Jupiter will be closest to the earth tonight. Go outside tonight and see something special (Tucson: university, transport)

[jamies]

Go Outside? Do you mean like "OUT"side? It's scary out there, there's real people and such. They might interact with me IRL. No thanks, I'm gonna stay right here in mom's basement where I'm safe.

Besides it's cloudy here in No. AZ. Sigh.

Hoping to get up to Flagstaff next week. Maybe they will have a viewing at the observatory.

[WilmaWildcat]

Amazingly enough, here in Chicagoland's Fox Valley (west suburbs) we had clear skies when I went out to look at Jupiter last night. It was sweet; thanks for the reminder.

[teddyearp]

Originally Posted by jamies

<snip>No thanks, I'm gonna stay right here in mom's basement where I'm safe.

So does mom live above ground or is it a multi level bunker, lol?

Just saw this today, I'll try tonight, but I have tall trees to the SE.

[jamies]

^^^ Naw, mom's days above ground are over.

But I did venture out tonight and saw Jupiter and a couple other planets, and I think a UFO. They are always out there watching me you know.

Tomorrow after work we are going to get the big telescope out of the shop and see what we can see if the moon isn't too bright and the aliens stay away.

[johnp292]

I had my telescope out last night and got some great views of Jupiter and its 4 largest moons, even with the seeing conditions not being ideal. Light pollution is also a problem in my backyard but I can still get some nice views.

[Unsettomati]

Originally Posted by sexxxcblac

Don't miss this occasion please.
People from around the world are in Arizona tonight to witness this because our desert sky is the clearest on the planet.

Several points:

1) There's nothing particularly special about the specific date of planetary opposition. It's still 400+ million miles away. The difference of a day or two either way won't make any detectable viewing difference.

2) This happens roughly once a year - it's not a once-in-a-lifetime event.

3) Arizona's skies are most certainly not the 'clearest on the planet'. For one, there's too much light - yes, even in the desert boondocks. Two, the air isn't nearly as dry as it could be (for example, the Atacama Desert in Chile has places where it has not rained in over 400 years). Three, clarity is partly a function of elevation, which is why telescopes are typically located on mountains. The higher you get, the less atmosphere you're peering through, and Arizona doesn't have particularly high mountains. There's some great amateur stargazing in Arizona. Best on the planet? Not even close.

[sexxxcblac]

Arizona leads the world in space observatories, as a matter of fact it Arizona universities who designed the Mars rover which delivered some beautiful pics of our neighboring planet.
The Universities in Arizona are also on the forefront in the study of interplanetary exploration not only in America but the world.
For you to even suggest some place in " Chile " has better viewing or research than Arizona is a major wound to your credibility!

[teddyearp]

I saw Jupiter last night with the naked eye. Pretty amazing how bright it is considering it is four times further away from us than the sun. Venus is as bright sometimes, but it is between us and the sun.

[waltcolorado]

Last night I pulled out the six inch telescope that the FIL gave us (re-gifted.. he never used it and we hardly do).. but last night my wife and I found Jupiter and the moons. Very cool!! This was in Lake Havasu which has a fairly dark sky - at least at the moment.

Appreciate the heads up!!!

[ajonesaz]

Originally Posted by Unsettomati

Several points:


3) Arizona's skies are most certainly not the 'clearest on the planet'. For one, there's too much light - yes, even in the desert boondocks. Two, the air isn't nearly as dry as it could be (for example, the Atacama Desert in Chile has places where it has not rained in over 400 years). Three, clarity is partly a function of elevation, which is why telescopes are typically located on mountains. The higher you get, the less atmosphere you're peering through, and Arizona doesn't have particularly high mountains. There's some great amateur stargazing in Arizona. Best on the planet? Not even close.

Arizona doesn't have mountains high enough for telescopes?????

6 of the 9 largest telescopes in the country are in Arizona.

The largest and most advanced telescope in the world is in Arizona at over 10k feet! People from around the world come here to use it. It is part owned by the italian government and some of the most advanced colleges in Germany.

Lowell Observatory was one of the most important astrophysics communities in the early 1900s.

I think we are well beyond "amateur" star gazing status.

We discovered Pluto!