tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1028287563520537999.post3542690577404271540..comments2023-12-27T05:22:24.378-05:00Comments on Simostronomy: My First Variable Star ObservationBig Mikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08315391586724045202noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1028287563520537999.post-69472218657555942272013-03-28T13:15:29.610-04:002013-03-28T13:15:29.610-04:00Hi Gary,
I think the main thing is that I enjoy th...Hi Gary,<br />I think the main thing is that I enjoy the things in the night sky that are dynamic. I like to see the Universe changing and evolving in real time in front of my eyes- Mars rotating on its axis, belts and festoons on Jupiter changing shape and colors, the Galilean satellites orbiting the gas giant, eclipses, occultations and variable stars. After you've seen the really showy deep sky objects you can either embark on a journey to eek out fainter and fainter wisps of ghostly gray nebulae or galaxies with ever larger telescopes, or you can settle in to viewing the same twenty objects and showing them to your buddies over and over again, or you can get into the expensive and potentially maddening pursuit of imaging. OR- you can learn about variable stars and how amateurs can contribute to science by submitting careful observations to AAVSO or another organization like it. Me, I always knew variable stars would be the end game for me once i knew my way around the sky and a telescope. I was inspired by all those Patrick Moore books I read from the public library as a kid. <br />What do I keep doing it? Most of us start doing it to contribute to science, but the ones who stay with it stay because, believe it or not, it's FUN! It's also addictive, as Leslie Peltier noted in 'Starlight Nights'--"I feel it my duty to warn any others who may show signs of star susceptibility that they approach the observing of variable stars with the utmost caution. It is easy to become an addict and, as usual, the longer the indulgence is continued the more difficult it becomes to make a clean break and go back to a normal life."Big Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08315391586724045202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1028287563520537999.post-82825108086458476562013-03-23T12:34:10.074-04:002013-03-23T12:34:10.074-04:00I've never been able to get excited about vari...I've never been able to get excited about variable stars. A couple of the guys in my local astronomy club are big into it and regularly contribute their observations to the AAVSO (one even married an AAVSO employee!). Yes, I know it's an area of astronomy where amateurs can contribute real science to the field. I like the grandeur of the night sky and the swirls of stars and gas it contains. So. Mike, what inspired your interest in variables and why have you stuck with it over so many years?Gary Nugenthttp://www.nightskyobserver.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1028287563520537999.post-62229698032832094902013-02-20T12:36:41.170-05:002013-02-20T12:36:41.170-05:00Hey Mike, I am one of those who started with R Le...Hey Mike, I am one of those who started with R Leo on 6 May 2011. I used my Oberwerk 15x70 binoculars. This is THE instrument for visual variable star observing. Thanks for all you do for the AAVSO, and congratulations on 82,000 observations. Not too many more until 100 Grand!<br /><br />Jerry Hubbell - HGRAJerry Hubbellhttp://www.explorescientific.com/jerry_hubbell/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1028287563520537999.post-16046542580779030172013-02-11T18:42:51.859-05:002013-02-11T18:42:51.859-05:00Nice, Mike.
My two cents - "...[I] couldn’t ...Nice, Mike.<br /><br />My two cents - "...[I] couldn’t tell how big the triangle I was looking for was going to be in my eyepiece or finder." That, in one sentence, is the key navigational problem for new telescopic VS observers.<br /><br />PetePeterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01178334823606003416noreply@blogger.com