Waddensky
Waddensky t1_j8fhilw wrote
How did you know that it was further than an airplane? It's very hard to judge distances in the sky if your only reference is a light.
My first hunch would be a drone, they have blinking lights in different colours and move erratically.
Another suggestion is Sirius, a bright star well-known for it's twinkling and apparent rapid colour changing.
Waddensky t1_j7g4bi4 wrote
Reply to Making a Astronomy focused bday present for a friend - anyone have any (very obscure) cool space photos with really interesting stories behind them, or just cool stories about Astronomy that not many people know about? by GiveMeTheFullerenes
What a great idea!
A little-known fact is that Galileo observed Neptune in 1633 while studying Jupiter, 233 years before the planet was actually discovered in 1846. He thought it was a background star. A 2009 study even suggests that Galileo was well-aware of Neptune's movement and therefore could be credited as the discoverer of the 8th planet.
This paper has some of Galileo's sketches of Jupiter and Neptune, you might be able to use these in your gallery.
Waddensky t1_j7fha8b wrote
What do you mean by the opposite direction? The Voyagers visited the outer planets and many missions have been sent out since then (Galileo, Cassini-Huygens, New Horizons, Juno). Here's an extensive list. They were all state-of-the-art Voyagers in a way.
Waddensky t1_j6eevak wrote
Reply to comment by daveinmd13 in What if our sun was a part of another constellation on another planet? by smilingpike31
The Sun has an absolute magnitude of 4.8. The (human) naked-eye limiting magnitude is 6.5. The Sun would be visible to the naked eye up to a distance of around 70 light-years.
Waddensky t1_j6cz3ub wrote
Constellations are a human invention, but yes, the Sun would appear in the night sky just like any other star as seen from an exoplanet, provided it's close enough to be seen with the naked eye.
From a planet orbiting one of the stars of Alpha Centauri, the Sun is close to the bright stars of Cassiopeia. From Barnard's Star, the Sun aligns nicely with the belt of Orion.
Here are a few more, including charts! https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-blogs/explore-night-bob-king/see-the-sun-from-other-stars/
Waddensky t1_j60598h wrote
Reply to How come space probes generally take photos of moons or asteroids from several hundred (or thousands) of kilometers away from the object they orbit? by Different_Muscle_116
I'm not really sure what you mean, how else would they be able to take photos? The Voyagers and New Horizons spacecraft weren't in orbit, but they performed a fly-by.
Waddensky t1_j9xm0jl wrote
Reply to What’s a good upgrade from a telescope that can barely see jupiters stripes that isn’t worth a kidney? by Super-Gerd
What kind of telescope do you have? Make sure your expectations aren't too high, Jupiter is quite small and bright in any telescope, and the visibility of the belts also depends on the atmospheric conditions.
Jupiter is currently only visible in the early evening. Not the best time to observe the planet. Will be much better in a few months.