Astronomers..........
Discussion
cheadle hulme said:
I can see the two moons to Jupiters left; whats the light to its right, about twice as far away as the moons on the left?
Another moon, probably. Four (the Galilean satellites - Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto) are fairly easy to pick out with modest binoculars. After all, Galileo discovered them in 1609 using a toilet roll tube and a couple of spectacle lenses.
tty method.Eric Mc said:
I think I'll stick to a refractor.
HmmI'm tempted to ask you what adhesive you are going to use for that jobbie Eric.
Have you been eating jam sandwiches again whilst you are astronomising?
(funny enough, I had the "there is a bright star near the moon tonight" conversation aimed at me tonight too)
((is it a conversation if you forget to answer her?))
it is a certain pain in the neck, that's a fact...
It's well worth visiting The Royal Observatory in Herstmonceux, Sussex. They have open evenings throughout the year where you can use their telescopes.
They are held all year round on Saturday nights plus they offer courses which are well worth it if you get bitten by the bug and want to learn more. Not sure what dates are for this year yet so will have look.
They are held all year round on Saturday nights plus they offer courses which are well worth it if you get bitten by the bug and want to learn more. Not sure what dates are for this year yet so will have look.
Ex Royal Observatory to be precise.
Still, it is good that the current owners are keeping the astronomy heritage alive. I keep intending to pop in there some day as I often spend time in and around that part of the coast.
Other worthwhile space/astronomy places to visit in the UK are the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Science Museum, London and the National Space Centre in Leicester (which I have also yet to visit).
Keep an eye out for the BBC's "Astronomy Live" show coming up later on in January with Daragh O'Briain and Brian Cox.
Still, it is good that the current owners are keeping the astronomy heritage alive. I keep intending to pop in there some day as I often spend time in and around that part of the coast.
Other worthwhile space/astronomy places to visit in the UK are the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Science Museum, London and the National Space Centre in Leicester (which I have also yet to visit).
Keep an eye out for the BBC's "Astronomy Live" show coming up later on in January with Daragh O'Briain and Brian Cox.
right then, i knew that was jupiter up by the moon but what i want to know is if you look at orion's belt out of the corner of your eye to the right you can see what looks like a mini stellar cloud.if you look directly at it you cannot see it.look back at orion's belt and it reappears. weird one.
tuscaneer said:
right then, i knew that was jupiter up by the moon but what i want to know is if you look at orion's belt out of the corner of your eye to the right you can see what looks like a mini stellar cloud.if you look directly at it you cannot see it.look back at orion's belt and it reappears. weird one.
It's called "averted vision". That part of your eye just to the side of the central part of your retina is actually more sensitive to light than the centre of the retina (it's an evolutionary artefact which helps us spot danger approaching even if we aren't looking at the point from where the danger is coming).Astronomers have been long aware of it and have used it as a technique for spotting faint objects.
You were probably seeing the Orion Nebula, which is one of the "stars" that makes up Orion's Belt. In a large telescope it is spectacular -
Gassing Station | Science! | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff