Saturday, June 25, 2005
It's raining again.
Yes, it's raining again. No observing the massing of the planets tonight, and the forecast is for cloud tomorrow too.
To cheer myself up, the Bettdeckererschnappender Weisle and I and the kids watched the new Dr. Who. The Dalek episode. Man that was good (okay, it's a sci-fi TV series, not Four Corners or anything, but it sure beats the new Battlestar Galactica). Auntie Beeb has managed to keep halfway decent plots while adding in decent special effects.
Now I'm playing with my new copy of SkyMap Pro 11. I really like this program. Here's a screen shot.
I've looked for the next time Mercury and Venus will be so close in the handy events finder (not for many, many years) and looked at all the interesting Jupiter satellite events I've missed due to the rain and cloud (far too may). It may not be photorealistic like Starry Night, but it fits nicely on my elderly laptop and runs at a decent pace, allows me to plan my astronomy viewing sessions, and log them (if the rain ever lets me do any astronomy viewing sessions) and of course put together observing maps such as the ones I post on Southern Skywatch
Planetarium programs are very much a personal choice, peoples observing needs are very different. I do mostly planetary/comet and occultation observing, and SkyMap is very handy for that (and it incorporates an internal download of the latest comet, asteroid and satellite orbital elements). It's got a full on version (the one I use) a light version and a demo version you can try out. However, there is lots of good astronomy planetarium programs out there. Cartes du Ciel is very handy, and it is free. And there is The Sky, which runs on Mac as well as PC. I've heard good things about them all.
But none of them make the sky clear, so it's off to bed for me.
To cheer myself up, the Bettdeckererschnappender Weisle and I and the kids watched the new Dr. Who. The Dalek episode. Man that was good (okay, it's a sci-fi TV series, not Four Corners or anything, but it sure beats the new Battlestar Galactica). Auntie Beeb has managed to keep halfway decent plots while adding in decent special effects.
Now I'm playing with my new copy of SkyMap Pro 11. I really like this program. Here's a screen shot.
I've looked for the next time Mercury and Venus will be so close in the handy events finder (not for many, many years) and looked at all the interesting Jupiter satellite events I've missed due to the rain and cloud (far too may). It may not be photorealistic like Starry Night, but it fits nicely on my elderly laptop and runs at a decent pace, allows me to plan my astronomy viewing sessions, and log them (if the rain ever lets me do any astronomy viewing sessions) and of course put together observing maps such as the ones I post on Southern Skywatch
Planetarium programs are very much a personal choice, peoples observing needs are very different. I do mostly planetary/comet and occultation observing, and SkyMap is very handy for that (and it incorporates an internal download of the latest comet, asteroid and satellite orbital elements). It's got a full on version (the one I use) a light version and a demo version you can try out. However, there is lots of good astronomy planetarium programs out there. Cartes du Ciel is very handy, and it is free. And there is The Sky, which runs on Mac as well as PC. I've heard good things about them all.
But none of them make the sky clear, so it's off to bed for me.
# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 9:15 pm 
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The new Doctor Who series has been good fun. It finished last week in the UK, so now we are all waiting in anticipation for the Christmas special. Have you noticed the 'bad wolf' references?
The triple conjunction has also been great; it is the first time I've actually seen the planet Mercury.
Stuart (UK)
The triple conjunction has also been great; it is the first time I've actually seen the planet Mercury.
Stuart (UK)
# posted by 
: 11:11 am
: 11:11 am
I have noticed the "Bad Wolf" refrences, I assume it has something to do with the second last show titled "Bad Wolf" (thanks Wikpedia). Is it just prefiguring or is there some sort of cosmic resonance going on?
I was fully prepared to be dissapointed in the new series (deep down in the recesses of my soul is the conviction Dr. Who should be in black and white), but I really like it. There is actually substance in the plots, quite a bit of cheekieness (Star Wars buffs are arguing whether certain hints in SWIII are critical of the Bush govenment, Dr. Who outright lampoons the whole "Weapons of Mass Destruction" incident in World War III, no subtlety there), and whatshisname is a GREAT doctor (I wonder how many takes it took to get the spittle flying as he abused the Dalek .. "you would make a good Dalek")
And your picture of the massing (pedant mode, conjunctions can only occur when the planets are sharing the same longitude [emabrassed confession mode, I've been calling it a conjunction too]) is quite good. Pity about the murk, but it makes for spectacular colours.
I'm not surprise that this is your first Mercury, I find it takes persistance with a good star atlas to locate the blasted thing. One you find it, then you are set though.
I was fully prepared to be dissapointed in the new series (deep down in the recesses of my soul is the conviction Dr. Who should be in black and white), but I really like it. There is actually substance in the plots, quite a bit of cheekieness (Star Wars buffs are arguing whether certain hints in SWIII are critical of the Bush govenment, Dr. Who outright lampoons the whole "Weapons of Mass Destruction" incident in World War III, no subtlety there), and whatshisname is a GREAT doctor (I wonder how many takes it took to get the spittle flying as he abused the Dalek .. "you would make a good Dalek")
And your picture of the massing (pedant mode, conjunctions can only occur when the planets are sharing the same longitude [emabrassed confession mode, I've been calling it a conjunction too]) is quite good. Pity about the murk, but it makes for spectacular colours.
I'm not surprise that this is your first Mercury, I find it takes persistance with a good star atlas to locate the blasted thing. One you find it, then you are set though.
The bad wolf is a sort of cosmic resonance but you really wouldn't work it out without a random guess. That was the only disappointing part of the final episode (hope I don't give too much away by saying that) as it was wrapped up a bit too quickly. It could have been an hour long rather than 45 minutes (BBC has no adverts). Other than that, I agree that it has been a good series.
I don't think the series was being specifically critical of President Bush. The comments in WWIII were, if anything, aimed at Tony Blair with quotes like "[WMD] can be launched within 15 seconds." One thing the series has done though, is to explore what evil is. All the 'evil' characters have been shown to have more depth and motivations and the Doctor's actions (and consequences of them) get discussed. Would you have thought it was possible to feel some sympathy for a dalek?
I think that Christopher Eccelston has done a good job as the Doctor. Fantastic!
I don't think the series was being specifically critical of President Bush. The comments in WWIII were, if anything, aimed at Tony Blair with quotes like "[WMD] can be launched within 15 seconds." One thing the series has done though, is to explore what evil is. All the 'evil' characters have been shown to have more depth and motivations and the Doctor's actions (and consequences of them) get discussed. Would you have thought it was possible to feel some sympathy for a dalek?
I think that Christopher Eccelston has done a good job as the Doctor. Fantastic!
# posted by : 4:34 am
: 4:34 am
Ah, yes I should have been more explicit in my post. I meant That Dr. Who was explicit in making polictal remarks directed specifically at TB and co., while StarWars indirectly suggesst kind of maybe a ctrictism that migh just be thought of as directed at Bush and co if you squint slightly.
Even the old Dr. Who was more complex than the standard US sci-fi show, but the new Dr. Who has an added depth.
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Even the old Dr. Who was more complex than the standard US sci-fi show, but the new Dr. Who has an added depth.
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