The Stars and The Moon

[FineTuned]

Just reminded hubby that we should get a telescope also. hehehehe.. We hv a sky full of stars everynight and it's not fully appreciated. FT.. bila mau mari? heeheh

CA is the centre of Amateur Astronomy to the world, lady. It is home to the 2 largest consumer telescope manufacturers (one of which incidentally is where I got this telescope from) in the world. Telescopes are ubiquitous in CA, so if you don't have one in your backyard....gee, your new home ain't complete yet. And after you get your observatory set up (assuming you get bitten by the astronomy bug too)....don't forget to give me a new invite, lady.

For you and mick, and anyone who seriously want to indulge in Astrophotography...I would suggest to aim for at least an 8" GOTO telescope. I'm happy with my 4" as most of the time, the night sky in USJ is good enough for visual planetary observation. Deep Sky objects are rare sights in my urbanised light polluted vicinity, unlike in CA. Also, I'm not into astrophotography seriously enough so a larger and faster telescope is still an extravagance for me ATM.

[Naka]

I did a Google search and found the '8" GOTO telescope' is not that big

[FineTuned]

I did a Google search and found the '8" GOTO telescope' is not that big

For Asians, (average height 5' 10" and below) the 8" is about the mass limit for one person to manage. Beer guzzling American 6 footers can easily manage a 10" with one hand.

If you want size with portability...a 16" Dobsonian is unbeatable, but it is not ideal for astrophotography (unless you do some customization to enable precision motorised GOTO controls).

Normally, large telescopes 12" and above can be considered Observatory Class as they are already too heavy and bulky for a single person to move.

[Naka]

For Asians, (average height 5' 10" and below) the 8" is about the mass limit for one person to manage. Beer guzzling American 6 footers can easily manage a 10" with one hand.

If you want size with portability...a 16" Dobsonian is unbeatable, but it is not ideal for astrophotography (unless you do some customization to enable precision motorised GOTO controls).

Normally, large telescopes 12" and above can be considered Observatory Class as they are already too heavy and bulky for a single person to move.

OIC, I learn something today. 10Q

[lady-o-leisure]

if you don't have one in your backyard....gee, your new home ain't complete yet. And after you get your observatory set up (assuming you get bitten by the astronomy bug too)....don't forget to give me a new invite, lady.

.

Aiyooo... that is exactly what i was thinking too. We hardly ever see clouds in the sky here. I think we can count in our hands, the number of days we get really cloudy skies per year. The past 2 days happens to be them, otherwise it hardly ever rains in SoCal. I am near the desert, so that kinda explains it too. Anyway, now hubby is wondering what happened to his late father's old telescope. No worries, when we get it.. sure to invite you again.
There are also groups that camp out around Joshua Tree Nat'l Park to observe the sky. Includes bbq, etc. We're thinking of going on a camping trip later this mth when the moon isnt visible. See how it goes. Rained today after so long but we drove an hour to Palomar Obs.. unfortunately closed due to bad weather. Saw bits of leftover snow on the side of the roads. Rained continuously all the way there and back and so foggy. reminded me of genting. Miss the rain.

[lady-o-leisure]

The sky last night was clear and really bright due to the moon, but somehow the stars looked extra pretty, so i went out in the cold and quickly took a few pics.
Not to say it is very good quality, but it really is so pretty to see a starry sky.One big problem i hv is.. my hse is in between 2 streetlights. The streetlights here are all amber to prevent too much light affecting Palomar observatory.

The left side of one streetlamp


The right side of the same streetlamp

The roof and flagpole on the right belongs to my neighbor and they too hv lights on at the porch.

[Naka]

I seldom look into the sky at night.

Maybe the sky should be similar to yours since we do not have a lot of clouds.

[FineTuned]

Naka, you're downunder, right? Your sky will be quite different from lady's since you are in the Southern hemisphere. Lady, on the other hand, will see more of the northern constellations.

We USJians, being near the equator, will see most of both of your skies.
Unfortunately, we also get to see a lot of clouds.


Anyways, lady, in your second pic, you have the famous and beautiful Orion constellation dead center. The first picture...you've got the Gemini twins just off the center, in the left bottom quarter.

[lady-o-leisure]

FT or anyone... can you explain what causes the ring around the moon? I saw this when coming back from the supermarket just now. Been really windy all day and we're expecting rain in 2 days' time. Strange weather lately.

[FineTuned]

The halo around the Moon is caused by light refracted and/or reflected by ice crystals or fine water droplets high up in the atmosphere. Makes the Moon look very angelic, doesn't it?

BTW, you've also caught Jupiter in your view....that bright `star' to the right of the Moon.

[lady-o-leisure]

ooooo...Thank you for the explanation. I guess we can brace ourselves for the wet Veteran's day holiday here on Friday. Once again we've had a short summer, people were still skiing in the mountains in early June and last weekend it snowed unusually early in the mountains.

[FineTuned]

Snow. Skiing. What's that?

lady, I think you will be able start a new thread on ice crystals macro photography soon.

[mick123]

FT, any shops in KL thereabouts that is a good place to look for the GOTO?

[FineTuned]

mick, there are quite a few telescope vendors in the Klang Valley. Just check on the website of the more well known telescope manufacturers and you will find details about the respective Malaysian distributors. Also, there's the yellow pages.....

Just don't go looking for telescopes in department stores and photography shops.

[mick123]

hehe that's the thing, i don't even know who are the well known manufacturers .........those at the photography shops are mainly naikons, so no go for me