hehe finger exercises!
I think most of the comets listed are only of academic interest. Almost always the only new objects added in any update are comets and numerous asteriods. It should be okay to wait for news of these objects and then manually input only the specific object ephemerides. That should keep the database compact and tidy. I used to have this habit of trying to update everything, and the software just ran slower and slower with the added unused data to churn through.

Anyway, unless you are using SNP to control a telescope, you don't really need the extra accuracy of the NASA figures....

BTW can i request you run a simulation of the comet and Venus at 6.30 am 4th March 2006 for Kuala Lumpur? Then export the image and post it here. I'm curious to see how much more realistic they've made Version 5+. I always thought 4.50 was cool enough.

This post has been edited by March05: Mar 3 2006, 09:07 PM

Thanks for the image. Ya, now i can see that there have been improvements.

Well, Good News: it looks like both the comet and Venus are climbing higher judging from the orbit path in your image.

i doubt if you can hope to see this comet now with your naked eyes if you are in the vicinity of the infamous Klang Valley....... maybe a pair of 100mm comet hunter binos can lah.

the image was fine, you are not supposed to post a large image file here anyway.

Actually astro pics can take a lot of compression, since most of the background is just a consistent black or dark shade.
However, it can be difficult to post a small pic (800 x 600) of stars which are just a few pixels in the original resolution. When the pic are resized to something smaller, the starpoints totally disappear......

well he's probably outside somewhere playing with his new telescope.......so while the cat's away, the mice will play.....

Anyway we are currently discussing technical aspects of astro images and this thread is called Astronomy Photography.....

Depending on the weather, of course.
and don't oversleep. Get up at 4.00 am, make sure your 2 star alignment is spot on. No cheating here. This is a really sneaky comet, will punish those who take shortcuts.

No i didn't have to pay for SNP; it was a gift set from a nice and loaded astronomy crazy buddy. BTW since you have Autostar, you don't need SNP, unless you like to run lots of simulations!

Try to be very, very, very helpful to someone with lots of money, generous and also astromad.....he just might give you a present one day. Otherwise, you'll just have to work hard for your boss to give you a raise.....

Yes, as a 3D sky simulator, SNP is way ahead of Autostar. I agree.
I haven't met anyone who is using SNP to drive any telescope, so i can't comment on that aspect of it.

Mr.LKM is our thread starter and also our leader in owning a spanking NEW Meade 8" SCT plus lots of goodies, so if you want to have a peek through it, you'll have to be especially good to him.

Becoming religious ah? No need to disturb HIS Highness lah, want me to send you an alarm clock?
BTW a super loud alarm clock is the amateur astronomer's essential tool.......

Ouch that was a tough one!



this is the only reference to Proxima in Centaurus i could find in SNP 4.50. The coordinates don't quite look correct, though.

Our nearest stellar neighbour is very difficult to locate lah. Wonder how in the world they managed to ID it in the first place!

any particular reason why you want to locate the star now? your friends over there planning the first interstellar invasion of Earth?

If they've only got sublight engines, we still have just over 4 years to build our defences.
But if they've got the latest hyperspace drivers, we are out of time....

Mr.LKM, forget Intel stuff. Buy AMD Dual Core!

No, the Turion X2 is not out yet.
But AMD X2 based notebooks have been out since late last year i think.

no, no, i meant drivers!
haven't you heard? AMD has been secretly exporting its Turion X2 cpus to the aliens (at huge profits; now you know why we can't get these cpus yet) for use in their sublight engines. It was recently discovered, by some LYN hackers who wrote the software hyperspace drivers to overclock the X2 units, that these engines could be speeded up to crash through the FTL barrier..........if our neighbours get hold of this new driver, we're in deep sh*t!

SciFi, my foot!

Wait, the best part is yet to come.....the comet Pojmanski is actually a scout ship sent by the aliens to test how many amateur astronomers will manage to detect them when the battle fleet crosses the Heliosheath.

This is a Critical Point.

If the scout team determines that too many amateurs with their pesky telescopes actually saw them (in the guise of the comet), they will most likely call off the invasion as they will not have the advantage of the element of surprise.........

So Mr.LKM, the fate of our beloved Earth lies in your hands. You must take a picture of the comet and post it here to prove to the aliens that they have been sighted!

Right, Eithanius, solar wind is always present whether at solar maximum or minimum. A solar storm is just when the wind speed/pressure is higher than normal.

so you're right too, Mr.LKM, there is a report that there was a storm on the way and for the ppl near the north pole to expect some nice auroras.

BTW i wonder whether the hurricane (i was right in the middle of it) which hit Subang Jaya was in any way related to a solar storm. Our meteorologists say it was caused by a high altitude cloud microburst......maybe driven high up by the solar wind?

And have you guys been following two events:

1. The discovery of water geysers on Enceladus. Wonderful, i think we'll ask our alien fiends to stop by there for a picnic instead of making war plans.

2. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has braked successfully into orbit. We will start having a treat of high res pics of Mars at the end of the year!

wot's that? you got some spy device planted in NASA HQ ah?

for me can only go though official channels...NASA WEBTV......

This post has been edited by March05: Mar 12 2006, 02:37 PM

Mr.LKM's blog is like a comet; very hard to detect, and always changing position.....
But it's a wonderful sight when you manage to see it.

so sad, no more ppl can post here, all died already.

BTW tomorrow morning can see part of a penumbral eclipse of the moon.......

you forgot already ah
http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=182153&st=420

tonight full moon go out can see now.
the moon will be entering the first phase of the penumbral eclipse at sunrise, but after that it will be below the horizon so we no see the rest of the eclipse.........

you can also run it on SNP.

Using SNP for Kuala Lumpur, i have a moonset at around 7.20 am.

Anyway, some pics of this morning's eclipse....

Last comes first...saying bye bye to the eclipse at 6.47 am.


The Moon just after midnight...0.21am long way before the eclipse. Click on me here: http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b349/Mar...eEclipseat0.jpg

Partly in the penumbra at 6.42 am. Click on me here: http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b349/Mar...nEclipseat6.jpg

Nothing dramatic to see as far as the eclipse was concerned.

This post has been edited by March05: Mar 15 2006, 11:31 AM