Brightsky Observatory III | technology & engineering

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Brightsky Observatory III

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24.01.2022 Constellations - Starman's 2-minute Astronomy https://youtu.be/sGDT6DiQ3ak

23.01.2022 Getting close to being put up at the new property. :)

23.01.2022 Learn something about the Seven Sisters or M45, with Paul Curnow

22.01.2022 I havent posted for a while. I have installed the Allsky camera up at the Observatory now. http://brightskyobservatory.bsch.com.au/allsky

21.01.2022 Awesome news, a great addition to our Dark Sky Reserve, as long as the lights are turned off :D

20.01.2022 The Colour of Stars - Starman's 2-minute Astronomy https://youtu.be/vD9ngmlCx-Q

20.01.2022 and it begins. The holes for the footings for the observatory have now been dug. This will be it's new home under Bortle Class 2 skies and a part of the River Murray Dark sky Reserve.

19.01.2022 I have setup a small webpage, nothing too fancy, it has the weather conditions (still a work in progress) and a link to the Allsky camera. I still have to add link backs to the pages. http://brightskyobservatory.bsch.com.au/

17.01.2022 The Milky Way - Starman's 2-minute Astronomy https://youtu.be/X1q6iDsdN-M

17.01.2022 The Southern Cross - Starman's 2-minute Astronomy https://youtu.be/Cwp7Q2rO-Ps

15.01.2022 A rare opportunity to experience our amazing night sky from the deck of a 100 year old paddle steamer, and talk to astronomers and the creators of the River Murray International Dark Sky Reserve.

14.01.2022 Well After my cement mixers power switch decided to poop itself half way through the job, I finished the rest by hand. 23 bags of concrete later my pier founda...tion is complete. Now to wait for it to set. Not sure what it will look like after I remove the plywood top but as long as its sort of level it wont matter. See more

13.01.2022 How to get there...

12.01.2022 This month we leave the Zodiac sign of Taurus, and move into Gemini. As Good Astronomers rather than Astrologers, the old Zodiac signs only serve as a roadmap t...o the sky a bit like those old Road Atlas books we used to carry in the car. Just like suburbs in a City, the Zodiac constellations are a quick guide to finding your way around the sky. On the 14th of May the Sun sets at 5:18. After sunset there are three official stages of Dusk called Civil, Nautical and Astronomical,which relate to the degrees below the horizon of the Sun, respectively 0..6, 6..12 and 12..18 degrees. As the Sun moves at the rate of 15 degrees, it takes 1 hour and 12 minutes from sunset to total darkness. For astrophotography, I work on 1 hour 30 minutes just to be sure you dont want the Sun lighting up any part of the upper atmosphere! At 6:30p.m. on the 14th we have Orion, aka the Saucepan, setting in the West, with the brilliant planet Venus very low on the horizon in the North West. Straight up from the saucepan you have Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, and one of the closest at only 8.6 Light years away. The light you see from Sirius this month left that star in about April 2011, travelling all the way at about 300,000km/second! If you have binoculars, look just to the NW of Sirius for a brilliant little cluster of stars, the Little Beehive. It will be in the same Field of View as Sirius with a pair of 7x40 binos. Just left of North, there are two quite bright stars, in a vertical line, about two clenched fists above the horizon. These two are the famous Twins of Gemini, named Castor and Pollux. Castor is the one closer to the horizon. Now, at due North, about halfway up the sky, youll see the grand upside down question mark representing the head and neck of Leo the Lion, with his (upside down body) stretching away to the North East. But we have another question constellation too. In the South East, lying flat along the horizon is Scorpius, with the great curve of its tail and stinger looking like a question make tipped through a right angle to the right. Next, if you look to the South, theres the remarkable Milky Way rising vertically, leading up to The Pointers and the Southern Cross. Youll also see a famous constellation made up of dust, rather than the usual bright stars. This is the Emu, and indigenous constellation made of dark clouds of dust in the Milky Way. The Emus head is right by the Southern Cross, and his body and legs follow the dark lanes down to the horizon. It really does look like the genuine article much more so than some of the rather contrived Western constellations! In the Southern Hemisphere at our latitude, were very lucky as the thickest, brightest part of the Milky Way passes right overhead. Those Northern Hemisphere types only get to see a wispy tail end of our own Galaxy. Karma, I call it Lastly, almost due South, we have the two Magellanic Clouds, two irregular galaxies about 163,000 and 206,000 Light Years away. Autumn and Winter are busy months for us Astronomers, as long as the clouds cooperate. I recommend Stellarium as an excellent and *free* Planetarium program to download (Windows, Mac and Linux), if youre interested in delving into Astronomy a little further. Be warned you may never dig your way out! Andrew Cool MASA, FRAS www.skippysky.com.au

12.01.2022 Looks like Betelgeuse is brightening again, right on the predicted time.

09.01.2022 Playing around with some video title techniques. I also made up a YouTube account for the Observatory, for when it will be operational, I might be able to do some live streams. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6dzitIseGHZDE9zYwDgFHw

07.01.2022 Belt mod completed on my mount, ready to tackle these dark skies.

06.01.2022 A short video of me going on about my finder guider. Originally made to show some people what it was, so I decided to open it up again and give it a new look. Now on my new Observatory Youtube channel - Brightsky Observatory III, please like and subscribe

05.01.2022 Been a few times, good food, great service.

05.01.2022 Watching live stream of today's Annular Solar Eclipse, streamed via TimeandDate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5t14F-ivNY

03.01.2022 Taken from the Observatory location, well, just next to it :D

03.01.2022 How many stars can you see from your place? Join a global project to find out. Dates for the southern hemisphere are February 14-23, March 14-24, 2020 (Orion), and April 14-23, May 14-23, June 13-22, 2020 (Southern Cross), with more dates to come. Check out the site below for more info and to download the app. https://www.darksky.org/2018-globe-at-night/

03.01.2022 I haven't posted for a while, according to facebook. Brightsky Observatory will be getting concrete for the pier, very soon. Another step closer.

03.01.2022 We welcome all :)

01.01.2022 Brightsky Observatory is located at the Northern edge of the River Murray Dark Sky Reserve. For more information on this reserve please goto their website at https://www.rivermurraydarkskyreserve.org/

Brightsky Observatory III | technology & engineering