Interesting side topic for night sky lovers is the sight of Comet Lovejoy appearing in our northern hemisphere. It'll be most visible with the naked eye on January the 7th, but tonight is a relatively clear one over the southern region. It can be found passing the belt in the constellation Orion, which is probably the most recognisable one in the winter night sky. Oh, and it's green..!
Oh, the best bit about being in my fifties, is that I did all my stupid stuff before the Internet. And before everyone had a phone with them. Not so good from the hair point of view, as you can see, but that is a small sacrifice.
I know very little about our solar system so this means nothing to me, but will there be a particular time when it appears? I did manage to see a few of the meteorite thingys in the clear skies before Xmas which was quite interesting so may have a gander while walking the dog tonight.
Orion: please log in to view this image The belt is the three stars in the middle. It's a fairly easy constellation to spot and is visible most of the time in the Northern hemisphere. Once you find it once, you'll spot it straight away.
Exactly so, PL. Just to put a little meat on that. If anyone is outside with a half decent view of the night sky, make sure you are looking towards south on the compass. Look at the horizon and then up at roughly a 45 degree angle. Orion is a big winter constellation, and as PL says, once found, you'll never ever miss it again, largely due to that group of three bright stars in the belt. Comet Lovejoy will pass through that view. Use a pair of binoculars, even a cheap pair, or perhaps take a snap with a digital camera and then zoom in on the downloaded image at your leisure. Those lucky enough to have a telescope should get a very good view. But the sky has to be clear. If it isn't, all that neck craning will be worthless, so check that out first. Oh, and well done PL. Nice signature.
To return to an earlier conversation, I finally got to see the Hobbit: the Battle of the Five Armies this evening and it was very good. It's amazing how many extra sub-plots and action sequences they managed to pack into a story that basically took up the last few chapters of the original book, but it was all very entertaining. I am struggling a bit to accept that 13 years after the release of The Fellowship of the Ring the franchise has finally ground to a halt, unless Peter Jackson can persuade the reluctant Tolkein family to sell the rights to The Silmarillion. I'm sure he can afford to make them a decent offer!
Yes, the review site Rotten Tomatoes reckon they could edit the 3 down to one really good 3 hour film without too much trouble!
I was not going to bother going to see 3 films that cover a book that was a lot thinner than the LOTR books. Screw that. A stunt to rake in more money IMO. I would have gone to see one 3 hour film covering the whole book.
Ched Evans has been offered a chance at a club in Malta. Going abroad was always his best chance, though can he take up the offer when he is out on licence?
https://twitter.com/RonaldKoeman/status/551123852034854912 Is it an honour to have your leaving nominated as a Feyenoord highlight, Ron
The media's reaction to Gerrard leaving is annoying as ****. SKY, BBC etc etc making it sound like he died.
Is it still going on..? I've been avoiding the general football news for that very reason. NewsNow is your friend. Almost wish Koeman hadn't said he's take Gerard, because that even tainted NN.
That would be a complete disaster! The only thing missing from Jackson's Hobbit was a gunfight, full-frontal nudity and a car chase! He's taken a charming children's classic and turned it into a "trilogy" / franchise/ action movie(s). Is there no room in Hollywood any more for story telling without "kung fu" sword fights, huge explosions, massive overuse of CGI and egotistical directors who know better than world-famous, record breaking, genre-defining authors? The only decent effort Jackson made was the Fellowship of the Ring - yes, he butchered it but some alterations were always necessary in a screen play. The Two Towers and The Return of the King were visually impressive but aimed totally at people who had not read the books- understandable in an obscure, or semi-well-known original, but rather arrogant when you consider the popularity world-wide of the written work-not only in volume of readership, but also in the fanaticism of those readers. Despite myself, I expect I'll still see the final film, though!
I read The Hobbit after the Lord of the Rings...big mistake. The Hobbit is definitely aimed more at children. Enjoyed both books, but you need to read The Hobbit first (obviously on chronological grounds as well).
