| We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| Texas Star Party, Fort Davis | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: May 18 2009, 08:30 PM (380 Views) | |
| Deleted User | May 18 2009, 08:30 PM Post #1 |
|
Deleted User
|
Fort Davis is a beautiful place for camping. Low lying mountains, foothills of the Rockies, 5-10 degrees cooler than the city, little light polution, and home to McDonald Observatory. Here is "Time lapse video of night sky as it passes over the 2009 Texas Star Party in Fort Davis, Texas. The galactic core of Milky Way is brightly displayed. Images taken with 15mm fisheye lens." Galactic Center of Milky Way Rises over Texas Star Party |
|
|
| ngc1514 | May 18 2009, 09:23 PM Post #2 |
![]()
Moderator
![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Hadn't seen that one, Chris. One of these days, I'll make it out to Fort Davis and the Texas Star Party. Here's a similar video done at the Winter Star Party down in the Florida Keys. http://vimeo.com/4175958 The bright star at the top of the screen as the construction starts is Sirius and the bright one near the bottom below Sirius is Canopus. The winter Milky Way (not as bright as the summer Milky Way that shows up in the TSP video). About 38 seconds into the video you can see the 4 bright stars making up Corvus (the crow) at the top of the screen. Just as the video ends, at the bottom of the screen and through the clouds, you get a very quick view of the upper stars of the Southern Cross. The summer Milky Way is amazing if you can get into a dark sky location. Many people - myself included - have been fooled into thinking it a bank of clouds as it rises in the southeast down in the Keys shortly before sunrise. A couple of my professional astronomer buddies have done work down at Chile's Cerro Tololo and report that when the galaxy's center rides overhead it's bright enough to actually cast a shadow - both showing how bright it is AND how dark the Chilean skies are! I've seen a Venus shadow, but never a galaxy shadow. It's on my bucket list... |
![]() |
|
| Deleted User | May 18 2009, 09:44 PM Post #3 |
|
Deleted User
|
Galaxy so bright it casts shadows, not that's awesome! I like the second time lapse without the fish eye lens. No need for distorting the view. |
|
|
| Mike | May 18 2009, 10:18 PM Post #4 |
|
Administrator
![]() ![]() ![]()
|
One night, in the mountains between Laramie and Rawlins, Wyoming, I pulled my jalopy off to the side of the road and stepped out to take a natures break. It was colder than imaginable yet the air was still and skies were overpowering. I thought a step ladder would be sufficient to reach up and touch one. I have never before or since seen so many stars with the naked eye. |
![]() |
|
| ngc1514 | May 18 2009, 10:29 PM Post #5 |
![]()
Moderator
![]() ![]() ![]()
|
A GREAT example of why faith and personal experience are not the tools necessary to understand the universe! 2000 years ago it was a reasonable assumption that is reflected in Revelations 6:13 "And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth..." Just fitting a single, small white dwarf star "unto the earth" is a bit of a push. The book reflects the universe as it was understood 2000 years ago by a non-scientific civilization. As long as stars were just little lights in the sky - possibly hanging just above the highest hill, the allusion works. Today, it's just silly. |
![]() |
|
| Mike | May 19 2009, 02:17 AM Post #6 |
|
Administrator
![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Yep..lots of descriptive narrative in Revelations. Interpretation is the key rather than dwelling one particular descriptive word or phrase used by the author. I pasted a few others as examples. _____________________ 6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; (6:12-14) "And the stars fell unto the earth." The sixth seal is opened and there is a great earthquake, the sun becomes black, and the moon red, the stars fall from heaven, and mountains and islands move around. 6:13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 6:14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 6:15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 6:16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 6:17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? |
![]() |
|
| ngc1514 | May 20 2009, 10:38 PM Post #7 |
![]()
Moderator
![]() ![]() ![]()
|
So you agree that the bible is not literally true? How do you decide which parts are and which are not? And who gets to interpret? |
![]() |
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| « Previous Topic · RV AND CAMPING DISCUSSION · Next Topic » |








![]](http://z3.ifrm.com/static/1/pip_r.png)

12:41 AM Jul 14
