Oh Hai! I iz on yr Marz, stealing yr Vistas!
Showing posts with label Mars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mars. Show all posts
August 10, 2012
August 8, 2012
Curiouser and Curiouser
NASA, after landing a 1-ton, nuclear powered car on Mars, is now getting back some awesome imagery ...
First colour pic is in. Looks like a dusty day on the red planet :)
Also, the other mars hardware is checking in .. the MRO has grabbed some awesome pics of the rover, heatshield and skycrane ... find those over at Space.com ... here.
In more local news, the Persid meteor shower peaks on Sunday night NZ time, with a rate of roughly 60 meteors per hour, would be a good night to be lying on a blanket under the open sky - if of course you have a sky, forecast here is for showers :(
First colour pic is in. Looks like a dusty day on the red planet :)
Also, the other mars hardware is checking in .. the MRO has grabbed some awesome pics of the rover, heatshield and skycrane ... find those over at Space.com ... here.
In more local news, the Persid meteor shower peaks on Sunday night NZ time, with a rate of roughly 60 meteors per hour, would be a good night to be lying on a blanket under the open sky - if of course you have a sky, forecast here is for showers :(
August 6, 2012
We are down!
DOWN SAFE!!! She's down! Data from the surface of Mars!!!!!!!!
Waiting for the first images now!!! History being made .....
Go Nasa!
And here we go:
https://twitter.com/NASA/status/232350219700932608/photo/1
I have something in my eye :)
Waiting for the first images now!!! History being made .....
Go Nasa!
And here we go:
https://twitter.com/NASA/status/232350219700932608/photo/1
I have something in my eye :)
And she's heading down!
Just passed Crew Stage separation! Heading for the 7 minutes of Terror!! Go you good thing!!!
June 26, 2012
7 Minutes of Terror
5th August Guys ... Curiosity touches down on Mars ... if it can get through this:
Thanks BoingBoing
Thanks BoingBoing
March 4, 2012
March Skies
A good month coming up!
For us Rodney/Snells Types, lots of LMC and SMC this month, as well as the usual cuplrits of Orion, Crux et Al.
First off, 1200mm has a public Google calendar now, for events (like the hike on 24 March) and general stargazing goodness (Mars in opposition tonight!).
so, March So far:
4 March: Mars in opposition.
8 March: Moon close to Mars, Full Moon
11 March: Moon close to Saturn
14 March: Jupiter and Venus close together
15 March: Last Quarter Moon
20 March: Autumn Equinox, day and night are equal length
23 March: New Moon
24 March: 1200mm Hike to the Stars - if you;d like to come to this, please contact us.
26 March: Crescent Moon close to Jupiter and Venus.
4 March: Mars in opposition.
8 March: Moon close to Mars, Full Moon
11 March: Moon close to Saturn
14 March: Jupiter and Venus close together
15 March: Last Quarter Moon
20 March: Autumn Equinox, day and night are equal length
23 March: New Moon
24 March: 1200mm Hike to the Stars - if you;d like to come to this, please contact us.
26 March: Crescent Moon close to Jupiter and Venus.
For us Rodney/Snells Types, lots of LMC and SMC this month, as well as the usual cuplrits of Orion, Crux et Al.
Looking forward to some good moon and mars viewing!
November 19, 2011
Nebulinks 20 November
Well! NASA is at it again (we love NASA)
New NASA missions to investigate how Mars turned hostile
Cygnus X-1: A Stellar Mass Black Hole:
Saturn's Northern Storm:
In Wolf s Cave:
NASA Extends MESSENGER Mission
and just for a change ...
Cosmic particle accelerators get things going
And the pretties ...
A History of the Sky
Also, my partner in the stars, gfkBill flew off to Taiwan this morning for a week. No stars for him in the big cities! He did leave me the tracker tho, so I will be playing a round with that :D
Safe journey bro
New NASA missions to investigate how Mars turned hostile
Cygnus X-1: A Stellar Mass Black Hole:
Saturn's Northern Storm:
In Wolf s Cave:
NASA Extends MESSENGER Mission
and just for a change ...
Cosmic particle accelerators get things going
And the pretties ...
A History of the Sky
Also, my partner in the stars, gfkBill flew off to Taiwan this morning for a week. No stars for him in the big cities! He did leave me the tracker tho, so I will be playing a round with that :D
Safe journey bro
July 11, 2010
w0000t!
Got some shots!!! Some nice ones! It was cold (0.6 degrees coldest), the sky was beautiful and the seeing was also awesome! Bill came over, Rusty and Pip were here, Jeremy took pics and Eddie came over .. was a good good night!! As well as good shots, had a great time!
So shots live over here: http://flic.kr/p/8hm9z2, http://flic.kr/p/8hpoTs, http://flic.kr/p/8hm9k6
This is my new fave :D
I would also like to take a second to say thanks to Canon and CHDK. I got some nice DNGs from my system tonight :D And thanks to all you guys for coming over and going wow!
Also, completed Bahitov Mask today and it works like a charm! Instant and EASY focus :D - V important, plus I made it myself too!
So shots live over here: http://flic.kr/p/8hm9z2, http://flic.kr/p/8hpoTs, http://flic.kr/p/8hm9k6
This is my new fave :D
I would also like to take a second to say thanks to Canon and CHDK. I got some nice DNGs from my system tonight :D And thanks to all you guys for coming over and going wow!
Also, completed Bahitov Mask today and it works like a charm! Instant and EASY focus :D - V important, plus I made it myself too!
June 30, 2010
One planetary evening
So far .. Saturn, Venus, Mars and a passing airliner :)
Coming up - Jupiter, Uranus, Luna and will have a go at Neptune, although that may be too close to the Moon tonight :)
Also, resolved the double in Acrux (one of my FAVORITE stars) :D
6mm for the win! I can resolve a planetary disk for Venus and Mars .. for the first time!!! Well Mars for the first time FOR SURE anyways.
Happy!
Coming up - Jupiter, Uranus, Luna and will have a go at Neptune, although that may be too close to the Moon tonight :)
Also, resolved the double in Acrux (one of my FAVORITE stars) :D
6mm for the win! I can resolve a planetary disk for Venus and Mars .. for the first time!!! Well Mars for the first time FOR SURE anyways.
Happy!
June 4, 2010
Today's things ...
BREAKING: Another Jupiter impact? | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine
Mars Rover surpasses Viking -1 record
and this is very interesting, and inspiring ...
Mars Rover surpasses Viking -1 record
and this is very interesting, and inspiring ...
June 3, 2010
May 22, 2010
The plan for tonight
Ok, so I am planning something. It will hinge on whether I get the scotch mount done by tonight of course (drill charging now) but, here goes.
1730-1830 Venus Setting in the NW Awesome Crescent, using 9mm + Barlow
1800-1900 Mars in NNW ~ 35°
2100-0100 Moon - half full
2100-0100 Saturn follows Moon down the sky Oh so beautiful, will be looking again soon
2350 Neptune Rises
0200 Jupiter Rises in East
0220 Uranus Rises in East
0513 Mercury Rises
12 hours of solar system goodness :)
Lets see if I can do it :D
2100-0100 Moon - half full
2350 Neptune Rises
0200 Jupiter Rises in East
0220 Uranus Rises in East
0513 Mercury Rises
12 hours of solar system goodness :)
Lets see if I can do it :D
May 21, 2010
Two Worlds, One Sun
Two Worlds, One Sun - damn this is cool ...
Ooooo! And so's this: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1670.html
Ooooo! And so's this: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1670.html
February 12, 2010
NASA Goodies and more
Lots of launches of late, not that I'm complaining or anything! Then there's the Spacewalking, which I am also not complaining about! But of course there's the pretties further away and also debris and then some frost. Then there's collisions and clusters and geeklove.
Damn! It's a great big universe, and it's very very pretty.
Damn! It's a great big universe, and it's very very pretty.
On the smaller side, at home. There's a Mars session planned for the weekend, clouds permitting with Bill and Pip, hoping for clear skies tomorrow. If all goes well I want to take my scope, both cameras (little one for timelapses) and various tripods and inverters and laptops.
If it comes off, you will all know about it :)
February 5, 2010
War. And peace.
Tonight saw Mars through the 'scope and for the first time ever saw details on the planet! Very exciting!
In other, sadder, news. My uncle, John McKechnie, passed away this morning. He was an enormous influence on my life, he got me into CG, he looked after me, he taught me a lot of the things that help me be me now and he was my friend.
He was also one of the big inspirations for my astronomy habit. I loved him and I will miss him terribly. He's survived by my Mum, and his 3 children, Cameron, Rosemary and Andrea. He was, and will always be one of the brightest stars in my sky, and now he has rejoined the universe.
Bye Bye Uncle John, love you mate.
In other, sadder, news. My uncle, John McKechnie, passed away this morning. He was an enormous influence on my life, he got me into CG, he looked after me, he taught me a lot of the things that help me be me now and he was my friend.
He was also one of the big inspirations for my astronomy habit. I loved him and I will miss him terribly. He's survived by my Mum, and his 3 children, Cameron, Rosemary and Andrea. He was, and will always be one of the brightest stars in my sky, and now he has rejoined the universe.
Bye Bye Uncle John, love you mate.
January 27, 2010
Beauty, from 248,931,072km out
Here's a lovely video from JPL, the Spirit of Mars. One minute from the Mars rover, Spirit. Especially beautiful to me was the sunset/rise at about 45 seconds in. Oh and the timelapses were pretty cool too! Also, NASA has more from Spirit over here!
Speaking of which, I forgot to tell you last night, I have a new sunset timelapse that also shows Jupiter setting. That can be found here. Enjoy!
Speaking of which, I forgot to tell you last night, I have a new sunset timelapse that also shows Jupiter setting. That can be found here. Enjoy!
Back on the Rails (somewhat)
Ok. Tonight I went down to the domain, armed with Jacqui's 20D, some fairly well remembered instruction, some mints and faithful AstroTorch. Determined I was to get me some dSLR pics, and well, I did :) You can see them over at Jacqui's and my Flickr Page or of course on the Picasa Web Albums .. here.
Phew! I can see how people can lose themselves in this camera thing, sometimes to the expense of their photographs! My mind was spinning after my last post. Well to be honest I was weeping like a spoiled 3-year old who can't have anymore lollies.
First off, I need a job, then, when I have a job, I need a new scope, with nice motorised mount and a good dSLR mount and .. oh crap, oh well. I guess I will just have to keep to the spirit of this blog and do it myself.
Coming soon! Jason attempts astromount III - this time with the length to fit the 25mm! And one of these!
Meanwhile, as you chuckle at the thought of me messing about with tools, here's some VERY pretty pictures for you to look at.
First off, NASA has this and a bit of this, oh and a whole heap of these. Then the charming, witty and terribly attractive Dr Plait has this to feast upon! Or for the full mind-intercourse .. click here. So back to NASA, or more precisely HiRISE is offering you the chance to pick the next photograph of Mars, which by the way is at closest approach on Friday if anyone's interested! Oh you will need to open an account with HiRISE if you go there.
Okies, well that about wraps it up for this post - I am happy that I got some results from the 20D .. this is a good thing, so all I need now is some time, and motivation for the IXUS mount and Scotch Mount!
Phew! I can see how people can lose themselves in this camera thing, sometimes to the expense of their photographs! My mind was spinning after my last post. Well to be honest I was weeping like a spoiled 3-year old who can't have anymore lollies.
First off, I need a job, then, when I have a job, I need a new scope, with nice motorised mount and a good dSLR mount and .. oh crap, oh well. I guess I will just have to keep to the spirit of this blog and do it myself.
Coming soon! Jason attempts astromount III - this time with the length to fit the 25mm! And one of these!
Meanwhile, as you chuckle at the thought of me messing about with tools, here's some VERY pretty pictures for you to look at.
First off, NASA has this and a bit of this, oh and a whole heap of these. Then the charming, witty and terribly attractive Dr Plait has this to feast upon! Or for the full mind-intercourse .. click here. So back to NASA, or more precisely HiRISE is offering you the chance to pick the next photograph of Mars, which by the way is at closest approach on Friday if anyone's interested! Oh you will need to open an account with HiRISE if you go there.
Okies, well that about wraps it up for this post - I am happy that I got some results from the 20D .. this is a good thing, so all I need now is some time, and motivation for the IXUS mount and Scotch Mount!
January 12, 2010
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!
January 10, 2010
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!
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!
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