Space Station Spotting
Discussion
tjg16v said:
I'd like to get into astronomy, what kind of equipment is best used to see things like the station, binos or scope? how much for a decent beginners set up?
The girlfriend bought me a 6inch reflector telescope for my birthday in may, i think it was about £150 and I absolutly love it. I've upgraded my eyepieces and now have a nice set of 5 GSO super plossls and a barlow lense, i reckon they have cost me another £100 but should last me a lifetime and should be good enough for higher end scopes.My advice would be to install Stellarium on your laptop, get a decent pair of binos and go outside on a clear night and learn to find your way around the sky, see if you can see Jupiter, i think its the brightest object in the sky at the minute, also Venus setting in the south west early evening - All fascinating stuff, if you enjoy doing this then you can then splash out on a skope
I bought a pair of these just last week and they are excellent:
http://www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/Revelation_...
tjg16v said:
I'd like to get into astronomy, what kind of equipment is best used to see things like the station, binos or scope? how much for a decent beginners set up?
Searching out the ISS and other earth orbiting satellites is essentially a naked eye activity. All you need is a list of timings from sites such as www.heavens-above.com, a dark night and a nice clear sky.With a pair of binoculars it is just possible to make out that the ISS is not just a single dot of light. Other satellites are too small to make out any detail without specialist equipment.
Some decent evening passes coming up starting Monday.
Date Mag Starts Max. altitude Ends
Time Alt. Az. Time Alt. Az. Time Alt. Az.
13 Feb -0.6 19:37:49 10 SSW 19:38:12 12 SSW 19:38:12 12 SSW
14 Feb -1.6 18:41:57 10 S 18:44:07 18 SE 18:44:12 18 SE
15 Feb -0.9 17:47:17 10 SE 17:47:45 10 SE 17:48:13 10 SE
15 Feb -2.3 19:20:19 10 SW 19:22:30 34 SSW 19:22:30 34 SSW
16 Feb -2.2 18:24:03 10 SSW 18:26:44 27 SSE 18:28:18 18 ESE
16 Feb -0.9 19:59:33 10 WSW 20:00:41 20 WSW 20:00:41 20 WSW
17 Feb -3.4 19:02:55 10 WSW 19:05:59 62 SSE 19:06:24 54 ESE
18 Feb -2.7 18:06:24 10 SW 18:09:21 41 SSE 18:12:03 12 E
18 Feb -2.2 19:42:17 10 W 19:44:26 41 W 19:44:26 41 W
19 Feb -3.5 18:45:32 10 WSW 18:48:39 81 SSE 18:50:01 30 E
19 Feb -0.3 20:21:43 10 W 20:22:23 15 W 20:22:23 15 W
20 Feb -3.2 17:48:51 10 WSW 17:51:55 60 SSE 17:55:00 10 E
20 Feb -3.4 19:24:57 10 W 19:27:56 78 NW 19:27:56 78 NW
Date Mag Starts Max. altitude Ends
Time Alt. Az. Time Alt. Az. Time Alt. Az.
13 Feb -0.6 19:37:49 10 SSW 19:38:12 12 SSW 19:38:12 12 SSW
14 Feb -1.6 18:41:57 10 S 18:44:07 18 SE 18:44:12 18 SE
15 Feb -0.9 17:47:17 10 SE 17:47:45 10 SE 17:48:13 10 SE
15 Feb -2.3 19:20:19 10 SW 19:22:30 34 SSW 19:22:30 34 SSW
16 Feb -2.2 18:24:03 10 SSW 18:26:44 27 SSE 18:28:18 18 ESE
16 Feb -0.9 19:59:33 10 WSW 20:00:41 20 WSW 20:00:41 20 WSW
17 Feb -3.4 19:02:55 10 WSW 19:05:59 62 SSE 19:06:24 54 ESE
18 Feb -2.7 18:06:24 10 SW 18:09:21 41 SSE 18:12:03 12 E
18 Feb -2.2 19:42:17 10 W 19:44:26 41 W 19:44:26 41 W
19 Feb -3.5 18:45:32 10 WSW 18:48:39 81 SSE 18:50:01 30 E
19 Feb -0.3 20:21:43 10 W 20:22:23 15 W 20:22:23 15 W
20 Feb -3.2 17:48:51 10 WSW 17:51:55 60 SSE 17:55:00 10 E
20 Feb -3.4 19:24:57 10 W 19:27:56 78 NW 19:27:56 78 NW
Eric Mc said:
Yes. It's a permanent fixture in my "Favourites" these days.
If you like 'Heavens-Above', I'm sure you will like this free download:
http://www.stellarium.org/
Gassing Station | Science! | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff