Look in the Skies tonight

[Agrippa]

Yeah, it's a full moon, happens now and then. i'll be able to see those alien
pyramids a bit better.

[MalcolmInN]

As an amateur astronomer, I know the difference 

Yes, me too and I was afraid that capte had misread you !

Nice pic. of Plato, what did you use ?
Which reminds me - what is the status of the 'domes' in Plato, I seem to remember some controversy some years ago ?
Shall we start a new thread ! ?
I am about to treat myself to a new scope or two, my old homebrew 6" Newt is long past it (much like me !)

I think the confusion over the full moon was that it was technically on Sep9th but during the night of 8/9

[mark100]

OOOH , get you !! VERY technical !!!! Ric

       

In 47 years I have never heard of it before

Well, the term is around 30 years old ... but has only become 'popular' in the past 5 I reckon.

Pedant mode.....it's "Astronomer" not "Astrologer". The latter are phonies and charlatans. 

[Pedant correction mode on]
Actually, re-read what I wrote 
[Pedant correction mode off]
As an amateur astronomer, I know the difference    A charlatan coined the phrase about 30 years ago (a Google will reveal the details) to make things sound better for his 'predictions' ...  'Nuff said ...

Not that anyone would have noticed unaided eye
Mind you, you wouldnt notice the difference in size between last night and tonight.

Exactly

Perigee happens every 28-&-a-bit days.  In an average year, perigee will have the Moon closer than average twice in the year, hence "supermoon".

But you can fake it by watching the Moon rise over the horizon ... refraction makes it huuuuge on the right nights 

Speaking of which ... here's one I took earlier 

Wow thats amazing, What camera/telescope did you use to take that, "where we live we are still using 110 cartridges and think thats modern". Never mind the trains, every day, someone on here comes up with something differant and interesting.

Mark

[mark100]

Yeah, it's a full moon, happens now and then. i'll be able to see those alien
pyramids a bit better.

ive got a ring with one of those on it

[Agrippa]

The plane boss, the plane !

[Bealman]

That is an excellent photo.

[MikeDunn]

Cheers all ... yeah, it's not bad   Seeing wasn't particularly good, but I managed to process it reasonably well.

OK, as peeps have asked : techie details coming ... you've been warned

Scope : Meade LX200 f10 10", alt-az mounted in a permanent observatory
Camera : Phillips Toucam, prime focus
Processing : Registax; stack of best 100 frames from 1000 taken
Date : 19/2/13

I had just replaced the collimation screws in the scope with knurled knobs (fnar fnar, oo-er missus) a bit earlier that evening, and had spent an hour or so recollimating (disgusting !); was curious to how good the focus was, so took the video to check.

I started making a wedge earlier this year (so I can be polar mounted instead of alt-az), but ran out of free time; hoping to be able to get back to it in a month or so !  Would really like to get the scope back in the obs in the Autumn on a wedge

As to the dome - you'll find it here http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/apollo/frame/?AS17-P-1928 and here http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/apollo/frame/?AS17-P-1923.  Just remember - it's secret, don't tell anyone it's a glass dome housing the secret base with 1000 Marines ... 

Mike

[Bealman]

As a bloke who has been called into work tomorrow to get high school students up to speed in astrophysics for their upcoming exam, I understand what you are talking about and am very impressed with your kit! 

[MalcolmInN]

As to the dome - you'll find it here http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/apollo/frame/?AS17-P-1928 and here http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/apollo/frame/?AS17-P-1923.  Just remember - it's secret, don't tell anyone it's a glass dome housing the secret base with 1000 Marines ... 

Excellent stuff Mike, the Toucam is impressive !

Thanks for the dome links, nice find,
but haha, er um, no I didnt mean that type of controversy !
I was thinking back in the age of the dinosaurs when Sir Patrick and I were young ( ) and he was doing his moon mapping.
There was lots of discussion if it was a dome (frozen bubble ) or an optical illusion of just another crater.
Didnt realise that it had risen to fame to require an Apollo portrait !
Very interesting.
But yes, my lips are sealed

Now I shall go back to trying to decide upon either an Evo8 or an Evo9.25 or a really big light bucket Dob.

PS.  recollimating a CAT, you're a brave man !
Note to self - bookmark Mike's home address just in case

[MalcolmInN]

PPS
Straying even further afield,
perhaps I should explain for younger members,
in the days of yore when the solar system was young  :-

There was a big controversy over crater formation, were they volcanic or impact ?
The Plato Dome(s) was held up by some as an example of a bubble of lava,
an embryo crater caught 'in flagrante',
thus giving creedence (but maybe not Clearwater !) to the "Volcanic Moon" school.

OK, I'll get coat , ,

[MikeDunn]

Thanks for the dome links, nice find,
but haha, er um, no I didnt mean that type of controversy !

Oops !     Google wasn't my friend there   But the UFO/conspiracy page I found that dome on was ... "interesting" !!!    I'd love to know how the military managed to get all those Marines in place as well as building the city & doming it when all NASA could handle was a 3-man craft 

I was thinking back in the age of the dinosaurs when Sir Patrick and I were young ( ) and he was doing his moon mapping.
There was lots of discussion if it was a dome (frozen bubble ) or an optical illusion of just another crater.

Ah, that old debate 

Now I shall go back to trying to decide upon either an Evo8 or an Evo9.25 or a really big light bucket Dob.

PS.  recollimating a CAT, you're a brave man !

Celestron do decent SCTs these days ... but you may want to look at what people like Altair Astro are getting made; they have some lovely kit !  If you want to do imagery, forget the Dob though.

Doing a cat isn't as bad as it's made out ... honestly    I was very nervous in replacing the screws with the knobs (visions of the secondary mirror dropping down the tube ), but they went in a treat - makes the collimation much easier 

Note to self - bookmark Mike's home address just in case

Who says the obs is at home ? 

[Oldman]

Keep thinking must sort my old gear out, don't use it.
Still have a virtually unused Atik ICII colour camera with 25pin D plug and USB.
There should be a box of filters as well somewhere.

[MalcolmInN]

Note to self - bookmark Mike's home address just in case

Who says the obs is at home ? 

Ah yes, no,
Sorry, I did not express myself well, it was an attempt at a  semi-joke
what I meant was -
So that I could find _you_ for when/if I ever have a misfortune collimating a cat I can do newts ok

[mark100]

Speaking of which ... here's one I took earlier 

[/quote] I had a couple of the Lads from the Masonry pop in at lunch time and I showed them this photo of the Moon and everyone was saying that looks great, modern technology etc etc, then 1 popped the question, whats the point of photographing the Moon, nothing is going to change on it?

Its not as if, one day Mike is going to look through his scope and see a housing estate and ASDA up there.

But anyway we all live in hope and I enjoy the unusual and think its a great photo.

Mark

[MikeDunn]

Still have a virtually unused Atik ICII colour camera with 25pin D plug and USB.

Nice !

it was an attempt at a  semi-joke

LOL, I took it as such, don't worry

then 1 popped the question, whats the point of photographing the Moon, nothing is going to change on it?

Well ... that's old thinking ... honest.  OK, it's nowhere near as dynamic as the gas giants, but it does change over time ...  For example, up until a few years ago, lights seen on the Moon were dismissed as fantasy - they're now accepted as a real phenomena, albeit extremely poorly understood ...  It may be that they're from very small meteor impacts - but we don't know ...  Maybe it was the filming for the new series of The Clangers