Comet

[the nail at the foul line]

Comet C/2023A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, a rare, once-in-a-lifetime comet visible once every 80,000

I probably won't get to see it again.

It should be getting higher in the sky as the month goes on and harder to see.

Striking photos show stunning, once-in-a-lifetime comet soaring over US

Scientists say comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is visible once every 80,000 years, and people across North America were treated to stunning views.

www.yahoo.com

 

[RunninRichie]

I'll catch it next time.

 

[the nail at the foul line]

"The viewing period for comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS began on Friday, Oct. 11 and is set to continue through Monday, Oct. 21, before it fades from naked eye visibility."

 

[the nail at the foul line]

I'll catch it next time.

You won't be up.

 

[*CatinIL*]

"The viewing period for comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS began on Friday, Oct. 11 and is set to continue through Monday, Oct. 21, before it fades from naked eye visibility."

I need to start logging onto the Cloudy Nights site again so I can better keep up with this kind of stuff.

 

[the nail at the foul line]

I need to start logging onto the Cloudy Nights site again so I can better keep up with this kind of stuff.

While you're out there flying around the rings of Saturn, some of us are stuck here Stargazing.

 

[*CatinIL*]

While you're out there flying around the rings of Saturn, some of us are stuck here Stargazing.

You have to be careful navigating through the rings. You never know when a pesky rock wants to slam into your ship.

 

[HymanKaplan]

Hmmmm - this might just be the "in" I need, to justify buying this 8 inch Schmidt- Cassegrain scope, to the wife. LOL

Do NOT look at the price. 😆 😆

 

[HymanKaplan]

Holy crap. You'd think that if you're spending 2200 dollars on a telescope that they'd throw the tripod in.

Nope... LOL

 

[the nail at the foul line]

Holy crap. You'd think that if you're spending 2200 dollars on a telescope thay they'd throw the tripod in.

Nope... LOL

I've never been able to pop on one of those.

Any high-end telescope. I sure wished I had one when the eclipse came.

I want to get one.

I need a 40-ft platform and a bigger area with no light.

 

[*CatinIL*]

Hmmmm - this might just be the "in" I need, to justify buying this 8 inch Schmidt- Cassegrain scope, to the wife. LOL

Do NOT look at the price. 😆 😆

Nice rig. I have the Edge 8 myself but it's currently sitting on the Explore Scientific 2 mount. The wife has given me the thumbs up to go ahead and get a Go-To mount for it. I do have to say I like the TW2 because I can put the Edge 8 and the ES 80 on the same mount. I love the Edge 8 but that ES 80 really produces clean sharp views of the stars.

 

[HymanKaplan]

I'm jealous as all get out.

 

[HymanKaplan]

Any of you all ever owned/used one of those enormous Dobsonian light bucket rigs?

I'm still using an ancient Meade ETX90

 

[the nail at the foul line]

Any of you all ever owned/used one of those enormous Dobsonian light bucket rigs?

No, not me but one thing I would like to get, I think they're made in Germany, darkens the night sky and you can see a lot more. I heard about it on a UFO podcast of all things. There was a guy on there that said if you get these you'll see a lot more stars and lights in the sky. Sort of like the 1970s sky that I grew up with.

 

[*CatinIL*]

Holy crap. You'd think that if you're spending 2200 dollars on a telescope that they'd throw the tripod in.

Nope... LOL

It's a hobby that can be had for a modest amount of money to crazy dollar amounts...just like any hobby.

If you want Bang-for-the-Buck, this isn't a bad option for <$700

It's not Go-To like the one you posted above but it pulls in quite a bit of light for you.

 

[*CatinIL*]

Any of you all ever owned/used one of those enormous Dobsonian light bucket rigs?

I'm still using an ancient Meade ETX90

See what I posted above.

 

[LordEggForgotHisPassword]

Hmmmm - this might just be the "in" I need, to justify buying this 8 inch Schmidt- Cassegrain scope, to the wife. LOL

Do NOT look at the price. 😆 😆

I just got a Celestron 6se yesterday.

 

[*CatinIL*]

One last thing before I call it a night. The best telescope for anyone is the scope that you will actually use...so bigger isn't always better.

 

[Someguywhodoesntlikeyou]

I saw this movie more than once on cable tv.

 

[jcrow10]

 

[the nail at the foul line]

Just Do It.

 

[Spica Orbit]

Nice rig. I have the Edge 8 myself but it's currently sitting on the Explore Scientific 2 mount. The wife has given me the thumbs up to go ahead and get a Go-To mount for it. I do have to say I like the TW2 because I can put the Edge 8 and the ES 80 on the same mount. I love the Edge 8 but that ES 80 really produces clean sharp views of the stars.

---
You'll love the GOTO mount. With decent polar alignment, it'll easily put objects in the eyepiece field of view.

Also, aperture fever is real. I went from a Celestron 9.25, to a 11 inch EdgeHD & finally a 14 inch EdgeHD. The big scope sits on a permanently mounted Losmandy Titan mount. Scope & mount together weigh around 275 pounds. For lunar, planetary & wide-field observing, I've got a Telescope Engineering Company 140mm f/7 APO. The optical quality of that scope is incredible.

 

[LordEggForgotHisPassword]

Good lord, this thread is full of Gallileos and Copernicuses. I feel low brow.

 

[HymanKaplan]

You all, with your fancy motor drives and star software.

Observing the wonders of the universe should be done the RIGHT way. And that means hours of miserable frustration, in the middle of a cold, god forsaken pasture, and ruining everyone's mood before you just point the f***ing scope at the moon, and tell the kids to shut up and stare at THAT for an hour, while you go to the car to try and find that flask you brought.

Crab Nebula my ass...

 

[LordEggForgotHisPassword]

To HK's point...

My best friend was/is a physics guy (worked on his PhD before going to law school - what a terrible decision re: law school). Anyway, he has a giant assed 10" newtonian he has had for years. I called him when i ordered this new telescope to get his thoughts (compromise on light intake for portability was the ultimate decision maker so i could take kids out to gorge, LBL, other dark places this winter, etc.). I asked him if he would come out. He said he couldn't allow us to flounder around in the dark trying to find stuff, so he would come, too. I asked him if he needed handwarmers since i had a box (for sports). He said his excitement would keep him warm. lol.

 

[*CatinIL*]

---
You'll love the GOTO mount. With decent polar alignment, it'll easily put objects in the eyepiece field of view.

Also, aperture fever is real. I went from a Celestron 9.25, to a 11 inch EdgeHD & finally a 14 inch EdgeHD. The big scope sits on a permanently mounted Losmandy Titan mount. Scope & mount together weigh around 275 pounds. For lunar, planetary & wide-field observing, I've got a Telescope Engineering Company 140mm f/7 APO. The optical quality of that scope is incredible.

^^^^^ Folks, that's an Observatory! ^^^^
I know that 14 Edge is incredible but I bet the view through that 140mm APO is crazy nice.

 

[HymanKaplan]

Best advice I ever received, when I told a coworker, years ago (who was heavy into the hobby) that I was thinking about buying a telescope, he said, "you'll get frustrated and quit within 2 weeks, put it in a closet, and never use it again. Do yourself a favor. Get a starwheel/chart, a decent set of binoculars, and stick with that until you REALLY know the sky. Then you can start looking for telescopes. I'll help you when you're ready, because the mount/tripod/controls are WAY more important for your first scope than the actual scope is, but we'll get to that later."

He was bang on...

 

[*CatinIL*]

Best advice I ever received, when I told a coworker, years ago (who was heavy into the hobby) that I was thinking about buying a telescope, he said, "you'll get frustrated and quit within 2 weeks, put it in a closet, and never use it again. Do yourself a favor. Get a starwheel/chart, a decent set of binoculars, and stick with that until you REALLY know the sky. Then you can start looking for telescopes. I'll help you when you're ready, because the mount/tripod/controls are WAY more important for your first scope than the actual scope is, but we'll get to that later."

He was bang on...

Yep.
I mentioned above the site Cloudy Nights. They provide a free pdf download of the sky for each month. Print it off, study it, then look up at the sky and find your way around.

But I like the Stellarium download because it updates by the second.

 

[*CatinIL*]

@Spica Orbit do you have a solar scope? If so I would like to know your opinion on them. I've always wanted to look through one to see what the view is like. I get confused with the various eye-pieces and what they do.

 

[HymanKaplan]

You know what was always fun in the Summer, as kid? Hot footing people with one of those little plastic magnifying glasses. LOL (Or on the back of neck, etc. 😆 😆

 

[*CatinIL*]

You know what was always fun in the Summer, as kid? Hot footing people with one of those little plastic magnifying glasses. LOL (Or on the back of neck, etc. 😆 😆

You only had to do it once to yourself to not do that again. "Hey, lets see if this really burns" 🤪 "Yeah...it does!" 🤣

 

[the nail at the foul line]

It's clear where I'm at.

So the mothership's going to be coming for me.

Got to go get my Nikes on.

 

[HymanKaplan]

Don't forget your 5 dollar bill and 3 quarters.

 

[Spica Orbit]

@Spica Orbit do you have a solar scope? If so I would like to know your opinion on them. I've always wanted to look through one to see what the view is like. I get confused with the various eye-pieces and what they do.

---
Well, you can add a mylar or glass solar filter to a scope for white light observations, but about the only visible solar features through those relatively inexpensive filters, would be sunspots, solar granulation & if you were very lucky, maybe a white light solar flare.

I suspect you're talking about a hydrogen-alpha solar scope or filter system. I've not had any experience with those, but there's definitely a lot more to see if you went that route, but a lot more expense, too!

 

[*CatinIL*]

---
Well, you can add a mylar or glass solar filter to a scope for white light observations, but about the only visible solar features through those relatively inexpensive filters, would be sunspots, solar granulation & if you were very lucky, maybe a white light solar flare.

I suspect you're talking about a hydrogen-alpha solar scope or filter system. I've not had any experience with those, but there's definitely a lot more to see if you went that route, but a lot more expense, too!

Yes, that's what I was referring to.

 

[entropy13]

Deez clouds be comet-blockin' me like a mofo. 🤬

 

[the nail at the foul line]

Deez clouds be comet-blockin' me like a mofo. 🤬

My sky was completely clear and then these clouds came in and obstructed my view. So I couldn't get to the mothership.

 

[the nail at the foul line]

The comet was very impressive tonight.

Look between Venus and Arcturus. The two brightest objects in the western sky. It's a little above that line now and will continue to rise.

If you don't see it with your eye, put your phone on night sight and take a photo. It's almost 270°. About 10°.

 

[*CatinIL*]

The comet was very impressive tonight.

Look between Venus and Arcturus. The two brightest objects in the western sky. It's a little above that line now and will continue to rise.

If you don't see it with your eye, put your phone on night sight and take a photo. It's almost 270°. About 10°.

I'll give it a try tomorrow night. I saw Venus earlier tonight.

 

[KyCatFan]

I've only ever seen 1 comet. It was Hale-Bopp back in the late 90's. I don't recall getting to see Haley's Comet back in the mid 80's when I was in elementary school. This is why I'd like to move out to the country and up on some hill somewhere. Less light pollution and less obstructions.

I'm still waiting to be able to take my 3d printed telescope out somewhere and check out the sky. Still need to paint over a few places where I ran out of black filament. This setup is supposed to be able to get a pretty good view of Jupiter and Saturn.