Post AVHQaBbZfoV7lipe3U by Burnt_Veggies@mstdn.social
(DIR) More posts by Burnt_Veggies@mstdn.social
(DIR) Post #AVFb8gFOrYRPsLcwKW by sundogplanets@mastodon.social
2023-05-02T14:14:07Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
Which of the following items have you seen in the night sky, with your own eyes? (Select all that are applicable)
(DIR) Post #AVFb8gmirf61XhDYGm by harshad@mastodon.sharma.io
2023-05-02T14:17:58Z
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@sundogplanets Too close to the equator to see auroras, haven't travelled North enough yet.
(DIR) Post #AVFb8hLolBAXIXdZyK by sundogplanets@mastodon.social
2023-05-02T14:22:11Z
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@harshad Solar maximum is coming up, they might come to you! (Of course, the satellites might not enjoy that very much...)
(DIR) Post #AVFb8hot16QAkhEnHU by harshad@mastodon.sharma.io
2023-05-02T14:27:18Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@sundogplanets That's exciting! ⨠I'll be ready with my camera! (meanwhile, on clear nights, this is my view)
(DIR) Post #AVHQVzUUluLp2TWJvM by ranx@mastodon.social
2023-05-02T14:24:27Z
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@sundogplanets none of the above ... cos đâšī¸
(DIR) Post #AVHQW078SFG8yJbB9U by sundogplanets@mastodon.social
2023-05-02T14:25:24Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@ranx This is why this poll is depressing :( I'm sorry
(DIR) Post #AVHQaBbZfoV7lipe3U by Burnt_Veggies@mstdn.social
2023-05-02T15:37:15Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@sundogplanets one of the things I miss most about my time in the Navy is being at sea. At times we were 1,000 miles from land in any direction and with the ship going dark at dusk (no white lights topside) there was zero light pollution. You could see way more stars than normally seen in a city, or even out in the country. I had no idea there were THAT many stars out there.
(DIR) Post #AVHQg2GXJGMQXamTA0 by teledyn@mstdn.ca
2023-05-02T15:25:27Z
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@sundogplanetsI was going to check all four options because I've seen tons of stuff that isn't any of the above.Like that comet back in the late nineties that hung low in our skies as bright as a moon, a farmer friend of mine said he saw that, and ran home and hid under the covers (he was joking of course, rural Ontario humour)In that long August blackout that hit Toronto around the same time, my daughter said it was the first they'd ever seen the Milky Way from the city.
(DIR) Post #AVHQg2x4l6O8fWgRSy by sundogplanets@mastodon.social
2023-05-02T15:46:54Z
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@teledyn Oh yes lovely stuff! BUt I guess I worded that poorly...I meant for "none of the above" to be for people who had never seen the Milky Way, auroras, or satellites... Hm. I'm not a social scientist, still learning how to write effective polls.
(DIR) Post #AVHQg3VofwB4PGwBcG by teledyn@mstdn.ca
2023-05-02T16:26:23Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@sundogplanetsConsidering we long ago crossed that threshold where rural was outnumbered by urban living, and with my daughter's comment about the blackout, I think it is quite likely a lot of folks have never seen much more than a full moon, maybe venus too, and the suburbanites might know Orion, and not just from movie intros.If it's any consolation, few have heard a guitar or piano that wasn't mediated through electronic sensors and enhanced recreation, even 'traditional' musics use amps.
(DIR) Post #AVJXJGT5QYKZvKeytU by sundogplanets@mastodon.social
2023-05-04T14:13:54Z
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When I run this poll with my astro 101 class every semester, the breakdown is usually:~1/3 have seen the Milky Way<10% have seen auroras~2/3 have seen satellites(probably the other 1/3 are asleep or playing on their phones...)So this is nice to see that a huge chunk of you have seen the Milky Way! Well done! 60% of Europeans and 80% of North Americans can't see the Milky Way from where they live, so most of you must go out of your way to see it (stats from https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.1600377)
(DIR) Post #AVJXJI7BIxzt1yQW1o by sundogplanets@mastodon.social
2023-05-04T14:17:03Z
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I'm surprised that there are more people who have seen the Milky Way than artificial satellites. My guess is this is people who saw the Milky Way a long time ago, and mostly spend time under light-polluted skies? (Or maybe I'm just bad at writing polls...)I'm surprised because satellites are WAY easier to see than the Milky Way. You can see them easily from light-polluted suburbs where the Milky Way hasn't been visible for 50 years.
(DIR) Post #AVJXJJFN608uXfGZQu by sundogplanets@mastodon.social
2023-05-04T14:20:35Z
1 likes, 1 repeats
Of course, the satellite situation has changed FAST. If you live in a light-polluted city and haven't gone out camping much because of COVID (or some other reason) for the last 3 years, you very easily could completely miss how freaking many satellites there are now. See, for example, this great/awful plot (by someone I've interacted with here and forgotten your name, sorry!)https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/0tB93/1/
(DIR) Post #AVJXJKEhPzCPbrxY1Y by sundogplanets@mastodon.social
2023-05-04T14:25:14Z
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So, you all have homework: look up the moon phase to figure out when you'll have good, dark skies, check your weather, and go away from light pollution to a dark sky site and ENJOY an uninterrupted dome of stars over your head!Find your closest dark sky site here: https://www.darksky.org/our-work/conservation/idsp/finder/Or look at a light pollution map here: https://www.cleardarksky.com/maps/lp/large_light_pollution_map.html
(DIR) Post #AVJYp1j1sO4BQ7pII4 by lanodan@queer.hacktivis.me
2023-05-04T14:47:09.406218Z
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@sundogplanets Nice map but it seems to miss that my town puts out the permanent lights between midnight and 3am (motion-detector based ones stay on).