SultanOfSwing

With all the new discoveries being made, they'd have probably been out of date anyway. Even mine still considered Pluto a planet.

Though, one good thing about the information age is that all the information is now available in spades online. One of the things I love about NASA is they carry out these multi-billion dollar, years long missions, then put up images for free on their website. I could browse the Hubble Telescope archives for hours on end.

scrubbedexpat099

Even where I am if you look to the east you can see the low glow of the front range cities on the horizon.

SultanOfSwing

Yeah, you really have to get into the desert to get away from that. Altitude helps too, which is abundant in your neck of the woods.

Shard

BBC iPlayer is now doing the latest series of "Stargazing" if you have access to it.

Also...planets tomorrow...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/scie...tial-show.html



..

dc koop

Awesome experience seeing the space station pass overhead just before dark one evening while I was visiting friends who live on top of a mountain in Osoyoos BC

Shard

It's quite easy to see from most places. You can get an app (or sign up for emails) for when it passes over your location.

The thing that impresses me as I watch pass over the house and reach the Eastern horizon from (in UK) is that the craft by that point is already over Hungary.

Bahtatboy

The night sky here in Morocco is the clearest I've ever seen, and I've been looking at (not through, sadly) something like a NexStar to bring out (would have to buy it in UK and lug it out here), but working long days I'm not sure I'd have the time to use it. Maybe just some big bins? Any recommendations?

SultanOfSwing

Looks like this discussion has started up again:

Astronomers say a Neptune-sized planet lurks beyond Pluto | Science | AAAS

Not sure what to make of it myself, but it seems they have some kind of evidence for a Neptune-sized object in the outer solar system. Until they can get some telescopic evidence, I'm withholding judgement, myself.

sir_eccles

Neptune is pretty big, one wonders how we could have missed it?

I'm sure crazies are already shouting NIBIRU!

steveq

"pretty big" is not visible to the naked eye at all. It was 200 years after the introduction of the telescope it was found at all, and that was from mathematical analysis, and not direct observation.

SultanOfSwing

In the article it says that it's closest approach is seven times farther out than Neptune (200AU) and that it's farthest point could range from 600-1,200AU. Previous searches were looking for objects about 2x Neptune's size at around 30AU.

Yeah, that was my first thought as well.

Pulaski

Neptune wasn't discovered until 1846, and IIRC the larger planet beyond Pluto is conjectured to be three times further away than Pluto. And it's dark, really really dark out there.

ETA I see the article suggests 20-40 times further out than Neptune!

I wonder if it is the fifth giant planet that was apparently ejected ftom the inner solar sysyem early on in the development of the solar system? .... I thought the theory was that that planet had been flung out at high dpeed and was now a number of lightyears from the solar system.

steveq

Big bins are HEAVY. If you get some, get a stand like this, or make one.
DIY Tripod and Parallelogram Mount - ATM, Optics and DIY Forum - Cloudy Nights

sir_eccles

Yes well I replied before actually reading the article.

Thanks Obama!

SultanOfSwing

It was a pertinent question, because studies had been made in that 30AU region in the past. I thought they'd all but given up on the idea of Planet X until I saw that one. It'll be interesting to see how this all pans out, if any further discovery is made.

I read a comment in the thread the article was linked to that they should name a planet, if discovered, Nibiru, just to mess with the tin hatters