#StueyAndEleanorOnTour went looking for comet sightings but all we saw was this terrible sunset over Blencathra mountain ๐๐
Stunning!
Do you know where Arcturus is ? Follow the handle of the Big Dipper, and "arc over to Arcturus." That is, continue the arc in the same curve. You will hit a bright star named Arcturus.
Then, further southwest, find Venus. Probably the brightest object in the sky, excluding the moon.
Split the distance between the two, and that should be where the comet is. Each night it will be a bit higher.
I've studied some terrain maps and will try this out tonight. โ๏ธ
@BlueStateBabe Thanks. I was looking in the right direction but I think it might have been behind the clouds at that moment. Even Venus wasn't visible yet.
I found these instructions to be so helpful for myself - one of those "explain it to me like I'm five years old" descriptions.
I learned from books as a child the constellations. Most of that knowledge is gone now that. I've been living in a city for 40yrs. ๐
I now use one of the 2 apps below to identify the few stars/planets I do get to see.
My first astronomy class freshman yr college met 1/week and was very old school; pc's hadn't been invented yet. Those who were late with their calculations had to FAX them in. That was the tech of the day!
We consulted maps and did all mathematical calculations (of which there were many to do) by hand which took HOURS.
NYC folks ouldn't see stars so math and looking @ slides is all we did. ๐
Left Pic: 4676 The Mouse, from a 1980's textbook. Pic @ right Hubble pic of 4676
I remember handing in punch cards with my homework on them.
We've comr a long way!
Wow - mine required none of the mathematics. It was not for majors, either. Just a breadth science class. And that was pre-PCs as well. We WERE allowed to use handheld calculators by that time, though.
@Bliss @BlueStateBabe @stueytheround
I just commented another great app. It shows constellations, the stars & what they represent (though that can be turned off), but my favorite feature has to be the red screen option to preserve your eyes in the dark ๐คฉ
@ExecutiveFunction404 @Bliss @stueytheround
Absolutely needed. I cannot believe my camera has a night sky option with blindingly bright white on both the screen and in the view finder. Quite the oversite!
@Bliss @
I took an astronomy class way back when I earned my first college degree. It was fun, and we had "labs" which consisted of star parties on top of tall campus buildings or up on mountain tops. But I've forgotten most of it as well.