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The Night's sky

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    • Just looking at stuff because this got me curious myself.
      If Springer mountain was here in Western Australia it would be a few miles off the southern coast and the entire AT would be in the Southern Ocean headed for Antarctica.
      No wonder I thought it was freaking cold in them mountains.
      gif.014.gif
      Oops.
      Just a few miles from the coast on land .
      Resident Australian, proving being a grumpy old man is not just an American trait.

    • Trebor wrote:

      About 10 years ago my wife and I were in Las Vegas for family business. We are both from the East and had never traveled to the west before. We had to make a overnight drive from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City Utah. I don't remember the name of the road we were on but it literally had the sign "last chance for gas for next 100 miles". in the middle of the night I had to pull to the side of the road to pee. When I got out of the car I was absolutely amazed at the stars. I must of stood there for 15 minutes just staring at the sky. Ill never forget that.
      I really like Utah. Beautiful state. I thought very briefly about moving there and becoming a Mormon many years ago when I was renovating one of their churches.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference

    • Back in the early 1960s my parents and I drove down Route 66 west of Albequerque, NM at night to avoid the heat. I leaned back in the back seat and look out the rear window. The Milky Way was overhead and looked wonderful. The only lights I saw for hours were our headlights and the dash lights.
      --
      "What do you mean its sunrise already ?!", me.

    • Astro wrote:

      TrafficJam wrote:

      Didnt see anything this morning. Yesterday I saw a streaker and two flashers. :)
      Now you have us wondering where you were at. Did you see these in the sky or moving across the ground? :D
      No indecent exposure was involved. :D

      I saw one obvious meteor as a streak of light and also saw two quick flashes...maybe bolides? Maybe someone who knows more than me can explain what the flashes were.
      Lost in the right direction.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by Traffic Jam ().

    • Trebor wrote:

      About 10 years ago my wife and I were in Las Vegas for family business. We are both from the East and had never traveled to the west before. We had to make a overnight drive from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City Utah. I don't remember the name of the road we were on but it literally had the sign "last chance for gas for next 100 miles". in the middle of the night I had to pull to the side of the road to pee. When I got out of the car I was absolutely amazed at the stars. I must of stood there for 15 minutes just staring at the sky. Ill never forget that.

      You were driving on Interstate 15.

      There 's a spot between Fort Collins CO and Laramie WY on US highway 287 I usually plan to hit about 3 AM.

      With little or no traffic on the highway and few trees to obscure the sky, it's a great spot to stretch the legs, let the dog run a bit ,and view the night sky. Almost always I'll spot a few meteorites streaking through the sky as well as the familiar constellations and planets. When the shuttle was in orbit, I usually knew when it would pass overhead and would wait for it's passage.

      One winter night I stopped and was waiting for the shuttle to pass when the dog started to whine. As she was a Lab and normally shrugged off cold temps, I thought her behaviour was a bit unusual. I understood her reaction when I checked the temp and found it to be -28* F or -33C. With no wind present I did not realize the cold.

      Lest we forget.....


      SSgt Ray Rangel - USAF
      SrA Elizabeth Loncki - USAF
      PFC Adam Harris - USA
      MSgt Eden Pearl - USMC

    • jimmyjam wrote:

      Trebor wrote:

      About 10 years ago my wife and I were in Las Vegas for family business. We are both from the East and had never traveled to the west before. We had to make a overnight drive from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City Utah. I don't remember the name of the road we were on but it literally had the sign "last chance for gas for next 100 miles". in the middle of the night I had to pull to the side of the road to pee. When I got out of the car I was absolutely amazed at the stars. I must of stood there for 15 minutes just staring at the sky. Ill never forget that.
      I really like Utah. Beautiful state. I thought very briefly about moving there and becoming a Mormon many years ago when I was renovating one of their churches.
      Agreed Utah is a great state for those inclined to the outdoors.. With five National Parks and several National Monuments , along with nearly 30 state parks, it has a wonderful outdoors. I moved here for business purposes but have remained for the hiking, camping, mt biking and of course skiing.

      Surprised you were allowed to renovate a Morman church without holding a temple recommend. I submitted a bid for a small job on a.church project and lost . I was later told I needed a Morman partner to win future bids.

      Lest we forget.....


      SSgt Ray Rangel - USAF
      SrA Elizabeth Loncki - USAF
      PFC Adam Harris - USA
      MSgt Eden Pearl - USMC

    • The church was in Virginia. The mormon project manager liked me and tried to "recruit" me ( I was in my 20s). They asked me to come to Utah and join the church and when I returned from my mission they would have a wife for me. Kinda scared me that they arranged marriages.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference

    • I can still remember the night sky on the dog sled camping trips we took in northern Minnesota's Boundary Water Canoe Area. It's a federally protected area and we were miles from the closest electric lights, not counting head lamps. I lay on my back on the frozen lake, looking out of the small opening of a mummy sleeping bag and being able to see deep into space, or so it seemed. It was a no cloud, clear, sky that revealed the beauty of the heavens. I just might have to repeat that trip again one of these years.

    • jimmyjam wrote:

      The church was in Virginia. The mormon project manager liked me and tried to "recruit" me ( I was in my 20s). They asked me to come to Utah and join the church and when I returned from my mission they would have a wife for me. Kinda scared me that they arranged marriages.
      Should thave old them to double down with two wife's, and they would have a deal. :D
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

    • Astro wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      The church was in Virginia. The mormon project manager liked me and tried to "recruit" me ( I was in my 20s). They asked me to come to Utah and join the church and when I returned from my mission they would have a wife for me. Kinda scared me that they arranged marriages.
      Should thave old them to double down with two wife's, and they would have a deal. :D
      double trouble
      Lost in the right direction.

    • Astro wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      The church was in Virginia. The mormon project manager liked me and tried to "recruit" me ( I was in my 20s). They asked me to come to Utah and join the church and when I returned from my mission they would have a wife for me. Kinda scared me that they arranged marriages.
      Should thave old them to double down with two wife's, and they would have a deal. :D
      One is plenty.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference

    • jimmyjam wrote:

      The church was in Virginia. The mormon project manager liked me and tried to "recruit" me ( I was in my 20s). They asked me to come to Utah and join the church and when I returned from my mission they would have a wife for me. Kinda scared me that they arranged marriages.
      According to Morman friends, it still occurs.

      Lest we forget.....


      SSgt Ray Rangel - USAF
      SrA Elizabeth Loncki - USAF
      PFC Adam Harris - USA
      MSgt Eden Pearl - USMC

    • A friend of mine went to BYU on a track scholarship and came back a Mormon. I would pay good money to have a video of his mama's response when he tried to tell her she couldn't have tea with her supper, lol.

      This same dude dated my sister in HS. She loved scary movies and he absolutely could not stand them. She convinced him to take her to see Texas Chainsaw Massacre. We all went brought chainsaws to his house so we could hide in the bushes and scare the hell out of him when he came home. His dad, the school principal, was smart enough to make us take the chains off before he would give us permission, but once we did he was all for it, lol.

      Chuck ran an unofficial 47.3 sec 440 in HS once, but I've never seen him faster than he was that night :D
      If your Doctor is a tree, you're on acid.

    • TrafficJam wrote:

      OzJacko wrote:

      It is but obviously we don't think of it as one because it's the sun. It's quite a small one really.
      I see. I thought maybe there was some controversy like the Pluto stuff.
      I find it funny that very quickly after Pluto was officially declared to be little more than an asteroid the flyby photos show it to be what looks like a true planet.
      Resident Australian, proving being a grumpy old man is not just an American trait.

    • TrafficJam wrote:

      This morning, I noticed Jupiter, Mars, and Venus are in a different alignment.
      One of the better ways to teach Scouts astronomy is during a week long scout camp. Each passing night allows for detectable movement in the night sky. I usually have each scout locate a planet or constellation and have them take notes on it's location relative to a landmark. After the 3rd or 4 th observation , most scouts can see a measureable difference in location.

      Perhaps the greatest difficulty for night viewing is encountered when undisciplined light control occurs. Flashlights and electronic devices quickly deteriorate night vision.

      Lest we forget.....


      SSgt Ray Rangel - USAF
      SrA Elizabeth Loncki - USAF
      PFC Adam Harris - USA
      MSgt Eden Pearl - USMC

    • No aurora from Saybrook tonite. While we were testing Macenzies young eyes, trying to see if she could make out the Andromeda, Galaxy, we saw A few taurids, but Taurus was low in the east yet. I got up at 4 am, to see them in the west., but southern Connecticut has been in a cloud bank
      Cheesecake> Ramen :thumbsup:

      The post was edited 1 time, last by CoachLou ().