Beautiful

cannabineer said:
Two nights ago I saw Comet 46P/Wirtanen. It isn't an intrinsically bright object, but it's close. It showed in my binos as a large faint puff of light. It was symmetrical and without a visible nucleus. It was big - larger than the full moon - but with a very low surface brightness. I could just make it out through some ground haze.

Nunzio-Micale-Comet-Wirtanen-Final-1_1544273598_lg.jpg
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yeah i didn't get to see it, we had to much cloud cover here
 
it's been 3 years since i've got to watch a meteor shower. the weather here just refuses to cooperate, it seems to be beautiful till a day or two before an event is supposed to start, then it clouds up and stays that way till it's all over....
 
cannabineer said:
Comet 46P/Wirtanen is at perihelion today. On the 16th it will be at perigee. The moon is in the way in the early evening, but after it sets will be prime comet-viewing time.
Note greenish fuzzball in the upper right of this photo.

comet-wirtanen-12-8-2018-Cabo-Rojo-Puerto-Rico-Jose-H-Laboy-e1544439309991.jpeg
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I just saw it in my 10x70s. The bit of moon is wreaking havoc with its low surface brightness. But it is almost on top of ( a bit north at the moment) of 6 Tauri, the star below the left-lower member of the widely-spaced double at the top center of that pic.
 
cannabineer said:
Comet 46P/Wirtanen is at perihelion today. On the 16th it will be at perigee. The moon is in the way in the early evening, but after it sets will be prime comet-viewing time.
Note greenish fuzzball in the upper right of this photo.

comet-wirtanen-12-8-2018-Cabo-Rojo-Puerto-Rico-Jose-H-Laboy-e1544439309991.jpeg
Click to expand...

Did you snap that? Really cool. What's the cluster in upper/mid left?


I was in complete awe the first time in Colorado mountains staring at the night sky. I went and woke everybody up to check it out and none were amused.

Very humbling
 
dangledo said:
Did you snap that? Really cool. What's the cluster in upper/mid left?


I was in complete awe the first time in Colorado mountains staring at the night sky. I went and woke everybody up to check it out and none were amused.

Very humbling
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Oh heck no; Internet pic.

The cluster in the upper left is the Pleiades. The V-shaped group below them are the Hyades, who give the constellation its name since they look like a bull's face.

I've seen a truly dark sky twice in my life. It is an experience not easily described. I had the distinct impression that the stars were ~just~ out of arm's reach. The horizon was simply the place where the stars ended.

If you ever get under a really dark summer sky - take binos to the Milky Way. The skies here are no longer dark enough to provide the Effect. The Effect is of a storm more violent than a hurricane, but frozen in time. The Galaxy is visibly a violent place.

Moments like that have kept me interested in stargazing since I was six.
 
cannabineer said:
Oh heck no; Internet pic.

The cluster in the upper left is the Pleiades. The V-shaped group below them are the Hyades, who give the constellation its name since they look like a bull's face.

I've seen a truly dark sky twice in my life. It is an experience not easily described. I had the distinct impression that the stars were ~just~ out of arm's reach. The horizon was simply the place where the stars ended.

If you ever get under a really dark summer sky - take binos to the Milky Way. The skies here are no longer dark enough to provide the Effect. The Effect is of a storm more violent than a hurricane, but frozen in time. The Galaxy is visibly a violent place.

Moments like that have kept me interested in stargazing since I was six.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't have put it past you to get a pic like that. Good stuff. I looked for min and could only make out big bird lol

The milky way was what blew my mind the most. Could actually make out some color. Guess i never really knew you could see it with your eye like you see in pictures. close to at least

My brother has a couple decent telescopes that we occasionally take out. He is always tracking or waiting for something in the sky. He drove 300 miles and camped out for that last total lunar eclipse.
 
cannabineer said:
Oh heck no; Internet pic.

The cluster in the upper left is the Pleiades. The V-shaped group below them are the Hyades, who give the constellation its name since they look like a bull's face.

I've seen a truly dark sky twice in my life. It is an experience not easily described. I had the distinct impression that the stars were ~just~ out of arm's reach. The horizon was simply the place where the stars ended.

If you ever get under a really dark summer sky - take binos to the Milky Way. The skies here are no longer dark enough to provide the Effect. The Effect is of a storm more violent than a hurricane, but frozen in time. The Galaxy is visibly a violent place.

Moments like that have kept me interested in stargazing since I was six.
Click to expand...

I spent 14 years on ships hundreds of mile from any coast and I couldn't name a single contstillation other than the North star and the Big Dipper.'

Imma loser. :-?
 
GreatwhiteNorth said:
I spent 14 years on ships hundreds of mile from any coast and I couldn't name a single contstillation other than the North star and the Big Dipper.'

Imma loser. :-?
Click to expand...
I am curious - did you train to navigate with a sextant? Did you have some old salt aboard who could do that? It seems like a very seamanlike skill to possess. Especially when all the electric gear goes fins-up.
 
cannabineer said:
Comet 46P/Wirtanen is at perihelion today. On the 16th it will be at perigee. The moon is in the way in the early evening, but after it sets will be prime comet-viewing time.
Note greenish fuzzball in the upper right of this photo.

comet-wirtanen-12-8-2018-Cabo-Rojo-Puerto-Rico-Jose-H-Laboy-e1544439309991.jpeg
Click to expand...

killer grab.....i've always like looking at pladies through my telescope. And the story of the seven sisters always interests me.....pretty most of the star lore and myths intrigued me still to this day.
 
cannabineer said:
Oh heck no; Internet pic.

The cluster in the upper left is the Pleiades. The V-shaped group below them are the Hyades, who give the constellation its name since they look like a bull's face.

I've seen a truly dark sky twice in my life. It is an experience not easily described. I had the distinct impression that the stars were ~just~ out of arm's reach. The horizon was simply the place where the stars ended.

If you ever get under a really dark summer sky - take binos to the Milky Way. The skies here are no longer dark enough to provide the Effect. The Effect is of a storm more violent than a hurricane, but frozen in time. The Galaxy is visibly a violent place.

Moments like that have kept me interested in stargazing since I was six.
Click to expand...

my start was when i was 2, my real mother before she passed told me, she used to sit me on her lap and i would always point to the sky.....when i was old enough aka 2 and started to speak...i asked what are those.....she would always tell me "old souls of our past"...
 
BudmanTX said:
killer grab.....i've always like looking at pladies through my telescope. And the story of the seven sisters always interests me.....pretty most of the star lore and myths intrigued me still to this day.
Click to expand...
When my eyes were good, I would try to see how many Pleiades I could make out. Usually six. But a coupla nights I could discern eight. Now, of course, it is a bright blur except in binos.

Twelve years ago the skies were so dark here I repeatedly saw some of the Pleiades nebulosity, which looks like a warship's sails in some of the long-exposure pics I remember from library astronomy books. Modern photos don't bring the "wind and canvas" effect, though this one isn't bad. The color shows this to be a reflection nebula.

M45_2015-11-16-30C-300s-24-200s-16RGBbin2-FL730.jpg
 
BudmanTX said:
my start was when i was 2, my real mother before she passed told me, she used to sit me on her lap and i would always point to the sky.....when i was old enough aka 2 and started to speak...i asked what are those.....she would always tell me "old souls of our past"...
Click to expand...
Oh cool! When I got under dark skies from time to time, I had a strong impression of meeting up with old friends.

I remember trying to look at the winter stars through the storm windows. They'd frost up though, shortening my glimpse of Orion and companions. I was eight, I think.
 
The old real mother and the the adopted mother is still a real gray area for me. Some i consider just stories. When i finally got to see my real mother we sat down outside and said the same thing to me.....she said to me" remember what i used to tell u when you were little", and then it sparked " you told me they were old souls"...for the life of me and to this day i still wonder why i could remember that.....impressions i guess.....my real mother passed 3 years ago in December from Cancer that had took over her body. Another reason why i started back up. It took me 30yrs to find her, thanks to my wife now and her persistence. So many questions, so little answers......to this day...
 
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