Saturn close approach

“Ratzenfras. I meant to bring my scope home from my brothers and forgot it. I'll have to use my spotting scope.”

“Cool. I bought my nephew a telescope for X-mas. We'll have to get out and take a look.”

“That article says it will be twice as wide as Mars normally is, due to the rings. And also, they're at a good tilt, so they should be easy to see.”

“I hate it when cars almost hit ya.
















LOL”

“If a Saturn hit me, I don't think I'd notice...”

“Surely you would notice all the plastic flying around.”

“"That article says it will be twice as wide as Mars normally is, due to the rings. And also, they're at a good tilt, so they should be easy to see." ~Bitpusher


Sure this is Saturn and not Uranus? Or Jupiter?”

“Are there rings around Uranus???”

“Is that the moon or Uranus?”

“Actually, there are some thin rings there FG.

For anyone with a new Christmas scope, don't believe the hype about magnification. Start low, say 50 to 75x and then slowly work up. Most scopes can go to high mag, but the resolution is poor. You really don't want to go more than 25x the diameter of your mirror/main lens. If the skies are stable you might can go higher.

PS. It's been about 2 years since I've really fooled with my scope. These are my recollections of the numbers. I'm sure Tilt could give more accurate info.”

“Yeah, I know, but I couldn't resist the old joke...”

“The Love Of Larry Baxter (Rings Around Uranus)
Copyright 1996 Kurt Riemann

The radio said "INVASION!" but Larry didn't care.
He'd just been dumped by Jennifer who'd left him standing there.
The alien on television seemed to catch his eye
As she said to cooperate or that we all would die

He said, "She's quite attractive; terrestrial or not.
I don't have many options so I'll give it my best shot.
Earth is not a place where I feel that I belong."
So he stood below her landing craft and sang this little song -

(Chorus)
"There's rings around Uranus and Jupiter has gas
I've dated all the aliens and saved the best for last
We may be different species but I'll tell you what I'll do
It may require leaving Earth but I'd do it just for you"

He gazed into her seven eyes and knew just what to say
Cautiously she held him so he couldn't get away
Antennae and electrodes, suction cups and wings
If she would show she loved him he could overlook these things

(Chorus)

A honeymoon on Venus would be hot this time of year -
And everybody knows that the Moon just has no atmosphere

She doesn't speak his language and he can't pronounce her name
But the way he holds her tentacles she loves him just the same
It seems like Outer Limits but they know it can't be wrong
She thinks he's Casanova; she reminds him of his mom

They're going back to outer space; they're leaving earth today
But before he goes old Larry's buying alien lingerie
And if her mouth could form the words you know she'd say "So long,
Find us on the Internet @Aliens.com"

(Chorus”

“Saint Alien

According to Saint Alien, we’re stars’ re-incarnation...
In all our very many lives, been every variation.
So, if you gaze up there at night, your ancestors to view...
You’ll see rings around Uranus there ... that could’ve once been you.
According to Saint Alien, the Universe is One.
It started with a great big bang that sounds like lots of fun.
Since then it’s all expanded and it’s given us the Earth...
Rather like your momma did before she gave you birth.

So the Universe is mother and it’s all your sister, too,
And everything’s your brother, even monkeys in the zoo.
So, if you gaze up there at night, your ancestors to view...
You’ll see rings around Uranus there ... that could’ve once been you.

According to Saint Alien, there’s no such thing as man.
There’s just a bunch of molecules that once was only sand.
We’re hydrogen and oxygen, some minerals as well,
And when we die we just dissolve; we do not go to Hell.

According to Saint Alien, we’re stars’ re-incarnation...
In all our very many lives, been every variation.
So, if you gaze up there at night, your ancestors to view...
You’ll see rings around Uranus there ... that could’ve once been you.

According to Saint Alien — no heaven and no hell —
There’s just th’eternal circle you go round and round pell-mell.
It’s pointless feelin’ sadness, or gettin’ down an’ blue,
‘Cos there’s rings around Uranus there that could’ve once been you.

Oh, think when you are gazin’ there, away up in the sky...
The next time there’s a great big bang, you’ll kiss Uranus ’bye...
When there’s another great big bang, you won’t feel any pain,
An’ according to Saint Alien, you will be once again.

Re-combination is the game — the universe’s name
For turning us to something new — we won’t be quite the same.
No matter if you’re famous or you’re drunken bums in bars,
Your simple fate’s the same as — the rings around Uranus.....

You’ll be rings around Uranus.... in the fam-il-y of stars......

© 1999 Alex Dryden”

“Divide the focal length of your telescope (700mm in my case) by the eyepiece you put in and that gives you the magnification.

For example, if I use the 20mm eyepiece, 700/20 = 35X. The 10mm eyepiece gets me 70X. Higher magnifications are great for the moon and planets, while lower powers work better on nebulae and clusters.”

“"I hate it when cars almost hit ya.

Hey, I got hit by a car once when I was 14. Broke my leg.”

“Saturn:



Jupiter:



Uranus:
”

“I resisted the urge to post a pic of someone's bunghole in place of Uranus.”

“Here 'ya go!!!

*


(thanks to Kurt Vonnegut)”

“Bit- that would have been a lot funnier”

“I know, I know...but honestly, finding a picture of a non-diseased bunghole with Google set to "SafeSearch"? Difficult.”

“Well I'll let u slide this time.

When up in MA this past weekend, we drove past "Bunghole Liquors." We took a picture... but I don't have it, Maple or Gemini does.”

“If you notice the ring disappears before it goes behind the planet in the upper right hand corner of bit's pic. FYI, this is the shadow of Saturn on the ring itself. It can be visible in scopes.”

“Oh, gag. The mental image is too much to bear.”

“Email the pic to Crazy Mike. Actually, if you'll email the pic to me I can print it large format and give it to him at Savage Gulf. That'd be a hoot. I've never met him. That'd be quit an intro. Mike this is day, day this is Mike, Mike this is something you might want from Scorch.”

“I will be watching the sky for awhile!

8)”

“I love space I have been doing some work that I will tell everyone soon about.

8)”

“Fess up, CMB.

I actually caught a wild hair a few years back and built myself an 8"f6 Dob telescope. It works great.”

“Good work Dayhiker!


8)”

“What kinda work!?”

“Reasearch with diffrent kinds of work.


8)”

“He's uncovered that there is life on Mars.”

“That's awesome, Mike. I love stuff like that”

“A couple of years ago,we lost a multi billion space probe to Mars.
The weekly world news reported that a message from the Martians.
"You send another probe up here and we'll kill that two. Well, this week a European probe went lost on Mars.”

“Okay --- What have you miscreants been up to today? Bouncing off General Motors products and whatnot? I bounced off a Rambler back in April of '68 --- I wouldn't recommend that, either. The left leg is allegedly 1 mm shorter than the right. Maybe that's why I walk in circles?”

“I'm sure the story will be in next weeks' world news. I have a telescope battery of 3"6"10" 12" all by Meade. I'll try to set one up at the next no moon. weather permitting.”

“I think it's BACON RING WORK!!! And I'm skeert to death of the results!!”

“I'm too lazy to research this any further than asking here.

What magnification do I need to see the rings as separate from the planet itself, rather than as merely amorphous projections?”

“...Didn't want to start another thread. So, while we are on subject of space, I found this extremely intersting. It will be so cool to see the pictures from this. I think that if I were a scientist at NASA, I'd be getting real excited about the possibilities that can be uncovered if this probe can bring back some particles from the comet it is chasing...

comet dust”

“And it is supposed to catch up with it in about 1/2 hour...”

“Does you scope have changeable lens or mirrors?

Does it have a GPS?

You might need filters to cast background light out if you live in a area with lots of light like in a big city.

8)”

“I don't have one yet, but was thinking about getting one. If I do get one, I'd like to get one that's at least powerful enough to see something that a little kid might be interested in, so I can tell my wife that it's for the kids, not me.”

“Just make sure you have your light turned off when you use the thing. You don’t want the neighbors to see you, when you’re looking at them.”

“Lol at Lumberzack. That's the first question visitors ask when they see my scope in the house.”

“You pervs....
















...all need to get camera setups for your telescopes...”

“I drive a Saturn - The rings all seem fine to me....”

“I have most of the parts of a black and white ccd camera that I haven't used yet.As far as the neighbors go...I don't have any
worth viewing...I wuz axed by a femali to set up and look into her room! Didn't have the sac I guess. binoculars wok better anyway!”

“Don't forget your slingshot and some .22 steel shot for the streetlights.....”

“The light pollution here is abominable.Occasionally,I bop down
to the local club for a get together. A three hour drive near Vermont for any decent viewing.I have a Kendricks tent with a zip out roof. This turns into a week ender,not the evening of casual tubing I hoped for.”

“This part of Georgia seems to be covered with billboards lit from below. The skyglow even 25 miles out from the city is pretty bad. It just gets worse, year after year.”