Badjedidude said:^^^Nice catch!
I love watching meteor showers and using their colors to guess their metallic content. Pretty awesome.
JasonM said:What sort of weapon are you using?
You know...to shoot the stars.
Okiedokes said:I seen some this morning! Totally did not expect that.
monkeysox said:Its fab watching the sky especially when there is no light pollution, hope someone catches some film footage to watch of this.
Lilianna said:I think that is so cool that you guess their mineral content by there color! At first I was thinking; Wow! he can see the color! Then I thought; Oh he has a telescope. Then I thought noooooo, he must mean the actual meteor itself when you cut it open. Big Grin
I have no idea how to tell the mineral color but would love to know how. Do tell!
It usually is to cloudy here, due to the "lake effect" But it wasn't cloudy last night, for for a change. Sorry to hear it was cloudy where you are.Lonely in BC said:Too cloudy here
LonelyInAtl said:I spent the night at Brasstown Bald last night doing some astrophotography. Here are a few shots of the meteor trails...
Badjedidude said:Lilianna said:I think that is so cool that you guess their mineral content by there color! At first I was thinking; Wow! he can see the color! Then I thought; Oh he has a telescope. Then I thought noooooo, he must mean the actual meteor itself when you cut it open. Big Grin
I have no idea how to tell the mineral color but would love to know how. Do tell!
Well, you can see the colors with the naked eye if the shower is thick enough or if a large enough meteor streaks across the sky.
Meteors will burn different colors depending upon their chemical makeup; for instance, magnesium-rich meteors will tend to burn a green color, whereas iron-rich meteors will burn blue.
It's pretty cool to sit and watch them and figure out what they're burning as they pass.
Lilianna said:Do you think If I use a telescope can I see their color? I'm gonna try sometime! XD
Badjedidude said:Lilianna said:Do you think If I use a telescope can I see their color? I'm gonna try sometime! XD
Oh, definitely. Telescopes are really good for catching meteor showers... you just have to know what particular area of the sky to aim for.
LonelyInAtl said:Huh? You have to be looking in the exact place to catch a meteor with a telescope. There is no time to see one and then move the scope.
Badjedidude said:LonelyInAtl said:Huh? You have to be looking in the exact place to catch a meteor with a telescope. There is no time to see one and then move the scope.
No you don't. I guess you've never extensively used a telescope before.
A telescope, like any other binocular/monocular device, shows a certain FOV -- field of view, which in the context of sky-watching will usually be measured in degrees. Unless you have an insanely expensive super high-powered telescope located at the top of a mountain and with a main lens diameter measuring twelve feet... then you're not going to actually be zooming that far.
Most amateur telescopes have a FOV wide enough to catch a decent portion of the sky. Simply aim the scope at the most active section of the sky and look through the viewing aperture. You'll see meteors shoot by time and time again.
Binoculars would work as well, but telescopes work just fine.
Badjedidude said:LonelyInAtl said:Huh? You have to be looking in the exact place to catch a meteor with a telescope. There is no time to see one and then move the scope.
No you don't. I guess you've never extensively used a telescope before.
A telescope, like any other binocular/monocular device, shows a certain FOV -- field of view, which in the context of sky-watching will usually be measured in degrees. Unless you have an insanely expensive super high-powered telescope located at the top of a mountain and with a main lens diameter measuring twelve feet... then you're not going to actually be zooming that far.
Most amateur telescopes have a FOV wide enough to catch a decent portion of the sky. Simply aim the scope at the most active section of the sky and look through the viewing aperture. You'll see meteors shoot by time and time again.
Binoculars would work as well, but telescopes work just fine.
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