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Post by sweetpea on May 25, 2013 15:00:49 GMT
if you have a clear western horizon this is a rare chance to see Jupiter, venus & mercury close together in the sky. You should see Jupiter and Venus ok but you may need binoculars to pick ou little Mercury though once you know where it is you should be able to see it with the naked eye ok. Try as soon as the sun is out of the way.  |
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Post by SueA on May 25, 2013 17:43:40 GMT
Thanks Sweetpea, will have a look if I'm up late enough. The moon looked very pretty last night here.  |
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Post by SueA on May 26, 2013 17:23:34 GMT
I had a look but couldn't see them Sweetpea, may have been a bit too early as I could only spot two stars high up in the sky.
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Post by sweetpea on May 26, 2013 17:33:49 GMT
Hi Sue, chances are that one of the 'Stars' you saw was actually saturn which is quite conspicuous to the south east.
I didn't see them last night either as trees in the way but I may take a run out this evening to the airport and see if I can spot them from there.
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Post by Rosie on May 27, 2013 17:11:42 GMT
Apparently we had the Aurora here 2 nights ago, and i missed it  |
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Post by sweetpea on May 27, 2013 17:17:47 GMT
Apparently we had the Aurora here 2 nights ago, and i missed it Should have gone to specsavers rosie ;D |
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Post by Fractal on May 27, 2013 20:28:23 GMT
Dads observatory is coming along nicely. The metal ring that turns on wheels is now installed. Dad has designed and built everything himself. Dome for roof is next (well, I say dome, mum has instructed him that it has to fit in the garden so will look more like a garden room!!!)  |
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Post by Cherry on May 27, 2013 20:45:36 GMT
That is tremendous SteveN. I visited Parkes Observatory some years ago. Sam Neill was not there at the time, but it was a great experience.
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Post by sweetpea on May 27, 2013 21:57:35 GMT
Dead jealous now steveN  I can't build one here as too many trees in the way. hope the trees in your pic will not be too obstructive. This is the time to be doing it as the length of daylight means more time for construction ready for the longer nights of autumn. ps What instrument will be installed? This is our 'scope we got via the lottery. Hoping to get an observatory to house it in next. BTW I'm not in pic, I took it ;D  |
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Post by Geranium on May 28, 2013 4:19:44 GMT
That's impressive!  |
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Post by Fractal on May 28, 2013 6:00:06 GMT
That is impressive!
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Post by Fractal on May 28, 2013 6:06:02 GMT
My dad built his own from scratch (he used to work for Grubb Parsons) and had access to plenty of optical making equipment. I recall as a kid him hand polishing the mirror which took weeks and weeks. I think the only part of it he didn't actually do was the actual mirroring of the glass face of the actual mirror. I think the telescope has a 12 inch mirror...or is it 14? I'll have to ask him. Old pic on a slide...  |
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Post by sweetpea on May 28, 2013 11:56:50 GMT
When they get to that size steve they really do need housing in their own observatory. I did dabble at making my own some years back but although I could get most materials via my lorry driving days  i found it too time consuming alongside my other interests. |
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Post by SueA on May 28, 2013 20:00:36 GMT
Your dad is very talented Steve!
Sweetpea, I think you were probably right about it being Saturn I saw, it was in the South East, not much luck seeing anything for the last couple of nights due to the bad weather.
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Post by sweetpea on May 28, 2013 21:00:18 GMT
Your dad is very talented Steve! Sweetpea, I think you were probably right about it being Saturn I saw, it was in the South East, not much luck seeing anything for the last couple of nights due to the bad weather. I often wonder why I got involved in probably the two most frustrating hobbies gardening and astronomy. So often spoiled by the weather. Must be the masochist in me  |
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i found it too time consuming alongside my other interests.
