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Shadow
member
Reged: 10/09/06
Posts: 77
Loc: Southern California
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Thanks. I'll try to find those
just need more unobstructed views.
The meteor was spotted with naked eyes
seen it really low...maybe at Rigel height
just thought the radiant was left of Bet. so the streak of light surprised me as it was lower than expected.
I can see where a wide angle comes in handy to orient the constellations.
I still kick myself for not going after a meteor in Stonybrook
Swear it must have hit the earth I saw it come down through the trees
I wanted to go look for it but I was kind of afaid to go walking arounf that wooded area at night.
I figured if it did hit the ground it would be hot and glow for a short while. Maybe I had a chance to find it and wait til it cooled...but I didn;t try
still kick myself..
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Resurrected CJZ 10 X 50 Dekarem...DOB: 1939 LOL
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ronharper
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/14/06
Posts: 1034
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Hi, Shadow,
Way to go on the Pleiades. If the LA city fathers get wind of you, they will turn the lights up brighter.
I'll tell you a couple other bright, although more broadly dispersed, star clusters, but you need to tell us something that will let us know more about your eyesight and sky conditions. Can you see ANY stars without your bino? Like, in Orion, those are pretty bright, can you see any of those naked eye?
Let's say you are looking at the Pleiades about 11:00. If you will look to the left and a bit above a good ways, count 5 full bino fields, you will arrive at the Perseus group, nearly two fields wide, formerly a "cluster", in prehistoric times, but these babies have grown up and are starting to leave the nest. No real shape here, just a bunch of bright stars.
Closer to the Pleiades, only about three bino fields to the lower right, you'll find the Hyades, in a V-formation slightly bigger than your bino can see at once. The brightest, reddish star is Aldeberan, help me here guys, is this a red giant or what?
A bino is the only instrument that will reveal these star groups, due to their large apparent size.
You complained of being one-eye, but also complained that your right eyepiece diopter adjustment was sticky! If you can tell when its in/out of focus, you can't be that bad off. No matter how much worse your bad eye is than your good eye, the bino view will be better than a one-eyed view. The weaker eye, I promise, is INCREASING the information your brain receives. This is a big reason we love binos!
Ron
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Rich N
Post Laureate
Reged: 09/22/04
Posts: 5347
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area, Calif...
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You can stuff the Pleiades and most, if not all, the Hyades (no, not both clusters in the same field) in quite a few amateur refractors.
Rich
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Shadow
member
Reged: 10/09/06
Posts: 77
Loc: Southern California
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I can see Orion w naked eyes
it may not be picture perfect but I can make it out
I know Bet is the red giant
Rigel blue on other end
I can see the 3 belt and I can male put the roion nebula enough to find it with the binoculars
It;s more of a feeling
Same with Pleiades
I can tell there is something there but can't really see that wo the binoculars
My left eye sees
acually the bugger can see the stars
It sees when you magnify 10 times
just can;t sometimes see my hand in front of my face
It's strange how the binoculars help thjat lazy left eye.
I'm not in the city proper
sort of North Hollywood in the San Fernando Valley
Still the street lights are killers and signs
even on my building its so lit up all around at night
I;m glad I can see anything
but snuck up on my balcony I have a goos Se view and I am shielded by the lights
My 10 X 50's excel over my 8X30's
just gave them a shot
I have a wider field in the 10 X 50's and its bigger and better so so much for those but they are so much lighter but I consider them worthless.
If I went lower power I;d want more sky view
Well live and learn I guess
I got my R diopter to turn and when it did I focused both eyes to my right eye as it can tell a better focus than the left so that's all I can do as my laft eye is pretty weak...
I'll have to check the charts and then check my sky
I have spots I can';t see due to buildings and trees
so for the moment I am just trying to see whats available...
Thanks for all the friendly help...
I was up too late last night
3am
bad bad
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Resurrected CJZ 10 X 50 Dekarem...DOB: 1939 LOL
Edited by Shadow (10/23/06 03:40 AM)
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Rich N
Post Laureate
Reged: 09/22/04
Posts: 5347
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area, Calif...
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Congratulations! Sounds like a fun night.
All the best,
Rich
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Sidewinder
member
Reged: 09/15/06
Posts: 595
Loc: Erbendorf / Munich, Bavaria, G...
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Yeah, you are obviously making progress...sometimes it feels like Astronomy is best in the very beginnings, when you just start to explore all those things, you've never seen before, the Orion Nebula, Plejads, Hercules Globular Cluster etc.
But then again...experience might make it even more fun! 
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"You can hide 'neath the covers / And study your pain / Make crosses from your lovers / Throw roses in the rain" - Bruce Springsteen
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Shadow
member
Reged: 10/09/06
Posts: 77
Loc: Southern California
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Thanks,
my enthusiasm is there
but limitations of space and reality kick in
Actually a club sounds good
we can all stand around with our backs to each other
this way we'll feel safe
I just don;t feel safe as a single woman standing all alone in a dark field in the middle of the night
LOL
Anyway I have the balcony for now and I;ll see if I can pick up some other interesting sights
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Resurrected CJZ 10 X 50 Dekarem...DOB: 1939 LOL
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Rich N
Post Laureate
Reged: 09/22/04
Posts: 5347
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area, Calif...
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Hi Shadow,
Usually the remote sites that clubs use are pretty carefully checked out. You might get cold on a windy night or a fox may steal your sandwitch but not much else to worry about. One thing we all need to remember is not driving when we are too tired.
All the best,
Rich
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Rich N
Post Laureate
Reged: 09/22/04
Posts: 5347
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area, Calif...
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Hi Shadow,
Traditional astronomy clubs are fine, but often only a small number of the members
observe at remote locations. About 10 years ago a few of us started an on line, virutal club
for observers who like to go to remote sites. This virtual club is TAC www.observers.org
(The Astronomy Connection). It makes it much easier for us to figure out which site might
be best on any one night and know when others observers will be at a particular site. One of
the good things about TAC is it doesn't compete with traditional clubs. There are no dues.
It's not really a club. But, we have fun getting together at different remote sites. Over the
years we have developed very good relations with a number of the park and open space
management groups.
One of our "members" moved south and started TAC-South.
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/TAC_South/
TAC-South is based in San Diego, CA. This is likely too far south for your observing needs
but it would be worth looking into.
If I find any other TAC like groups closer to your area I'll post it here. There are other TAC groups in CA.
All the best,
Rich
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Shadow
member
Reged: 10/09/06
Posts: 77
Loc: Southern California
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LOL
I;m not even the best driver when I am awake
LOL
I prefer to hoof it
so no 12" tele's on my back...
Right now I'm hunting M31...lol
Andromeda should be overhead...
Hey, it;s supposed to be fun right?
I;m not a big traveler
So I guess I;ll lurk in the shadows and try to observe the sky as best I can...
Thanks alot!
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Resurrected CJZ 10 X 50 Dekarem...DOB: 1939 LOL
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Rich N
Post Laureate
Reged: 09/22/04
Posts: 5347
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area, Calif...
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You're welcome, Shadow!
Good luck with M31. It's a fine binocular object.
Rich
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Shadow
member
Reged: 10/09/06
Posts: 77
Loc: Southern California
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Skies are covered w wisps of clouds
lots of them
no chance picking up Andromeda G tonight
Think I found Andromeda though
guess that's a start
Pleiades sure looked nice tonight
I still love to see them
they are bright!
Sat in the backyard/easement
least no rats scurried up my leg
I know they are back there...
Still, it's always nice when you get a good deep sight of stars and you sigh and smile
Happy Skies To All.... 
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Resurrected CJZ 10 X 50 Dekarem...DOB: 1939 LOL
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Sidewinder
member
Reged: 09/15/06
Posts: 595
Loc: Erbendorf / Munich, Bavaria, G...
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Interesting, it's 10.30 am here, so it should be around 1.30 am in your part fo the world, there's still plenty of time for observing, as long as there are no clouds, of course.
Andromeda is an excellent object for binoculars, still, it suffers pretty quickly from bad weather and light conditions, becomes nothing but a big fuzzy blur.
One word to the astronomy clubs: I am not a big fan of them, at least not real clubs. The far better solution - as mentioned above - is a loose group that shares the same interest and teams up every now and then to observe together. Especially with the Internet and mailing lists etc. this has become a very effective way to arrange meetings.
I can understand that you don't want to go out there at night on your own, even though I go observing alone frequently, there are some of the more remote places, I wouldn't access alone, even though the sky is beautiful there, they're just too creepy.
One of them is an old, by now abandoned quarry (whatever you might call it). They dug into the rocks there, now all that is left is some industrial equipment and a lot of stones.
Acessing the site is usually not allowed, but who is gonna stop us in the middle of the night...
Just if you're curious, I attached a Google Earth image!
It's like a small valley, that shades you from all direct lights, plus there is not much around anyway, no bigger city. Still, no place to go alone, it's just too creepy there.
Sebastian
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"You can hide 'neath the covers / And study your pain / Make crosses from your lovers / Throw roses in the rain" - Bruce Springsteen
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Shadow,
I used to live in Rosamond when I was stationed at Edwards AFB to your north. The skies there were extraordinary, like few I have ever seen even in remote areas. That could be a relatively stress-free weekend trip for you, and the sights to the naked eye will be breath-taking. I also noted an ad for a B&B at Big Bear that caters to astronomers if you wanted a more specific and pre-screened destination. Either will get you out of the smog-bucket of the LA basin. Just get over the mountains.
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