Anyone for an astronomy thread?

[hobbes]

There will be good conjunctions this month and next month around the same time.
A few years ago, there was one of these that included Jupiter too. Now that was spectacular.

[Sits]

Yeah Jupiter is always a decent candidate, especially if it's a big bright blob, as opposed to Venus' smaller piercing brilliance.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

It's difficult to know which thread to put this on, but Boeing's efforts to make a crew capsule to launch people to the ISS are going disastrously badly.

They launched their capsule to the ISS in December, to do their unmanned test, and the whole thing was a bit of a disaster. There was a fuck up with the programming, and apparently the clock time was wrong, so it pissed away a load of its fuel doing stuff it wasn't supposed to. So it didn't get anywhere near the ISS, and didn't get to show that it could dock with it. It did seem however that other than this everything was fine. Except it wasn't. A lot of the little engines it uses to fly around were fucked, and now it seems as though they had to update the software at the last minute so it didn't burn up on re-entry.

This is not good. And it comes shortly after the house passed an appropriations bill basically saying that NASA's plans to go to the moon should basically all happen on boeing stuff, and they should forget about all that stuff involving other companies that aren't boeing. It's nice to see both sides of the american political divide coming together to help a great american company in their time of need. This isn't going to get anywhere, but at least they tried.

[hobbes]

Particularly poor timing given that Space X just passed the crew escape abort test with flying colours...

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

I was on the tropic of cancer last week and reminded of that slight odd feeling you get looking up at a waxing moon at say 11pm and noticing that it looks like it's been rolled onto its side compared to the view you'd get at home. In Australia I assume it looks (compared to the northern hemisphere view) upside down? It's one of those ones that's quite hard to conceptualize why.

[Sits]

Yes it does, more or less. Threw me when I first got here.

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

I'm so unobservant, combined with being ignorant of astronomy, that I didn't realise there was a typical angle for a partial moon for any given latitude. I'd have vaguely assumed it was different at different times of the year or something.

[Various Artist]

I was on the tropic of cancer last week and reminded of that slight odd feeling you get looking up at a waxing moon at say 11pm and noticing that it looks like it's been rolled onto its side compared to the view you'd get at home. In Australia I assume it looks (compared to the northern hemisphere view) upside down? It's one of those ones that's quite hard to conceptualize why.

I well recall that disconcertion (?) when I first moved to New Zealand. It's more odd because it isn't precisely upended by 180 degrees, even there, but still looks broadly 'rolled onto its side', just over a bit further – which makes sense when you think that NZ and the UK's latitudes are not diametrically opposed.

For me though I found it very easy to conceptualise: it's because the Moon is in exactly the same orientation as it was when viewed from the Northern Hemisphere, but I was now effectively hanging upside down off the bottom of the Earth – just like my young imagination told me Australians must be, back when I first got to grips with how gravity is always 'down' no matter where on the globe you are.

[Nocturnal Submission]

What a shame. Heather Couper has passed away: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-51562165

RIP

[Guy Profumo]

What a shame. Heather Couper has passed away: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-51562165

RIP

I endorse this sentiment unconditionally.

[Guy Profumo]

Not a biggie, but noticed these photos of the Milky Way from the Florida Keys on Wiki and thought that they were rather lovely:

How come I can never see that at night?

Even in the dark skies places?

Are they a false exposure sort of thing?

[San Bernardhinault]

They are long exposure, but also you see better Milky Way the further south you are. Broadly speaking, if you're in the north you're looking away from the galactic core; if you're in the south you're looking towards it. If you've only ever been in dark sky places in the Northern Hemisphere you won't be seeing great Milky Way.

[Uncle Ethan]

Two of the boys and I once went on a 14 hour round trip to camp, see the night sky without light pollution then drive back again. Worth every second.

[Sits]

I’ve been here 21 years and not seen the Milky Way yet. Even with an outdoor dinner in the desert near Uluru.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

They are long exposure, but also you see better Milky Way the further south you are. Broadly speaking, if you're in the north you're looking away from the galactic core; if you're in the south you're looking towards it. If you've only ever been in dark sky places in the Northern Hemisphere you won't be seeing great Milky Way.

The galactic centre's in Saggitarius isn't it?

[Guy Profumo]

Out of all the regularly observed things in astronomy

Earthshine has got to be a favourite

Especially as tonight's is a conjunction with Venus.

[Various Artist]

Out of all the regularly observed things in astronomy

Earthshine has got to be a favourite

Especially as tonight's is a conjunction with Venus.

It's a cracker, isn't it?

Edit: Just been to look with binoculars, inspired by your comment Guy. I can just about make out the Oceanus Procellarum on the 'dark face' of the moon, such is the level of earthshine.



And yes, Rogin, the galactic core is in the direction of Sagittarius as seen from Earth.

[Ginger Yellow]

Wow, Elon does not like being questioned

[hobbes]

Pay wall.

[Ginger Yellow]

Nah, just a registration wall for Alphaville.

[Levin]

Any other London bods noticed how clear the sky was last night? Like, I could see significantly more, and dimmer stars than usual.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

The ISS passed over Chorley at around 8 30 last night. Went out in the back garden to watch it after the clap thing. It was clearly visible to the naked eye, took about thirty seconds to pass right overhead.

[hobbes]

Any other London bods noticed how clear the sky was last night? Like, I could see significantly more, and dimmer stars than usual.

Didn't get a chance. Which is annoying as I'd have got my telescope out.

[Levin]

Well if it is anything to do with the drop in air pollution it might be like that for a while.

[Ginger Yellow]

Light pollution is usually the main problem in London.