Wow! That sounds like a great early a.m. work-out, regadless of stray pixels from clueless sources. Record high temperatures up here continue through out the weekend - nighttimes' included. Clear skies forecast for Sat. & Sun. Have to get my errands out of the way by afternoon - and off to set-up my perch.

The media is really hyping the Orionid Meteor-Shower - which peaks tonight and early a.m. as well. The Orionids have never impressed me much, but I hope people get tugged into astronomy regardless. Then people might be more aware of the folly of drenching their houses in lights at night.

Another amusing news-story the media's also hyping - the planet Uranus is visible with just your eyes tonight! Ummmhmmm... Along with a string of juvenile jokes, I wish the media would find some other ways to hype astronomy to the masses. I mean - of course it's visible, you simpletons! Always has been! But then they might have to stop to explain what 'magnitude' means to the logarithmically-dis-advantaged masses...

Happy Huntings -

Dave

 

Great report, Pleiades! A wonderful way to start the day. Your coffee was well-deserved. Dave, it's so funny reading articles about Uranus "lighting up the sky" and such. Who writes this stuff? The Orionids I typically don't expect too much. If I see one I'm good

 

Indeed, Reggie.

I just got back from a quick stroll to my local-store (we Vermonters do most of our shopping at little Mom & Dad corner-stores - very Norman Rockwell here) and the girl running it this evening - Victoria - proved this 'Media-In-Orionids' garbage. Victoria asked me if I'd been watching the meteor-shower. I told her no - that this is a non-event inmy opinion. I went on to explain why the media should never let a non-astronomer write their copy on astronomical phenomena. Everyone around here knows I'm into astronomy.

Victoria said she'd gone out last night to watch, and had not seen a single meteor. "See what I mean? Next time you read/hear about such - ask me first." She then told me the news also said there might be a few more tonight. She'd really rolled-out-Red-Carpet: "There will always be a meteor or two across your field-of-vision if you look up for long enough." And told her about what a radiant was and where meteors came from (Halley's Comet this time). So I did my best to make this media-mush into a learning-experience so all was not wasted.

I also explained that whom-so-ever was writing this stuff had their heads' up their 7th-planet. The media had cranked-up the "fact" that the planet Uranus was visible to the naked-eye "tonight," as though it were a once-in lifetime opportunity <he said - ripping out "hair-in-clumps" and banging "head on table" sound">.

I then fled - lest I explain 'stellar-magnitude' to Victoria as she rang-up my bread & soda - and made my way down the street - which are dark and lifeless - and answer some correspondence.

I love my dark skies -

Dave



Halley's Comet

 

Another amusing news-story the media's also hyping - the planet Uranus is visible with just your eyes tonight!

I agree that's strange to say that, maybe visible for a person with perfect vision, 300kms away from any major city. I think it was magnitude 5, 2 days ago, can't see that with naked eye. Great recipe for deception...

 

Way up on the Uranus situation. We here too have been inundated with that one as well as you. Read this thread in the Dark Lords' Manor, and my last response to this story:

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/302113-how-are-the-orionids/

I think you'll like my closing statement!

<POIT!>

D

 

Bravo, Dave!