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anth
Member
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# Posted: 9 Mar 2006 16:23
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The Night Sky - What's up? OTF's Guide.
Starting this month i'll be informing you of just what is above your head, should you ever want to venture outside and see the heavens. I will be passing on tips for viewing, and letting you know how to see some of the wonders of the night sky.
Coming to a sky near you in March
A great month this month for anybody lucky enough to be off to Libya or even Turkey. Why? Because those places among others will be treated to a total eclipse of the Sun!
Also this month the Northern hemesphere will see the Spring Equinox. Equinox means 'equal night' and represents the moment when day and night are of equal length. From now on the north pole begins a slow movement in the direction of the Sun, the maximum tilt of 23.5° being achieved on June 21st - the summer solstice.
The Planets this month - All images are taken by amatuer astronomers through their telescopes. All these views can be seen with your own eyes. From the polar caps on Mars, the swirling clouds of Venus, to Jupiters red spot and many moons, to the wonderful rings of Saturn. 
Mercury
Mercury finishes a fine set of evening appearances with the wonderful thin crescent Moon above the planet in the western evening sky on the first of the month. After that you have two more days and then the planet is lost in the Sun's glare. Mercury then swiftly travels back towards the Sun for an inferior conjunction (with the Sun, Mercury and Earth lined up as seen from above) on the 11th.
Venus
Venus can be found as a bright object in the south east dawn skies. It's in Capricorn, the Sea Goat, for most of March, but just dips into Aquarius, the Water Bearer, from the 21st to the 27th of the month.
As last month, the orbital positions of both the Moon and Venus mean they don't meet during March. The Moon moves way below the planet on the morning of the 26th. It's close to the horizon at this time, and is therefore unobservable.
Mars
Mars at its closest to Earth last year. Seen through a backyard telescope!
Mars is in Taurus, the Bull, at a very high southerly position at sunset. Compare its reddish colour with the bright star close by - this is Aldebaran, the leading star in Taurus. As the month goes by, Mars also fades until it becomes fainter than this star. Watch and see how easy this is to spot.
The crescent Moon, Mars, Aldebaran and the Pleiades stars cluster will make a fine sight in the evening of the 5th. The Moon actually covers (occults) some of the Pleiades stars earlier in the afternoon, and won't have moved too far away by the time it's dark enough to see. This is certainly an event to look out for if you have binoculars.
Jupiter
Jupiter rises in the south east at about midnight in the middle of the month. It sits in the constellation of Libra, the Scales. In the dawn skies, you'll find it as the bright object just to the west of south, and about one third of the way up from the horizon to the point directly overhead.
The waning gibbous Moon is off to the right of Jupiter on the 19th.
Saturn
This planet is visible all night, starting high up just to the west of south at sunset. It is currently in Cancer, the Crab, where it will stay until 1 September. At this time there will be an amazing meeting with Venus: more details when we get there.
The waxing gibbous Moon sits above the planet, in Gemini, the Twins, on the 10th.
The Sun
On the 29th at around 10.45am the Moon will start to move in front of the Sun, reaching a maximum coverage just after 11.30am. As mentioned above, the eclipse is only partial from the UK, where coverage is about 25%. The closest place to go for totality is Turkey, where, on the centre line, you'll see almost the Moon covering the Sun for almost 4 minutes.
Remember - never look at the Sun, either directly, or through binoculars or a telescope.
Southern Hemesphere Maps.
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seele01
Member
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# Posted: 9 Mar 2006 17:43
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Hey Anth,
Thanks for including us folks in the southern hemisphere. I might actually try and have a look around though I doubt I will get much, too many lights around here.
Also you have pasted your map links twice and not changed the second to looking south. Just thought you might like to know.
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anth
Member
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# Posted: 10 Mar 2006 01:05
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No probs Seele.
Thanks for the heads up on the mistake. *L* It's corrected now.
Yep, light pollution is a big problem. I lived on a very new housing estate a few years back it was a disaster for star gazing. You could only see the brightest stars.
However, i did have my telescope, and i just tailored my astronomy to the brighter objects and focused on the Moon, Planets and Sun. Those i could still see well, even in badly light soaked skies.
If you have a telescope or binoculars, or camera, you can buy a sodium filter, which will cancel out regular street lights. I've borrowed one before, its quite amazing to hold one up to your eye and see a black sky once again at night.
Or you could do what i did once, get a laser pointer on a tripod, and aim it at the sensor on top of the streetlight, fooling it into thinking its day time! They turn off any time of the night. 
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seele01
Member
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# Posted: 10 Mar 2006 04:47
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I might try a sodium filter If I can ever find somewhere that sells them here. Streetlights are pretty annoying here but I think ours are timer operated so probably wont work.
I also only have a small telescope that is probably not that great. Also the best lens for looking at planets is gunked or something so I can never see anything anyway.
Anyways I will try to see if I can make heads or tails of your maps and have a look at stuff.
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anth
Member
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# Posted: 10 Mar 2006 08:24
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Seele: Well, don't hesitate to ask anything here, always glad to help anybody.
I plan to make a new one of these topics every month, update it throughout the month with whats on show. Plus answer any questions anybody comes up with. Or of course any other members can answer too.
If you tell me what eyepieces you have i may be ble to help. For instance, there is a thing called a barlow lens that can turn any eyepiece into a powerful one ( your existing eyepiece just sits inside it.) . You may find your second best eyepiece for planets becomes your best with a barlow.
Barlows can be 2x magnification or 3x. making your small eyepiece capable of seeing alot of detail on the Moon and planets.
Sodium filters do have one drawback, for small scopes they stop quite a bit of light getting through. With small scopes cutting back on light is the last thing you want. Bigger scopes equal more light, the more light you can gather the more details you see. So you'd be throwing away alot of your resolving power by blocking some good light, aswell as the nasty streetlights.
As for where to get any add ons for telescopes, or telescopes in general, i've been very impressed by what i've seen on e-bay. some good bargains are available. Google for what your looking for, then give e-bay a try.
If anybody would like any advice on any aspect of astronomy, with the naked eye, binoculars, small or large telescopes. Then don't be afraid to ask. I assure you seeing some of the sights on show in the night sky can be a really rewarding, and unforgettable experiance.
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seele01
Member
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# Posted: 10 Mar 2006 17:01
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Yep, Got a barlow lens, its 3x i believe. Its right behind me so I could just look... Yep, 3x barlow lens, 1.5x erecting eyepiece lens, and 20mm, 12.5mm, and a 4mm eyepieces. Its the 4mm that seems to be covered in gunk. I have tried cleaning it but it just doesn't seem to do anything. But I may try ebay and see what I find.
I do have another problem in that the telescope I have is sorta rickety so moving means it tends to go everywhere. I do have a little wheel for adjusting up and down slowly but left to right has nothing like that which makes it hard to follow anything. I also have nothing for measuring angles so its all guess work for me really.
Anyway, thanks for your help. Hopefully I will be able to see something larger other than the moon. I have seen some planets but they were only a few mm wide which doesn't have quite the same effect.
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anth
Member
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# Posted: 10 Mar 2006 23:16
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Seele: Seems to me it would be a good investment for you to go for a new telescope. Or, do what i did, contact and eventualy join my local astronomical society. They had regular observing nights, and i got to have a go with around 20 scopes before i actualy bought my own, plus i got heaps of advice.
Many societies also purchase telescopes, and then lend them to members. Societies are ideal for beginners, you immediantly have access to many peoples advice and experiance. I've met society members from all over the UK, a few hundred from the US, and so far it seems its a universal thing for all of them to be friendly and keen to help anybody.
On e-bay yesterday i followed a brand new 60mm Refractor to the end of an auction, computer guided (1800 object database. Which allows you to simply tap in a number and the scope goes right to a nebula planet, or whatever you selected. ) , a 10 year warranty. RRP £130, it went for £43!
This was the scope on ebay a computer guided 60mm Refractor, a great beginners scope.
For those beginning astronomy its often suggested that to do serious observing you need to get either a 60mm Refractor, or a 114mm Reflector. Both of good quality though.
This is simular to my telescope, a 114mm Reflector.
Faults like wobbly mounts, or bad optics will ruin observing. A 12mm or 20mm eyepiece with any barlow lens should be giving you superb views of the moon and planets. If not, then there is a problem somewhere. A problem with your scope being "rickety" would be an enormous one, a 12mm eyepiece with a barlow bumping its power up by 3x is going to give you a hugely magnified view, the slightest movement will send you a very long way from your target. Also, when you start observing, you notice just how fast the Earth is spinning! Nothing you've ever done before will demonstrate this like looking through a telescope.
You can line up on the Moon for example, go make a coffee, come back, look through your scope, and its nowhere to be seen! You have to line up again, and again during observing. The solution is an easy to use mount, a computer guided scope, or a elcric motor mount which tracks the stars and planets movement across the sky.
I use a 114mm Relector telescope. The smallest suggested scope you should use in its category. But, it has superb optics, and a good stable mount. As a result i've done some really rewarding observing.
So, you're welcome to take my advice, or ask me anything. Or you can do it face to face at your local astronomy society. You need'nt even join to go along to observing nights. Members would be happy to let you look through their scopes.
Here's a list of Australian Societies...
http://www.quasarastronomy.com.au/society.htm
The UK
http://www.fedastro.org.uk/
The US
http://www.cv.nrao.edu/fits/www/yp_society.html
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anth
Member
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# Posted: 11 Mar 2006 03:03
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Space Station Spotting in March ( this is even cooler than train spotting! )
Not everything in space in the March night sky is a natural object.
Many of you may have seen space craft fly overhead. Especialy on spring or summer nights when the sun does not sink too low below the horizon at any time through the night.
What allows you to see space craft in Earths orbit is sunlight reflecting off of them.
The largest object in Earth orbit is the International Space Station ( ISS ). This is very easy to spot even with the naked eye. If you know when and where to look. ISS is so bright you dont even have to know exact positions either. As long as you know the correct time, and the general direction it will appear and then travel to across the sky you can't miss it.
Binoculars will give you a great view of the space station. Mine are nothing special, just a good average pair of binoculars, with them i've been able to see quite a bit of detail on the ISS. If you can steady the binoculars on a wall or fence for example you'll easily pick out ISS's golden solar panels.
A telescope with a computer controlled drive will chase the ISS across the sky, keeping it centered in the eyepiece all the way, this allows you to photograph or film the ISS.
Modern astronomy software will tell you where the ISS is, with this information you can plot its course nightly, and even grab views as it crosses in front of the Moon, take a look at this amazing sequence below, captured by an ordinary amatuer astronomer.
ISS in Orbit - Taken from the Wirral - UK.
See the space station from your home - Times , directions and dates for your location
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdat....ex.html
Good luck, it's well worth a look. Please post here in the monthly sky guides if you see the ISS or any other feature of the night sky. Even if it was a UFO!
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