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Thread: Astronomy Buffs

  1. #1
    Moderator Sean's Avatar
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    Astronomy Buffs

    You have been talking about stars around here for years, so how about the real kind?

  2. #2
    cunning linguist 3LockBox's Avatar
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    I'm somewhat a buff. I was one of those weird kids that eschewed socializing for Carl Sagan's Cosmos on PBS. I also would check out Nova whenever I could.
    Compact Disk brought high fidelity to the masses and audiophiles will never forgive it for that

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    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    Not what you call a buff but I love the fact that we're now in a rural area where I can see the night sky. A clear winter sky at night out here is spectacular.
    I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart

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    Studmuffin Scott Bails's Avatar
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    Don't know if I qualify as a "buff," but I love watching shows like The Universe, Through the Wormhole, etc. on the Science and History Channels.

    Space and astronomy have always fascinated me.
    Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally

  5. #5
    cunning linguist 3LockBox's Avatar
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    Or did you mean to type astrology?

    Compact Disk brought high fidelity to the masses and audiophiles will never forgive it for that

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    Member helicase's Avatar
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    Betelgeuse is overrated

  7. #7
    cunning linguist 3LockBox's Avatar
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    hopefully, everyone knows of this website already (I took an intro to astronomy class in college)

    http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
    Compact Disk brought high fidelity to the masses and audiophiles will never forgive it for that

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    Ya - I'm a total astrogeek, and have been pretty much my whole life. Here's a picture of the observatories in my back yard - located just a few miles NE of downtown Baltimore, so the skies are murky orange most of the time.obs_pe.jpg

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    I have been an avid amateur astronomer for most of my life. I had a 6 inch reflector telescope way back when, and have considered getting another one. Just don't have the time to devote to it, as I travel alot for my job. To show you how nerdy I am, when I went to Brazil earlier this year, I was most excited about the chance to get some dark skies so I could see some of the southern stars for the first time.

  10. #10
    Studmuffin Scott Bails's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Skeptrick View Post
    To show you how nerdy I am, when I went to Brazil earlier this year, I was most excited about the chance to get some dark skies so I could see some of the southern stars for the first time.
    Nah, man - that's cool!
    Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally

  11. #11
    Still alive! Hunnibee's Avatar
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    Astronomy in the buff? Six inch reflector? What are you guys compensating for?

    Seriously, I have loved astronomy since I was six years old. I have a rather odd story about what happened to me at age six, but I'll save that for another time. I joined the Astronomy Club in high school and received a small telescope for Christmas my Junior year. One of the nicer memories of me and my dad was watching a dust storm on Mars with that telescope.

    I grew up in Alaska and only knew the winter stars until I became an adult and started traveling and moving around the other states. I still look for those constellations even in the Lower 48 because I am so attached to them, especially Orion. You can't see the summer stars up there.

    I was a huge fan of Sagan and learned a lot from his books and his Cosmos show. Now I'm getting a kick out deGrasse Tyson. I watch just about every "astronomy" show on cable tv now. I'm not left brained enough to understand string theory, but I'm trying! Times and technology keep changing, and while Sagan seems "quaint" now, he helped to launch thousands of dreams among the BILLIONS and BILLIONS of stars out there. I love most sci-fi shows, too, that deal with space travel. I'm not quite a die-hard Trekkie, but I come pretty close!

    Whatever happened to that goofy dude who would come on tv around midnight and talk about the current night sky? I liked him a lot, but I can't remember his name for the life of me.
    "The mountains are calling and I must go" - John Muir

    "To breathe the same air as the angels, you must go to Tahoe" - Mark Twain

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    Quote Originally Posted by Hunnibee View Post
    Whatever happened to that goofy dude who would come on tv around midnight and talk about the current night sky? I liked him a lot, but I can't remember his name for the life of me.
    You must mean Jack Horkheimer, the Star Hustler (later changed to Star Gazer thanks to Google searches taking people to porn). Anyway, sadly he passed away a couple of years ago. I thought it was cool that he used part of Tomita's version of Debussy's Snowflakes Are Dancing as the theme music.

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    I used to be an avid astronomer back in the day ... and have continued to save for a small, portable Televue refractor.

    With a decent scope of moderate power, and a small collection of quality eye pieces . . . one can easily find most (if not all) of the Messier Objects, do our own planets, explore the moon, view the sun (with proper filters) . . . not to mention terrestrial viewing and everything else in between.

    My older scope (Meade 80mm refractor) remains up at my Mom's house (Lake Placid), where my friends are using it to this day . . . I really want something highly portable though.

    ~JK

  14. #14
    All Things Must Pass spellbound's Avatar
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    Stargazing in the buff is a favorite pastime of mine, much to the annoyance of my neighbors.

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    The local news had a story last week about the International Space Station being visible for a couple of nights and my wife and I ventured outside early one evening to check it out. It took about five minutes to cross from our northwestern horizon to the southeast. I thought it was pretty cool, but my wife was not impressed. I think she was expecting something out of Star Wars instead of a tiny white light moving across the sky.

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    Still alive! Hunnibee's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Skeptrick View Post
    You must mean Jack Horkheimer.
    Yes, that's his name! Thanks, I couldn't remember. Sorry to hear he's now among the stars himself! He was very entertaining and made astronomy fun.
    "The mountains are calling and I must go" - John Muir

    "To breathe the same air as the angels, you must go to Tahoe" - Mark Twain

  18. #18
    Member AncientChord's Avatar
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    Anyone who loves Astronomy and the mysteries of our universe should watch the BBC show "The Sky At Night." I believe it's one of the longest running show on the Beeb, starting in the 1950's? And still with original host Sir Patrick Moore. Every month there is a brand new half hour episode, and each one always has fascinating subjects related to the solar system and the stars. It's a do-not-miss for those interested.
    Day dawns dark...it now numbers infinity.

  19. #19
    PE Member Since 4/9/2002 NeonKnight's Avatar
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    Yeah big fan of the big rotating lightshow in the sky every night. One of the only benefits of being Frankenstorm powerless were the great views up here in the woods with no light pollution. I pulled out the binoculars a couple times and used my google sky map app with some success to ID a couple really neat features. In fact I may try that again tonight...

  20. #20
    All Things Must Pass spellbound's Avatar
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    http://www.jshine.net/astronomy/dark_sky/

    This is a map of the US showing where there is dark sky at night, and where there is an abundance of light pollution.

  21. #21
    cunning linguist 3LockBox's Avatar
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    So, anyone have a favorite non-mainstream theory at the moment regarding astronomical events/phenomena?

    I have to admit, its kinda fun perusing YT for the Nibiru nuts.
    Compact Disk brought high fidelity to the masses and audiophiles will never forgive it for that

  22. #22
    Studmuffin Scott Bails's Avatar
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    I'm a sucker for all of the Ancient Aliens stuff. Most of it is ridiculous, but I love how they can fit any phenomena into the theory.
    Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally

  23. #23
    cunning linguist 3LockBox's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scott Bails View Post
    I'm a sucker for all of the Ancient Aliens stuff. Most of it is ridiculous, but I love how they can fit any phenomena into the theory.
    http://www.maverickscience.com/saturn.htm

    I ran across this tangential story while perusing Electric Universe theory. Not alien related, but fascinatingly weird - real Coast To Coast AM stuff. Look it up on YT as well. Lots of flaky "end times" stuff regarding a wayward brown dwarf star named Nibiru which is said to be due to reappear... 12/21/2012, of course
    Compact Disk brought high fidelity to the masses and audiophiles will never forgive it for that

  24. #24
    Studmuffin Scott Bails's Avatar
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    Of course!
    Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally

  25. #25
    LinkMan Chain's Avatar
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    Total eclipse coming up tomorrow. It will be about 96% where I live.

    http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/new...-1226515430030

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