Hubble Ultra Deep Field 3D video

[Flashy]

One of the bonus's of going to visit my folks is playing with Dad's telescope. I don't know the spec's but I guess it's 8 inches across and about five feet long! He's an inventor and a master tinkerer and has built all these cool add ons for it. He even built the motion mechanism that tracks the stars and keeps image centred. It's a hobby he's taken up in retirement. He seems to know the skies like the back of his hand. We always check out the rings of Saturn, the moon (amazing detail), and nebulas and shit. Last year we built a eight foot rotating dome for the damn thing! We've got a mini Mount Palomar out behind the guest house! My brother put a crescent moon on the top so the neighbors aren't sure if the folks have gone Mohammadian! LOL (doesn't help that son #3 lives were he does)

Like you said Flashy, it's cool seeing the stars and planets "live". Knowing that the light entering your eye has just finished journey of a billion years or whatever, is more meaningful than a photo.

sounds pretty cool vince...i think it is really great when people take such passion in astronomy...lots of folks seem to enjoy building "home observatories"...it is a very interesting hobby.

 

[jason_els]

~Ahems~

A minor planet is still a planet in my book.

Pluto's status is not set in cement. It may end up being classified as a dwarf planet, minor planet, Kuiper Belt Object, or something else. It is part of (at least) a binary system and that's fairly unique.

I think New Horizons will give Pluto a boost when it reaches the Pluto-Charon system in 2015.

 

[lucky8]

i bought a really super duper telescope a couple years ago as a gift for my parents for their summer home (they pay no attention to astronomy, so i knew only i would use it, heh heh)

unfortunately, i do not have the scientific intelligence to really get the most out of it, but i have used it and seen some absolutely *INCREDIBLE* stuff...it is automated, has GPS, computerized and everything!

it is truly amazing (obviously nothing like Hubble though, but when you look at something, and are seeing it with your own eye, it is totally unbelievable...makes you feel very insignificant, but also very fortunate)

this is the one i got them...

I highly recommend it!!!

Celestron 8 Inch CPC Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope - Telescopes at Telescopes

you could probably see Andromeda galaxy with that...

Autumn Sky Tour: Andromeda

...something to do before you die for sure

 

[Skull Mason]

pluto is a kuiper belt object...

the Andromeda Galaxy is the farthest thing humans can see with the naked eye. I first saw it when I was in middle school and it changed my life forever, I suggest all go out and look for it if they live in an area that is dark and clear enough, it will look like a fuzzy little patch if you use adverted vision and stare at the area just next to where it should be. 2.2 million light years away. If your vision isn't good enough a pair of binoculars will do the trick.

 

[Skull Mason]

Start with the amateur groups. Most of them are well-organized and a lot of fun. They're a good way to spend a pleasant evening.

This is the way to go. I've been to some amateur star parties in NJ and dudes brought out some giant fucking telescopes! It is enjoyable being at a place where all the people share a common love in something; it lends towards a better experience than other kinds of parties in my opinion.

 

[Flashy]

you could probably see Andromeda galaxy with that...

Autumn Sky Tour: Andromeda

...something to do before you die for sure

yes! i saw it quite well! the scope i use is computerized and has a GPS and it does the exact coordinates to all the stuff! pretty amazing, i agree.

breathtaking, some of the stuff i have been able to see.

 

[Skull Mason]

I find the fun is in finding the celestial object without the aid of the computer but I am an astronomy nerd.

 

[Flashy]

I find the fun is in finding the celestial object without the aid of the computer but I am an astronomy nerd.

i would like that too, but i do not have the time, the knowledge, or the experience, unfortunately to locate those things without the help of all the systems that assist me when i get the chance to use it...i think it would probably be great to do it "naturally", but for a novice without a lot of time, it is not really an option, unfortunately...if i was vastly knowledgeable though i could definitely see how the hunt would be very rewarding.

 

[D_Kissimmee Coldsore]

But not always. Our planet was likely hit early in its life by a large object the size of the moon. That body glanced off earth and the resulting matter ejected from earth formed our moon. What happened to the mystery object is unknown.

The mystery object you refer to is often called Theia, and would probably not have had a glancing blow. It may well have been obliterated completely in the violent impact along with the surface of the Earth which would have most likely boiled. The material then could have coalesced into the Moon. That's the Giant impact hypothesis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don't worry too much about a Planet X being out there ready to slam into Earth. There likely is another planet out there, a relatively large one too, because the gravitational effects of all the objects in the solar system don't quite add up. We can tell the effect of gravity on all the large bodies in the solar system and right now there is more force being applied than equations tell us there should be. That means there is more mass in the solar system than we know about and that mass is likely a planet of some sort. We just don't know where to look for it, however it is not close by.

I would be more inclined to say that the mass is simply included in the vastness of the Oort clouds. But who knows.

Good to see there are other astronomically-orietntated folks on here. Getting involved with an amateur society is a brilliant idea though, Flashy. I'm lucky enough t be studying Astronomy but some of the best times are spent with the amateurs.

 

[Flashy]

Good to see there are other astronomically-orietntated folks on here. Getting involved with an amateur society is a brilliant idea though, Flashy. I'm lucky enough t be studying Astronomy but some of the best times are spent with the amateurs.

I know it would probably be great, unfortunately, i just do not have the time to immerse myself in what i am sure would be an interesting experience :frown1:

 

[D_Kissimmee Coldsore]

Maybe one day (the stars aren't going anywhere in a hurry)

 

[Skull Mason]

Who here is familiar with Nemesis, or the Death Star hypothesis?

 

[D_Gunther Snotpole]

It really puts things in perspective if you understand the grandeur of what you're seeing. If anything, it shows us that when it's all said and done, the everyday trials, tribulations, and petty, selfish and mindless "issues" we all seem to care so much about ultimately mean absolutely nothing.:smile:

That's so true, Mr. Luxman.
Thanks for that beeyootiphul vid.

I'll check out the Ottawa Valley Astronomy and Observers Group, Jason. Thanks!

Did you see this, SexyRexy?
We could rent a scope ... a damn good one, only not right now coz they're not renting at the moment.
We could climb to the top of your penthouse ...

This is all really mind-blowing stuff, and I'm amazed how many peeps on this board are pretty into astronomy.
It really does put everything into perspective.
Not only does my shit not count for much, but if the whole Earth crumbled into dust tonight, on the cosmic scale it wouldn't be worth a burp.
And when I think about that ... I wanna have fun.

I'm going now to a party where we will do nothing but toast a now-deceased friend who had the blackest heart any of us have ever known.
Seriously.
And yet he was also, in his (frequent) good moments, one of the warmest, most giving peeps who ever walked the earth.
We toast him on his birthday every year ... always, always, with gin martinis, his favorite drink, as dry as your best-remembered school bus hump.
And tonight, having seen that film, I think I'll have my best time yet.

 

[Flashy]

Maybe one day (the stars aren't going anywhere in a hurry)

hope so....but part of the problem for me also is that while the interest is there, the mental capacity for the complexities of astronomy and the understanding of principles etc is simply not there in my head.

never was...i am fascinated by science and nature and things of the sort...for example wildlife and marine bio etc. all make tremendous sense to me...animals, evolution, hunting strategy etc...but with more complex science involving physics, astronomy etc. there is just a mental "disconnect"...some people just do not "get" science above a certain level, even if the interest is there...the same way some people may be interested in music, and try to play an instrument, but just not "get" it...

i am like that with science and music...i have tried and tried, but the ability beyond a certain basic level is simply not there in my brain, sadly.

i am good at other things and i have come to accept my meager abilities in science and music...i can still appreciate them! :smile:

 

[HellsKitchenmanNYC]

That was a cool clip. Watching a show on black holes now on PBS!

 

[D_Gunther Snotpole]

And tonight, having seen that film, I think I'll have my best time yet.

Naah.
It was good, very enjoyable ... but not great.

 

[D_Tintagel_Demondong]

Did you see this, SexyRexy?
We could rent a scope ... a damn good one, only not right now coz they're not renting at the moment.
We could climb to the top of your penthouse ...

Since we both live in the heart of the city, I think we should find a place where there is much less light pollution. How about Hawaii?

We toast him on his birthday every year ... always, always, with gin martinis, his favorite drink, as dry as your best-remembered school bus hump.

:rofl:

Who here is familiar with Nemesis, or the Death Star hypothesis?

The who now in the whatnot? I never heard of it.

 

[lucky8]

Who here is familiar with Nemesis, or the Death Star hypothesis?

The supposed undetected sister star of our solar system right?

 

[Flashy]

what is the Death Star Hypothesis?

 

[deleted213967]

YouTube - The Hubble Ultra Deep Field in 3D

It really puts things in perspective if you understand the grandeur of what you're seeing. If anything, it shows us that when it's all said and done, the everyday trials, tribulations, and petty, selfish and mindless "issues" we all seem to care so much about ultimately mean absolutely nothing. ie: the sky is not falling so shut the fuck up. Have a nice day. :smile:

How can't we share your sense of awe and inadequacy...

...but the irony is that the billion billion other planets about whose existence current science might speculate are likely nowhere near lucky enough to support even the most primitive lifeforms, let alone lifeforms advanced enough to preoccupy themselves with "mindless issues".