Amateur Astronomy

Discussion in 'Miscellaneous' started by AusQB, Jul 28, 2012.

  1. Is anyone here interested in stargazing? I've always loved astronomy, but I never really became actively involved in it because I live in the city and there's quite a lot of light pollution. Growing up I would read magazines like Astronomy and Popular Science and marvel at the advertisements for fancy home telescopes from makers like Orion and Meade. Even though I would have loved to have one, I think I knew sub-consciously that they were far too expensive.

    I've made a promise to myself that one day I will trek to some open rural area far from any artificial lighting with a powerful telescope.

    Does anyone have the privilege of living in a place where the night sky is much more vibrant than it is for us city folk? Has anyone taken pictures of the sky or distant celestial objects? If you have, please share. If you haven't, but you have the means, give it a go and let us know what you come up with.

    If you don't have a telescope but you have a decent DSLR camera, experiment with low light, long exposure photography. If you have a telescope but not a DSLR, try just putting any ordinary camera, even your phone, against the eyepiece (not so it touches the lens but so it blocks any external light). Of course if you happen to have both, you should be able to produce some great images.
  2. Just to let you know if you don't already, there is a meteor showers that peaks on August 11th.
  3. Unfortunately for me the Perseids aren't visible from the southern hemisphere.

    Edit: Actually, it appears that Perseus rises above the horizon just before sunrise for me, so it may in fact be possible to see a few in the small window before the morning twilight.