The Aussie Pinball Arcade

Aussie Pinball Forums => General Chat - Non Pinball/coin-opp Discussion => Topic started by: pinnies4me on December 01, 2008, 10:40:20 PM

Title: Anyone who likes astronomy...
Post by: pinnies4me on December 01, 2008, 10:40:20 PM
For the next hour of so you can see three local bodies within a few degrees - look south-West to see the new moon, Venus and Jupiter in a rare close grouping.
Title: Re: Anyone who likes astronomy...
Post by: Creech on December 01, 2008, 11:06:26 PM
Yep just saw that! Absolutely amazing. So close but yet so far. Where's a telescope when you need it?

Do you know how often this formation happens?
Title: Re: Anyone who likes astronomy...
Post by: pinnies4me on December 01, 2008, 11:14:08 PM
Try this neat little unit to see when something like this happens - http://sourceforge.net/project/platformdownload.php?group_id=48857

You can set the location you are at, and tell it any date or just click the fast forward a few times and you get an effect like The Time Machine and watch the changes in the sky, a few thousand years in a few seconds!

As for how often, pretty rare to have three local bodies in such close formation, lots of years at a guess to have the three brightest objects in the sky do it again.
Title: Re: Anyone who likes astronomy...
Post by: Creech on December 01, 2008, 11:17:40 PM
That is bloody amazing. Thanks for the link mate.
Title: Re: Anyone who likes astronomy...
Post by: pinnies4me on December 01, 2008, 11:57:24 PM
.
Title: Re: Anyone who likes astronomy...
Post by: 63wizz on December 02, 2008, 07:38:14 AM
Fantastic pics, they are calling it the smiley face on the news this morning.
Title: Re: Anyone who likes astronomy...
Post by: pinnies4me on December 02, 2008, 08:13:40 AM
That's what I called it last night when I asked Mrs Pinnies4me to "Come and have a look at the cosmic smiley face" !! :)
Title: Re: Anyone who likes astronomy...
Post by: Strangeways on December 02, 2008, 09:51:19 AM

Venus and Jupiter are in view. But where is Uranus ?

 <.>
Title: Re: Anyone who likes astronomy...
Post by: markc on December 02, 2008, 10:44:37 AM
yes we saw it

smiley face
Title: Re: Anyone who likes astronomy...
Post by: Chuck on December 02, 2008, 12:17:01 PM
This is twice I've been sucked in by misreading this topic.  Both times I saw:

Anyone who likes as...

I thought, "ummm, I like it..."

btw, the pics are very cool.  A cosmic smiley face =)
Title: Re: Anyone who likes astronomy...
Post by: stuba on December 02, 2008, 04:02:31 PM
i have a mate with an awesome telescope and digital camera setup through it. this is a pic he took recently...

(http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp137/stubac/M78LRGB.jpg)

makes you realise our planet is very, very small........

Title: Re: Anyone who likes astronomy...
Post by: Strangeways on December 02, 2008, 04:54:06 PM

WOW.. That is incredible... I wonder how many pinballs there are in the universe ?

 :D
Title: Re: Anyone who likes astronomy...
Post by: pinnies4me on December 02, 2008, 07:40:28 PM
Wow +1 !   :D
Title: Re: Anyone who likes astronomy...
Post by: Nug on December 02, 2008, 08:07:10 PM
ah NOW, you see the beauty of all that is it!

just wait till it all lines up in about 3 years! <.>..such a ride!

PS such an opportunity!  *%*

Title: Re: Anyone who likes astronomy...
Post by: pinball god on December 02, 2008, 09:16:45 PM
Nice shot Pinnies4me. I got a bit of movement in my shot because I couldn't stuffed using a tripod or do you have a steady hand?

But Stuba, I hate your mate....if there's one thing I can't get enough of is looking a t shots like that. Anything to do with space and I'm sucked in for hours. Would love to beable to see (and take pics) of stuff like that, but I live to close to the city to warrant buying such equipment. My sky is usually an ORANGE colour. When I lived in Mt Martha the skies were black.

Thanks both of you for the snaps
Title: Re: Anyone who likes astronomy...
Post by: stuba on December 02, 2008, 11:15:00 PM
ah NOW, you see the beauty of all that is it!

just wait till it all lines up in about 3 years! <.>..such a ride!

PS such an opportunity!  *%*



ah ha. you surprise me. 21 dec 2012. the exact centre of the galaxy. the end of the mayan calendar....



Title: Re: Anyone who likes astronomy...
Post by: pinnies4me on December 02, 2008, 11:48:29 PM
I was just talking to nug about that post. Fascinating stuff! 
Title: Re: Anyone who likes astronomy...
Post by: stuba on December 03, 2008, 11:02:25 AM
I find it really interesting and according to some theories it will be a time of massive change. I should say I don't have any firm opinion, I prefer to believe in good things happening as opposed to the end of days theories. Lots of sites about it - google Ian lundgold or search youtube for him. There is one theory that we will reach a technological level where we will be welcomed into the galactic council..another that we will get wiped out by a comet, another that the LHC particle accelerator will finally discover the higgs particle and will simultaneoulsy open a black hole (in the UK)  %.%

What trips me out is how the hell the mayans were able to figure out a galactic calendar thousands of years ago (supposedly long before telescopes). By way of quick explanation the mayans used the solar calendar as well (365.25 days) but they also figured out a galactic calendar which is based around 260 day cycles (20 x 13). This calendar looks like a pyramid that has been running since the big bang and the absolute peak occurs 21/12/2012. maybe rack your credit card that month just in case.  %$%

Here are another couple of pictures from Darren:

(http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp137/stubac/NGC3628LRGB.jpg)
(http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp137/stubac/14mnf4.jpg)

For those interested they have meetings/weekends called starfest's where they go camping in a new moon and set up all their telescopes (many which run through laptops). everybody welcome regadless of whether or not you have a scope. I've never been but darren raves about it.



Title: Re: Anyone who likes astronomy...
Post by: ktm450 on December 03, 2008, 03:52:15 PM
Great shots Stuba! Amazing stuff!  ^^^
It would be great to own a good telescope
Title: Re: Anyone who likes astronomy...
Post by: pinnies4me on December 03, 2008, 08:08:22 PM
Another of my (lame) photos.... need a telescope like Stuba's mate, the bastard....! :)

This was a similar event, but just the moon and Venus, I took back on 7 September 2005
Title: Re: Anyone who likes astronomy...
Post by: wingtipvortex on December 03, 2008, 09:10:40 PM
Those shots are fantastic! Still cant get my head around 1 light year,  let alone millions from one end of a nebular to another @.@    Another space sim is this one> http://orbit.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/
You can go for a tour of the planets, watch eclipses, even go back and watch Haleys comet fly by.

Then if you feel adventureous, why not take the shuttle for a spin.  Launch from Canaveral, through the atmosphere, jettison all SRB and main tank, do a repair on hubble, establish a geo-stationary orbit, prepare for re entry, re enter(manualy ()) and wait for the sonic booms, then land.

Cant be that hard , can it?

Bit of a long vid, but its pretty cool>>



Title: Re: Anyone who likes astronomy...
Post by: pinball god on December 03, 2008, 09:15:38 PM
Just to get off the subject a tad, if the mayan's were pretty up on this stuff, anyone of you entertain the thought that maybe they had pinballs and arcades?? There maybe a Pin2000 buried deep in the jungle somewhere. Now that would be creepy!!!

Thanks for the link wingtipvortex, will give it a try

And thanks for more great shots and info on the mayans Also sorry for being stupid too as I just noticed this section isn't for pinball humour.
Title: Re: Anyone who likes astronomy...
Post by: Creech on December 03, 2008, 10:11:18 PM
LOL! That's funny.
Title: Re: Anyone who likes astronomy...
Post by: stuba on December 03, 2008, 10:36:50 PM
Just to get off the subject a tad, if the mayan's were pretty up on this stuff, anyone of you entertain the thought that maybe they had pinballs and arcades?? There maybe a Pin2000 buried deep in the jungle somewhere. Now that would be creepy!!!

Thanks for the link wingtipvortex, will give it a try

And thanks for more great shots and info on the mayans Also sorry for being stupid too as I just noticed this section isn't for pinball humour.

thats just silly, the transistor was 'discovered' right after roswell. therefore they couldn't have had P2K. they probably had EM's..
 %$%



Title: Re: Anyone who likes astronomy...
Post by: Marty Machine on December 09, 2008, 02:11:53 PM
hehehehe smalll world indeedy.

I took a few pics of "simley" too, i guess when u see 1, you've seen them all, so i wont post it ;-)

Stuba :
What setup is Darren using?, especially interested in what he used (scope/magnification) for that moon shot.
I'm yet to add a digicam onto my scope, but enjoying the moon and planets with the naked eye, good enough for now.

I have a 12" Dobsonian Telescope in the back of my car most of the time ready for a clear night's viewing. (unless it's full of pins in the back).
Anyone who's seen my car with a "hot water service" sitting in the back will know what i mean  :lol

Marty.