[Fleecewife]

So that's the partial eclipse been and gone    We had a better view of it than we had expected.  There was scudding cloud, but the shrinking sun peeped out from time to time, and we had our old fashioned welding mask at the ready.  Within seconds of reaching peak eclipse, solid clouds appeared and we saw the sun no more.  That though just gave us time to skip indoors, turn on the TV and watch Liz Bonin flying over the Faroes and seeing the total version from the air.

It wasn't quite as exciting as it was billed to be, more interesting really.  However, that's the only one I'm ever likely to see now.  There was a total eclipse when I was a little kid, and I can remember looking at that through smoked glass.

Did anyone else here see it?  What did you think?

[Thyme]

There was a band of cloud just slightly obscuring it here , unfortunately.  This is a pic from the closest to total (going by the clock).  The light got really impressively weird though, so that's something!

[SallyintNorth]

We didn't have any viewing kit organised, so it was quite helpful that the sun was partially obscured by clouds throughout - at the peak, we were able to kind of let ourselves see it out of the corner of our eyes, iyswim.

Here it was a story of eerie light and long shadows, getting very dusky and cold, with the clouds moving unpredictably as the air cooled.

[SallyintNorth]

and a few shots of the skies - you can just see the crescent in the last two.  (It was larger by eye, this is what the camera caught)

[Fleecewife]

Thought I'd resurrect this thread because we can now see Saturn in the southern sky.  I haven't looked at it through the telescope yet, and last night was the first time I could see it because of cloudy skies.

So, look due south late at night, one and a half fists above the horizon, and the brightish light which doesn't twinkle is Saturn.  The stars all twinkle, especially that low to the horizon, because of the atmosphere, but the planets don't.
Unfortunately the moon is about full, and quite close to the planet in the sky, so that will probably affect what we see with the telescope.
The big drawback is that tonight's due to be well below zero so we won't stay out for long.

Jupiter, Venus and Mars are all still in the sky too, Venus very bright.  It's lovely being able to see our neighbours - not such a lonely planet after all 

[Bogtrotter]

Due to a neck condition I get dizzy or even fall over so although i have always loved watching the sky I can no longer enjoy it.  I have been known to lie flat on the grass in the summer though to enjoy it once it's dark - the dogs tend to ruin it within a few moments unfortunately by rolling all over me.  I will download these apps though so thank you, susiev 

The trick is 3 sheep skins.... One for you to lie on one to put over you and one for the dogs!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE it at my new place, It's so dark! I can Identify;
The Plough
Cassiopia
Orion
Pegasus
Taurus

The small fuzzy Blob of stars
The one that looks like a kite

etc etc

I must find out the names of more!

[Fleecewife]

Due to a neck condition I get dizzy or even fall over so although i have always loved watching the sky I can no longer enjoy it.  I have been known to lie flat on the grass in the summer though to enjoy it once it's dark - the dogs tend to ruin it within a few moments unfortunately by rolling all over me.  I will download these apps though so thank you, susiev 

The trick is 3 sheep skins.... One for you to lie on one to put over you and one for the dogs!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE it at my new place, It's so dark! I can Identify;
The Plough
Cassiopia
Orion
Pegasus
Taurus

The small fuzzy Blob of stars
The one that looks like a kite

etc etc

I must find out the names of more!

You are so lucky to have such dark skies    We have the Central Belt to the north of us which means we see little near the horizon, and we have buildings and trees and hills obscuring large parts of the sky.

I think your 'small fuzzy blob of stars' must be the Pleiades. To find them, follow from Orion's belt to his right to a bright star, Aldebaran, which is the eye of Taurus.  Keep on that line for the same length, and you'll see the blob - if that's where you're seeing it, then that is the Pleiades.  It's amazing through a telescope.
If you follow Orion's belt in the opposite direction, you come to a very bright star, which is Sirius in Canis Major, the dog.

If you follow the curve of the handle of the plough round and down, you come to a very bright star called Arcturus.  This is the main star of the constellation of Bootes (sounds like those things babies wear  )

Keep following the curve about the same distance again and you see another slightly less bright star - that's Spica which is the biggest star in Virgo.

I still haven't worked out the whole of Draco, although I see bits of it between the plough and the pole star.

Most of the other constellations are beyond me - I can't usually make out the duller stars and some shapes really seem to have no likeness to their names  .  I do love Orion though, as all winter he stands in the sky directly in front of our front door.  He contains so many amazingly interesting stars, galaxies, etc.  Poor so and so has to spend the summer standing on his head so folk in Australia can see him.

Something well worth getting is Philip's Planisphere.  I think it only costs about £6 online, but be sure you get the one for Northern Europe.

Jupiter is still shining so brightly, due west at 2300, about halfway up the sky.  I wonder what it's really like beneath all those madly swirling clouds.

[Penninehillbilly]

I think I'l have to record this F'W, then I can play it back while I'm out there looking :-).
I only noticed this thread when the eclipse was being talked about, got some nice pic of that,
'a smile in the sky'.
I love looking at stars, bought quite an expensive telescope quite a few years ago, but can't look through double glazing, mullion windows not big enough to open right, when sky is clear it's too cold to sit about outside, + telescope is too big to lug outside easy. so its a cheap pair ofAldi binoculars  .
I can only recognise the Plough and Orion, tried to look on Google Earth, where you can look at the sky as well, but still can't place things when I go outside :-(.
 
The sheepskins sound a good idea, I'll work on that one :-)
 

[SallyintNorth]

I read this article on the IFLS site and got all excited about seeing Venus and Jupiter... until I realised the article is written from an Australian pov 

[Fleecewife]

You can still see Jupiter to the NW, about 1/3 up the sky.  Venus was just below and to the right, extremely bright.  Mars was around there too, plus Saturn still due south, all together.  I think Mars has gone now, probably Venus too - been too overcast to check.  The best way to find Venus is to look out at dusk on a clear day, towards the NW, and look for the only star you can see.

The nights are so short at this time of year.

[Cosmore]

Hi, fellow 'stargazer' here! go to the NASA website, they have a free downloadable program called 'Astronomy Picture of the Day - 'APOD' which replaces the screen background on your computer - it's changed every day and there are some beautiful photos of the stars, galaxies etc,. Also on the NASA website is the prediction for the passes of the ISS for your area, plus masses of other astronomical and satellite/space exploration material. There is also a good planetarium program also free which is very good and simple to use called ASYNX PLANETARIUM, it's only about 1.8mb and you can set it to your precise location by entering your Lat. & Lon.
We are fortunate to have beautiful dark skies here with little if any light pollution, it's just getting the time to enjoy it!
Happy stargazing, wshing you dark skies!

[Fleecewife]

Sorry this is posted a bit late, but I forgot that tonight is the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter, and for once we have clear skies.   We looked at dusk, but the two seemed a fair way apart (unless it wasn't Jupiter we could see) but I'm off to look again.

[SallyintNorth]

At 10.30pm they looked like two aircraft in the distance approaching an airport, one above and appearing behind (as smaller than) the other - but of course were not coming forwards.

According to the googling I've just been doing, Venus would have set around 11.35pm, so there was no point my going out again when I woke at 2am for another look!   

Never mind, I saw two twinklers, one a little north of west, and the other in the north west.  It never really gets dark here in summer, so there wasn't much else to see; the Plough in the north pointing to the Pole Star overhead, and that was about it.  Must get me my up-to-date star atlas, all the same - I'm annoyed I can't work out what the two twinklers were!

[Treud na Mara]

I was really looking forward to this last night - I can be really lazy and just look out of one of my sitting room windows to see Venus usually. It shaped up well - almost totally clear sky till about 10 - then a sneaky streaky cloud in exactly the wrong place ! Rats !

[Fleecewife]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3143237/Watch-Venus-Jupiter-superstar-tomorrow-Cosmic-illusion-make-planets-merge-one-bright-light-night-sky.html

Having seen the pic on the Daily Wail website, above, I find that what I saw was indeed the conjunction, and the light slightly up and to the left was Regulus.  I'm pleased I found that out.

Presumably they will now drift apart, but stay basically close together until they disappear beneath the horizon at night.

The Daily Wail says this conjunction is 'very rare' but apparently it happens about every 8 years.