Friday the 13th Conjunction

[ChrissieBee (Christine)]

Hi IISers!

I'm no astronomer / astrophotographer, not even an amateur one, but I love just love looking up at the night sky especially when the moon is out and showing off it's beautiful sheen.

I wasn't aware anything special was happening that night but when I looked up, low and behold a vision I just could not ignore! So I braved the cold night with my camera and tripod and tried my best to capture this vision. I'm sure I didn't do it justice but still quite happy with my efforts.

Oh yea, my search to identify the 4 jewels beside the darling moon lead me to this forum. So who knows, this could be the start of a hobby that could prove to be my downfall (financially speaking ). Just thought i'd share. Enjoy viewing.

chrissie

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12409188@N08/4890104706/http://www.flickr.com/photos/12409188@N08/4889511931/http://www.flickr.com/photos/12409188@N08/4889525485/http://www.flickr.com/photos/12409188@N08/4890128586/

[Jen]

Nice pic Christine
And welcome to IIS

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

Nice Scorpius shot as well Chris.

[Doodles23 (Dave Bleser)]

Sadly I was unable to see your photo. Why? Because our IT department blocks access to Flickr to save bandwidth. This is common for networked computers in work locations. However we have no problem if you upload your photo to the Ice In Space server as that will never be blocked.. Just something to consider!
Dave

[ChrissieBee (Christine)]

Originally Posted by Doodles23

Sadly I was unable to see your photo. Why? Because our IT department blocks access to Flickr to save bandwidth. This is common for networked computers in work locations. However we have no problem if you upload your photo to the Ice In Space server as that will never be blocked.. Just something to consider!
Dave

Hi Dave.

My apologies. Here are the photos.

Can anyone tell me which constellation of stars is in the fifth photo? That was taken on a different nigth though.

Thanks again!

Christine

Originally Posted by [1ponders]

Nice Scorpius shot as well Chris.

Thanks Paul.

Which one is Scorpius?

Originally Posted by Jen

Nice pic Christine
And welcome to IIS

Cheers Jen!

[Octane (Humayun)]

Christine,

Beautiful images. : )

The constellation in the final image is my favourite constellation -- Scorpius -- and you have captured it very gracefully, indeed. Scorpius is one of very few assembly of stars that resemble their namesake -- you can clearly see the scorpion.

The bright red star is Antares (Latin for the Rival of Mars, due to its bright red colour), and, the four stars you see at the very top of the shot form part of Corona Australis (the Southern Crown).

Well done -- look forward to seeing more.

H

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

What Humayan said.

[ChrissieBee (Christine)]

Originally Posted by Octane

Christine,

Beautiful images. : )

The constellation in the final image is my favourite constellation -- Scorpius -- and you have captured it very gracefully, indeed. Scorpius is one of very few assembly of stars that resemble their namesake -- you can clearly see the scorpion.

The bright red star is Antares (Latin for the Rival of Mars, due to its bright red colour), and, the four stars you see at the very top of the shot form part of Corona Australis (the Southern Crown).

Well done -- look forward to seeing more.

H

Thanks H! Thanks so much for the compliments.

So that is scorpius! Now I know! I'm lucky to have that view from my balcony. Beautiful sight! It's not easy for me to identify the constellations, unfortunately. Any reason why that constellation is a favorite? It is gorgeous I have to say.

Cheers H!

Originally Posted by [1ponders]

What Humayan said.

Cheers Paul!

Btw, I found the covington book (first book) you recommended. Ordered it online last week and guess what?! Went to Berkelouw in Eumundi today and found the same book, 2nd hand, for only 17$, in pristine condition! Oh well.... Can't wait to read it!

Regards,

Chris

[Octane (Humayun)]

Hey C,

It's my favourite constellation for a few reasons. Most notably though because it is a winter companion. I know a few North American friends who feel the same way about Orion for summer. Secondly, I am a photographer more than a visual observer, although I love observing, too; the sight of Scorpius reminds me that the best time of year for imaging is upon us. Also, all the cool stuff hangs in and around Scorpius. : )

Ah, Covington. One of his books on Prolog was a proscribed text for me at university when doing my major in natural language processing for a computing science degree. It was a couple of years later that I found out he wrote on astronomy, too.

Enjoy!

H

[ChrissieBee (Christine)]

Hi H.

Thanks for sharing that info with me! I do have a lot to learn, slowly though One of these days i'll try taking a better photo of scorpius.

I haven't received my copy of that Covington book yet but I am looking forward to reading it. Let's hope Covington would be able to help me take better photos, whether it be of the stars/moon or just low light, which I love taking photos of!

Thanks again! Any advise/tips are much appreciated.

Cheers!

Christine

Originally Posted by Octane

Hey C,

It's my favourite constellation for a few reasons. Most notably though because it is a winter companion. I know a few North American friends who feel the same way about Orion for summer. Secondly, I am a photographer more than a visual observer, although I love observing, too; the sight of Scorpius reminds me that the best time of year for imaging is upon us. Also, all the cool stuff hangs in and around Scorpius. : )

Ah, Covington. One of his books on Prolog was a proscribed text for me at university when doing my major in natural language processing for a computing science degree. It was a couple of years later that I found out he wrote on astronomy, too.

Enjoy!

H