All Questions
Tagged with backyard-astronomy or amateur-observing
613 questions
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How to use shift of H1 line to determine recessional velocity with 20m telescope?
I'm very new to astronomy, trying to find the recessional velocity of galaxies by finding how shifted the H1 line is. The galaxy I am using currently is NGC 7600, which is about 49 Mpc away and should ...
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Is it possible to estimate where the coma-free zone is based on the secondary mirror reflection seen through a collimation eyepiece?
If I understand correctly, the whole point of collimation is to make the coma-free zone at the center of the image at the image plane. I would like to understand how accurate the collimation needs to ...
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Is this a Leonid in my photo is is it just light reflecting off a telephone wire?
I was out watching the Leonid meteor shower tonight and I think I may have actually gotten a photo of one with my phone camera, but I'm wondering if it's actually just light reflecting off a telephone ...
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What is the definition of "Eclipse Magnitude" of total eclipse
I have found 2 definitions of Eclipse Magnitude in total eclipse:
Solar eclipse for example, below we define $r_1$ as the radius of the Sun, $r_2$ as the radius of the Moon's Shadow, $d$ as the ...
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How do I locate satellites in the sky using on-line predictions for my location?
Me and my friends are trying to watch the ISS in the night sky and I need help. I cannot make sense of the numbers n2yo is giving me. Could anyone explain how this works?
This is what n2yo is showing ...
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In-the-sky.org's simulation of the September 5, 2024 Venus-Moon conjunction seems off, but how, and why?
By a lucky coincidence I happened to have a great view of the conjunction of Venus and the Moon on September 5, 2024. Once the naughty cloud moved up and the pair moved down, they aligned with a third,...
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Can the planet Neptune be seen from Earth with binoculars?
It cannot be seen with the naked eye due to its distance, but can it be seen with binoculars (not telescopes)?
user59421
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Drawing celestial equator, ecliptic, and galactic equator on a stereographic star chart
Given a star map (stereographic projection), suppose I have identified the pole star, latitude, and one zodiac constellation. After that, how do I precisely draw upon the map the celestial equator, ...
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I've set up my NatGeo telescope but can't see anything from the main telescope lens after using the view finder to focus on an object
Starting to use a NG76AZ 75 mm x 700 mm Newtonian reflecting telescope I've put all the pieces together and find that when I start observing the sky with 2⁰mm lens nothing shows up. And any higher ...
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142
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Star chart with no constellation lines, and no star names
I want to find an online star chart website with an option to disable constellation lines and disable star names. I want to make flashcards of the constellations without lines or star names so I can ...
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Where should I go in April 2029 for the best chance of naked-eye observing of 99942 Apophis (2004 MN4)?
This is a follow-up to @usernumber's answer to Has a near earth object in heliocentric orbit ever been bright enough to be visible to the unaided eye?
I'm not afraid it will hit me, so if I'm still ...
- 30.7k
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163
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Light flashes in night sky with a ~14 second period?
Last Sunday (23rd of June) I observed flashes of light during a field trip in the night sky with a period of approximately 14 seconds. I timed the interval between flashes with a stopwatch a few times,...
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Can anyone tell me what is next to the sun?
I took a 4second shot the light was to bright, even tho I could see the planets alignment on my samsung galaxy ASTRO photography I took these picture on June 2 northeast where I stay. If you can see a ...
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What can I see with 10x50 binoculars in bortle class 4?
I'm just starting out with amateur astronomy and decided to buy a 10x50 Celestron Up-close G2 binoculars. I believe that tomorrow is the planet parade (the aligning of 6 planets) and I'd like to catch ...
- 173
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Visibility of Planetary alignment of 6 planets on 3 June 2024 from Prague
I have just found out about the alignment of Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune on 2024-06-03 and I'd like to see if it is possible to watch the event from the vicinity of Prague, but ...
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What is the longest time the Moon can stay in the sky?
It is known that in northern latitudes the Moon, like the sun, can remain in the sky for a long time, a week or more.
What is the longest time the Moon can stay in the sky?
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Has anyone attributed a specific Baily's bead to a specific feature on the Moon? If so, when was this first done?
From Wikipedia's Baily's beads:
Lunar topography has considerable relief because of the presence of mountains, craters, valleys and other topographical features. The irregularities of the lunar limb ...
- 30.7k
4
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159
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Unknown satellite transit during solar eclipse on April 8, 2024
While viewing the April 8, 2024 solar eclipse from Jackson, MO, when the moon had eclipsed about 20% of the sun (the bottom-right part), my friend and I both observed with our naked eyes (behind solar ...
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Which distortion polynomial does the astrometry.net platesolver use?
I am investigating whether it is feasible to predict the distortion of a widefield image platesolved by Astrometry.net and. its documentation says it uses the Simple Image Polynomial to estimate ...
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Largest Optical Telescope NOT at Higher Elevation
It's trivial to find the list of largest optical telescopes by aperture size. What I'm interested in is the largest optical telescope in the world, regardless of ownership or origin (amateur or ...
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What is this celestial phenomenon in the video?
Some news channels published a video of an unusual phenomenon. The description says it's Comet Pons Brooks, but the comet looks completely different. There are other videos of this kind on YouTube, ...
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Tracking variable stars?
Is there a website or application I can use do track the brightness of variable stars and notify of any unusual or particularly spectacular changes.
I am particularly interested in tracking the blaze ...
- 225
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Automated (and hopefully free) systems I can subscribe to sending email or SMS text message when the T Coronae Borealis Nova becomes visible?
My earlier question about predicted potentially observable events Has a gravitational microlensing event ever been predicted? If so, has it been observed? is limited to microlensing.
Now I have just ...
- 30.7k
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How to confirm that I am in the center of the path of totality for the Solar Eclipse of April 08 2024 using GPS or Android/Iphone App?
There is going to be a Solar Eclipse on April 08 2024.
I will need to travel to be in path of totality from California/Florida. I am trying to get a Android or iPhone App that can tell me if i have ...
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499
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Will there be a difference in what can be seen with a 50mm telescope and a 70 or even 80 mm one?
tl;dr Is there a celestial object which has details that can be seen clearly by a 70mm telescope, but no details at all seen by a 50mm telescope of the same make. E.g. "Jupiter has details that ...
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75
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About telescope load
I am using planewave CDK24 Telescope. The focuser I am using is IRF90 which has maximum load capacity of 18 kg. The load that I am going to attach is 14 kg. Is this alright to attach this weight?
Is ...
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62
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Help with position/visibility of the moon at a given date and location
I need some advice about the visibility of the moon on a given date, at a given position, for a piece of fiction I'm writing. I hope if someone could be kind enough to give me a hand.
Position: Lower ...
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Can a meteor streak exhibit different colors denoting presence of more than1 element?
A meteoroid's elemental composition can be determined by the color it exhibits while burning in the earth's atmosphere which we also call a "meteor". However, is it possible that a meteor ...
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Sequence of starlike objects in the sky. What are they? [duplicate]
Tonight me and some family members saw a sequence of starlike objects moving slowly in a straight line in the night sky. As they moved, they became sparser and began disappearing (front ones first). A ...
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251
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How fast is Andromeda approaching in miles per hour
Apparently Andromeda is going to get here in 5 billion years and is 2.5 million light years away. I tried to work this out myself but I'm not sure I believe the answer..
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Should you include aberration effects during low Earth orbit observations?
I am working on calibration of some observations of low Earth orbit satellites and I am wondering should I include aberration effects? My logic is that diurnal aberration would have neglegible ...
- 329
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162
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sideways crescent moon but also no moon somewhere else?
I live in Sumter, South Carolina and the moon looked like a crescent moon but sideways like a bowl. But when I told my friend to look at the moon they couldn't find it and they live in Buffalo, New ...
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Space-based radio telescope array
I’m wondering about the abilities of a technology: You may have heard of the Square Kilometer Array. The array is focused by adjusting the timing of the individual antennas.
Q: Could this array be ...
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70
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Astro-filters for the solar system
I’m looking for set of filters for my telescope. Something for the solar system. Can you say me what is the best choice?
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510
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Can telescopes under $200 help you see saturn clearly by eye without editing the image on a computer?
I had a telescope that only cost 50 dollars for viewing the moon and it was good for that but the planet's were always badly out of focus. I am thinking of getting a better telescope for up to $200 ...
user52488
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How to spot Andromeda in a 130mm telescope?
I have no problem to spot orion nebula, I mean the blue splash caused by the gas on my 130mm reflector telescope but I can’t see the same on Andromeda, what I am missing?
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Calculating intensity of moonlight per unit area
I have a photodiode that can measure intensity in picowatt to milliwatt range.
I have a telescope of 5 inch diameter. I want to calculate the intensity of moonlight received by this area? This will ...
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1k
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Formula to calculate time of day from shadow direction on Earth and latitude?
Web search found how to calculate shadow length and others but not my specific question. I have a photo. I found location on a map (so I know directions to objects: north/west/... and latitude). There ...
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693
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Why do planets just look like a dark ball in my telescope
I bought a Matsukov Cassegrain many years ago and now wanted to dust it off and use it. I had two young kids at the time so couldn't really find the time. Last night Jupiter and Saturn were both ...
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Recurring flying object near the Big Dipper
This evening I was watching the Big Dipper when I noticed a bright-enough object (it looked either like a satellite or a really slow shooting star) a little above the line that connects Dubhe and ...
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How is parallax really measured?
I understand the basics of how parallax is measured (i.e. two measurements 6 months apart), but I also understand that, in reality, it would have to be more complicated than that, because stellar ...
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How plausible is it for legends about the Pleiades to be this ancient?
There's a tangent at the beginning of this video on the Epic of Gilgamesh briefly talking about an oddity where most ancient cultures have stories about the Pleiades star cluster, often describing ...
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Space telescope spectroscopic data for stellar classification using Wien's law
My goal is to make a simple project which consists of classifying stars by applying Wien's displacement law.
I need public spectroscopic data about different stars from a space telescope, so that I ...
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Measuring Expansion Rate of Crab Nebula with Radio Spectrum Scan
I am a high school student who is into radio astronomy, and I have the opportunity to use Green Bank’s 20m radio telescope for a practice research project. I would like to use my observations to very ...
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67
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Multiple very small, very low visibility moving stars?
I've been seeing these very small star like objects cross the sky for a couple months now. I notice that I see the them in clusters, for instance I see 2 one day and then another the next, and then I ...
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Do all the planets travel along the same constellations?
If humans ever moved to another planet in this solar-system, what constellations would the sun meet from that perspective? What constellations would the sun look like it is meeting from the ...
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Creating a small data pipeline
I wanted to create a small data pipeline such that it consists of images of sky in the filters F125W, F160W, F606W and F850LP. The 4 images for a single object should be in a single FITS File which ...
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How can someone take narrowband data from an OSC narrowband filter
To those who aren’t aware, an OSC narrowband filter is a filter with multiple band passes, for different emission lines. These can include a combination of Hα, Hβ, OIII, SII, and other emission lines. ...
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383
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How to mount a 2" filter to a DSLR or mirrorless camera?
I'm considering using a 2" filter for astrophotography with DSLR and mirrorless cameras. Filters are typically measured in mm, but I understand that a "2 inch" filter is really a 48mm ...
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3
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445
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Apart from higher costs, drawbacks of catadioptric telescope vs Newtonians?
From what I've read, catadioptric telescopes seem to be superior to reflectors. They tend to require less frequent collimations, are generally shorter in physical length, and the combination of lenses ...
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