Anybody enjoy astronomy/stargazing?

[Kat]

If you aren't aware, there's a meteor shower that always happens in August (and has been going on for a couple weeks already), and it's peaking on August 12th. The moon is going to be mostly dark so viewing is supposed to be especially good this year. I completely forgot about it until I saw a huge shooting star when I went camping last weekend.

Has anyone ever gone out to a very dark area to watch the Perseid meteor shower or any other astronomical event? What'd you see, where'd you go, and was it worth it?

 

[Marlfox]

Kinda boring but I still get kicks out of telescoping the moon. Love it's little details beyond the naked eye.

 

[Fool's Requiem]

I don't know how much people watch anime here, but if you like stargazing, Insomniacs After School might be worth a watch. Two teens inflicted with an inability to sleep at night, meet up in the once abandoned astronomy club where there's a huge telescope and they nap there during the day. They get caught using the room and in order to keep using the room, they restart the club and start doing things like stargazing and taking pictures of the night sky.

It's a pretty sweet show. You can find it on HIDIVE. The show is mostly devoid of those weird anime aspects that you typically hear about. It's also not your typical romance anime where they drag out their relationship for as long as possible. The relationship is organic and realistic as it can be for a cartoon.

Plus, plenty of views of the night skies.

 

[Mark]

If you aren't aware, there's a meteor shower that always happens in August (and has been going on for a couple weeks already), and it's peaking on August 12th. The moon is going to be mostly dark so viewing is supposed to be especially good this year. I completely forgot about it until I saw a huge shooting star when I went camping last weekend.

Has anyone ever gone out to a very dark area to watch the Perseid meteor shower or any other astronomical event? What'd you see, where'd you go, and was it worth it?

Funny story about this… I never knew you could see the Milky Way and all that stuff in America, I thought those views were exclusive to certain areas like the Aurora Borealis is. I went up to Connecticut for a wedding when I was in my early 30’s and saw the clear night sky for the first time in my life. It was one of those surreal moments that made my eyes water, because it was in that moment that I realized how much was out there that I just simply wasn’t seeing because of where I grew up. You don’t get to see anything beyond the major constellations like Orion’s Belt and the Big Dipper on clear nights in cities with light pollution, and that’s IF it’s real clear.

I’d love to see some of those night skies you see in the desert or rural areas… just get stoned and space out, check out what I normally can’t, you know?

As far as meteor showers and stuff… I’ve seen a shooting star or two over the course of my life and that’s it. All of that stuff fascinates me, though, and I’d definitely like to learn more.

 

[Kat]

I don't know how much people watch anime here, but if you like stargazing, Insomniacs After School might be worth a watch. Two teens inflicted with an inability to sleep at night, meet up in the once abandoned astronomy club where there's a huge telescope and they nap there during the day. They get caught using the room and in order to keep using the room, they restart the club and start doing things like stargazing and taking pictures of the night sky.

It's a pretty sweet show. You can find it on HIDIVE. The show is mostly devoid of those weird anime aspects that you typically hear about. It's also not your typical romance anime where they drag out their relationship for as long as possible. The relationship is organic and realistic as it can be for a cartoon.

Plus, plenty of views of the night skies.

That does sound interesting but I have no idea what HIDIVE is. I'll have to look into it.

I never knew you could see the Milky Way and all that stuff in America, I thought those views were exclusive to certain areas like the Aurora Borealis is. I went up to Connecticut for a wedding when I was in my early 30’s and saw the clear night sky for the first time in my life. It was one of those surreal moments that made my eyes water, because it was in that moment that I realized how much was out there that I just simply wasn’t seeing because of where I grew up.

Right?! I didn't realize you could see those things with the naked eye anywhere on earth until I went camping in a very remote area. It blew my mind. I bet a huge number of people go their whole lives without really seeing the night sky and they don't even know it.

As mentioned, I saw a big shooting star last weekend. It was another thing that I thought didn't really exist like that. It was like one of those stylized shooting stars you see in stickers (though not actually five-pointed star shaped obviously). I just looked for an online picture that was similar but they're all just blurs of light and don't do it justice.

I wasn't even in a particularly dark spot, so if you're interested, just go out as far from the city lights as you reasonably can on the 12th. I bet you'd see something interesting. That's my plan at the moment.

 

[Mark]

Right?! I didn't realize you could see those things with the naked eye anywhere on earth until I went camping in a very remote area. It blew my mind. I bet a huge number of people go their whole lives without really seeing the night sky and they don't even know it.

Dude, I STILL think about that moment and regret that I wasn’t in better company at the time. It did, interestingly enough, play a major role in my “reawakening” so to speak. I was in a very dark place leading up to that trip, having been jumped and given a concussion at work and going through quite a few gunplay instances in a short span of time WHILE going through my relationship falling apart. My head was sick as hell, I kept thinking life was fucking with me by not letting one of those rounds take me out. Then… I stood out there smoking a bowl outside of the place we were staying at, looked up, and had this moment of clarity where I “realized” how insignificant everything is in the grand scheme of things. By no means do I consider myself the spiritual type, or in any way connected to astrology, or do I in no way have a solid bearing on astronomy beyond the basics… but it was a moment, for sure.

Kinda like a breakthrough on shroom, if I’m being honest.

As mentioned, I saw a big shooting star last weekend. It was another thing that I thought didn't really exist like that. It was like one of those stylized shooting stars you see in stickers (though not actually five-pointed star shaped obviously). I just looked for an online picture that was similar but they're all just blurs of light and don't do it justice.

My dumbass really thought the first one I saw was a UFO or ICBM because it had s green-ish trail… you could see stuff breaking off of it as it made its way across the sky, it seemed that low.

I wasn't even in a particularly dark spot, so if you're interested, just go out as far from the city lights as you reasonably can on the 12th. I bet you'd see something interesting. That's my plan at the moment.

I’m gonna put it in my calendar and cross my fingers that I’m free and away from the city enough at the time to check it out. That’s how I see if I’m free… if it pops up another event at the same time.

 

[Fool's Requiem]

That does sound interesting but I have no idea what HIDIVE is. I'll have to look into it.

One of two major legal anime streaming sites, alongside CrunchyRoll. HIDIVE isn't free unfortunately outside of the trial period, but it is cheap. The cheapness gets passed down to the less than impressive website and Android app.

 

[Kat]

I’m gonna put it in my calendar and cross my fingers that I’m free and away from the city enough at the time to check it out. That’s how I see if I’m free… if it pops up another event at the same time.

If you're not free that exact night, you can still go out another night around then. You won't see one a minute but we saw probably five over an hour, and that was three weeks before the peak without knowing where to look (there's a particular spot in the sky they all originate from).

 

[Olga]

If you aren't aware, there's a meteor shower that always happens in August (and has been going on for a couple weeks already), and it's peaking on August 12th. The moon is going to be mostly dark so viewing is supposed to be especially good this year. I completely forgot about it until I saw a huge shooting star when I went camping last weekend.

Has anyone ever gone out to a very dark area to watch the Perseid meteor shower or any other astronomical event? What'd you see, where'd you go, and was it worth it?

Yes! I booked a couple of mountain cabin spots for me and my brother to see this coming Saturday. Fingers crossed

 

[Olga]

That does sound interesting but I have no idea what HIDIVE is. I'll have to look into it.



Right?! I didn't realize you could see those things with the naked eye anywhere on earth until I went camping in a very remote area. It blew my mind. I bet a huge number of people go their whole lives without really seeing the night sky and they don't even know it.

As mentioned, I saw a big shooting star last weekend. It was another thing that I thought didn't really exist like that. It was like one of those stylized shooting stars you see in stickers (though not actually five-pointed star shaped obviously). I just looked for an online picture that was similar but they're all just blurs of light and don't do it justice.

I wasn't even in a particularly dark spot, so if you're interested, just go out as far from the city lights as you reasonably can on the 12th. I bet you'd see something interesting. That's my plan at the moment.

This was actually my reaction. Last year I was on holiday on an island in Greece. Plenty of light pollution, and I was standing in a lit street, but I saw one bright big green trail that looked larger than life; like it had been hand-animated.

That’s why this year I’m hoping to see more

 

[Kat]

Yes! I booked a couple of mountain cabin spots for me and my brother to see this coming Saturday. Fingers crossed

I'm so excited for you! Let us know how it goes!

 

[A Maybe Baker]

I love this stuff. My uncle works at an observatory actually, and one time on our whole family vacation to Vermont he took us all outside and said "okay, I brought my good laser" and starting circling constellations and planets in the sky...it was cool as hell.

Also, astronomy playlist from one of my favorite youtube channels:


There are about a dozen full videos, plus a couple of shorter ones.

 

[Mark]

I'm so excited for you! Let us know how it goes!

No, no, no. That’s not how this works. You’re official staff (Trademark).

She’s banned if she doesn’t come back with pictures.

See?

Much easier, and we might get cool shots of the sky.

 

[Smacktard]

I love stargazing, even without equipment. When I was younger, the home I grew up in used to not have any streetlights on its street, or any neighbors close by. I fondly remember returning at night after grocery shopping with my parents, getting out of the car, and looking up overhead at the sea of stars above. It was just so dark and tranquil. I remember staring at them in awe. Unfortunately now the area is much brighter so it doesn't have the same effect.

Saudi is full of light pollution and a sort of foggy/dusty haze that hangs high in the air most days, so I never see the stars here. One time I did hike out deep into the desert and I got lucky with the weather. I looked overhead and saw what looked like every star that ever existed.

One more time stands out -- here's a shot I took while hiking Kilimanjaro. That's the summit in the picture.

 

[Leandros?]

I made this in the Mojave a couple of years ago during the Perseids:

Just before that I made this, 2 falling stars in the span of a 30s exposure:
View attachment LEO_0261.jpg
edit: I made a bunch more photos and they all had falling stars, some even 3

 

[Kat]

I made this in the Mojave a couple of years ago:

That's incredible! It literally gave me goosebumps.

 

[Smacktard]

I made this in the Mojave a couple of years ago:

Just before that I made this, 2 falling stars in the span of a 30s exposure:
View attachment 1973

That is amazing!!! How did you pull off a shot like that? What cam/settings?

 

[Leandros?]

Thanks! It was the first time in my life that I had properly seen the milky way. There's not really any place here where there isn't massive light pollution, save for maybe halfway a longass dike that closed off a large lake. There's nothing around for about 15km either direction, but these photos I was easily 100km+ removed from the LA area.

That is amazing!!! How did you pull off a shot like that? What cam/settings?

Nikon D750, 30s exposure on ISO 2000 for the photo, 3000 for the timelapse, with a Tokina 11-16 f/2.8 at f/3.5. It's a crop lens hence the vignetting but I liked it that way.

 

[Kat]

I’m gonna put it in my calendar and cross my fingers that I’m free and away from the city enough at the time to check it out. That’s how I see if I’m free… if it pops up another event at the same time.

Any luck?

Yes! I booked a couple of mountain cabin spots for me and my brother to see this coming Saturday. Fingers crossed

How was it?

I drove to the darkest area I could find within an hour of me, and I found a little unmarked, probably private road that looked over the river in the right direction (so no trees in the way and no traffic). A mountain cabin would've been better, but laying on the warm hood of my car wasn't terrible. I'd guess I saw one every couple of minutes, and most were really bright and long with a trail. One even kinda went in a circle at the end, which was weird.

Anybody know if tonight is supposed to be almost as good as last night? I wanted to keep watching but was getting sleepy and had to drive an hour home, so I'd like to go out again tonight

 

[Mark]

Any luck?

Dude, it was CLOUDY and DRIZZLING the entire window I was awake while it was going on.

 

[Kat]

Dude, it was CLOUDY and DRIZZLING the entire window I was awake while it was going on.

Nooo! That happened to me a couple years ago. I went camping during the shower peak and it did exactly that the entire night. I think it was literally the only cloudy day in August that year. Sucks.

 

[Mark]

Nooo! That happened to me a couple years ago. I went camping during the shower peak and it did exactly that the entire night. I think it was literally the only cloudy day in August that year. Sucks.

The worst part was, I wouldn’t have been mad if it were a torrential downpour. We need the rain. It was just enough to obstruct the sky here.

 

[Leandros?]

Well good news everyone: while the maximum is on the 12th, you can definitely keep trying until at least a week from now. I took all those photos on August 20th.

 

[ZandraJoi]

I love astronomy & get my Celestron telescope out as often as I can, weather permitting. I try to view the meteor showers when they come. Sometimes the clouds don't cooperate.