Wow! But I'm sure I've never seen anything like what appeared near the end in my sky. Is that visible everywhere?

Damn.

It's tilted. Why don't all the stars fall out the side?

Where's the nougat?

JerseyTim: Where's the nougat?

*snickers*

JerseyTim: Where's the nougat?

In the "Mars"

That's really cool stuff!!!

I wonder if there's a massive black hole at the centre of every spiral galaxy like the Milky Way.

aiiee: Wow! But I'm sure I've never seen anything like what appeared near the end in my sky. Is that visible everywhere?

THIS

never have i seen anything remotely like that

/WANT

aiiee: Wow! But I'm sure I've never seen anything like what appeared near the end in my sky. Is that visible everywhere?

East coast this time of year it's early evening.

aiiee: Wow! But I'm sure I've never seen anything like what appeared near the end in my sky. Is that visible everywhere?

It's not visible with the naked eye. The camera is taking REALLY long exposures to capture all the light, which makes things show up we wouldn't normally be able to see.

What does God need with a modified Canon EOS-5D?

I was under the impression you could only see the center of the galaxy from the southern hemisphere.

Man that bright star at the end really spoils the fun.

Careful, there's a being pretending to be God in there. And he needs a starship.

gopher321: I wonder if there's a massive black hole at the centre of every spiral galaxy like the Milky Way.


FTFY and answered too.

Being from the New York City area, I've never really "seen" the Milky Way. It wasn't until a college road trip when we were in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado that I looked up at the sky through the car window and thought I was looking at clouds. At first I thought it was odd to be able to see clouds at night without any city lights around but then I realized it was the Milky Way that I was seeing. I was in awe, to say the least.

jennyz: The camera is taking REALLY long exposures to capture all the light, which makes things show up we wouldn't normally be able to see.

It was also set to look into the near infra-red. Even if your eye could do long exposures, it still wouldn't see that. Not to detract from it at all- it's gorgeous. Pity our eyes suck so hard. Stupid evolution.

Anybody care to point out Terminus?

aiiee: Wow! But I'm sure I've never seen anything like what appeared near the end in my sky. Is that visible everywhere?

The sun appeared near the end of the video.

But if you're talking about the Milky Way, there's a common misconception that the purpose of a telescope is to magnify. Mostly what telescopes do is gather light. Lots of interesting things in the sky are plenty big enough to be seen, but they're too dim. the Andromeda galaxy appears about the same size as a full moon, and it's visible in the northern hemisphere - right near Cassiopeia, which is a constellation you're probably familiar with. So, you've probably looked right at Andromeda, but you can't really see it because it's dim.

Tofu: So, you've probably looked right at Andromeda, but you can't really see it because it's dim.

Or in layman's terms, second to the last star on the Big Dipper handle. It's right next to that. Look close enough and on a good clear night, you can see it.

Found it on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z3cVQcfb-w

MUST be watched in HD.

LeroyB: Being from the New York City area, I've never really "seen" the Milky Way. It wasn't until a college road trip when we were in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado that I looked up at the sky through the car window and thought I was looking at clouds. At first I thought it was odd to be able to see clouds at night without any city lights around but then I realized it was the Milky Way that I was seeing. I was in awe, to say the least.

Same thing with me, but it happened in Northern Arkansas on a new moon night. Absolutely stunning.

Anyone else see a face in that?

Looked like Buddha with his eyes closed.

Or maybe Sydney Greenstreet.

LeroyB: Being from the New York City area, I've never really "seen" the Milky Way.

I've seen it in NJ. Route 70 here runs from the shore (starts in Brielle, right near Pt. Pleasant) all the way to Philly. There's one part where, just after you leave Manchester, there is practically NOTHING on that road for about 30 miles, until you get to Marlton. We call that section "The Great Void". There are no houses, businesses, or even streetlights along that stretch.

And on a clear night, you can see the Milky Way. Granted, not as spectacularly as in the linked vid, but you can most certainly see the thick band of stars.

I'm sure there are places in NY where the light pollution is low enough to see it(I'll bet somewhere up on the Thruway or Pallisades)

Madbassist1: gopher321: I wonder if there's a massive black hole at the centre of every spiral galaxy like the Milky Way.


Reminds me of the time I saw a time lapse video of subby's mother eating at a buffet in Vegas.

I still occasionlly suffer night terrors because of it.

"Brave souls...Welcome!"

aiiee: Wow! But I'm sure I've never seen anything like what appeared near the end in my sky. Is that visible everywhere?

If it wasn't for light pollution, yes!

vygramul: I was under the impression you could only see the center of the galaxy from the southern hemisphere.

The center of the Milky Way Galaxy is in Sagittarius, which is visiable from most anywhere.

/where's the 4 giant Elephants?

It's pretty incredible when you see it for the first time.

I've always lived in cities or in dense woods where tall trees obscure the night sky, but once on a road trip from Miami to Key West, we stopped right at the edge of the mainland, got out, and looked up.

Absolutely breathtaking ...

Yeah. Until I got into astronomy, I thought that we only saw the 'arm' of the galaxy like most people. But you can see the center.

/8'
//schmidt cassegrain

Awesome

brigid_fitch:
I'm sure there are places in NY where the light pollution is low enough to see it(I'll bet somewhere up on the Thruway or Pallisades)

Are you kidding? A while back, I saw the Aurora Borealis from the Thruway. On a good night, I'm sure you could see the Milky Way.

/also from New Jersey
//also saw the Milky Way there

Wow, I've never seen anything like that before... oh wait, yes I have, when this was greenlit 2 months ago.

/thanks anyway - still cool

LaChanz: JerseyTim: Where's the nougat?

*snickers*

I can't believe I was the first one to catch this.

/sees what you did there.
//golfclap

Dammit.. came here looking for trip tickets.

Disappointed.

Been thinking for a long time I'd like to own a good telescope. There seem to be a lot of astronomy lovers in here, anyone have any suggestions? I'd spend up to $500 but cheaper would be nice, although I'm guessing this is definitely a "you get what you pay for" kind of item.

WhiskeyBoy: Been thinking for a long time I'd like to own a good telescope. There seem to be a lot of astronomy lovers in here, anyone have any suggestions? I'd spend up to $500 but cheaper would be nice, although I'm guessing this is definitely a "you get what you pay for" kind of item.

Reflectors tend to be the cheapest for the amount of aperture you get. Aperture being the diameter of the tube, the larger the more light you can gather to view deep space objects. But reflectors can also get pretty large so you could have transportation issues. They're also more difficult to maintain and set up.

For $500 you could get a decent 8' or maybe 10' Dobsonian reflector telescope. Those are somewhat large, though you should be able to fit into a car's back seat.

I don't know if this has been pointed out already, but if you could see the center of the milky way it would be by far the most dominant feature of the night sky. Unfortunately in the brightest areas the light is shrouded by cosmic dust. That is why the milky way is sort of light on both sides but dark in the middle. If you look at it in other wavelengths however, you can see the bright center.

WhiskeyBoy: Been thinking for a long time I'd like to own a good telescope. There seem to be a lot of astronomy lovers in here, anyone have any suggestions? I'd spend up to $500 but cheaper would be nice, although I'm guessing this is definitely a "you get what you pay for" kind of item.

Before you buy any kind of scope, borrow some binoculars and learn the night sky. Then, check out this book at the library or buy it, it's the best I've ever read on backyard astronomy:

The backyard astronomer's guide, Third Edition 2008 / Terence Dickinson & Alan Dyer

Be sure to get the third edition, it's the most current and has a good section on buying a telescope and some specific recommendations.

That $500 will buy a hellanice Celestron 4" refractor on a good mount that will last forever. It will also buy a nice reflector or go-to Mak, but those require more maintenance and are more difficult than the refractor.

It's full of stars!


/seriously, I'm the first one to post that?

Did it go nova at the end? Cause I don't remember that actually happening. And I feel like I'd remember something like that.

FAKE.

Everyone here on the East Coast of the US knows that there are only about ten or so visible stars in the night sky. The photographer obviously photoshopped that "artist's rendition" of the Milky Way into the movie.

gopher321: I wonder if there's a massive black hole at the centre of every spiral galaxy like the Milky Way.

Sagittarius, Eh?

LeroyB: Being from the New York City area, I've never really "seen" the Milky Way. It wasn't until a college road trip when we were in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado that I looked up at the sky through the car window and thought I was looking at clouds. At first I thought it was odd to be able to see clouds at night without any city lights around but then I realized it was the Milky Way that I was seeing. I was in awe, to say the least.

Was up in Kentucky with a friend and her brother wanted to go out at 12am to check on some deer blind he set up. We were out in the country in the middle of nowhere. No city light...nothing. As we were leaving I looked up and saw the Milky Way. Awesome sight.


I've got 2 cheap Russian night vision goggles that are 1st gen. It's amazing how many stars you can't see without night vision.

If you're anywhere near a major city, you won't see anything. If you go out into the country (or anywhere far from the distant glow of city lights), you can see the galactic edge with your naked eyes. It's nowhere near as detailed as this video, but you can definitely see the denser concentration of stars stretched across the sky.

I miss living in the country.

if you're looking for dark sky near you...

http://www.jshine.net/astronomy/dark_sky/

&

http://cleardarksky.com/csk/

2 excellent resources for find good view sites AND good viewing nights.

and now with links..

dark sky (new window)

and

Clear dark sky (new window)

LaChanz: Tofu: So, you've probably looked right at Andromeda, but you can't really see it because it's dim.

Or in layman's terms, second to the last star on the Big Dipper handle. It's right next to that. Look close enough and on a good clear night, you can see it.

Actually the Andromeda Galaxy is in the Andromeda constellation, hence it's name.... the 2nd to last star in the Big Dipper consists of multiple stars, though, so it looks a bit fuzzy if you have good vision.

As a college senior, vids like this make you reconsider where you want to look for work.