Astronomy - Page 2

trolls' bane · 07-31-2005, 02:31 AM

When did you see it? The day before yesterday was the peak of the Delta Aquaraid meteor shower! Didn't see a thing

.

katya · 07-31-2005, 02:34 AM

I saw it just a few minutes before I wrote that post. I was just talking to my dad on the phone today and he said there was supposed to be a meteor shower coming up sometime in August. ? I don't know. I hate missing those things though.

I still remember the day of the total lunar eclipse. I told my mom to wake me up for it. She came in when I was sleeping and asked me if I wanted to see it. I said no. She said was I sure? I said yes, I'm sure. In the morning I was disappointed and didn't remember a word of our conversation.

trolls' bane · 07-31-2005, 02:45 AM

Oh, don't worry! You saw a Delta Aquaraid. There is another shower, the Perseids, which will peak on August 12th. It also happens to be one of the easiest to see (and I'm going to be on Lake Shasta!

)

katya · 07-31-2005, 02:49 AM

Alright, sweet! And I'm still going to be in America, that's good. I have lots of good memories of meteor showers. I had wondered if there was one going on last night..

trolls' bane · 07-31-2005, 03:08 AM

Today is the 31st, right?

katya · 07-31-2005, 03:14 AM

I think so. Yeah, it is very early on the 31st. Why's that?

90 second rule... An honourable rule but annoying at times none the less.

Hopefully there's nothing good tonight going on. It's been cloudy and rainy all day.

trolls' bane · 07-31-2005, 03:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by katya

I think so. Yeah, it is very early on the 31st. Why's that?

90 second rule... An honourable rule but annoying at times none the less.

Hopefully there's nothing good tonight going on. It's been cloudy and rainy all day.

I think the shower is relatively low now. Good show in two weeks, though!

trolls' bane · 08-01-2005, 03:01 AM

Hmm...

***RÃan*** · 08-01-2005, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trolls' bane

Yes, it does have the autostar feature, but that's what I'm having trouble with. I do the easy two star alignment, and it points the wrong way by usually no less than 10 degrees. When looking for the proper guide star, I can't seem to find it. I will do a search for what you mentioned, but I'm also going to get a viewfinder.
TG for google

.

I have a Meade ETX-90EC - nice and compact, and I can see Saturn's rings! (which never fail to make me laugh

)

I'm very frustrated with the autostar feature, too! I'm very good at computers and instructions

, and I know my stars, and align it correctly, and it's STILL way off

I just got a cool new sighting device - I really like it - double bulls-eye electronic deal that works great. The old mechanical sighter scope always got bumped, then it took forever to re-align, and it was hard to do in the dark

***KhamÃ»l*** · 08-01-2005, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RÃ*an

I just got a cool new sighting device - I really like it - double bulls-eye electronic deal that works great. The old mechanical sighter scope always got bumped, then it took forever to re-align, and it was hard to do in the dark

Sounds like a Telrad-type device. Like I said earlier, I've never used one, but I have heard that they are quite nice.

trolls' bane · 08-02-2005, 06:51 PM

I've heard about Telrads a lot since you mentioned them. (of course, now I have a reason to notice the name). I did a search, and the lowest rating on one site was a 5 out of 10

katya · 08-05-2005, 01:03 AM

Does anyone know of what stars and things would cooincide with stars mentioned in Tolkien's works? I only know Valacirca (Ursa Major) and Menelmacar (Orion).

Quote:

Originally Posted by trolls' bane

Hmm...

What was that? It's cool.

***KhamÃ»l*** · 08-06-2005, 12:29 AM

Off the top of my head, the only one that comes to mind is EÃ¤rendil being analagous to Venus, the morning and evening star.

trolls' bane · 08-06-2005, 01:26 AM

That was Saturn, or something to do with it. I got it off of NASA. I think it was a storm on Saturn that made the sound.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KhamÃ»l

Off the top of my head, the only one that comes to mind is EÃ¤rendil being analagous to Venus, the morning and evening star.

I wouldn't have thought of that!

Bombadillo · 08-06-2005, 01:33 AM

Somewhere around July 1st, Mars and Venus and the moon (which was a sliver), appeared so close to each other that you could cover them all from your vision with your fingertip at the end of your fully extended arm. Did anyone happen to see that?

I was in Florida at the time, and the day before I happened to see the planets together and noticed they had reddish tints to them, identifiable as planets. I thought it must've been awesome through a telescope, but alas, mine was at home.

Lotesse · 08-06-2005, 11:44 AM

You guys, any suggestions on what's a good mid-range priced telescope for a novice stargazer like me to buy? Rian, you mentioned this Meade EXT-90EC
I guess by mid-range I mean like up to $100 USD.

***RÃan*** · 08-06-2005, 08:04 PM

Mine cost about $800 USD

I've heard that you can get great telescopes used - people think they're cool and buy nice ones, then never use them, then sell them cheap.

Lotesse · 08-06-2005, 08:20 PM

That's a good idea, like at a pawn shop or something, I bet.

***RÃan*** · 08-06-2005, 11:40 PM

Good luck, Anduril! Hope you find a good telescope

Just don't leave it set up, unattended, if you still have your cute little doggie! (do you?)

***KhamÃ»l*** · 08-07-2005, 01:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lotesse

You guys, any suggestions on what's a good mid-range priced telescope for a novice stargazer like me to buy? Rian, you mentioned this Meade EXT-90EC
I guess by mid-range I mean like up to $100 USD.

You can generally pick up an easy-to-use refractor at some department store for around $60. Unfortunately, these scopes are usually not that great in the quality department. I would check Orion's website at http://www.telescope.com and look around.

Here are a couple of general guidelines as far as prices go:

1) Refractors (what everyone thinks of when they hear the word "telescope") will be the most expensive in terms of dollars per inch of aperture.

2) Reflectors will be cheaper than refractors and will give the best value.

3) Scopes with GO-TO or Autostar features will be more expensive than the same scope without it. That said, these things can be useful if you don't know where anything is in the sky.

My suggestion would be to try to find a small reflector. The price wouldn't be exorbitant, and the views should be decent. You might also need just a little technical inclination because the mirrors in reflectors occasionally need aligning.

I would also suggest that you avoid buying a telescope from eBay. From what I've heard, there are good telescopes, but a lot of them are utter crap.

I hope I haven't scared you away.

If you can find a good quality telescope in your price range, I'm sure you'll get years of enjoyment out of it.

07-31-2005, 02:31 AM	#21
trolls' bane Entmoot Secretary of the Treasury Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Campsite-by-Giraffe Posts: 5,408	When did you see it? The day before yesterday was the peak of the Delta Aquaraid meteor shower! Didn't see a thing . __________________ KI6PFA Amateur Radio Operator

07-31-2005, 02:45 AM	#23
trolls' bane Entmoot Secretary of the Treasury Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Campsite-by-Giraffe Posts: 5,408	Oh, don't worry! You saw a Delta Aquaraid. There is another shower, the Perseids, which will peak on August 12th. It also happens to be one of the easiest to see (and I'm going to be on Lake Shasta! ) __________________ KI6PFA Amateur Radio Operator

07-31-2005, 03:08 AM	#25
trolls' bane Entmoot Secretary of the Treasury Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Campsite-by-Giraffe Posts: 5,408	Today is the 31st, right? __________________ KI6PFA Amateur Radio Operator

08-01-2005, 03:01 AM	#28
trolls' bane Entmoot Secretary of the Treasury Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Campsite-by-Giraffe Posts: 5,408	Hmm... __________________ KI6PFA Amateur Radio Operator

08-02-2005, 06:51 PM	#31
trolls' bane Entmoot Secretary of the Treasury Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Campsite-by-Giraffe Posts: 5,408	I've heard about Telrads a lot since you mentioned them. (of course, now I have a reason to notice the name). I did a search, and the lowest rating on one site was a 5 out of 10 __________________ KI6PFA Amateur Radio Operator

07-31-2005, 02:34 AM	#22
katya Elven Maiden Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 3,309	I saw it just a few minutes before I wrote that post. I was just talking to my dad on the phone today and he said there was supposed to be a meteor shower coming up sometime in August. ? I don't know. I hate missing those things though. I still remember the day of the total lunar eclipse. I told my mom to wake me up for it. She came in when I was sleeping and asked me if I wanted to see it. I said no. She said was I sure? I said yes, I'm sure. In the morning I was disappointed and didn't remember a word of our conversation.

07-31-2005, 02:49 AM	#24
katya Elven Maiden Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 3,309	Alright, sweet! And I'm still going to be in America, that's good. I have lots of good memories of meteor showers. I had wondered if there was one going on last night..

07-31-2005, 03:14 AM	#26
katya Elven Maiden Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 3,309	I think so. Yeah, it is very early on the 31st. Why's that? 90 second rule... An honourable rule but annoying at times none the less. Hopefully there's nothing good tonight going on. It's been cloudy and rainy all day.

08-06-2005, 12:29 AM	#33
*KhamÃ»l* Slacker Warrior Admin Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,759	Off the top of my head, the only one that comes to mind is EÃ¤rendil being analagous to Venus, the morning and evening star. __________________ "If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you." Gandalf to Pippin Psalm 107:31

08-06-2005, 01:33 AM	#35
Bombadillo "The Bomb" Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: all over the place Posts: 1,601	Somewhere around July 1st, Mars and Venus and the moon (which was a sliver), appeared so close to each other that you could cover them all from your vision with your fingertip at the end of your fully extended arm. Did anyone happen to see that? I was in Florida at the time, and the day before I happened to see the planets together and noticed they had reddish tints to them, identifiable as planets. I thought it must've been awesome through a telescope, but alas, mine was at home. __________________ Could it be that one path to enlightenment leads through insanity?

08-06-2005, 11:44 AM	#36
Lotesse of the House of FÃ«anor Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 6,150	You guys, any suggestions on what's a good mid-range priced telescope for a novice stargazer like me to buy? Rian, you mentioned this Meade EXT-90EC I guess by mid-range I mean like up to $100 USD. __________________ Few people have the imagination for reality. ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

08-06-2005, 08:04 PM	#37
*RÃan* Half-Elven Princess of Rabbit Trails and Harp-Wielding Administrator (beware the Rubber Chicken of Doom!) Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Not where I want to be ... Posts: 15,254	Mine cost about $800 USD I've heard that you can get great telescopes used - people think they're cool and buy nice ones, then never use them, then sell them cheap. __________________ . I should be doing the laundry, but this is MUCH more fun! Ã‘Ã¡ Ã«?* Ã³Ãº Ã©Ã¤ Ã¯Ã¶Ã¼ Ã–Ã± Ã‰ Ãž Ã° ÃŸ Â® Ã§ Ã¥ â„¢ Ã¦ ♪ ?* "How lovely are Thy dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! ... For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand outside." (from Psalm 84) * * * God rocks! Entmoot : Veni, vidi, velcro - I came, I saw, I got hooked! Ego numquam pronunciare mendacium, sed ego sum homo indomitus! Run the earth and watch the sky ... Auta i lÃ³mÃ«! AurÃ« entuluva!

08-06-2005, 08:20 PM	#38
Lotesse of the House of FÃ«anor Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 6,150	That's a good idea, like at a pawn shop or something, I bet. __________________ Few people have the imagination for reality. ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

08-06-2005, 11:40 PM	#39
*RÃan* Half-Elven Princess of Rabbit Trails and Harp-Wielding Administrator (beware the Rubber Chicken of Doom!) Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Not where I want to be ... Posts: 15,254	Good luck, Anduril! Hope you find a good telescope Just don't leave it set up, unattended, if you still have your cute little doggie! (do you?) __________________ . I should be doing the laundry, but this is MUCH more fun! Ã‘Ã¡ Ã«?* Ã³Ãº Ã©Ã¤ Ã¯Ã¶Ã¼ Ã–Ã± Ã‰ Ãž Ã° ÃŸ Â® Ã§ Ã¥ â„¢ Ã¦ ♪ ?* "How lovely are Thy dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! ... For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand outside." (from Psalm 84) * * * God rocks! Entmoot : Veni, vidi, velcro - I came, I saw, I got hooked! Ego numquam pronunciare mendacium, sed ego sum homo indomitus! Run the earth and watch the sky ... Auta i lÃ³mÃ«! AurÃ« entuluva!

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