last 10 years that couldn't be seen by almost anyone unless you lived in an area far from any major city due to smog/sky affecting visibility?
    There have been a few, but you are probably thinking of PANSTARRS which was 2011. The comet could only be seen after sunset and was low to the horizon.

    Also, Comet ATLAS is most likely disintegrating so this one is a dud for viewing.

  7. #187
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    It is disintegrating. It's not surprising really. Astronomers think it was a fragment of the Great Comet of 1844. It was already probably weak when it broke off back then. You can still see it with a telescope though. Image from a few days ago:



    But.. A new challenger appears!

    On April 11, the same day that ATLAS broke into three pieces, amateur astronomer Michael Mattiazzo discovered a new comet while looking at data from NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO).

    Michael Mattiazzo’s new SWAN comet (C/2020 F8?) is surprisingly bright and visible in 15x70 binoculars, despite the moon. Here is an 6 minute exposure. Image Terry Lovejoy pic.twitter.com/Jb38RwiiYLApril 11, 2020

    The comet suddenly appeared in images from SOHO's Solar Wind ANisotropies instrument, which goes by the acronym "SWAN." Mattiazzo has discovered eight comets since 2004 by carefully checking SWAN data most every day.

    SOHO's SWAN instrument was not designed to find comets; its job is to survey the solar system for hydrogen. But because the comet is spewing a fairly significant amount of hydrogen in the form of water ice, it was picked up by SWAN.

    Coincidentally, Mattiazzo lives in Swan Hill, Victoria, Australia.
    The new comet appears to be traveling in a very elongated ellipse. For fun, I fed its orbital elements, which includes the eccentricity of its path around the sun, into an orbital simulator.

    My simulation suggests Comet SWAN is traveling around the sun in a period of about 25 million years. This means that the last time it swept through the inner solar system may have been during the Oligocene Epoch, when Paraceratherium, a genus of hornless rhinoceros and one of the largest terrestrial mammals, was walking the Earth.
    https://www.space.com/comet-swan-arr...-crumbles.html

  8. #188
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    That last bit....craaaazy if true

  9. #189
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    Its gonna look like the Oligocene Epoch next time it comes around lol

    Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

  10. #190
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    Happened to look up when taking garbage out and saw space x skynet satellites going by. Shits crazy.

    I don't have Facebook anymore and my wife laughed at me when I went OMG LOOK and so you're my outlet now, bg.

  11. #191
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    Just a little update. Comet Swan is now visible in the Northern Hemisphere and will continue to be into June. I won't quote the whole thing but read this page for viewing instructions:

    https://skyandtelescope.org/astronom...splendid-show/

    The pictures they have been getting of it are really spectacular. It has a green coma and a really long tail. Here are a couple pics.


  12. #192
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    Magnitude 2.8 by May 21st??? Nice, I might have to see if I can snap a photo of it.

  13. #193
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    October 13 (this Tuesday) will be a great time to see Mars!

    At its opposition on October 13 – when Earth will be directly between Mars and the sun – Mars will be farther from than sun than on October 6, 2020. On the other hand, Earth will be closer to the sun (and therefore farther from Mars) on October 13 than on October 6. That all adds up to Earth being slightly closer to Mars on October 6 than October 13.

    The time interval between a Mars opposition and its least distance from Earth can be as long as 8.5 days (1969), or as little as 10 minutes (2208 and 2232).

    Generally speaking, Mars is at its brightest in 2020 throughout the month of October 2020. It is now shining more brilliantly than the planet Jupiter, and it’s not very often that Mars outshines the king planet!

    Is Mars brightest when it’s closest? Not necessarily.

    You might think Mars should be brighter when closest to Earth on October 6 than at opposition on October 13. But it’s not (although it’s still plenty bright).

    Mars is a tiny bit fainter now than it will be at its October 13 opposition. That’s because of something known as opposition surge. Mars reflects sunlight most directly back to Earth at opposition. This directness accentuates Mars’ brilliance. Before and after opposition, sunlight is reflected at a slightly slanted angle relative to Earth, thereby reducing Mars’ brightness.

    Earth swings between Mars and the sun every other year, at progressively later dates. Earth will next lap Mars on December 8, 2022. Its closest approach to Earth that year will be December 1, 2022. After that, Earth will next lap Mars on January 16, 2025, but its closest approach will come on January 12, 2025. At both of those oppositions of Mars – and at every opposition for some years to come – Mars will appear fainter, and fainter, in our sky. That’s because those oppositions will happen closer and closer to Mars’ aphelion date.

    In the year 2027, Mars’ opposition comes on February 19, 2027, and Mars sweeps closest to Earth on February 20, 2929. At a distance of 63.02 million miles (101.42 million km), this will present Mars’s most distant opposition in the 21st century (2001 to 2100). Mars reaches aphelion – it farthest distance from the sun – on March 2, 2027.

    So enjoy Mars in October 2020! You won’t see it this bright again until September 2035.
    https://earthsky.org/tonight/mars-cl...arth-october-6

  14. #194
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    I got a new Astro Cam and I’ve been wanting to capture Mars but between bad seeing, clouds, and being sick, It won’t be happening soon

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    Bought a celestron starsense explorer with some of my tax refund. Thing hooks up to my smartphone and aligns shit for me which seems pretty rad. Can't wait to get the sucker

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    Wish I'd done that with my first one. Because only after I got it did I realize that I was bad at aligning the scope and having it do it for me would be much better.

    Currently live in the city though so not much sense in getting another telescope anytime soon. Maybe I should look into a more portable one for the time being.

  17. #197

    Quote Originally Posted by Tyrath View Post
    Wish I'd done that with my first one. Because only after I got it did I realize that I was bad at aligning the scope and having it do it for me would be much better.

    Currently live in the city though so not much sense in getting another telescope anytime soon. Maybe I should look into a more portable one for the time being.
    Same here, I never really align my scope. I just find the planet/whatever, and do my best to keep it in view. I really need to practice aligning it and get it down, because it's usually just that I wait until the last minute and don't have time to mess around with that before I want to start viewing. Maybe if I start using my old scope more, I can convince my wife that an upgrade would be in order, but can't justify the cost for something that I don't use as often as I should.

  18. #198
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    This is the one I got:

  19. #199
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    I ordered an Apertura AD8 8" Dobsonian Telescope and have no known delivery date at this time due to the backorder.
    I'm excited to get my first adult telescope, but nervous about being able to use it properly. I guess covid has turned this into a whole thing being at home now.
    Any recommendations on a good app to use once i do get it in to help with viewing? I work night shift so I'm generally awake all night anyway.

    Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

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    I can't wait till my toddler is a little bit older and I can get a scope. It's much darker in my new neighborhood just gotta wait till he's not gonna wreck it.

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