Tempus Fugit Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 and for when it's cloudy ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempus Fugit Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 ISS pass at 23.35 15s @ f4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
x-in-man Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Ya know, I was just havin' a few beers and a smoke round with some mstes and saw about 6 in 10 mins. N E it was! ta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbie Bobster Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 (edited) This (Inspiration Mars) could be the real deal, rather than all that asteroid mining malarkey over the past 18 months. Headlines: 2 person crew Free return trajectory to Mars, round trip time about 500 days Closest approach 100 miles, but not landing Launch in 2018 (next window is 2031) Funded by Denis Tito for the next two years ("Let me guarantee you, I will come out a lot poorer because of this mission. But my grandchildren will be wealthier.") Already signed a Space Act Agreement with NASA Ames for heatshield development. Important as they'll be re-entering at a higher velocity than any other manned vehicle before them. Mission takes place during solar minimum. Less chance of being fried by solar flares or CME's, but more chance of being fried by galactic radiation...they're promising "innovative solutions" for radiation protection. Focus on manual systems rathe than the automatic ones of the ISS. They'll probably need the work to keep them from going crazy - 17.5m^3 of available living space for nearly 2 years!! ("Think of this as a really long road trip. Where you can't get out.") This could be the next generation's Apollo moment. Edited February 27, 2013 by Bobbie Bobster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 ISS pass at 23.35 15s @ f4 Very cool Since the ISS is very bright, might it be worth taking lots more shots at a faster shutter speed in order to capture a dimmer but ISS-shaped image? All the best, Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempus Fugit Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 ISS pass at 23.35 15s @ f4 Very cool Since the ISS is very bright, might it be worth taking lots more shots at a faster shutter speed in order to capture a dimmer but ISS-shaped image? All the best, Mike the trouble is a single shot will only be a very tiny speck showing no discernable shape unless you have a large telescope to help, not just an slr ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinahand Posted February 27, 2013 Author Share Posted February 27, 2013 Don't forget to sign up with NASA to get an email whenever the ISS is visible: http://spotthestation.nasa.gov/index.cfm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbx Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 or use http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/cities/view.cgi?country=United_Kingdom®ion=Isle_of_Man&city=Douglas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinahand Posted March 8, 2013 Author Share Posted March 8, 2013 Just a heads up to say that this year could be a good year for Comets! If the weather is clear, head out with a pair of binoculars at dusk in the evening on the 12th and 13th of March to see Pan-Starrs comet. Link Then in November time we might get a really spectacular comet, but it's got to survive an encounter with the sun first - so it'll might be amazing, or it might be a burnt up nothing! Link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave1978 Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Look to the left of the moon and down slightly for Pan-Starrs on the 12th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinahand Posted March 10, 2013 Author Share Posted March 10, 2013 (edited) HD 140283 is a dim star in the constellation of Libra and at the moment it rises above the horizon around about midnight , all you need are a pair of binoculars and you should be able to see it if you knew where to look - currently if you can see Saturn HD 140283 isn't far away! Why am I pointing out this star - because it is one of the first stars to form shortly after the Big Bang! - Or else our understanding of either a star's evolution or the formation of the universe are out! Actually the science behind stellar evolution gives a slightly worrying answer as the calculations give a mid band age of HD140283 as 14.5 billion years - which is a bit difficult as cosmology predicts that the age of the universe is "only" about 13.8 billion years old - but the error bands overlap - the star is between 15.3 and 13.7 billion years old - so relief all round! Up until reading about HD140283 I had thought that you'd need a PhD and access to the Hubble Space telescope to see such ancient stars! But now I learn that our galaxy contains a population of Halo stars - their orbit around the Milky Way shows that they represent a primeval dwarf galaxy eaten by the Milky Way as it formed - these stars lack heavy elements and bear the signature of being formed from the Universe's primeval hydrogen formed in the Big Bang and only tiny proportions of heavier elements. Later super novae seeded heavier elements into the universe giving 2nd and 3rd generation stars like the sun a totally different isotopic structure - the same novae forged elements make up the Oxygen, Carbon, Calcium and Iron which make up our flesh, bones and blood! So next time you are out star gazing spare a thought for HD140283 - its now entering the final stages of its life, throwing off its outer layers and expanding to be a red giant - after that a nova isn't far away - ok a few million years - but who's counting after 13.7 billion years or so! I have to say I find these ideas slightly mind blowing - simply by staring at the stars, doing some maths, and running experiments on earth we have gained some such knowledge of the stars and universe! Amazing - read more here! Edited March 10, 2013 by Chinahand 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolley Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 Good stuff China. You might not exactly be preaching to the converted on here but it is fascinating. I wonder what percentage of the population of the western world ever looks up through the street lights and marvels at the splendour out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bawden Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 Good stuff China. You might not exactly be preaching to the converted on here but it is fascinating. I wonder what percentage of the population of the western world ever looks up through the street lights and marvels at the splendour out there. Or say to themselves...."Is the known universe merely a cell of billions of cells which make up a big animal"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinahand Posted June 6, 2013 Author Share Posted June 6, 2013 With it being TT and all I imagine quite a few people will be out tonight. If so spare a few minutes at just after 11:30 tonight to see the International Space Station zip by! Time: Thu Jun 06/11:32 PM, Visible: 6 min, Max Height: 41 degrees, Appears: SW, Disappears: E Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinahand Posted November 12, 2013 Author Share Posted November 12, 2013 A beautiful image of Saturn published today by the Jet Propulsion Lab, but what is really amazing about it is that the image also includes Venus, Mars, the Earth and the Moon; as well as sundry moons of Saturn. Just wonderful: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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