Albuqshutterbug Loc: Albuquerque NM

Really getting tired of clouds. Things were supposed to be clear tonight through the rest of the weekend.
Mutter mutter..
;)

Convergence continues to grow closer

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Uncropped Canon 5D Mark II

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GTinSoCal Loc: Palmdale, CA

:thumbup: :thumbup:

GT

Albuqshutterbug Loc: Albuquerque NM

Thanks GT.. I'm hoping tomorrows better.

Bloke Loc: Waynesboro, Pennsylvania

I know just how you feel! We have had 100% cloud cover ever since I read last week about the upcoming 'close encounter'...

I don't get the weather this year... Normally we get lots of sun, with evening thunderstorms boiling up sporadically. This year, ever since my arms got badly burned while shooting an air show, the sun has been 'in hiding'. There is a classic car show on here in town today, but with this flat 'blah' lighting, I don't know if I can get the enthusiasm to go check it out...

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

HEY! You found a hole to shoot through!
Yeahhhh! :-D

I remember a long time ago, (in a galaxy far, far, away now :roll: ) It was the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius when all the planets aligned (1960's)....
That summer was the grayest, gloomiest, pea soup summer I can remember.
Totally weird for Southern California. A cold summer?
Anyway, it seems to me every time there was a Galactic event, the skies precluded any vision at all, where I grew up.

Come to think of it, maybe that's why it took me a lifetime to look up... :roll:
Except when we were on vacation in the High Sierra's. There, the skies came alive with Dad trying to show us the constellations. All I really got from it was the Big and Little Dipper's. Others eluded my young eyes, I couldn't quite connect the dots. Nor understand how such complex shapes could come from a few stars.
Maybe they had Psychedelic's back in those times? :lol:
In my second childhood, I'm hoping to catch the interest of Grand Children. Becoming yet another of those Old Geezers prattling away and pointing to the heavens.
It is nice to have much better tools though. Maybe I can ignite a spark in a young and eager mind. :shock: :-o :roll: :lol:

Bloke Loc: Waynesboro, Pennsylvania

Yeah, I agree about the constellations... How they build up the pictures from just the few stars is beyond me. I prefer to just work with asterisms, like Orion's Belt, the 'W' of cassaeopia, the teapot of Sagittarius, the 'big dipper' part of U. Maj...

When first trying to find the Andromeda galaxy, M31, the directions always flummoxed me... Go to the Great Square of whatever-it-is...? I never yet found a great square up there. Fortunately, I found my own way there, and it is *much* easier to locate using the 'W' of Cassiopiae (sp?)

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

The Orion Nebula was one of the things that sucked me into this black hole. :lol:
I was playing with a spotting scope, and trying to Astro image with my DSLR, when I finally found the Orion Nebula for the very first time. It was tiny and distant, but certainly there and available.
So I began preparing for my Swan Dive...
The rest is history. ;)

Bloke Loc: Waynesboro, Pennsylvania

I had what the magazines disparagingly call a 'department store scope', back when I left the military in 83. It had 3 powers - 15x, 30x and 45x, and the objective was probably about 1.5 inches. The little tripod it was (permanently) attached to was total crap, and would wobble so badly you had no hope of even keeping the moon in the field of view.
I used some epoxy stuff to 'fix' the tripod, and it was pretty good for viewing the moon. Then I got a bit more adventurous, and tracked down Saturn. The second I saw that thing just 'hanging there', and it was *real*, I was hooked!

Most of my astronomy has been of the armchair variety, but I did own one of the original NexStar 8" beasties. Didn't have a camera back then, though.

Orion's Belt was the first asterism I learned to spot, even before the big dipper...

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

In the 1950's my folks got me a telescope. It was quite nice as it were back then. I guess you would call it a tabletop model. But the cardboard tubes slid in and out to focus it. And all of 20X.
It was nearly impossible for me to use. I did get some stationary objects (terrestrial). Dad got it trained on the Moon, but of course the moon would drift out of it's FOV.
I came home from school one day and Mom told me she managed to get it trained on a bug in a tree across the street from us, and she watched it munching away the leaf it was eating.
A bit too involved for an Elementary School kid. :?
But God Bless them, they tried.

The spotting scope of several months ago rekindled an interest.
And posts of the Orion Nebula peaked my interest. So off to the backyard to explore with what was available. I found Orion's belt and knew I was close. After several nights I managed to find the Nebula. It was tiny in the 60 power spotting scope, but definitely there.
I tried to pull it out of the sky, but realized I did not have what was needed to do so.
And now, here I am slowly finding my way around the skies, and ready to dial in like the fine focus of a telescope until my Eureka moment where the wonders appear from the mists of time.
While Orion has moved South, I know he will return in the fall. Meanwhile there are Planets to hone new found abilities on in preparation. And Stars to practice focusing on. And much to learn. :-D

CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.

I love the 1st one Jim.
Craig

Albuqshutterbug Loc: Albuquerque NM

My interest was started up by a neighborhood college student that had built his own telescope and observatory in his back yard. I had spotted the little shed with a round top and wondered what it was. Being a punk kid of 12, I rang the doorbell and asked. The creator of this marvelous toy asked me if I would like to take a look at sunspots as he was testing a new filter. I said sure, and there was this wonderful 18" Reflector that this guy had built from scratch and the thing was huge!
We looked at sunspots for a bit and he invited me back to see planets later that night.
Now this was right after losing my Father to CA and my Mom was pretty good about letting me do different things.
I went back that night and saw Saturn for the first time large and very much in charge of the viewfinder.
I was hooked. We spent a good portion of the summer in that little observatory learning about clusters and such but always looking at Saturn at some point. Heck I don't even remember looking at Jupiter even though I am sure we did.
Loosing Dad at that age made it tough for us so I never had the chance to get a telescope until I was in High School earning my own money for stuff.
I too had a "department store" telescope a little 4" reflector that only had 2 powers. Lunar and Fuzzier than a caterpillar.
I had no clue how to align it so that never happened but it didn't matter for the moon. That was always clear.

That scope went by the wayside and I didn't have another until just over 2 years ago when I decided I wanted to find and photograph some of the stuff I was seeing with my 300mm lens. (that was just not cutting the mustard) and I bought my first real honest to god telescope my 5 inch refractor. This was right after the 2012 Annular eclipse that went directly through Albuquerque.
Optics are good but I wanted better and found my 8" SCT baby.

I too started out with lots of fuzzys and still produce more than my share but its fun and I try to share whenever I can.

Funny how it took so long to rekindle the love of my planet but hey, she is still one of the sweetest in the sky.

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Second Childhoods....
I guess we outgrew our Mid-Life Crisis'.
Now we are looking to the heavens in appreciation of the sights to see.
My hope is to share it with the Grand Kids. A little home grown astronomy course, where the teacher is learning as much as the students. :?
Partly cloudy today... :roll: Can't win.

Bloke Loc: Waynesboro, Pennsylvania

I have no one to pass it on to, unfortunately...

Today started out nice and sunny, after a couple of *cold* wet days. This is supposed to be our break before the thunderstorms roll back in for another week. I just got back from a walk in the park, and it is beautiful, but the clouds are building up already... The forecast was for 'most cloudly' tonight, but I don't know what time their definition of 'night' starts! I'll have the gear ready, and check later, but who knows.

This will probably be my best chance to catch the conjunction this time around. They do meet up again at the end of July, but that is before dawn, not a nice pleasant evening stroll... Lot harder to get up *that* early, when you have no idea what the sky looks like!

Albuqshutterbug Loc: Albuquerque NM

The weather liar is calling for clouds today and clear tomorrow. I have not had a chance to see what I will need to do to expose for bright girl Venus posing with the old man Jupiter. I see frustration in my future.

:roll:

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Obviously we need a glass roofed airliner.
Get above this tacky weather. ;)