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WOW! Just WOW!; amazing photo of NGC 6752
Topic Started: Aug 5 2008, 10:57 AM (443 Views)
Mark
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HOLY CARP!!!
Posted Image

More info and full size version here: http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/ima...244073/original
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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
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Frank_W
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:sing: "....and I think to myself..... what a wonderful world...." :smile:
Anatomy Prof: "The human body has about 20 sq. meters of skin."
Me: "Man, that's a lot of lampshades!"
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Mark
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I like all the galaxies in that shot.

The Globular Cluster (NGC 6752) is 14,000 light years distant while the galaxies in the group in the upper left are 190,000,000 light years distant.
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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
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Mark
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Oh yeah, that image was taken with a 155mm (6 inch) refractor.

It's a great time to be an amateur astronomer!
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Frank_W
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Awesome...
Anatomy Prof: "The human body has about 20 sq. meters of skin."
Me: "Man, that's a lot of lampshades!"
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Mark
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Sense of time scale.

The Jurassic began 190,000,000 years ago
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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
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Free Rider
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Fulla-Carp
That is really cool!
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jon-nyc
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Cheers
Wow is right.
In my defense, I was left unsupervised.
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Mark
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Yep!

The light that was captured for this photo started it's journey toward us at the beginning of the Jurassic.

That always fascinates me when I am I looking at such things though the eyepiece more than anything.
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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
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Frank_W
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Wait until you have to pay back taxes on the copyrights of viewing starlight authored by Someone Else. :whistle:


:eek:

:leaving:
Anatomy Prof: "The human body has about 20 sq. meters of skin."
Me: "Man, that's a lot of lampshades!"
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Kincaid
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HOLY CARP!!!
Is that Orion's belt I see?
Kincaid - disgusted Republican Partisan since 2006.
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John D'Oh
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MAMIL
Mark
Aug 5 2008, 03:11 PM
Yep!

The light that was captured for this photo started it's journey toward us at the beginning of the Jurassic.

That always fascinates me when I am I looking at such things though the eyepiece more than anything.

If I try and internalise this kind of sense of scale, I'm always left wanting. The age, the size and the sheer magnificence of the universe are beyond my ability to comprehend.

I love the stuff you post in this area, Mark - please keep doing so. Dr. Paul I can live without (sorry), but this stuff is truly wonderful.
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
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Mark
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Um, John, I have not posted anything about Dr. Paul in a long time.

Except for today when I said he uses an iPhone. :P
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Mark
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Kincaid
Aug 5 2008, 02:12 PM
Is that Orion's belt I see?

No.
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John D'Oh
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MAMIL
Mark
Aug 5 2008, 04:22 PM
Um, John, I have not posted anything about Dr. Paul in a long time.

I'm still reading the stuff you posted when you posted. I'm a bit behind.
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
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Frank_W
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A bit behind:

Posted Image
Anatomy Prof: "The human body has about 20 sq. meters of skin."
Me: "Man, that's a lot of lampshades!"
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Klaus
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HOLY CARP!!!
Cool photo!

Mark, I'm still thinking of getting some astronomy equipment, but I'm not sure whether my area is too light-polluted. How dark does it have to be at night to get reasonable pictures?
Trifonov Fleisher Klaus Sokolov Zimmerman
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Mark
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Klaus,

Are you planning to take photos? With modern astronomical digital cameras, light pollution is not a huge factor. It is more annoying to visual astronomers than photographers. Some of the best astrophotos taken over the past several years are taken from severely light polluted skies.

Google "Light Pollution Map" for your area to see what you are up against.

Do you know the approximate limiting magnitude of your sky?

Your sky will vary considerably due to many factors like, humidity, haze, smog, temperature etc.

Last night was an excellent sky here at my house. I was out until about 2:00 am. It was one of the best nights I have seen in a long time.

some tips from The Astronomical League...

Sometimes it can be difficult observing in heavily light polluted skies. But by following a few procedures, your observing session can be more enjoyable and more rewarding. The following are tips that our crack team of observers offered to help increase your satisfaction in observing in light polluted areas.

Observe during new moon. Just like observing in dark skies, the moon adds light to the night sky and reduces contrast.


Observe after 11:00 p.m., Many stores have closed by this time, and because they turn off their lights, a city's light glow is reduced considerably.


Observe after 1:00 a.m. After the stores have closed, most shoppers and workers have gone home which means that there is a lot less traffic on the streets and freeways, and light pollution is reduced.


Ask your neighbors over for an observing session. After seeing the effect of light pollution on observing, they will be more cooperative in turning off their lights for you.


Try to catch your target objects straight overhead. This is always the darkest part of the sky.


Select the right objects to observe. Magnitude is not everything. A bright galaxy may be invisible, whereas a dim planetary may be easily seen. Small, high surface brightness and stellar objects are easier to observe than large, diffuse objects.


If you have an altazimuth mount (Dobsonian), try to observe near the meridian. Up-down, left-right motions translate into north-south, east-west motions and makes following a path on a star chart easier.


Observe after 10:00 P.M.. This gives the dust and water in the air a chance to settle. Dust and water reflect light that can turn a good night into a bad one.


Pay close attention to the weather. Cool, dry nights are best at any location, but are more pronounced in the city.


Learn to read the quality of the sky by the observing of stars with the naked eye. A clear night might seem perfect for observing, but may in fact be bad for viewing if the seeing is not good.


Observe after a rain storm. The skies appear darker as light is no longer reflected off of dust particles in the air.


Observe after a cold front has come through. The air is more stable and the air pollution has been blown out.


Use a dark cloth to cover your head and eyepiece to shield them from stray light.


Use a dew shield on your telescope to shade it from stray light.


Clean and collimate all optics. Dirty optics scatter light.


Light pollution and O-III filters are good for planetary and emission nebulae.


Use a pirate's eyepatch to keep out stray light.


Pick the darkest section of your site and make an extra effort to block out stray light. Using a light baffle made of a tarp and tent pegs help, as well as a three-sided wall made out of cardboard. Try to make the immediate area around your site as darkened and non-reflective as possible. Use existing structures and foliage to block the direct view of lights.


A right-angle finder with amici prism under a dark cloth is helpful for finding objects.


Setting circles are a great aid for finding difficult objects, especially when those objects are quite some distance from a naked eye star.


A good star atlas, a pair of binoculars, and a one power finder (e.g., Telrad) with a template for that finder, are important for finding objects in bright, low contrast skies. Telrad-hopping can sometimes be easier and just as useful as star-hopping with a finder. Viewing the sky through your Telrad with binoculars is also a nice trick.


Use earphones or a radio to mask neighborhood noise. Noise can be very distracting.
Finally, attitude is very important. Any observing is better than no observing or TV.


http://www.astroleague.org/al/obsclubs/urban/urbantip.html

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
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Kincaid
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Mark
Aug 5 2008, 12:22 PM
Kincaid
Aug 5 2008, 02:12 PM
Is that Orion's belt I see?

No.

In the upper left quadrant of the pic, there is a bright star formation (made up of perhaps 6-9 stars), right between the tight cluster of three galaxies on the left and an almost round-looking galaxy or nebula-thingy on the right. Is that any kind of an identifiable constellation?
Kincaid - disgusted Republican Partisan since 2006.
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Mark
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No. This is a very small section of sky taken through what is essentially a 1085 mm telephoto lens (35mm format).


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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
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Kincaid
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So, a visual astronomer might not even see any of those stars? Interesting how "scale" can throw you off. That is just amazing how many visible objects there are if you have the right equipment.
Kincaid - disgusted Republican Partisan since 2006.
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Frank_W
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I looked at the Milky Way the other night, with a pair of binoculars... Amazing...
Anatomy Prof: "The human body has about 20 sq. meters of skin."
Me: "Man, that's a lot of lampshades!"
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Aqua Letifer
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ZOOOOOM!
Frank_W
Aug 6 2008, 08:15 AM
I looked at the Milky Way the other night, with a pair of binoculars... Amazing...

Sure is.

Back home, I could see it in plain view on clear nights.

Around here, I see maybe 20 stars in the sky, which by the way is dull orange instead of black-blue.
I cite irreconcilable differences.
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Frank_W
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After being stationed in Japan for a couple of years and not being able to see the stars at all, for all the light pollution, I took some leave. I landed at Travis AF Base, CA, around 2 a.m. in a cargo plane. (It only cost me $20 to fly from Yokota AF Base, Japan, to California)

I must have stood on the flight line for 20 minutes, just gaping up at the sky... Billions and billions of stars, and looking near enough to touch...
Anatomy Prof: "The human body has about 20 sq. meters of skin."
Me: "Man, that's a lot of lampshades!"
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Mark
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HOLY CARP!!!
Kincaid
Aug 6 2008, 10:14 AM
So, a visual astronomer might not even see any of those stars?  Interesting how "scale" can throw you off.  That is just amazing how many visible objects there are if you have the right equipment.

By "visual astronomer", I assume you mean naked eye observing with no binoculars or telescope.

You are correct. In most of our skies you cannot see the globular clusters naked eye.

At Cherry Springs Park in PA or Merritt Reservoir in Nebraska you can see various deep sky objects like M13 (globular cluster) and well as large diffuse objects like the North American Nebula or even relatively small planetary nebula like M1 (The Crab Nebula) naked eye.

In a typical suburban sky you will not see most of the stars you see in even a smallish pair of binoculars.
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