Complex Numbers

Astronomically

I just wanted to share this link at some point, and today's the day it came up. I've always loved astronomy, and I found this informative. Also, it's timely right now, because there's a comet   that you might consider viewing, if you don't mind the cold.

How to Find the Best Stuff in the Night Sky From Absolutely Anywhere  
A beginner’s guide to admiring stars, planets, and satellites—no mountaintop or fancy gear required.

My utter hatred of being cold is one thing that kept me from pursuing professional astronomy. As you'll see in this article, sky watching is better when you're cold, dry, and high up. I can handle dry and elevated. Cold repels me.

There was a night many years ago when most of the planets were visible in just one quadrant of the sky. Just after sunset, one could view (if I recall correctly) every classical planet except Mars, between the horizon and the zenith. We went up to the Blue Ridge to get a nice view. And we froze our asses off, but got to see Jupiter's moons and Saturn's rings through a telescope.

You’ll also want to figure out what’s going on with the lunar cycle, because the moon can either improve or obscure your view, depending on what you want to see. If you’re looking for the Milky Way, for instance, or faint, distant objects, your best bet is to wait for a moonless night. If you’re planning to look for something on the moon itself, though, you probably want to do so when it’s full.

I'm going to quibble a bit about this one. When the moon is full, some of the central features can get washed out, because they're not casting shadows. It's like high noon here on Earth -- short shadows, which can make it difficult to see contours. There's a lot to see when the moon is in an intermediate phase, especially around the terminator. Without a telescope, the lunar terminator looks like a smooth curve (or line if it happens to be a half-moon). Thorough even binoculars, though, you start to make out details: some crater floors darken before the rims, and mountain tops can be visible even on the dark side.

This page   explains it better, and with helpful images.

I don't really need to quote more of the article; it really is a good beginner's guide if you're even slightly interested in astronomy. Click through to the links for more information; there are apps there that can really help in locating night sky objects.

I once spent a week up in the Rockies (cold, dry, high) with a professional astronomer, and we saw some really cool stuff. That was expensive, but as the article notes, you don't have to travel to get some nice views.

One more personal note: when the eye doctor was talking about new lenses for my eyes (actual eye lenses, not glasses), he said something like, "...and with this kind, you can change focus to near or far, but the downside is that small lights can get halos around them. This isn't usually a problem unless your hobby is astronomy."

Me: "Well, actually..."

Still, the advantages of these lenses outweigh the disadvantages. I'll still probably be able to see stars and planets better than I do right now (I see blurry fireworks instead of lights). But it's likely my stargazing days are behind me. That's okay; I've seen what I can see. The only thing left on my list is viewing the planet Mercury. I have never seen it and known it for sure. It's possible that I mistook it for a star, as it tends to be near the horizon and small. The other visible planets are really obvious, once you know what you're looking for.

So with this, it's my hope that more people will look up at night sometimes. There really is nothing else like it.