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I asked if the major observatories were still operating during the current crisis. Michael Rudenko provided this link:
http://treasuremap.space/status
Denis Buczynski
Thanks for that Denis.
Actually I was thinking what other opportunities being forced to spend more time at home might bring.
I’ve decided to do a bit more visual observing, for example. Yesterday afternoon I set up a portable 10 cm refractor to look at Venus (which was excellent, but the way). But I left it out so that when I took a break from CCD photometry in the obsy later in the evening, I was able to take in some of the brighter galaxies in Leo and Virgo. It must be years since I’ve seen the likes of M65, 66 and 104. And I’d forgotten just how pleasurable it could be.
Is anyone else making different observing plans in the current situation?
In addition to new observing opportunities, another option might be to write that paper, or other contribution, for the Journal that you’ve been intending to do, but haven’t quite got round to next…..
“Is anyone else making different observing plans in the current situation?”
Yup, I’m trying to get hold of a telescope to use until I can get back to La Palma. See the “Telescope wanted” thread.
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines.
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
The time is gone, the song is over, thought I’d something more to say.Try the two comets C/2017 T2 and C/2019 Y4. They are both well placed and around mag 8. I know that they are fuzzy and that they move but I’m sure that go-to mount will find them!
Does ‘stay at home’ mean that we now shouldn’t spend any time observing from our back gardens? Automated systems are an advantage at the moment.
Alex.
Hi Jeremy, not different plans as such but enjoying taking a closer look at the brighter objects. For example, attempting to split the trapezium in binoculars, observing Venus more closely than usual through the 10″ reflector, that kind of thing. I even managed to see the ISS a few times through the telescope the other night. Simple enjoyments.
Hello all – from Australia, – where we are in a similar lockdown. Just before it ‘hit the fan’, I had purchased a 150mm F8 Skywatcher ED to replace the Celestron standard achromatic refractor of the same specifications and I am doing some testing as weather permits. (Cloudy time of year.) Anyway I have posted some images on my page on this website. I am the process of preparing a ‘powerpoint’ where the images of the various stellar objects are aligned and follow each other on subsequent slides … amazing to watch the O & B stars flare up with the achromat. Soon the Moon will come around again for my occultation work.
Apart from the other concerns, the downside is that my wife is also cooped up and this means more little jobs are found to do around the place… particularly out in the yard…
and, of course, submit those observations, which have been loitering in your log book or on your laptop, to the relevant observing section !
Hi all. We had a local virtual astronomy observing session with a remotely operated telescope at Monkton Nature reserve (Thanet in Kent) hosted using Microsoft Team meeting. there were a dozen of the Monkton Stargazer group present. Wonderful experience with the chit chat and pointing the telescope to an object, taking an image and post processing whilst we all watched. I would recommend any group if they can share a screen which is controlling a telescope to work this way and invite others to view.
Hi Alan, that sounds a really interesting idea. For those of us less familiar with Microsoft Team can you give us an overview, or a link to a website, giving more details of how you did this. I generally use Linux, so am a bit dimmy about MS stuff, but appreciate that most of the members of my local group will be Windows users, and can see this might be the way forward if the lock-down continues for too long.
We did it as Microsoft Team because the leader was conversant with it. Skype will work just as well. There is a ‘Share desktop’ button and ‘invite more people’. What it needs is a person with the imaging / telescope equipment hooked up to a computer to offer to host and you need a group of participants to link up with. A great deal of sharing of Skype addresses is necessary.
The Microsoft Team meeting – I received an invite being a member of Monkton Stargazers and was able to use video. It was quite manageable with a dozen and we could all take our turn discussing whilst the host was operating the equipment.
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