Where Are The Stars, Why Can't We See Them At High Altitude

Discussion in 'Science & Nature' started by Joe Riley, Jan 28, 2017.

  1. Joe Riley

    Joe Riley Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2015
    Messages:
    13,933
    Likes Received:
    22,554
  2. Joe Riley

    Joe Riley Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2015
    Messages:
    13,933
    Likes Received:
    22,554
    Some flights in the Southern Hemisphere exist only on paper. No plane at the gate, no actual flight. This thread asks why the stars cannot be seen from space, or even an airplane, flying at high altitude?
     
    #2
    Lois Winters and Yvonne Smith like this.
  3. Doc James

    Doc James Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Feb 8, 2017
    Messages:
    45
    Likes Received:
    54
    Stars cannot usually be seen at high altitudes because of the clouds, and mostly because stars are usually bodies of gas that light up. The closer you get to it, you usually don't see it anymore. Flying at high altitudes usually tends to get more cloudy, hence, the water vapors surrounding uou usually obscures the stars.
     
    #3
    Lois Winters likes this.
  4. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    14,880
    Likes Received:
    27,865
    I just watched this amazing video this morning, of the brightest star in the heavens, Sirius. Until the photographer zooms in with his camera, it pretty much just looks like we would expect any bright star to look , if we had a telescope.
    When the camera zooms in, it most looks more like some kind of a spaceship or UFO, at least to me, and cartainly NOT just a flaming ball of fire , way out in deep space.
    Since we all know that fire needs oxygen to be able to burn, I have often wondered how they can say that our sun, and the stars are all just balls of burning gas fire, anyway.

     
    #4
    Lois Winters likes this.
  5. Hal Pollner

    Hal Pollner Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Feb 11, 2018
    Messages:
    6,161
    Likes Received:
    4,368
    We live in the High Mojave Desert at an altitude of 3000 feet.

    Because our atmosphere is so clear, during moonless nights we can see the Milky Way, which is a slice of our Galaxy.

    Local ordinances state that all outdoor lighting fixtures must have overhead reflectors to prevent "light spill" from polluting our night sky.

    This extends to all parking lots for public use, which illuminate the parking spaces but do not allow light to spread above the top of the light poles.

    I remember shortly after moving up to Apple Valley after retirement, I was attending a Star Party with our local astronomy club "HiDAS", (High Desert Astronomical Society), when I noticed a fog bank encroaching on our site from the East.

    I mentioned that this looks like the end of our observing session, only to realize as the "fog bank" became closer, that it was the Milky Way, with the "fog" consisting of millions of Stars!

    What a night that was!

    Hal
     
    #5
    Nancy Hart likes this.
  6. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    24,325
    Likes Received:
    42,614
    When I moved from Southern California to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, I was amazed at the stars. With all the light pollution in Southern California, you pretty much forget they are there. I had never considered that you wouldn't be able to see stars at high altitudes. Although I have climbed mountains, and even spent the night on some of the smaller ones, I never noticed that.
     
    #6
    Lois Winters likes this.
  7. Ed Wilson

    Ed Wilson Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Dec 6, 2019
    Messages:
    1,954
    Likes Received:
    3,411
    Th video is shot through a reflecting telescope which produces the effect of diffraction spikes. A reflecting telescope has a secondary mirror up near the eyepiece which interferes with the incoming image which causes them. You won't see them in a refracting telescope. I was into astronomy for a while.

    Stars aren't really burning. The process is nuclear fusion like is happening with our sun.
     
    #7
  8. Lois Winters

    Lois Winters Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 2019
    Messages:
    5,188
    Likes Received:
    7,937
    When I was stationed in Alabama, I found out that the song, Stars Fell On Alabama Last Night was spot on. Wow, what a difference from the NY/NJ skies. We were not at high altitudes, so the vista may have change remarkably. Same as when I was in Texas.
     
    #8
    Yvonne Smith likes this.
  9. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    14,880
    Likes Received:
    27,865
    We have so many trees around us that it is almost impossible for us to see the moon and stars here where we live. Plus, since we are in town, there is all of the city light and streetlights, that make it even harder. We would have to go and stand in the middle of the back yard and then look straight up and see what was directly above us.
    When I lived in Idaho, it was awesome ! The sky was clear, the stars were bright, and I felt like I could see the whole sky around me.
    I miss that.
     
    #9
    Lois Winters and Ed Wilson like this.

Share This Page