This is a cool timelapse video of people working at the Keck Observatory. I saw the Keck Observatory on the top of Mauna Kea two years ago when I was in Hawaii. It would have been really cool to see the insides, but I am sure they were busy doing sciencey stuff. We just watched the sun go down, and then went to a lower, warmer elevation and did some observing through a telescope. It was a pretty awesome time for a space nerd like myself. It’s hard to believe that 125 people work full-time at the Keck Observatory. Talk about an awesome job.
Here are a few of my pictures. It was pretty cool seeing the Sun set above the clouds.
Last night was my first chance at star gazing. It was a pretty nice night — 25º — a little too chilly for setting up my telescope, but nice enough to use my new binoculars. Most amateur astronomers will tell you to start with binoculars anyway. You don’t see huge detail in the objects in the sky, but it is easy to find things, and a good way to get familiar with the sky.
I didn’t get out early enough to see the Moon. Tonight the Moon and Venus make a pretty nice pair in the early evening western sky. I’m going to try and get a view of them tonight.
I was surprised how many stars I could see through my binoculars that I couldn’t see with the naked eye. My view of the northern sky isn’t that great because of all the light from the city. I couldn’t see any stars, but with my binoculars I was a least able to make out the Big Dipper. Facing west, Jupiter was bright and impressive through my binoculars. Again you don’t get much detail through binoculars, but still great to see. I usually can’t make out the different colors of stars, but with binoculars I could clearly see the bright redness of Betelgeuse, and the bright white Rigel in Orion. What I was probably most impressed with was actually seeing the Orion Nebula.
I went out again early morning and got a shot of Mars. Again, no details, but it was obviously red, and just cool to at least get a better view than you can with the naked eye. I went out a few hours later to try and see Saturn, but it got cloudy, so I didn’t get to see Saturn.
I agree that binoculars are a great way to start. It’s easy to find things, and a good way to learn the sky. I can’t wait until it gets warmer so I can spend more time outside. I may even have to find a good place where I can get away from a lot of the light pollution.
Yesterday I got my copy of Night Watch. It was a book that Fraser Cain recomended for begining amateur astronomers during one of his Google Plus Virtual Star Parties, which I can’t say enough good things about. I’ve been obsessed with learning everything I can about amateur astronomy since it’s not really nice enough to be outside and observing. Last night was a clear night, and I had a good view of Jupiter and Venus from my driveway early in the evening, but with temps below zero, I didn’t feel like spending much time outside. Instead I dove into my new book. I totally agree with Fraser, Night Watch probably is the book for begining amateur astronomers. I’m sure this wont be the last post about my new hobby that I am obsessed with. My ultimate goal is to get some amazing pictures from space. I’m probably a few years off of being able to do that, but here is one of Jupiter and Europa that a member of our local astronomy club took.
How cool is that? Someday I want to be the person that takes these pictures.
It’s killing me that I haven’t been able to try out my telescope yet. We’ve had a beautiful winter so far this year, but the few nights that I have had off work it’s been too cloudy, and now I think winter is probably here to stay. It’s below zero now, and our high for today was only 7 ºF, not really good outside weather.
One thing that has got me really excited to try out my telescope has been Fraser Cain, from Universe Today, and his Virtual Star Parties. They are something that he is just starting to do using Google Plus, and they are totally awesome. He gets amateur astronomers to hook up their telescopes to Google Plus, and we all can see the various objects. Last night I watched his first two Star Parties, and learned a ton. Someday I’ll have to catch one live. I’m so excited to keep on learning, and maybe be able to actually call myself an amateur astronomer one day.
It’s been a long time since I started a new hobby, and it exciting to learn something new. There have been a few hobbies that I have wanted to start, but never wanted to spend the time or money to get started. Maybe it’s time to start a few of them. Three hobbies that I can think of now that I wanted to start are home brewing beer, learn to play guitar, and amateur astronomy.
I haven’t even used my telescope yet, and I have already found a few I want to upgrade to. I think I will hold off on them for a while, and get a good pair of binoculars first. That’s what most people say to start with. They say you can see more than you would think, and it’s a great way to get started and find out if the hobby is for you before spending a ton of money.
