Dec's Guide to the Night Sky for Amateur Astromomers - including Melbourne weather

[Owlunar]

Oh wow! Niqua - what a fabulous pic - I totally love that

Okay  tonight I went out for a walk after sunset and Orion is lying on it's side in the evening twilight and is very easy to find

I get it now - they call it the saucepan but it's not the Big Dipper - which is a major constellation in the northern hemisphere - not visible from Australia except in the Top End

So right now - not tonight of course - after sunset when the stars start to appear you can easily see three stars in a row like this

                                                                *

                                                                *

                                                                 *                                                               

Not long after than the rest of the saucepan will appear (I am not clever with the stars on the screen but I will do my best)

                                                                 *                *

                                           Orion's

                                           Belt

                                                                 *

                                                                 *                *

                                                                      *

                                                      Orions        *

                                                      Sword           *

                                                                                                                       * Sirius (Wolf-Star)

Let's see if this works out for people - maybe I can get a pic of the constellation from my astomomy book - and take a photo with my computer and photoshop it so it looks pretty spectacular

Hey guys - I have been feeling really down-in-the-dumps today and having this great response to my thread is just a huge lift for me - thanks

Dec

@Former-Member@Former-Member@utopia@Shaz51@soul@outlander

Ah yes - this can all be seen clearly in the south western sky after sunset

[outlander]

Well what do you call the saucepans then @Owlunar i can see it where i am and im pretty sure i can see the southern cross too havent looked for that in s while though..

[Owlunar]

Oh sheesh - my stars moved a bit

@outlander

What some people hear call the Saucepan is part of a much much bigger constellation called Orion and I will try and find a pic of that - perhaps tomorrow

The other two "saucepans" the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper move around the North Pole just as the Southern Cross moves around the South Pole - both also called the Circum-Polar Stars because mariners used them to navigate in the old days before all the great equipment that was necessary and happened. And the stars were what led the mariners at night as the sun did at night

And I love this stuff and feel endlessly patient talkling about it

Dec

[outlander]

Ok so if im in nsw what saucepan am i seeing?
Im going to need a telescope so i can look even loser. I can see both the southern cross and one of the saucepans just by looking normally. And one of those fast moving satelities often cross near the saucepan that i can see @Owlunar

[Former-Member]

Hello thought it would be good for you to share such knowledge

good for you sharing your interest, a change in your routine

good for us we have an opportunity to learn something

only problem for me I am drained tonight

something to look forward to on other nights though

keep it up dec

is brilliant xx

[Former-Member]

I have total cloud cover over my sky tonight @Owlunar, very disappointing. I will draw your diagram onto paper and take it out with me as soon as I get a clear night! And you've taught me something already, what I've been calling the 'saucepan' is Orions belt and sword (that's so cool!) When I saw it the other night, I must have seen Sirius and now I know to look just below the handle and a little to the right 🙂

Thank you! 🙂 😄

I'm heading off to bed soon, Good night Dec, sleep well and peace be with you 🙂   Niqua.

[Owlunar]

I am so thrilled with every one so interested in this

Okay - I went outside not long ago and I could see Jupiter near the moon and another star called Spica - all close together

Then I could see Antares further to the east but it was a bit cloudy and I could not see the stars in the constellation Scorpio - too misty. I will get some pics of all of this up when I get the chance

And following that further east is Saturn - very clear tonight

And in the early hours Venus will rise and if the sky is clear it will be clearly visible - and Mercury toward dawn - but I have't seen it yet this time it is in the eastern sky

Mars is the other planet but it is too hard to see near the horizon in the light after sunset and it is a long way from us on its elliptical orbit

@outlander - you don't need binoculars or a telescope to see what I am describing - I have some binoculars - but I find that just know when and where to look and using the moon as a guide I know where to look for something that is really pretty clear

And we are all beginners in this exciting quest - how I would love to be on the Enterprise with Captain Picard and Data and all his crew in Star-Trek - The Next Generation - I would love that

Dec

[outlander]

Yay so exciting!! @Owlunar

[Owlunar]

And now - would you believe - after that clear sky short time back - it's raining

[outlander]

Oh gosh lol thats ok we've had our lesson for tonight not that id get bored with this stuff