Well, I just got to talk to Peter S. Beagle. Now I am BUZZED.

[dianeduane]

It'll all be here.

(BTW, is it just me, or are we having a solar flare / CME? It sure looks like one.)

Comments

[trdsf.livejournal.com]

Manually sighting isn't too bad, as long as you learn the main signposts in the sky. That's how I pilot my 4.5" reflector--and sometimes, I just point it somewhere "empty", because there really isn't anywhere empty up there.

And manually finding a faint fuzzy like the Ring Nebula (http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m057.html) is somehow more rewarding than letting a computer find it for you. :)

[caiteydid.livejournal.com]

That's kind of what I told my dad. He still thinks he's going to just get rid of the telescope if he can't get the computer fixed. I was like, "Uh, please don't. Give it to me!" so we'll see how that all pans out.

I really want my own telescope... but it wouldn't be so practical at college, which is sad, since down here in the city lights I can't see hardly anything at all.

[trdsf.livejournal.com]

I regularly observe from the middle of a major Midwestern city. Sure, the fainter ones are hard to pull out, but there's always the main planets, the Orion Nebula, the Pleiades (my personal favorite target), the Andromeda Galaxy, β Cygni (commonly Albiero, the beak of Cygnus, one of the most stunning double stars you'll ever see). A fair portion of the Messier catalog is visible without heading for the outskirts or for the sticks. Don't let a city scare you off from observing! I often like to set up in the front yard and give free views of Saturn or Jupiter to passers-by. During Mars' last close approach, I was able to resolve the polar ice cap, even in my relatively small scope, in the city. It takes a little patience, and a willingness to tolerate less-than-optimal seeing.