Any star gazers and amateur astronomers ?

True true, but what a bummer when a satellite cruises past your patient viewing pleasure…link or not :0(

oh speaking of, good page to frequent if you don’t know about it. Makes best viewing conditions, and when to, more predictable.

http://www.cleardarksky.com/c/TpngCAkey.html?1

 

There are apps like Astropheric that provide more accurate information.

 

Gaia just put out a map layer showing the path of the eclipse. Much easier to use this than trying to zoom in on the NASA map I was originally looking at and comparing it to google or something.

I already knew I was going to be in the path, but this gives me a better idea on when things will start.

 

My three celestial WOWS.

1st, denoted by black arrows, very much like what a rocket does only on a much more massive scale, I walked out early one morning around 4:30 to have a little smoke, and alls I can say is I was blown away. All of a sudden as I was looking across at Fernwood, a HUGE meteor(?) shot across the sky. I MEAN HUUUUGE. Massive fat tail and at the front, I could see a ball like structure and in front was the shock cone, but more round, and clearly visible. I was like , ran into the house and turned on the tele for the news. Nothing. I scouted that morning for anyone who might have video taped it. Absolutely nothing. What a bummer. Talk about a once in a lifetime view. Shoot, perhaps lifetimes.

2nd, denoted by the red line was one that actually was a bit creepy. We were waiting for the sunset to finish so that we could set up our scopes. Both my wife and I were looking south when suddenly a light(best way I could describe it) shot up into the sky from behind the mountain ridge and disappeared into the atmosphere. It was WAY TOO FAST for a rocket. We were speechless to say the least. Nothing on this earth that man has built can leave our atmosphere in a heartbeat.

3rd, we were up in the desert for a meteor shower. All night it was just a major show. But the best one was one that entered large and then BOOM, no sound but a splash of sparkles raining down. I immediately thought of the Sunday shows Disney used to show us kids. “That’s where they got that idea of Mickey’s wand effect!”

Real Good Stuff.

 

I apologize to our universe. I forgot the 4th Celestail wonder, and possibly the most important to me.

As a kid, I always asked myself if the universe had an end, and if so, what was on the other side? It’s crazy to think time in space never ends. Galaxy after colorful galaxy no matter which minute direction you go, it will lead to an endless array of galaxies, forever.

Have a great day earthlings

 

https://x.com/skyandtelescope/status/1770116780712775690?s=46

 

https://x.com/nasa_marshall/status/1770510646309691399?s=46

 

Everyone ready for the Super Nova?

My Taco and Jupiter. Thank you Cosmos

 

Now I do t know if this cat was being g sarcastic, because I know of no human that can view that planet with a naked eye.

Last two photos. Taken with the Apple phone. The only triangle of stars I know, and…

Later Days

 

Witch Head Nebula 1281 10 second sub exposures. No filter, processed in Affinity Photo 2 and Topaz. This is a panorama of data captured over several nights. Not any easy target to capture and to process. Here's my result:

 

https://x.com/skyandtelescope/status/1771914120515686622?s=46

 

The elephant in the room…
https://www.space.com/what-if-it-is-cloudy-for-total-solar-eclipse-april-8-2024

 

https://x.com/erikkuna/status/1772951190172586219?s=46

 

Welp....

 

I finally picked up a 2” filter wheel. I’m going to try running NB filters with a single shot color camera. Allegedly, this will work. If it doesn’t, I can still run it with the monochrome camera.

 

Wow.

https://earthsky.org/human-world/1s...apr-2019/?mc_cid=930c6b5036&mc_eid=f9dab96161

 

I gotta ask the optics enthusiasts.

I've been really enjoying the 10x50 binocs. Light, easy, compact, robust enough to toss into the camper. I've been toying with the idea of adding a 15x giant (or mini giant) to the set. Anyone run both? It's it worth carrying both?

 

Im almost kinda sad, Star season is almost coming to a close for me.. this was 4:45 am..

 

https://x.com/mastronomers/status/1774785693086081499?s=46

 

Does anyone have or know the site or app that shows the amount of things orbiting earth ? ( satellites and space debris) I thought I saw it in this thread but can not find it . Thanks