The Perseids are back!

[lady-o-leisure]

http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astr...r_current.html

Looks like Jupiter will be the 'star' tonight. Let's see if i can spot anything interesting.

[FineTuned]

If the bright `star' passed overhead just after midnight, it is most likely Jupiter.

However, Jupiter is not the brightest `star' in the night sky at the moment. That privilege belongs to sparkly Venus, which is now shining twice as bright as Jupiter.

It is THE so-called Morning Star now. You may have noticed it hanging beneath the Moon in the East this morning at which time Jupiter was fading away in the West.

But Venus, being an inner planet, NEVER crosses overhead at night. It only passes overhead in the daytime, usually unnoticed, except by some avid astronomers. So kwchang is perfectly correct when he says Jupiter was the brightest star overhead at night.

About the method of seeing and identifying satellites, that would bring on a long, boring `lecture' from me. Suffice to say, all my applied info is gleamed from the internet (check NASA and the popular Astronomy websites lah...google, google, google.) But if you insist..... OMG I must resist.

[MasterQ]

Wow! You really have a pair of eagle eyes! How'd you spot the satellite let alone identify it?

Very simple Aaron. You know every hardware has the product details such as name of the hardware, the manufacturer name, its technical specification etc etc. Just look for it. I was with Fine Tuned and I looked into the telescope and saw something very interesting and posted it below. This is the first time I saw a hardware circulating in space and labelled as FRAGILE. If you don't see it, it could possible be shattered to pieces in space.

[AaronOng]

Wow!!! Your telescope must be more powerful than Hubble's to be able to read the satellite's license plates. Summore made in USJ???? (United States of Japan?

[FineTuned]

oi, MasterQ, why you let go our trade secrets eh?

Aaron, still in town or posting from your campsite?

I think I'm conceding a TKO tonight, looking at the USJ sky now.

[AaronOng]

oi, MasterQ, why you let go our trade secrets eh?

Aaron, still in town or posting from your campsite?

I think I'm conceding a TKO tonight, looking at the USJ sky now.

Trade secrets?????


Still in town lah. Camps postponed to Thursday, for better or for worse.

Worse because I am 99% sure will miss the meteors

Better because Thursday is Cho Yat, with new moon, i.e. no moon lah. So... stargazing is a lot easier without Ms. Luna's rays in the way.

You should join me lah. Hopefully can spot the milky way.

[lady-o-leisure]

The sky was really dark last night but at one end near the town.. it was bright. Not many stars this time, and didnt even see the moon. Wonder where it was hiding. I did see Jupiter once again very brightly. Other than that.. probably half dozen stars only. So i didnt stay out to look for long. Was colder than the previous night as well. I;m near the desert so the temperatures are a bit extreme.
Looks like this chapter is over.. until the next exciting encounter......

[FineTuned]

Camps postponed to Thursday, for better or for worse....You should join me lah. Hopefully can spot the milky way.

Weekdays...not much hope of sneaking out of town. Must work for a living, you know. I'll be with you in spirit, watching from my garden. BTW, You sound like you've been in this hobby for quite a while too. You know all the jargon and observation tricks.

I did see Jupiter once again very brightly.

Oh, I just realised after reading your neat link, that this morning, Jupiter was in opposition. Did you make a special effort to view it?....the planet would have been closest to us about 6 hours ago. I think this weekend I might try some astrophotography after all. Haven't shot Jupiter for years.

lady-o-leisure, doing astronomy where you are should be a no-brainer. California is home to the world's 2 biggest telescope manufacturers!

[Naka]

This thread is 3 pages long and yet there is not a photo of this Perseids.

How come like this?

[lady-o-leisure]

FineT ah... what do u mean special effort? errr... i just stood out there and saw it looking sooooo bright. No special viewing tho coz i dont hv any telescope. Hubby says Palomar observatory is very close to where i am.
(next xmas wishlist: canggih camera, telescope, canggih HD camcorder, underwater housing for canggih camera)

Naka... weeeeeell, i ummm doubt i would hv the patience to actually stand out there for hours like FineT just to get a decent shot of the meteor since they flashed by so quickly roughly every 5 mins, my finger wouldnt even be able to press the cam button in time also. Not to mention get it focused at the right place. I hv better chance of getting a shower shot in the bathroom. heheheheh

[Naka]

Naka... weeeeeell, i ummm doubt i would hv the patience to actually stand out there for hours like FineT just to get a decent shot of the meteor since they flashed by so quickly roughly every 5 mins, my finger wouldnt even be able to press the cam button in time also. Not to mention get it focused at the right place. I hv better chance of getting a shower shot in the bathroom. heheheheh

I like to see a photo from 1 of our Sifus here.

[FineTuned]

I like to see a photo from 1 of our Sifus here.

So would I!

I did leave my camera running in movie mode for a couple of hours, in 25mm wide angle pointed at the vicinity of Jupiter. Short of going through the the whole darned thing frame by frame (may take days!), I have no way of knowing if I captured anything. This is a task right at the bottom of my priority list.

I do have a short clip of a Perseid from some years back, shot using my handycam from my garden...but this one I knew I caught it because I actually saw it flashing exactly where I pointed my camera!

Unfortunately, a frozen frame of a shooting star isn't very exciting. It's seeing one with your own eyes which is the real thrill.

A long exposure (best to leave your camera mounted on an equatorial mount in sidereal tracking mode) of up to a few hours, with the widest angle lens you have, is the standard way of capturing meteor showers. And you would still need clear skies and everything nice.

Of course, there are already thousands of pictures of this meteor shower posted in various astronomy sites on the internet, much better than anything we can conceivably get from our polluted USJ sky.

lady-o-leisure, a shower shot in the bathroom? Intriguing.....for all the wrong reasons.

[Naka]

So would I!

I did leave my camera running in movie mode for a couple of hours, in 25mm wide angle pointed at the vicinity of Jupiter. Short of going through the the whole darned thing frame by frame (may take days!), I have no way of knowing if I captured anything. This is a task right at the bottom of my priority list.

I do have a short clip of a Perseid from some years back, shot using my handycam from my garden...but this one I knew I caught it because I actually saw it flashing exactly where I pointed my camera!

Unfortunately, a frozen frame of a shooting star isn't very exciting. It's seeing one with your own eyes which is the real thrill.

A long exposure (best to leave your camera mounted on an equatorial mount in sidereal tracking mode) of up to a few hours, with the widest angle lens you have, is the standard way of capturing meteor showers. And you would still need clear skies and everything nice.

Of course, there are already thousands of pictures of this meteor shower posted in various astronomy sites on the internet, much better than anything we can conceivably get from our polluted USJ sky.

lady-o-leisure, a shower shot in the bathroom? Intriguing.....for all the wrong reasons.

Thanks for the info

[AaronOng]

... You know all the jargon and observation tricks.

No lah.... I consider myself just above beginner grade and way below amateur grade, where astronomy is concerned.

A dark sky is of course more conducive to stargazing of course, as opposed to a full moon sky over a bright city or town.

[AaronOng]

... It's seeing one with your own eyes which is the real thrill...

Agree 1000%

I tell people I'm going camping to see stars.. They say I'm crazy.... can see stars here mah. Can see pictures mah. Can see from Internet mah. Whuffor climb all the way to Camerons??? Besides, what's so special about stars????

Sighhhh...

How to explain ah??