Well, I've never been far into the Southern Hemisphere, so I'll withhold judgment. The most famous constellation I've heard about it is the Southern Cross, and wen I saw it it was pretty, but not that impressive, IMO.
Well the southern cross is definitely the most famous, but in terms of 'best' it would be a ways down the list. It is actually the smallest constellation in the sky so I can see why people would be under whelmed by it
The Crux has the best example of a dark nebula visible with the naked eye. - - - Updated - - - My favourite are Globular Clusters. Omega Centauri ftw! Those are best in the Southern Hemisphere too.
The only problem with the coal sack is you have to under really dark skies to appreciate it. Saw it once from Western NSW and the thing was amazing. And the best globular in the north is M13, definitely a nice object but once you have seen Omega or 47 Tuc there is just no going back
When I used to get my telescope out (it's currently sort of broken ) globular clusters were my thing to go looking for.
* We are so far away from it all since it's 100,000 ly in size; from space we would still see the similar edge on view of it being just merely thousands of miles closer. * The stars generally would not twinkle like they do on Earth * The sky would appear more clear than the clearist night on Earth * You would see a bit more so it would blend out a lot of things. * You would open spaces more clearly in dark.
Just thought about something funny. When I was a kid, for a brief time my favorite song was "Somewhere Out There", the song by Linda Ronstadt and some guy from the movie An American Tail. During one of the verses, it goes: And even though I know how very far apart we are It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby It helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky The talk in this thread made me realize that whether or not they were wishing on the same bright star or sleeping underneath the same big sky would be pretty dependent on their current locations, which the song does not mention.
Try the sky from Mary Kathleen in the winter (mind you the glowing plants are a bit of a nuisance) for those not in the know - Mary K is an abandoned uranium mine - - - Updated - - - Which is why it is right overhead for me!!!
This thread brought back memories of wonder from long ago.... "Within the Hubble Ultra Deep Field there are approximately 10,000 discrete objects. The total field of view represents only 1 ten millionth of the total sky. Most of these objects are very small and likely have masses in the range of 105 to 107 solar masses. Note the mass of the Milky Way galaxy is 1012 solar masses. Thus, many of these objects are pre-galactic size lumps of material which are merging together to form larger galaxies. In this sense, this image is very much like looking back to our origins. Before there can be life, first nature must assemble matter in discrete units that we call galaxies. The different colors of the objects represent how they appear to us on earth. Those colors do not necessarily reflect the intrinsic color of the object as many of these objects are greatly redshifted. The likely average redshift of a small object in this field is 3-5, and thus we are seeing rest frame ultraviolet emission, redshifted into the Hubble filter set. There are also examples of fully formed galaxies (i.e. regular spiral pattern). These are most likely galaxies at a redshift of about 1. But there are plenty of chaotic and odd looking objects and as you scroll through pixels you will see more and more diversity in the various morphologies. You will also see lots of clumps of individual objects which look like they are merging into a single object. This supplies strong evidence that galaxies are formed via the gravitional merging of sub clumps. " https://www.google.com/search?q=siz...gical-constant-dark-energy%2F25809%2F;530;297
Can any galaxies other than the Milky Way be observed with the naked eye from the surface of the earth?
Yes. The Small and Large Magellanic Clouds are easily visible. The Andromeda Galaxy is pretty easily observed. M33 can also be observed. Other galaxies might be visible from a really dark site and if you have really good eye sight....... or are possibly lying.
You just can't really tell with the naked eye that they're galaxies. They look like stars, but on a really clear night, you might be able to tell that the Magellanic Clouds are fuzzier than normal stars.
No but Orion has some of the most spectacular nebulae http://www.oneminuteastronomer.com/2979/bucket-list-backyard-stargazers-2-great-orion-nebula/
Thanks much. I just love Orion. So did the ancient Egyptians. The belt of Orion can be seen in the layout of the Giza Necropolis. I've come to mark the passage of the seasons through the appearance and movement of Orion through the night sky. I love to follow the lines of Orion. Not just in the belt, but also from Betelgeuse to Mintaka to Rigel. And after Orion has fully risen...the greatest star of all appears. Sirius.
Then of course you know the joke about the talking dog that wanted to become a star - turns out he was Sirius That is SUCH a nerd joke...................
I'm sorry. I should have said "in the night time sky." Of course the greatest star in earth's day time sky is the Sun. Thanks for the clarification. Any other thoughts you would like to share with me?
