astrobaja
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Venus
Hi all,
I'm sure people have been noticing the very striking conjunction of the moon, Venus, and Jupiter in the west these days!
Last night I shot some images of the moon, and Venus.
The shot here is of Venus through my telescope and a special UV filter which allows for some faint cloud detail to be seen. Otherwise it would just be
a bright featureless cloud covered globe. The shot is done at 9000mm focal length.
\"There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear
and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.There is another theory which states that this has already happened\"
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goldhuntress
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Very cool!
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Barry A.
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Wow, that's great!!! Nice telescope---sure better than mine.
Do you have any shots of Saturn??
----and the one's you have of the moon must be spectacular!!
Barry
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vgabndo
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WOW Astro...nice tools!
I was being amazed just last night by visual teaching about the size of the cosmos. With Hubble we've clearly seen into the "vastness" of space to
know of billions of galaxies when just 80 years ago no scientist could speak knowingly of anything beyond our own milky way!
Stunning!
Can you help us understand how close Sedna is in this image in cosmic context?
Undoubtedly, there are people who cannot afford to give the anchor of sanity even the slightest tug. Sam Harris
"The situation is far too dire for pessimism."
Bill Kauth
Carl Sagan said, "We are a way for the cosmos to know itself."
PEACE, LOVE AND FISH TACOS
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wessongroup
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Thanks much... glad your "up" at night ... a different breed... what were your night time temp's ... up there ... comfortable I hope ... 
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astrobaja
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Vgabndo: thanks, wow explaining the size of the universe is a tough one, I don't know if it can even be done or if it could that a human mind could
grasp it!
Just in terms of our solar system the light from the sun is 9 light minutes old, Sedna where it currently is in its very elliptical orbit is 5 or 6
light hours away.
heres a good interactive site for the size of things, you can click on each object for a bit more info:
http://www.freewebarcade5.net/media/the-scale-of-the-univers...
\"There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear
and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.There is another theory which states that this has already happened\"
Douglas Adams
our website: http://bajadarkskies.com |
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astrobaja
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Barry I don't have any recent shots of Saturn, but heres a link to one of my moon shots that I took last month.
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/9606/aristarchusresize.jpg
Wessongroup, it was 5-6 degrees above freezing with a stiff breeze, but things are slowly warming up. The observatory and park are doing a night for
the public on saturday the 7th for Semana Santa. A bunch of astronomy undergrads will bring a scope to show the public some sights, I have voluteered
for this event too, should be quite a few people!! Anyone interested should come up! Could be pretty chilly though so dress accordingly!
\"There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear
and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.There is another theory which states that this has already happened\"
Douglas Adams
our website: http://bajadarkskies.com |
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astrobaja
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Mars is also just coming off opposition with Earth (close approach) so its quite bright and prominent in the east just after dark. Its got a distinct
reddish hue.
Heres a shot I took of the red planet some years back
\"There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear
and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.There is another theory which states that this has already happened\"
Douglas Adams
our website: http://bajadarkskies.com |
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vgabndo
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Oh, yeah. That scale of the universe is what I had in mind. WOW, this illustrates one of my common arguments against creationism. Anything that could
conceive and create that cosmos is unlikely to have forgotten to tell his only chroniclers here on earth about heliocentricity. 
I was curious when I read that about 2% more physicists and astronomers than biologists on the National Academy of Sciences believe in a god. 92.5%
don't. Mathematicians are the big believers, but I suppose it follows. A person's beliefs aren't likely to change long division very much! A
biologist's conclusions might be more influenced by belief, and if that were to happen, the biologist's loss of reputation should move him/her right
out of the National Academy, affecting the percentages.
Nature, Vol. 394, No. 6691, p. 313 (1998) © Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
What is your impression of astronomers? Are they unusually spiritual scientists?
Undoubtedly, there are people who cannot afford to give the anchor of sanity even the slightest tug. Sam Harris
"The situation is far too dire for pessimism."
Bill Kauth
Carl Sagan said, "We are a way for the cosmos to know itself."
PEACE, LOVE AND FISH TACOS
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David K
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Yah but God has warp drive! 
Love the photos of distant bodies Mike... Thanks for posting them... Venus clouds, awesome!
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SFandH
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Astro,
Did you take any photos of the Venus-Jupiter conjunction earlier this month? Is it an event that lends itself to telescope photography?
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astrobaja
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Vgbndo: LOL no all the astromomers I know are either atheists or agnostics, only one that I know is Christian and she knows better to interpert the
bible in symbolic not literal terms! If ever I get some church group here for public outreach like with a group of young adults I will flat out
refuse to reinforce any nonsense about the universe being 6000 years old
David: you gotta get down here sometime to see the distant bodies in person!
Sf and H : no my scope the biggest possible field of view is less than half a degree, best bet is a small telephoto on a tripod for stuff like the
Venus-Jupiter conjunction
cheers
Mike
\"There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear
and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.There is another theory which states that this has already happened\"
Douglas Adams
our website: http://bajadarkskies.com |
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DianaT
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Those are just fantastic! Just BEAUTIFUL.
I liked Venus the best and John liked Mars the best---------umm, maybe there is a book title in that. 
I do hope we can make it up there sometime and share your vision of the universe! LOVE IT
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Ateo
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Nice.
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astrobaja
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Thanks Diana, glad to share them! Hope you get up our way one day I'll be happy to show you lots of faraway stuff, all the way from the moon to 9 and
a half billion light years away!
cheers
Mike
\"There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear
and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.There is another theory which states that this has already happened\"
Douglas Adams
our website: http://bajadarkskies.com |
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Mexitron
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Beautiful photos!
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