Observing plans for 2024

[Butterfly Maiden]

I am doing some mini preparations for scanning the night skies throughout 2024.

 

I have just received a small booklet called "2024 Guide to the Night Sky"  which is published by Collins in association with the Royal Observatory Greenwich, which I am sure most of you are familiar with.  I have used previous versions of this booklet throughout the years and find it to be a very useful guide.

 

I will use this in conjunction with my Phillips Planisphere for stars and constellations visible from my location.  Also to check on positions of planets, minor planets and comets.

 

My extent of sky viewing (which suits my needs), is primarily naked eye, binoculars and spotting scope.  I don't use any sky apps on my phone either.  I prefer the two methods I have already described.  I can do my daily evenings' plan in the comfort and warmth of our house beforehand, then just go outside and try to spot what I hope to see 😆

 

I know a lot of the more experienced members here will have more extensive plans, so I wish you well with those.

 

[GazAstro]

My plan is to try avoiding clouds !

I like the sound of your plan better 😄

[Graeme]

Sounds like a plan Vanessa. I've got quite a collection of Collins Guide to the Night Sky from over the years but I haven't got the 2024 edition yet. I need to put that right! 

 

What have you got planned? Looks like it's going to be partially clear tomorrow night.

 

Graeme

[Nightspore]

I tend to see what the weather's like on the night (and also avoid clouds lol). This is why my rigs are predominantly grab'n'go. I usually have a plan of sorts, things don't often go to plan though (I tend to blame evil faeries or the Zeta Reticulans, as it's usually their fault).

 

 

I initially thought 2024 would be a 'Mars year'. However we may have to wait until early December before it's close enough to observe the Syrtis Major Planum. Discovered by Huygens in 1659, only around 43 years after the death of Shakespeare. Syrtis Major was the first documented feature on another planet. I wonder what the Bard would have made of that! A couple of Mars oppositions ago I got one of the best views of Syrtis Major ever (127mm Mak). Interestingly most of the moons of Uranus are named after Shakespeare characters. Either way, Jupiter is getting much higher in the sky than it has been for a number of years, which can only be good.

 

I definitely want to get this out more in 2024:

 

 

My 102mm Altair Starwave. I've even bought a new bag to carry its accessories in.

 

 

I have bigger scopes, but this is easier for me to set-up. Especially since I've made some progress in physiotherapy.

[Butterfly Maiden]

7 hours ago, Graeme said:

Sounds like a plan Vanessa. I've got quite a collection of Collins Guide to the Night Sky from over the years but I haven't got the 2024 edition yet. I need to put that right! 

 

What have you got planned? Looks like it's going to be partially clear tomorrow night.

 

Graeme

Thank you Graeme.

 

Actually, our plans are more social than planetary for the remaining days of 2023 🥳 😊

 

Parties and meals out with friends.  All in the name of preparing to see the New Year in of course 😉

 

As you know Graeme, we like to combine our twilight walks in the Forest with a bit of naked eye observations.  If we have time in between our social calendar (probably not though) we will have a relaxing stroll and cherish any clear nighttime skies we may get 🤞

 

Once we get into the New Year then I can be a bit more serious about the astronomy part of my life.

 

Edited December 29, 2023 by Butterfly Maiden

[Nightspore]

When there's much less Moon I really want to get this lot out.

 

 

It's fairly light and easy to transport and set-up. Admittedly it's only an 'achro' but it is fairly well corrected (Synta doublet).

 

 

As an f/5 rich field instrument it is pretty good.

[Nightspore]

 

Ready now!

[GazAstro]

Just need the clouds to naff off next year 🤞🏻

[Butterfly Maiden]

I would love to be out watching the sky tonight, being the start of a New Year.

 

However, we have a very 'unwelcome guest' visiting my home area at the moment - "Storm Henk" which is bringing with it gusty winds and heavy rain 😡

 

We seem to be getting the southern edge of the storm as it passes from the southwest to the northeast.

 

The next few days are going to be about the same, although the winds will be steadily decreasing in strength.

 

Just have to be patient for a while longer I guess 🙁

 

[RaDec]

The weather this last 12 months has been pretty rubbish all round Vanessa!

I have used my set up twice since Feb last year - dreadful.

At least with visual/binoculars you can shoot out at a moments notice.

For us 'astrophotographers', it's a painful pain!!

[Butterfly Maiden]

I think we all have our levels of satisfaction from this hobby Keith, whether you have very basic equipment (like me) or the most sophisticated telescope setup with remote control, equatorial mounts, etc.

 

I am quite content to just pick up my binoculars and wander through the Forest, where I can find different views of the sky depending on the particular terrain I choose.  We have lots of open-plain areas without any trees blocking the view, so you pretty much have a 360 degree panorama.  Plus, I can easily protect my binoculars if the weather suddenly changes when I am out, or jump in the car if I have driven to a more remote location away from home.  I couldn't do that with a more complicated set-up (unless you are using a home observatory of course.)

 

Reading posts from astrophotographers on here (yourself included) I do sympathise when you go to all the trouble of setting up your equipment for the weather to turn against you.  Or sustained bad weather conditions spoiling your fun - very frustrating. 

 

Hopefully, we will soon see the end of these horrible storms and get some decent skies.

 

Edited January 3 by Butterfly Maiden

[Lloyd-ss]

On 12/28/2023 at 11:49 AM, Butterfly Maiden said:

I am doing some mini preparations for scanning the night skies throughout 2024.

 

I have just received a small booklet called "2024 Guide to the Night Sky"  which is published by Collins in association with the Royal Observatory Greenwich, which I am sure most of you are familiar with.  I have used previous versions of this booklet throughout the years and find it to be a very useful guide.

 

I will use this in conjunction with my Phillips Planisphere for stars and constellations visible from my location.  Also to check on positions of planets, minor planets and comets.

 

My extent of sky viewing (which suits my needs), is primarily naked eye, binoculars and spotting scope.  I don't use any sky apps on my phone either.  I prefer the two methods I have already described.  I can do my daily evenings' plan in the comfort and warmth of our house beforehand, then just go outside and try to spot what I hope to see 😆

 

I know a lot of the more experienced members here will have more extensive plans, so I wish you well with those.

 

 

Vanessa,

I have been spending some of my "forced inside time," to look thru some of the older threads and see what I can learn. There is certainly plenty of learning being offered. I saw your mention of using a spotting scope in this post and a lightbulb went off in my head that I have one squirreled away. I acquired it in a trade and have never pointed it to the sky. Plus, I have a light duty tripod to go with it. After about 10 minutes of searching, I found it! It is a Celestron 80/480 that I can carry on a short walk to get to a different vantage point out of the trees. Sounds a bit like your situation.

So, thank you for mentioning that sky watching method. I am excited to see what I can see.  ........ As soon as the weather clears, LOL.

Lloyd

[Butterfly Maiden]

43 minutes ago, Lloyd-ss said:

 

Vanessa,

I have been spending some of my "forced inside time," to look thru some of the older threads and see what I can learn. There is certainly plenty of learning being offered. I saw your mention of using a spotting scope in this post and a lightbulb went off in my head that I have one squirreled away. I acquired it in a trade and have never pointed it to the sky. Plus, I have a light duty tripod to go with it. After about 10 minutes of searching, I found it! It is a Celestron 80/480 that I can carry on a short walk to get to a different vantage point out of the trees. Sounds a bit like your situation.

So, thank you for mentioning that sky watching method. I am excited to see what I can see.  ........ As soon as the weather clears, LOL.

Lloyd

 

Hello Lloyd,

I am pleased that I could be an inspiration to you 🙂

 

The optical equipment I have (binoculars and spotting scope) were primarily bought for use in watching wildlife.  

 

When I turned them to the skies, they proved to be an added bonus - plus no extra expense required 😉

 

I am also excited that I can see (better) what I can see.

 

I think we all need some good fortune to have clearer skies.  Trust us to get into a hobby that relies heavily on weather conditions 🙄

 

[Nightspore]

I live in a small village surrounded by woods and farmland. I don't see any turkeys when I'm observing (the ones I do see are frozen and normally wrapped in plastic). I do see and hear a fair few owls though. 

[Nightspore]

I don't own a 'spotting scope' but I'm pretty sure they're usually some form of doublet refractors (maybe some are catadioptrics?).

 

 

I do have two Pentax zooms designed specifically for spotting scopes. The larger 8-24mm needs an aperture of at least 10cm as it has issues with transmission with nocturnal viewing. It was probably not designed for purely astronomical use, although it is excellent in every other respect (build, glass quality, acuity, etc). The smaller 7-21mm zoom shows an inordinate amount of chromatic aberration with nocturnal viewing, it also has a very high build quality though. I'm guessing spotting scopes can work well for astronomy, but it seems many are happier in diurnal white light. 

[RaDec]

17 hours ago, Butterfly Maiden said:

I believe that the "Backyard Astro Lounge" to which you were referring, may be the place for such discussions.

 

Maybe one of our Moderators, e.g. Terry, can clarify this for us.

 

You are absolutely correct Vanessa - the Backyard Astro Lounge for all 'off topic' general discussions.

[Butterfly Maiden]

This is my Nikon ED82 spotting scope, which has a straight-through eyepiece design.

 

My partner, Sophia, has the same model but hers has the angled eyepiece.

 

We already had a sturdy tripod for when we use it for birdwatching, so it is ideal for skywatching too.

 

 

[Butterfly Maiden]

We had our first 'snowfall' yesterday.  

 

Actually, it was just a brief dusting of sleet which soon melted and disappeared.

 

Skies were very overcast though, so nothing to see up there 🙄

 

[RaDec]

Should be clear tonight.

I'm delivering an astro talk, so you can bet it'll be beautifully clear!

[Butterfly Maiden]

2 minutes ago, RaDec said:

Should be clear tonight.

I'm delivering an astro talk, so you can bet it'll be beautifully clear!

 

That sounds a bit like tempting fate Keith 🤫

 

I hope everything goes well for your talk 🤞

 

[RaDec]

Thanks Vanessa. I do loads of them, so no stress!

www.astronomymatters.co.uk

 

[Butterfly Maiden]

19 minutes ago, RaDec said:

Thanks Vanessa. I do loads of them, so no stress!

www.astronomymatters.co.uk

 

Wow Keith, I have just had a look at your website and I had no idea you were so well qualified in astronomy.

 

I know that not everyone is able to stand up in front of people and give talks (I know I couldn't do it), so it is great that you are confident to do that and impart your knowledge to others.

 

[RaDec]

I actually enjoy it Vanessa - to enthuse people about a subject that I love and that has so much potential is a great honour. I love to inspire young people if I can, as astrophysics and astronomy have impressive career prospects.