NASA - you lovely thing you!

Bright Layered Deposits is NASA's offering today ... and quite lovely they are too. Then there's the news from PhysOrg - wastelands, dark energy, WISE-dom, small exoplanets and massive stars.

A little closer to home .. there's plans afoot for another star party .. on thursday.  So this time - weather permitting - I will be able to get some shots to share with everyone ... mind you most of the people who read this blog will BE there, so maybe the point is moot :)

Hopefully will be starting work on new mounting system very soon ... I want to try some prime-focus astro-photography.  With my camera and no lens.  To that end I really need to clean my mirror and collumate my scope - so I will bring you all pics and commentary on that when it happens :)

Salty, Mars, Darkness, Rocketry

Well first off NASA has the salty over here ... mmmm nicely salted.  Then then indomitable Dr Plait has put us onto more Mars Goodness ... which is again,  teh awes0me. And a little late - the ESA have some nice films about the Ariane which celebrated the 30th anniversary of the first launch. Then there's the NatGeo article on Darkness that's worth a read too!

Helios and Zeus

Hey all, there's a new timelapse up on Vimeo .. shot tonight as the sun went down on Sandspit wharf, where I caught no fish ...

Anyways, you can see Jupiter setting in the last few seconds.  This is a 20-second timelapse for an hour and 13 minutes - 2021 to 2134. Sunset was officially 2042 today.

Let me know what you think?

Things from around and about

First off, a bunch of stuff I have missed over at Nasa.  There's this and this and 12 billion years and then say hello to my little friends.  So that's us caught up there.

Then there's always the marvelous Dr Plait, who posts things like this and this and hellishly interesting things like this.  As well as a bunch of awesome skeptic stuff too!

And just to leave you all, I know link posts are like those Simpsons shows where they just revisit old shows, here's a couple of cool things.  Big Dipper to Southern Cross is worth a visit, especially for those who have hankered after seeing northern stars like me.  Then there's Nightshade, based on Stellarium, so how could you go wrong?

K, see you all next time!

Party Party Party

Had a small star party happen last night.  In attendance were The Flat and significant friends, Bill, Pip and Rusty. Despite the wonders of a beautiful clear night, a lot of people were more interested in the laser of Martins than the stars themselves.  But there was fire, friends and stellar fusion, so that was all good.

We started with Jupiter before he went down - there he is in the pic, just above the streetlamp. Then M42, which is always a fave.  In fact I think I am addicted to M42, it's beautiful!

Then while waiting for Mars, we went sky hunting - mainly looking for the Horsehead (IC434) and even with running inside and checking Stellarium, we couldn't see it - we found the right spot in the sky, but we thought it was too dim maybe? The plan next time is to go somewhere really dark and try.

Also, there was a good number of both satellites and meteorites visible last night - the best of which left some lovely glowing trails across the sky.  I should have time-lapsed it, but was ouit of battery :(  Perhaps tonight.

Then we went on looking at things ... we found something that was christened "Bill's Blob" just off the SMC, which it turns out is NGC104, Mag 4 ... all that could be said was "My God, it's full of stars!"  And some of the detail within the Milky Way was awe-inspiring - reminded me why I love doing all this.

Once Mars came up, we all had a look at the bright orange blobby disk, was close to horizon and very wobbly,  and then it was all wrapped up really.

So that was an awesome time, and my thanks to Bill and Pip et al for sharing the wonders of the universe with me, and to everyone else who liked the frikken laser!

Then there was War ...

Yeah, a LOT harder than Jupiter, what with Mars being a lot smaller and all.  This is using the usual rig, 9mm plossl and a cubic meter of swear words.  Ok, so my first jupiter shots were crap too.

Mars is nice and visible in the east for most of the evening now.  I spent a bunch of time doing long exposures of M42 as well, but NOTHING came out - and I mean nothing - flat black. So, here's Mars, hope you like it ... will work on better stuff when home :)

Once more unto the Waikato

Jax and I are on "holiday" at the moment in Te Awamutu, which is, as usual, an awesome break.  So while I do have the 'scope with me, the opportunities for observing have been slight.  Either I have been too tired, or the clouds have chased me down here, which they have.

Still, tonight may be a good one, we will see.

Yesterday Jax and I went walking out and around TA, and we challenged each other to a photographic scavenger hunt - where we each wrote a list of things for the other person to find and photograph.  On the list she made me was ... space :)  Of course it was then cloudy as until quite late, as it is wont to do when I need clear skies.

So here's my "space" photo - with thanks to my niece Emily for the props :)

And if anyone is interested in the results of the scavenger hunt, you can find them here.

Happy New Year!

First up, From Nasa ... Glittering Metropolis and Stately Saturn.  

And just quickly, from me ...

Happy New Year!