Stargazing on and out of KAUST Campus
Is laborious homework driving you crazy? Are you still suffering from the mid-term exams? Do not worry, relax and spend some time on the sky. The stars will refresh you. And I hope this article can help you with stargazing.
Let us start with questions.
(1) What kind of equipment we should have for the star hunting?
Some people may consider stargazing as equipment restricted activity. However, Stargazing does not mean you need expensive equipment, and you can have a “plain observation” by naked eyes, or eyes with glasses if you are myopic. “Plain observation” works for constellations, meteor showers, solar or moon eclipse, and even comet. In addition, it is also suitable for aurora if you are living in the high latitude.
It would be great if you have the software STELLARIUM (recommended by Desmond and Lakshmi), which can be downloaded from website free of charge. Here is the screenshot of Stellarium, which shows the names of the stars and constellations.
And detailed information (magnitude, distance, alias, motion description) can be also found when you click the star. The most useful function of the software is the simulation of stars in the celestial sphere (an imaginary sphere where all the stars reside). You can choose various view modes of the sky, e.g., a view of constellations can help you find constellations easily.
If you would like to have a specific view of the moon or planets (Jupiter, Saturn, and so on), now you need binocular or telescope. There are many types for telescope and prices vary a lot. The telescope we astronomy group have is Vixen-VC200L, with focal length of 1800mm. For more information, please contact KAUST Amateur Astronomer Association.
(2) Where we can have the observations of stars?
For stargazing, what you need most is dark environment without light pollution. KAUST beach area is the place you can choose. Following is the photo for Orion taken on KAUST beach. In addition, BBQ, camping can go well with star observations.
I would like to mention one rural area outside KAUST, Waba Crater, where is perfect for stargazing. Milky Way can be observed easily by naked eyes and more stars in the deep sky can be seen. Here is one photo of stars around the polar star taken by Junjie. Different colors indicate different temperatures on the surface of the star.
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类别：天文星象
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最近更新于2012-06-28, 周四 10:54
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作者 潘江江
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点击数：5486
Government Affairs invites you to register on the Ministry of Interior (MOI) website in order to utilize the Saudi government's electronic services.
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We urge you to complete the registration during this specified period. GASC is located on level 2 in the Administration Building (building 16).
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类别：政府银行
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最近更新于2012-05-28, 周一 23:50
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作者 Felix Lau
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点击数：5068
