Thursday, 8 September 2011

Looking For A Little Entertainment This Evening?



For some entertainment without leaving the comfort of your castle, if you have a reasonable pair of binoculars you could do a little star gazing, clear skies permitting.

An exploding star should be visible soon after twilight and you will be able to observe the flicker of light from its violent death throes.

The supernova is the nearest of its kind to be spotted in 40 years and lies in the Pinwheel galaxy, 21m light years from Earth.

It can be found by looking first for the Plough immediately after sunset.  The handle of the Plough has three stars and if you draw an imaginary line through the second and third stars in the hand and follow that line up and left, the supernova is four degrees along or around the distance taken up by five full moons.

My binoculars are at the ready, the skies are fairly cloudy though now, but I'll have a go.  Good luck.
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12 comments:

  1. GHmltn8 September 2011 at 20:24

    Supernova?

    Sounds like a song.

    Gosh I shall look

    Never seen one - as you say a spectacular feature of nature.

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  2. subrosa8 September 2011 at 23:57

    I'm sure I saw it but then those with me said no. But I had the better binoculars GH. :)

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  3. Michael Fowke9 September 2011 at 00:04

    Starry, starry night - that's from a song.

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  4. RMcGeddon9 September 2011 at 10:03

    I originally thought you were offering to come around and make supper SR ;)

    There was no clear skies here so I watched some mostly hideous lefties slag off the US (again) for causing 9/11.
    David Milliband was particulary nauseous. The man who ran away from a leadership challenge with Gordon 3 times was pontificating on how the US should tackle Islam etc.

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  5. subrosa9 September 2011 at 11:32

    It is Michael, I remember it well. (That's from a song too).

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  6. subrosa9 September 2011 at 11:33

    Those days are gone RM, unless you like fish. :)

    You're a brave man, I just can't watch programmes about 9/11. So many posers.

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  7. RMcGeddon9 September 2011 at 15:45

    Oh I love a nice fish pie SR :)

    It was a labour sponsored programme I was watching. Had Dimbleby and an audience bussed in from Labour HQ in London.
    Think it was on the BBC about 10.40pm.

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  8. Demetrius9 September 2011 at 15:47

    Super post! Will be looking, the problem will be if it is after the sherry.

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  9. subrosa9 September 2011 at 18:19

    Ah, aye I watched (or rather listened) to a wee bit of that programme. The rent an audience got to me in the end.

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  10. subrosa9 September 2011 at 18:20

    I only had one Demetrius. :)

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  11. Anonymous10 September 2011 at 18:28

    "clear skies permitting"

    Do what? In the sarf of England with the remnants of hurricane wossname coming in?

    Are you having a Turkish?

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  12. subrosa10 September 2011 at 19:59

    Jings RWG, it wasn't nearly that bad up here. We're supposedly going to receive the remnants more than you, but then again, we always receive the debris. :)

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