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The Astronomy Thread.

Nakani said:
I just never know for sure if I'm looking at Jupiter, Mars or Venus.
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We're having some pretty cloudy weather in TO right now so I can't check. but bright Jupiter should be close to bright Saturn. Planets don't twinkle. Mars is reddish. Monday night here is forecast to be "Clear. Low minus 6'. I'll try and find an open spot to look. ;)
 
Gord_in_Toronto said:
but bright Jupiter should be close to bright Saturn.
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Saturn isn't that bright. It is more on a par with bright stars, which means that you can miss it if you do not know which stars to expect in that direction. Mars is high in the sky for us northerners these days, and so bright you can't miss it. Besides it is clearly orangeish, whereas Jupiter looks white. As the Atheist says, you should look in the direction where the Sun has set. Saturn will be the bright spot not too far from Jupiter.
 
We went out before supper and took a look. We used binoculars and could even see the moons of Jupiter. That was amazing for me; one of my little bucket list items.

What I surmised to be Saturn was at 10 o'clock, not 2. How dim is Saturn compared to Jupiter? This was about half as bright, I guess I will notice it getting closer or not as the 21st approaches.
 
Nakani said:
We went out before supper and took a look. We used binoculars and could even see the moons of Jupiter. That was amazing for me; one of my little bucket list items.
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Yep, it's an amazing and quite moving sight, I've always found.

Nakani said:
What I surmised to be Saturn was at 10 o'clock, not 2.
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That'd be right - you're upside down to me.

Nakani said:
How dim is Saturn compared to Jupiter? This was about half as bright, I guess I will notice it getting closer or not as the 21st approaches.
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Yeah, I'd go with about half as bright. It's halved the distance away it was a week ago, so any day they should be able to be seen in the same lens.
 
I wasn't trying to be snarky, just having a little fun (hence the smiley). I'm a big astronomy fan and just didn't have time to look up the details.

I think Google Sky is free and should be able to tell you where anything is in the skies at any moment or location you choose.
 
Alfaniner,

I like snarky, I know your kidding. Don't hesitate to joke around with me.

And thanks, I'll see if Google sky will work on my phone.
 
The Atheist said:
Yep, it's an amazing and quite moving sight, I've always found.
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Makes me wonder why I waited so long to get some binoculars and go look for it.


That'd be right - you're upside down to me.
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You're upside down to me!

Yeah, I'd go with about half as bright. It's halved the distance away it was a week ago, so any day they should be able to be seen in the same lens.
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I'm happy I know what I'm looking at now.

I was hoping to see some Geminid meteors tonight but it's Cloudy, maybe in the morning.
 
Nakani said:
I was hoping to see some Geminid meteors tonight but it's Cloudy, maybe in the morning.
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The weather has just cleared here today, with a beautiful night to follow, so I'll be staying up for a look. I see a peak rate of 120/hr, but I won't hold my breath - not since Halley in 1986 have I trusted an astronomical prediction.
 
I may, or may not have inadvertently offended Zeus, it has been snowing since we met. I thought everyone appreciated a well timed Uranus joke.

I heard tell, one of my friends has a telescope and I've been impatiently waiting to check it out.
 
Nakani said:
I may, or may not have inadvertently offended Zeus, it has been snowing since we met.
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Never piss the big guy off!

Saturn & Jupiter getting very close now. Couple of days and they'll be in the same lens.
 
The Atheist said:
Never piss the big guy off!

Saturn & Jupiter getting very close now. Couple of days and they'll be in the same lens.
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It would be interesting to watch the broadcast of this wonderful phenomenon. I think that not every telescope owner will be able to observe this phenomenon with his own eyes. Well, just because the weather can fail. And many who want to see this phenomenon do not even have a telescope. I think we can be helped out by the space camera supplier, thanks to which such a unique phenomenon can be captured.
 
KayBur said:
It would be interesting to watch the broadcast of this wonderful phenomenon. I think that not every telescope owner will be able to observe this phenomenon with his own eyes. Well, just because the weather can fail. And many who want to see this phenomenon do not even have a telescope. I think we can be helped out by the space camera supplier, thanks to which such a unique phenomenon can be captured.
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Good thought - here's the NASA live stream of it.

 
Very good view of Saturn & Jupiter last night - glorious clear, and even in the middle of the city, managed the stupendous result of the pair in the same lens.

Weirdly, Saturn "feels" closer to earth than Jupiter when you look at them.

Just the supernova to collect on my astronomy bingo card.
 
Yeah, last night was heavy cloud and rain for me. I would have gone out to do some naked stargazing, but there was no point.

ETA: Naked eye. Naked eye stargazing.

Dammit.
 
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Yeah, we believe that Freudian slip.

Cloudy here last night and will be again tonight, so I'm very pleased we got such a great view on Saturday.
 
Broke out the scope and had a nice view of Jupiter and Saturn hanging out together at 80x.

Winter in the desert is good for stuff like that.
 
Nakani said:
Alfaniner,

I like snarky, I know your kidding. Don't hesitate to joke around with me.

And thanks, I'll see if Google sky will work on my phone.
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If you have an iPhone, SkyView is a nice app that shows you where things are, overlaying constellations and symbols on the sky as you swing your phone around.
 
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