Shine a light.....

[ttjoon]

Check out this article.  If you click the link to the right of the photo that says "Cities at Night" it will take you to the Nasa site with further photos and background.

http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2008/04/28/space-station-photographs-oc-at-night/

[johnny]

very cool, view of earth must seem pretty spectacular at night time in space. If I were from a different planet, I might be attracted to Earth at night like moths to a candle.

[donaldhicks]

If I were from a different planet - I wouldnt come near this place... :-)

[PPI Brian]

Wow, you can really see the "grid" pattern of development in this image. The sad thing is this represents the extensive increase of light pollution that's robbing us of our night sky.

[MichaelF (FPIE)]

Yea Brian that really bums me out too.  Out of all the classes I have taken, the Astronomy one I took was by far my favorite.  I've considered buying a good scope, but you jsut need to drive so far to get away from the dang lights.

[johnny]

If I were from a different planet - I wouldnt come near this place... :-)

funny, the intelligent ones are probably avoiding us by all means

[MichaelF (FPIE)]

If I were from a different planet - I wouldnt come near this place... :-)

funny, the intelligent ones are probably avoiding us by all means

Well I doubt the stupid ones have figured out space travel to cover the vast distances 

[PPI Brian]

Yea Brian that really bums me out too.  Out of all the classes I have taken, the Astronomy one I took was by far my favorite.  I've considered buying a good scope, but you jsut need to drive so far to get away from the dang lights.

You would be surprised what you can see in spite of the city lights. Planets are not affected by light pollution, and they are awesome even through high thin clouds. And if you have a proper solar filter, the sun obviously is not affected by light pollution either.    Some of the most impressive CCD astrophotography of deep sky objects I've seen in the last five years were taken by an ameture astronomer who takes long exposure astrophotos from his balcony in downtown Los Angeles. Amazing what you can do with filters nowadays. Don't deprive yourself of a good scope; Meade makes some fantastic Maksutov Cassigrain Go-To scopes that are very affordable. Check out Meade's ETX series here: http://www.meade.com/etx/index.html

Regards,

Brian Miller

[MichaelF (FPIE)]

Dang Brian, thx man, those are some awesome scopes for the price.  Thanks for the link, to bad my money is tied up in outfitting FPIE right now    Maybe someday though.

[ldwalkup]

The auroras are fantastic!

[ttjoon]

The auroras are fantastic!

I hope to see them one day

[CACPIR_Dave]

Have any of you guys been to OPT in Oceanside?

[ttjoon]

Have any of you guys been to OPT in Oceanside?

Not I.  Do tell.....

[PPI Brian]

Have any of you guys been to OPT in Oceanside?

Yes, I admit I'm an OPT junkie. I like their new store much better than their old store. Easier access, and they have more room for their astronomy lectures.

[MichaelF (FPIE)]

What's OPT?

[PPI Matt]

awesome! thanks tracy! i can see my house from way up here.  i mean disneyland of course.  the disney california adventure is visable only because of the apparent non-residency. 

[PPI Brian]

What's OPT?

Oceanside Photo and Telescope. They're located at 918 Mission Avenue off of I-5. Here's a link: http://www.optcorp.com/

[MichaelF (FPIE)]

Thanks for the info, I'll need to check it out.

[ttjoon]

awesome! thanks tracy!  the disney california adventure is visable only because of the apparent non-residency. 

Yeah!  No doubt...