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I finally started to learn about stacking images. There is MUCH more I have to learn about processing the images after stacking but here is the Orion Nebula that I posted on January 22 here. This is a stack of four different photos each of them were one minute exposures.

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VERY NICE! You're getting the color and definition that comes from stacking. Keep at it - this is excellent!
 
Venus and Jupiter will be at their closest Wednesday but I’ll be having rain so tonight was the night for me.

Couldn’t pass up the Moon, either.

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I really like how Jupiter's four biggest moons are visible! Great pics, as always!
 
What's interested me looking up lately is the SpaceX satellite trains.
Enter your location on this (or other) sites and it'll tell you when visible where you are (which is often several times/week).
https://findstarlink.com
If you haven't seen them before, this shows what it looks like. The new launches have twice as many satellites so it goes on for several minutes when watching it.

I was with a bunch of friends recently around a camp fire and saw this. It kinda freaked us all out since we had no idea what it was at the time. It was more overhead for us, so we would see one dot zoom across the sky followed by another and another on the same path. I counted 10 of them from the time I first noticed it. The dots disappeared in the middle of the sky. We figured out later that it was likely the space X train. The disappearance was b/c the earth blocked the reflection of the sun on the satellites at about the 2 o'clock position in the sky for us. They all disappeared at the same spot, so that made sense. The next day I vaguely remembered this thread and the answer was sitting right here in zoom's post.

Still, when you don't expect to see something like that......it's kinda weird. I told some of the friends what it was but the others are probably still wondering what the heck that was all about. We don't see them all that often, so maybe we'll just let them keep guessing for a while.:D
 
When in FL, I can watch the launches from my driveway.
I think I recall something like 12,000 satellites planned for their starlink internet (with expansion to over 40,000 satellites).
That's actually kinda sad. You'll never be able to see the pure natural sky again.:(

I"d gladly give up my phone (or any other electronic device) to get back to nature. Now our night sky is going to be polluted too, taking away the beauty of Gods glorious creation. If that happens, there's not going to be anywhere to get away from it.
 
I really don't think satellites will really do much to "the pure natural sky" as you said as it relates to our observations. It may be slightly more of an issue for ground based telescopes.

Once a satellite is in it's destination orbit, most are almost impossible to see with the naked eye. They're about the size of a small car and are somewhere between about 350 and 20,000 miles away. Although the number of satellites is exponentially growing, IMHO, it's still a miniscule amount of objects considering the vastness of space.

As it relates to "the pure natural sky", for me, I despise light pollution from the ground. The areas around me have seen significant development of housing and larger facilities, all of which seem to leave their outdoor lights on at night. With that, it's getting much harder for me to see the heavens in their true glory at night.
 
Annular Solar Eclipse, where the moon doesn’t cover the entire view of the Sun because the moon is a little farther away in its orbit, will be happening Saturday, October 14, 2023. This is often called a Ring of Fire eclipse and will be visible over the western states, with the rest of the country seeing a partial eclipse. In southern Indiana I’ll have about 48% covered. Those in the ‘bullseye’ will have 91% covered and everyone will need some type of eye protection. Of course, this is all dependent on the weather for clear viewing conditions.

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Annular Solar Eclipse, where the moon doesn’t cover the entire view of the Sun because the moon is a little farther away in its orbit, will be happening Saturday, October 14, 2023. This is often called a Ring of Fire eclipse and will be visible over the western states, with the rest of the country seeing a partial eclipse. In southern Indiana I’ll have about 48% covered. Those in the ‘bullseye’ will have 91% covered and everyone will need some type of eye protection. Of course, this is all dependent on the weather for clear viewing conditions.

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Thanks for the post!! ♥️
 
A little info I looked up after some pics tonight.

Lights from a UPS jet landing in Louisville streak across this 3 second exposure of the Moon and Jupiter.
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Tycho Crater is a little over 63 miles across.
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Cloud bands of Jupiter seen from 385 million miles. Known as the King of the planets…1,300 Earths would fit inside.
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The four bright moons of Jupiter.
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A little info I looked up after some pics tonight.

Lights from a UPS jet landing in Louisville streak across this 3 second exposure of the Moon and Jupiter.
View attachment 116971

View attachment 116972

Tycho Crater is a little over 63 miles across.
View attachment 116973

Cloud bands of Jupiter seen from 385 million miles. Known as the King of the planets…1,300 Earths would fit inside.
View attachment 116974

The four bright moons of Jupiter.
View attachment 116975
Those are AMAZING pics, thank you so much for sharing!! Wow!!
 
This is a lame, stolen image that very closely resembles what I've seen each morning for the last couple weeks when I take my dog for her walk at 5:30AM.

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Maddie and I head out down the street to the east and I'm barely off the porch when I see that planet. It's hard to miss, being the brightest thing in the eastern sky. And every morning, I say "good morning, Venus."

Orion is to the south and I can easily see the nebula when the ambient light isn't bad. To the north, predictably, is Ursa Major - the big dipper - and from there I can find Polaris (the north star).

It's great to go on an early-morning walk and look up, but the fargin' dog keeps dragging me off God knows where, and I have to pull my gaze from the sky so I don't get hit by a car. :/ Yesterday morning, when we were in the park at the far end of the street and there was no car traffic, I could look up for a while and saw a couple satellites. I guess gazing on that is the human equivalent of sniffing around bushes as dogs do....

On the way back heading west, I say "good morning, Jupiter" because it and the moon are high in the western sky.

It makes me feel really good about things, because I'm dealing with an awesome dog and two planets that don't give me any crap.
 

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