Last one from last night to make you feel small

[Beccaberry]

Incomprehensible.

Stunning.

I feel like if I were to ever start gazing I'd not be able to pull myself away...

[foreverducky]

I just knew my mother had to be from somewhere else.

It does make one feel small.

[Beccaberry]

I just knew my mother had to be from somewhere else.

[Johnie]

I always thought it was pretty arrogant of people to think that we were the only thing in this ginormous universe. If they watch the news, it's no surprise they don't make themselves known to us

[catrancher]

I just can't begin to wrap my mind around the distances involved here.

For anyone who's interested and is a Windows user (or, like me, a Mac user with Bootcamp), I found Microsoft's World Wide Telescope to be a marvelous tool to help with the experience.

Also, if you've installed the World Wide Telescope, there's even a tour by our old pal Wall-E available.

Tom (whose mind was was successfully blown with talk of such distances)

[Watchinherskip]

Oh, can't see the image here Chris, blocked but will check it out upon arriving at home this evening. I am sure it is fantastic, you have a knack for astrophotography.

There is a really nice alignment of Jupiter and Venus in the Southern sky just after sunset. Venus is so bright! Jupiter is the bright light a bit higher in the sky.

Now what used to freak my students out is to know that we are all from somewhere distant. Much of the atoms and compounds making up our bodies could not have come from the normal fusion of a star like our sun, but must have been made from a super nova. Our sun can only "construct" atoms with a max of 26 protons. Any thing bigger, like gold for example, had to be produced by a massive explosion some great distance from Earth, had to be collected by the gravity and become part of our Earth.

[Skywatcher]

Dan I love the thought we are all made of stardust - I love the way thi shobby turns my brain to mush on a daily basis.

Once when looking at a solar flare it all became very 'real' and I realised fully for the first time how fake 'night' and 'day' are and how it is just us spinning around this ordinary star and the light pollution from that star hiding the universe.

I felt really quite giddy and felt the need to lie down

magic

You are very kind about the photos but this is far from a proper shot was just one I took whilst doing my darks for my nebula shots

[Slowhand]

Chris, you have now whetted my appetite to try to capture some "sky" shots using my camera.
I have a Nikon D70 which should be up to the job but how do you enable the camera to "travel" with the subject in view of the long exposures necessary?
[Apologies if you have been asked, [or if you have explained this] in an earlier thread.]

[Skywatcher]

Ah Terry, thats how it started for me

I'd start by doing some undriven sky shots to see if you really are interested before opening your wallet as soon as you start it becomes potentially a very expensive hobby.

I'll post more on another thread

[Dawn]

When can Steven come and look through your telescope?