I went along to the Volksternwarte Planetarium at the corner of Rosenheimerstr and Anzingerstr to have a look at Mars. Mars is historically close to the earth right now and very bright in the evening sky. They have a 175mm telescope which gives a x175 magnification, and it was possible to make out the ice on one of the polar caps.
There’s a lot of waiting around, and the astronomers there are probably a bit bored, and ready for a good talk if you’re interested and know a bit about astronomy. One of them trained a smaller telescope on a binary star, and we had a lovely talk about the atmosphere on the moon and Mars, and where Mar’s water went.
Apparently Mars will be the absolute closest on 27th August and I’ll go back then to look again. It will actually be 10% bigger than it is now. At the moment Mars rises in the East and is visible from about 22:00, and is highest at 03:00
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Viewing Mars in Munich
See planet Mars while closest to Earth
How about little green men. Did you see any?
But seriously, a friend of mine also went to see this telescope one evening. He told me that they managed to track down the International Space Station and you could actually see the astronauts as they worked outside on the plumbing, fixing the TV aerial, etc.
Sounds cool. I've been meaning to go for ages.
But seriously, a friend of mine also went to see this telescope one evening. He told me that they managed to track down the International Space Station and you could actually see the astronauts as they worked outside on the plumbing, fixing the TV aerial, etc.
Sounds cool. I've been meaning to go for ages.
I'll be up for a Toytown Trip to the Telescope.
Anyone else want to go on the 27th?
Anyone else want to go on the 27th?
Little green men ??? Don't be silly they were yellow with pink spots.
We saw the ISS but not through a telescope. It moves very fast, rotates the earth in 90 minutes, and it would be almost impossible to track it with a hand manouvered high gain telescope. They have a Newton type refractor which is computer positioned and can track the iss or other satelites.
I saw pictures taken with it, and the docked space shuttle looks like a blob. Maybe if you get lucky you can keep the iss in sight with the high gain telescopes for a few minutes.
27th is a Wednesday, could certainly nip along after a curry.
We saw the ISS but not through a telescope. It moves very fast, rotates the earth in 90 minutes, and it would be almost impossible to track it with a hand manouvered high gain telescope. They have a Newton type refractor which is computer positioned and can track the iss or other satelites.
I saw pictures taken with it, and the docked space shuttle looks like a blob. Maybe if you get lucky you can keep the iss in sight with the high gain telescopes for a few minutes.
27th is a Wednesday, could certainly nip along after a curry.
QUOTE
I'll be up for a Toytown Trip to the Telescope.
Anyone else want to go on the 27th?
Anyone else want to go on the 27th?
Hellow!!
I am not an expert in astronomy but considering how close Mars will be to earth and maybe as big as the moon, I am excited to see two moons in our sky . And this wont happen again till year 2287.
. And this wont happen again till year 2287. So if Toytown is meeting up on the 27th. Guess I am IN!
Uh, not as big, as bright perhaps. Slight difference.
Yeah, we're in Spud. Let us know the details if you're still interested.
Now i am gainfully employed and unable to look at naked women on Starnberger Lake I will be buying a telescope.
It is a Meade 125EC dead good one.
How long will Mars stay in position till mine comes along?
Jeremy.
It is a Meade 125EC dead good one.
How long will Mars stay in position till mine comes along?
Jeremy.
As far as I understand the massive planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus are on the other side of the Sun. If they were on the same side they would pull Mars away from the Sun, and from the Earth.
The Earth rotates the Sun much faster than Mars and is currently chasing Mars of course on an orbit closer the Sun. On the 27th August the Earth will catch up on Mars, and you could draw a straight line between the Sun, Earth, and Mars. This is when Mars is closest.
Then the Earth will overtake Mars and the distance will increase again. In a year and a bit the Earth will be catching Mars again but the massive planets will not be nicely aligned on the other side of the Sun.
Mars will be as bright in the middle of September as it is now. But it will be brightest on 27th August.
Can you look at naked women on the Starnberger see ? I normally go (without telsecope) to the Feldmochinger
The Earth rotates the Sun much faster than Mars and is currently chasing Mars of course on an orbit closer the Sun. On the 27th August the Earth will catch up on Mars, and you could draw a straight line between the Sun, Earth, and Mars. This is when Mars is closest.
Then the Earth will overtake Mars and the distance will increase again. In a year and a bit the Earth will be catching Mars again but the massive planets will not be nicely aligned on the other side of the Sun.
Mars will be as bright in the middle of September as it is now. But it will be brightest on 27th August.
Can you look at naked women on the Starnberger see ? I normally go (without telsecope) to the Feldmochinger
as a non-astronomer I have two questions here...
1/ how can "the big planets" be "on the other side of the sun" than Mars if all planets revolve around the sun and are not in "solar-stationary" (dunno, just invented that word. if a satellite can be geostationary then surely a planet can be "solar-stationary" since it is a satellite of the sun?) positions
2/ if all planets revolve around the sun at differing speeds (as you seem to say they do), then theoretically all planets must be aligned at some point (have been/will be again at some stage) yet this does not seem to lead or have led to a collapse of the solar system as we know it, since we are all still happily spinning around the
hence, might you perhaps be talking bollox?
just a thought... (or does that make for a sum total of three questions if I include the summarising one?)
J
1/ how can "the big planets" be "on the other side of the sun" than Mars if all planets revolve around the sun and are not in "solar-stationary" (dunno, just invented that word. if a satellite can be geostationary then surely a planet can be "solar-stationary" since it is a satellite of the sun?) positions
2/ if all planets revolve around the sun at differing speeds (as you seem to say they do), then theoretically all planets must be aligned at some point (have been/will be again at some stage) yet this does not seem to lead or have led to a collapse of the solar system as we know it, since we are all still happily spinning around the
hence, might you perhaps be talking bollox?
just a thought... (or does that make for a sum total of three questions if I include the summarising one?)
J
As a non-astronomical software engineer I will try to answer.
Each planet has its Sun revolution (orbit) period. For the earth this is 365.26 days, for Mercury about 80 days, Mars a few years (I have 12 in my head but I think its shorter) and Pluto over 100 years. Note that while Pluto takes the longest to orbit the Sun it?s moving fastest, but has the longest distance to travel.
As they are all orbiting the Sun at different speeds, there is indeed a point when all planets are nicely lined up, and I?m sure a half decent astronomer, or some website could tell you how often this happens but its well rare. The equilibrium is not disturbed by this not particularly special event.
Take the simple case of the moon orbiting the Earth. Actually both the Earth and Moon revolve around their mutual centre of gravity, which is so close to the Earth because the Earth is more massive, that we don?t really notice. With more planets the maths gets brutal, but the Sun also orbits the centre of gravity of the solar system. When all the planets are aligned the centre of gravity of the solar system is at its maximum distance from the centre of the sun, and its wobble around this point is most pronounced.
Geo stationary satellites is a very simple concept. The Earth is rotating on its axis, and a geo stationary satellite is at just the right height so its orbital speed matches the Earth?s rotation speed. Thus it always stays over the same point over Earth. However only somewhere on the equator. Assuming the sun also rotates and I?m pretty sure it does you could also have a ?solar stationary satellite? that always stays over the same point on the sun. Finally there?s a very interesting satellite point where the Earth?s gravity matches and cancels the Sun?s gravity, and a satellite here orbits the Sun at the same rate as the Earth but is closer to it.
You?re a brave lad Jordigo suggesting someone with a name like mad-axe is talking bollox.
Each planet has its Sun revolution (orbit) period. For the earth this is 365.26 days, for Mercury about 80 days, Mars a few years (I have 12 in my head but I think its shorter) and Pluto over 100 years. Note that while Pluto takes the longest to orbit the Sun it?s moving fastest, but has the longest distance to travel.
As they are all orbiting the Sun at different speeds, there is indeed a point when all planets are nicely lined up, and I?m sure a half decent astronomer, or some website could tell you how often this happens but its well rare. The equilibrium is not disturbed by this not particularly special event.
Take the simple case of the moon orbiting the Earth. Actually both the Earth and Moon revolve around their mutual centre of gravity, which is so close to the Earth because the Earth is more massive, that we don?t really notice. With more planets the maths gets brutal, but the Sun also orbits the centre of gravity of the solar system. When all the planets are aligned the centre of gravity of the solar system is at its maximum distance from the centre of the sun, and its wobble around this point is most pronounced.
Geo stationary satellites is a very simple concept. The Earth is rotating on its axis, and a geo stationary satellite is at just the right height so its orbital speed matches the Earth?s rotation speed. Thus it always stays over the same point over Earth. However only somewhere on the equator. Assuming the sun also rotates and I?m pretty sure it does you could also have a ?solar stationary satellite? that always stays over the same point on the sun. Finally there?s a very interesting satellite point where the Earth?s gravity matches and cancels the Sun?s gravity, and a satellite here orbits the Sun at the same rate as the Earth but is closer to it.
You?re a brave lad Jordigo suggesting someone with a name like mad-axe is talking bollox.
thanks for the clarification - so I was right, innit? the big planets are not "on the other side" and will not suck mars away from the sun if they come too close to it...
I like to live dangerously
cheerio
J
PS: patron, une stella artois! all this talk about revolving around the sun has made me thirsty...
QUOTE
You’re a brave lad Jordigo suggesting someone with a name like mad-axe is talking bollox.
I like to live dangerously
cheerio
J
PS: patron, une stella artois! all this talk about revolving around the sun has made me thirsty...
OK, so here's a half decent astronomers half decent attempt to explain this. NB this isn't really my area of expertise, so don't regard it as gospel.
All the planets orbits are slightly elliptical (eccentricity), and they don't all orbit in exactly the same plane (inclination), but the level of eccentricity and inclination is pretty stable as the solar system had plenty of time to get in equilibrium way back when.
How close we get to Mars when we overtake it depends on where Mars is in its orbit at that time. As Mars' orbit is fairly eccentric (0.0935, third highest in the solar system, an ellipse 0.4% longer than it is wide) and its inclination is 2 degrees different to that of the Earth the 'closest approach' varies by quite a lot. On average its 78.39 million km, but it can get as low as 54.5 million km.
Mars' eccentric orbit is most likely a result of it being next to Jupiter (massive planet, 2.5 times heavier than all the other planets put together), but its orbit is not dependent on the exact location of Jupiter at the current time. Its just a result of Jupiter messin' with it for 1000's and 1000's of years.
All the planets orbits are slightly elliptical (eccentricity), and they don't all orbit in exactly the same plane (inclination), but the level of eccentricity and inclination is pretty stable as the solar system had plenty of time to get in equilibrium way back when.
How close we get to Mars when we overtake it depends on where Mars is in its orbit at that time. As Mars' orbit is fairly eccentric (0.0935, third highest in the solar system, an ellipse 0.4% longer than it is wide) and its inclination is 2 degrees different to that of the Earth the 'closest approach' varies by quite a lot. On average its 78.39 million km, but it can get as low as 54.5 million km.
Mars' eccentric orbit is most likely a result of it being next to Jupiter (massive planet, 2.5 times heavier than all the other planets put together), but its orbit is not dependent on the exact location of Jupiter at the current time. Its just a result of Jupiter messin' with it for 1000's and 1000's of years.
I'll have to bow to Astroboy's explanation. I searched on the internet afterwards, and it is as he explained it. I've reproduced a segment below
The articles don't mention the position of the other planets, but I still think Jupiter would have an effect. If Jupiter was ligned up outside Mars it would attract Earth and Mars but Mars more because its closer ?
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mars...t_030121-1.html
When the pass occurs, Earth and Mars will be on the same side of the Sun, as seen from above, all three objects lined up in a row. This happens about every 26 months. When this configuration occurs, astronomers say Mars is at opposition.
But the separations during these oppositions vary wildly. On Aug. 27 this year, Mars will be 34.65 million miles (55.76 million kilometers) away. The last opposition, in 2001, involved a separation of more than 41 million miles (67 million kilometers). In 1995, the distance between the two worlds was nearly double what it will be later this year.
The measurements involved in the close approaches every 26 months vary because during a year, the Earth's distance from the Sun varies from its average, greater and smaller, by nearly 2 percent, and Mars' distance varies from its average by more than 9 percent, greater and smaller.
The articles don't mention the position of the other planets, but I still think Jupiter would have an effect. If Jupiter was ligned up outside Mars it would attract Earth and Mars but Mars more because its closer ?
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mars...t_030121-1.html
When the pass occurs, Earth and Mars will be on the same side of the Sun, as seen from above, all three objects lined up in a row. This happens about every 26 months. When this configuration occurs, astronomers say Mars is at opposition.
But the separations during these oppositions vary wildly. On Aug. 27 this year, Mars will be 34.65 million miles (55.76 million kilometers) away. The last opposition, in 2001, involved a separation of more than 41 million miles (67 million kilometers). In 1995, the distance between the two worlds was nearly double what it will be later this year.
The measurements involved in the close approaches every 26 months vary because during a year, the Earth's distance from the Sun varies from its average, greater and smaller, by nearly 2 percent, and Mars' distance varies from its average by more than 9 percent, greater and smaller.
I went to the show this past Tuesday. Was pretty interesting, the big telescopes were pointed at Mars, and a tripod-style was pointed at a double star cluster. Don't expect magnification on the level of the Hubble telescope however; the planet is very small through the lens, although an ice cap can be seen quite clearly. Cost was 4 euro, and there was a short lecture (in German) and an only mildly interesting movie included.
The bonus/punishment was a free entry into Pacha's Tue. after-work party due to the way the exit to the Volkssterne bypasses the bouncers.
Worth it, but not quite as cool as a Discovery Channel sci-fi/exploration/ain't-the-future-cool? orgasm
The bonus/punishment was a free entry into Pacha's Tue. after-work party due to the way the exit to the Volkssterne bypasses the bouncers.
Worth it, but not quite as cool as a Discovery Channel sci-fi/exploration/ain't-the-future-cool? orgasm
How late are they open? If we go after the curry, it's going to be around 10:30 or 11:00 in the evening.
Officially, they said they were open until 11:00; but personably, they were a bunch of cool geeks who did not mind showing off past closing time. I wouldn't show up right at the end, but if you stay a while, and take interest, I'd suspect they'd happily oblige an extended visit.
When I went at the start of August, Mars only came high enough above the horizon at about 22:30. Its up at least an hour earlier so they might close on time. Then again its the night Mars is closest so they might stay open later.
In any case I'd suggest getting there by 22:30
In any case I'd suggest getting there by 22:30
Hi MadAxeMurderer,
sounds good to me 2 meet up at 22:30 pm.
So do we all meet up in front of Planetarium Volkssternwarte? Where exactly ? How will I recognize u then since I am new to TT.
sounds good to me 2 meet up at 22:30 pm.
So do we all meet up in front of Planetarium Volkssternwarte? Where exactly ? How will I recognize u then since I am new to TT.
He'll be the one holding a blood-drenched axe.
I think he'll have cleaned it in anticipation. He wouldn't want to give anyone blood poisonig, would he?
Ok, I'll be at the Apothek on the corner of Anzingerstr and Rosenheimerstr at 22:30. On a bike and smelling of curry. Better not be cloudy
I also answer to the name Francis but will leave the axe at home. Would want to give anyone blood poisonig, and it wouldn't fit on my bike either.
I also answer to the name Francis but will leave the axe at home. Would want to give anyone blood poisonig, and it wouldn't fit on my bike either.
did you honestly think Mars was more visable/larger then the night before?
No difference found.
No difference found.
Well, we got there, we queued for a while, and we left because the astro-bods told us there was too much cloud cover to make it worthwhile going in.
We did see Mars with our naked eyes while standing on Rosenheimerstr though. Not that I'd have known it was Mars if MadAxeMurderer hadn't pointed it out...
We did see Mars with our naked eyes while standing on Rosenheimerstr though. Not that I'd have known it was Mars if MadAxeMurderer hadn't pointed it out...
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