Stargazing and Space Exploration

[jfy1999]

The Battle for the Moon Begins!

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-20/the-battle-for-the-moon-begins

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I remember watching the first manned (I suppose we must say personed these days) lunar landing in July 1969 on a relatively small screen monochrome television set. BBC had started some colour programmes the previous year but we didn't move to colour in our house until the mid 1970s.

Dubbed Moon Night I suspect that in those days we imagined that there would be regular passenger flights to the Moon within the next 50 years, in the same way that when I was growing up in the early 1950s we kids were told that when we reached middle age everyone would be batting around in tiny personal helicopters instead of cars.

1969 was also the year that saw the first flights of Concorde.

Progress is not as quick as we sometimes think it will be or ought to be.

 

[Jerry]

I would hope the UN could get the moon designated similar to Antarctica. For scientific exploration only. Hopefully there will be one day a lunar base similar to the ISS operated by many country's. I hope as well that I'll be able to watch the first human on Mars like my parents watched the moon landings. Doubt I'll see humanity go past the speed of light though!

 

[wolfheze]

View attachment 5649

 

[Kevin Farnell]

I'm well aware that most of us here spend (what our partners would consider as) an unhealthy amount of time looking skywards.
For those interested in viewing objects way beyond FL370, I would recommend the following free downloads.

Firstly, Stellarium

http://www.stellarium.org/

This offers views of the heavens, ranging from planets and stars through to constellations and satellites.

Secondly, is NASA's Eyes v5.4

https://eyes.nasa.gov/

This gives not only a vast amount of data on our own Solar System, but also satellites and even exo-planets.

Both programs are free and installers are free from malware.

Enjoy the heavens!

Kevin

 

[Elmdon80slad]

I have the first one Kev, find it very useful.

E.

 

[Scottie Dog]

Thanks for that. I do tune my optics to higher levels with the coming of the darker nights!

I'm still trying to find my way around the heavens which is taking longer than expected due to inconsiderate cloud cover.

 

[Kevin Farnell]

I'm still trying to find my way around the heavens which is taking longer than expected due to inconsiderate cloud cover.

Me too!

I love looking skywards, but make no claim to be an expert. I can easily pick out my favourite constellation, Orion and also the planets Mars, Jupiter and Venus.
The best night sky that I have so far observed, was some years ago on holiday in New Zealand. We were staying in a very rural village and the number of stars visible was, well unbelievable. I also have memories as a young lad (aged about 8 to 12), we had a caravan and would often go to Evesham or Rhayader for the weekend. My late Dad and I would stand outside the caravan (with a cup of hot chocolate) and stare at the heavens.

Kevin

 

[Aviador]

Did anybody see the Northern Light last night? Cloud cover was prevalent across much of the UK but for a short time after around 22:30 the northern lights were visible across the whole of the UK.

Wikipedia

 

[Jerry]

Is there anywhere that i could find out in advance when they are likely to happen? Never seen them.

 

[Aviador]

Is there anywhere that i could find out in advance when they are likely to happen? Never seen them.

There are a number of apps available on Google Play that will send you a notification when it's likely. Most use a three stage colour code system. Yellow Alert means the northern most parts of the UK could see it, Amber for all of Scotland and parts of Northern England & Wales, and Red Alert for visible throughout the UK. Last night it went to red which was the first time since I downloaded the app a couple of years ago.

#northernlights #aurora

 

[Jerry]

There are a number of apps available on Google Play that will send you a notification when it's likely. Most use a three stage colour code system. Yellow Alert means the northern most parts of the UK could see it, Amber for all of Scotland and parts of Northern England & Wales, and Red Alert for visible throughout the UK. Last night it went to red which was the first time since I downloaded the app a couple of years ago.

#northernlights #aurora

Ok thanks i'll have a look at that!

 

[alice1]

wow! That is so beautiful! I keep watching already for 10 min. But are these pictures edited by photoshop?

Did anybody see the Northern Light last night? Cloud cover was prevalent across much of the UK but for a short time after around 22:30 the northern lights were visible across the whole of the UK.

Wikipedia

 

[Aviador]

wow! That is so beautiful! I keep watching already for 10 min. But are these pictures edited by photoshop?

I have been lucky enough to see the Northern Lights and I remember them looking as good as if not better than these images!

 

[alice1]

I would really wish to see it... In which countries it is possible to see the Northern Lights? Norway, Finland? But still, for me, these pictures look still photoshopped. Are they?

 

[Aviador]

I would really wish to see it... In which countries it is possible to see the Northern Lights? Norway, Finland? But still, for me, these pictures look still photoshopped. Are they?

No I don't think they are Photoshopped. To achieve that kind of picture at night you need take the picture with a long exposure. Your average everyday photo snap shot taken at night wouldn't capture those kinds of images although some of the newer mobile devices are getting better at it.

 

[alice1]

Wow, if they have been not photoshopped that it is miracle for me. I wish to take such pictures or at least be capable to photoshop/edit pictures in such way... Btw, do you know is it possible to achieve the same quality of edited pictures with simple photo editors? I have ended up my search with these alternatives which should be easier to use than photoshop. But I am not sure is it worth to spend time learning these tools or it is better to learn how to use photoshop. What do you think?

 

[Scottie Dog]

A difficult one to answer. If you haven't tried it you could look at Picasso which has basic editing facilities. What kind of camera do you have? I use a Canon 40D and also still have my original DSLR, which was a Canon 400D, and both did come with Canon editing software.

 

[Aviador]

When you say Picasso I assume you mean Picasa? Picasa was the Google editing platform but it's now just known as Google Photos. Many of the original editing tech has disappeared as far as I can tell such as the HDR High Dynamic Range which I used to like. If it's still there I'd love to know how to find it? I still love the software overall though.

 

[Scottie Dog]

Oops, yes your correct and my fault for replying on the mobile as the laptop is 135 miles away. I presume I'm working off an older version as it was downloaded a few years ago.

As an aside when I was transferring my photos to a remote hard drive I noticed a difference in file size of over 20gb! It turns out that Picasa has its own hidden files.