Amateur astronomy... Anyone else enjoy it?

[astronankin]

Many of you already know but be ready! April 8th, 2024 total solar eclipse is coming across IN! After seeing totality in Illinois in 2017 we will definitely be traveling south of Indy for this one. Contact local astronomy clubs to see if they are having events/selling solar viewing glasses. Our club, the Wabash Valley Astronomical Society based in Lafayette is seeling solar glasses but no event. We are all going to travel.....with one guy working a remote imaging setup at his place in Lafayette while he's gone. Pray no clouds, it seems we have an excellent chance of seeing... Clouds. Based on records from previous years average weather on/around that date. If you don't live in the path of totality, I urge you to travel to it! Even a 99% partial eclipse is NOTHING compared to being in totality! Partial eclipse - moon covers part or most of sun, it gets darker, you might see little solar crescents projected through trees and onto buildings, an you might see the shadow waves from the atmosphere's norm movements (which aren't normally noticed or seem). Totality - you will see all of the above, plus a 360° sunset, the sun's corona and prominences, planets and bright stars, and also you'll see the diamond ring and Bailey's Beads phenomena that only occur right before and right after complete totality.

[greyhair]

Thats great stuff! Before we sold our country place we had one of the darkest spots in Parke County. Stargazed a lot

[joebuck]

If i recall, the path of totality will be near turkey run. Reserve your campsite now!

[astronankin]

We have family in Indy and Greenwood, so going south of there I think. Back in 2017 we went with some friends to southern IL where they had contacted a church and the church let us camp out and set up in their yard, which was really nice. Friends of our friends who got clouded out in St. Louis made the drive too and brought a bunch of solar scopes and solar filters and other telescopes with them. Some of the church members also came by for totality.

[astronankin]

I'd say you don't want to just be near the path of totality or on the edge. Totality at the edge lasts for a shorter time than it does at the center.

[astronankin]

If our club's solar scope isn't being used, I might see if I can take it with to do some awesome viewing before and after the eclipse, and maybe even during to get a interesting look at the prominences.

[astronankin]

If any of you live near Bloomington I think their astronomy club is planning on doing an outreach event during the eclipse since they are in the path of totality.

[astronankin]

Another event to be on the lookout for is next October there should be a comet visible to the naked eye. I forget the full name. Estimates are putting it anywhere from at the limit of naked visibility to potentially being one of the "great comets" meaning it could be big and bright. Don't listen to the mainstream media on this however, They inflate things too much. The last naked eye visible comet they were the ones who nicknamed it the Green Comet and they wrote like it would be visible to the naked eye to anyone in the world when in reality it was not visible to the naked eye except from dark sky sites and to those with excellent eyesight who knew what to look for. And many comets appear green as well. It was however an impressive telescope object. But the fall 2024 comet may live up to the hype. I'm certainly looking forward to it, as I was little and ignorant when the last great comet, Comet West, came through in 2006 despite the fact it was apparently visible to some even during clear days.

[Ahawkeye]

The planets Venus and Mars were both visible this morning at dawn, looking towards the east Southeast. Might be tomorrow as well.

[astronankin]

Venus and Mars are both fun to watch. Although if you have high expectations Mars through a telescope is mostly depressing.... Venus isn't. Most people say Venus' cloud features are not visible through a telescope and that Venus really usually just looks like a bright disk with a terminator. I beg to differ. It is true that the cloud band features are hard to see and faint. But they are there. You would also notice that the front of the planet appears brighter. Look for the cloud bands in the twilight zone area between the bright spot and the terminator. I once sort of saw some super super faint lines that may or may not actually have been there, but they were right where some cloud bands should have been.

Orion's been riding high these days, smack in the middle of the southern sky during evening. I've spent some time looking through my scope at it and haven't been disappointed. They say the Horsehead Nebula is one of the hardest amateur astronomy challenges. But if you have a big scope, a night vision device, and or dark skies, it's not too bad. Oh, and add a hydrogen alpha filter to the collection as well. I don't have one but I do have a decent scope and dark skies at home. I've been trying for a while to get the Horsehead, but haven't succeeded. But last week early during a windy evening (yes, low atmospheric wind which actually didn't kill viewing badly as it usually does) I decided to try and see if the nearby and fairly faint Flame Nebula was visible. And got a shock. Like I said, typically wind destroys the view. But the Flame was immediately obvious as a large, faint grey glow next to Alnitak with a dark trunk and even a dark branch or two. Ok, happy me (view was one of the best) decided it was time for the Horsehead. To my surprise when I went to the area for this nebula I saw a star with a bright halo around it that could have been fog on the mirror and eyepiece, but I knew from the star chart this was actually reflection nebula NGC 2023. So I knew the Horsehead was very very close and was in the view but invisible. I looked for a long time, checking stars against the star chart, etc. And once or twice I did see a very very very faint greyish glow that was right where the emission nebula around and behind the Horsehead was. So, I came extremely close to viewing this elusive object under rather questionable conditions.