ILoveKnowledge
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Reged: 06/25/12
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Milky Way Galaxy this month
#5311163 - 07/10/12 10:19 AM
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I read that this month the Milky Way Galaxy strip will be its finest. I assume that this will be within our hand controls of our telescopes? I will try it out tonight to see if it is there.
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JasonBurry
sage
Reged: 04/27/12
Loc: Cape Spencer, NB, Canada
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Re: Milky Way Galaxy this month
[Re: ILoveKnowledge]
#5311265 - 07/10/12 11:37 AM
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The Milky Way is what we see of our home galaxy. Indeed, July and August have it very well positioned in the sky for observing. It's not an "object" you'll likely find in your goto database. From a darkish site, it cannot be missed.
It's a HUGE "object". Probably 20 degrees wide from east-west, and extending from the southern horizon (for northern observers) to well past the zenith, a dense band of stars, nebulae and dust clouds.
The galactic core is just to the west of the bright bulge visible in Sagittarius. Indeed, for northern observers, the Milky Way appears as "Steam" rising from the "Teapot" asterism that is Sagittarius.
Telescopes struggle to put the Milky Way in context. Even binoculars can only show you small portions at a time, though there is no better area of the sky to explore with binos than the summer Milky Way. It is utterly breathtaking in a good working binocular.
With telescopes, it's objects within the Milky Way that we generally observe, including all manner of nebulae, star cloud, clusters both open and glob... Endless observing opportunities.
Find a dark site, sit back in a recliner with a pair of 7x50's and drool in awe.
Clear skies,
J
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MikeBOKC
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/10/10
Loc: Oklahoma City, OK
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Re: Milky Way Galaxy this month
[Re: ILoveKnowledge]
#5311497 - 07/10/12 02:58 PM
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If you have a go to scope, look up a couple of dozen visible objects down in Sagittarius and then tour them when it gets good and dark, after 10 p.m. You will also take in the vast star clouds down in that area toward the galactic core. If you have a long focla length eyepiece, like 30mm or more, pop that in and it will show you stars across the entire field in numbers you could not imagine.
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ILoveKnowledge
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Reged: 06/25/12
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Re: Milky Way Galaxy this month
[Re: MikeBOKC]
#5311849 - 07/10/12 07:20 PM
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I have 10x50 binoculars too. I am in California. I guess I will just point my scope towards Sagittarius and try to find it from there manually with my binoculars. I am not so good with the night sky on my own yet so I guess that is what I will have to rely on..
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ILoveKnowledge
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Reged: 06/25/12
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Re: Milky Way Galaxy this month
[Re: ILoveKnowledge]
#5311865 - 07/10/12 07:29 PM
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And I will pop in my 32 mm eyepiece too. Thanks. 
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GlennLeDrew
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Reged: 06/18/08
Loc: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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Re: Milky Way Galaxy this month
[Re: ILoveKnowledge]
#5312006 - 07/10/12 09:10 PM
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To really appreciate the milky way, you need only your eyes. And the darker the sky the better. The band of the milky completely encircles the sky like a fuzzy equator line. No optical instrument can take it all in at one time, of course; your eyes alone do the best here.
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Jon Isaacs
Postmaster
Reged: 06/16/04
Loc: San Diego and Boulevard, CA
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Re: Milky Way Galaxy this month
[Re: GlennLeDrew]
#5312433 - 07/11/12 05:17 AM
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Quote:
To really appreciate the milky way, you need only your eyes. And the darker the sky the better. The band of the milky completely encircles the sky like a fuzzy equator line. No optical instrument can take it all in at one time, of course; your eyes alone do the best here.
As Glenn says, the darker the skies the better. If you live in an urban area, it is unlikely you will see the Milky Way at all. If you travel out to the mountains on a moonless night, then the Milky Way will look like a long thin cloudy region across the sky... It's unmistakeable.
Jon
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ILoveKnowledge
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Reged: 06/25/12
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Re: Milky Way Galaxy this month
[Re: Jon Isaacs]
#5312648 - 07/11/12 10:38 AM
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I will try to see if I can go somewhere dark on Sunday. I really want to use my scope somewhere other than the urban city that I am in. Thanks for the advice everyone.
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Jon Isaacs
Postmaster
Reged: 06/16/04
Loc: San Diego and Boulevard, CA
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Re: Milky Way Galaxy this month
[Re: ILoveKnowledge]
#5312653 - 07/11/12 10:40 AM
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I will try to see if I can go somewhere dark on Sunday. I really want to use my scope somewhere other than the urban city that I am in. Thanks for the advice everyone.
Dark skies will make your scope come alive... They say there is no substitute for aperture, but in reality, there is no substitute for dark skies.
Jon
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mich_al
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 05/10/09
Loc: Rural central lower Michigan ...
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Re: Milky Way Galaxy this month
[Re: Jon Isaacs]
#5312706 - 07/11/12 11:31 AM
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It's kinda like trying to see a forest with binoculars, all you'll see is a bunch of trees.
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CounterWeight
Postmaster
Reged: 10/05/08
Loc: Cloudyopolis, OR.
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Re: Milky Way Galaxy this month
[Re: ILoveKnowledge]
#5313823 - 07/12/12 07:31 AM
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Might be worth the time to download Stellarium it's free, runs on any computer or laptop I've ever tried, and quite useful. Once installed and you get used to where the buttons are, you can increase the speed and watch the milky way pass overhead. It's that huge light colored stripe with lots of the M objects in it. 'Seeing' it is another thing unfortunately LP can wash it out naked eye to near zippo from urban backyard. From a dark site naked eye it can't be missed when up.
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