AstroExeter

1 hour ago, TV Dad said:

I agree! What makes it an ocean liner? 

Well, for a start, Queen Mary 2 has a keel as opposed to a flat bottom. She is also much stronger in construction and is designed for Atlantic crossings.

Just now, CCWineLover said:

Then you will NOT want to be on the Jupiter or the Orion.

We also enjoy the 8th floor of Explorer's Lounge and it just isn't the same with that big thing in the middle - that is indeed misused.

If you want, give it a try - my guess is you will be underwhelmed, as it really isn't a planetarium.  And the Viking ships don't need this planetarium to have a good astronomer on board to give talks and outdoor viewing of the heavens (we've had some good ones on ships other than Jupiter or Orion).

My advice - don't make your final decision of whether to take Jupiter/Orion ships based on the fact they have this situation.  Sometimes there is no other alternative (i.e. Trade Routes, South America).

It is indeed a planetarium and in fact it is one of the most advanced in the world and certainly the most advanced at sea. It is,  in fact , the equivalent of the Haydon Planetarium in New York. Please do not confuse its use as a 3D movie theatre with its use as a genuine planetarium.  Using its capabilities the VRA can show you the night skies at any time in the past or the future from any point on Earth.  The Resident Astronomers do a "Sky above us" show in the dome which is a live narrated presentation of the night sky above the ship relevant to the ship's itinerary. 

17 hours ago, photosg said:

At 5pm our minibus appeared with an enthusiastic young Belgian to take us on our magical excursion. We were thankful for the waterproof boots and one piece thermal suits that kept us toasty while stargazing at a secluded beach. Our guide laid out reindeer pelts and built a little fire before preparing hot chocolate and a camp meal for us.

about 20 minutes before we got back to the ship the lights put on a spectacular show so we stopped by the side of the road to get a proper look.

Great photos! Glad you had a good and successful tour. We had a great show of the lights on deck!

Looking forward to meeting you all. Fingers crossed for good weather! https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/inspiration/destinations/starry-starry-night

2 hours ago, Floater67 said:

When you refer to the “Stars” mode, do you mean Night? There is no such mode on my iP12 Pro Max, nor does Apple support reference one. Maybe I’m just missing it, but would appreciate any guidance. Thanks. 

Sorry, yes it is "night mode". The iPhone 12 Pro Max has has a very good night mode that utilises the wide lens and is able to shoot in " proraw" mode which allows for post editing in software such as Photoshop or Lightroom.

3 hours ago, THartman said:

Any suggestions for Android phones?  Looking forward to meeting you on the February 5 trip.

Depending on your phone you can use the default camera app and adjust the ISO, shutter speed and exposure to take a 10 to 15 sec exposure at f2.0 with an ISO of 800. You may have to play with the settings to get decent images. As for apps, Cortex Camera is good but you really need a small tripod and remote shutter. You will get images using handheld but while they will look reasonable, if you want to print them, they will be poor.

15 hours ago, seaquay said:

Hi AstroExeter, I am on the 1st March cruise and plan to bring my DSLR camera with me, what lens would you suggest I pack?

 

The ideal lens is a 14mm - 24mm with an aperture of around f/1.8 to f/4.0. Maximum light and maximum field of view. Of course you can still get good images with a stock 50mm lens.

2 minutes ago, uktog said:

Thank you. For those of us not able to bring a camera, what app would you recommend for an iPhone. It would be good to have things set up before I leave home 

It depends on what model you have. iPhone 12 have "Stars mode" which is fine. iPhone 11 has a "Night mode" and earlier/older models can use Nightcap pro.

Apologies! Misread your post but for info, older iPhones can successfully use Night Cap Pro and newer models have the ability to take long exposures and shoot in RAW, which is what you want and the iPhone 12 has "Stars mode". A small tripod is recommended as shooting long exposures (5 secs and more) can result in blurry images when taken handheld. There is no substitute for using a proper camera when it comes to shooting the Northern Lights though but you will be able to get reasonable pictures with a smart phone.

I will be the "Northern Lights astronomer" on Viking Venus in Feb/March and I will be delivering talks about the aurora, amongst other astronomy subjects. Part of my talks will be about using apps for aurora predictions and also photographing the lights. As far as apps are concerned, ignore any that say they us the KP Index to predict aurora! The KP Index cannot be used to predict the appearance of aurora in a local area. The only accurate app for predicting the Northern Lights is the Glendale app which is not actually an app that you download but rather a sort of browser plugin. This app uses the Interplanetary Magnetic  Field, Substorm analysis and Geomagntic activity to predict aurora.

It uses ground-breaking scientific research and models, that are not available anywhere else, to provide totally accurate aurora alerts and forecasts. It does things totally different to all other web-sites and apps by tracking the actual substorms that cause auroras in real-time, significantly out-performing all data and alerts provided by other apps, official scientific agencies and universities. You can get the app by opening the browser on your device and going to https://aurora-alerts.uk/ and visit the app in the web-browser on your phone. Use Chrome or Safari. It will look just like you've visited any other web-page. You can bookmark it just like a web-page. However, that is NOT the way to do it! If you click the install button or the little icon in the top right of the browser that is three vertical dots (or a square with an arrow on iPhones), a little menu will appear and one of the options is 'Add to Start/Home Screen'. If you click that, the app gets packaged up like a native app and installed onto your phone. You will get an icon for it on your start screen, just like all your other apps.

Hope this helps!

Cunard has an agreement with the Royal Astronomical Society and often has an RAS astronomer on board their ships. Queen Mary 2 has the largest planetarium at sea and the RAS astronomer will usually present live planetarium shows as well as delivering talks and leading stargazing nights (weather permitting). 

5 hours ago, Ray66 said:

Just received an email from Cunard and they've lined up some interesting guest speakers for these cruises:

 

Jennie Bond.

South Cornwall scenic cruising.

19 – 23 Jul ◆ 4 nights ◆ Q119P

 

Jonathan Haslam CBE.

Scottish Isles scenic cruising.

30 Jul – 6 Aug ◆ 7 nights ◆ Q120

 

Professor Turi King.

Sun Voyage.

20 – 27 Aug ◆ 7 nights ◆ Q123P

 

Julian Bird.

Scenic cruising and Liverpool.

27 Aug – 3 Sep ◆ 7 nights ◆ Q124P

 

Dickie Arbiter LVO.

The British Isles.

14 – 24 Sep ◆ 10 nights ◆ Q127P

 

Henry Blofeld OBE.

The British Isles.

1 – 13 Oct ◆ 12 nights ◆ Q129Q

 

Robert Powell

26th July - 4 nights scenic

 

Dr Hilary Jones

6th August - 7 nights sun voyage

 

Each evening of your Summer at Sea voyage offers a unique line-up of entertainment. Not only will the award-winning musical, Top Hat, be shown at the Royal Court Theatre, but you can also be transported back to the ‘60s with The Beatles Experience, or enjoy covers of classic soul, swing and Motown hits.

You’ll also find comedy on board from the likes of Mike Doyle, who’s performed at Buckingham Palace, and John Martin, whose razor-sharp wit earned him a Guinness World Record.

 

Also myself as the Royal Astronomical Society speaker on board.

July 19th - 6the Aug

 I saw them most days. They were by the cookies!

They had them in the World Cafe on Orion in September. All different colours too!

We were on Aurora at Xmas last year and visited Tivoli. It was cold and snowy and wonderful and the best bit was the Chocolate Factory with terrific hot chocolate and animated elves making the chocolate. 

New article on Cruise Critic:

Live From Viking Orion: A Look at the New Cruise Ship's Planetarium

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=8710

 

It sounds very appealing to me, and I hope that if it works as well as described that they will add it to the existing ships. It's also great to hear about a cruise line that only adds and enhances their ships and experiences, rather than cutting back!

This is a fantastic facility that I look forward to using as Resident Astronomer to entertain and educate the guests.

Will the resident astronomer be on the ship in 2019?

Indeed they will. I am one of a team of Resident Astronomers so it will either be myself or another experienced astronomer.

The ship also has a stabilised telescope which can be linked directly to the planetarium. The planetarium itself seats 26 at a time and will feature some fabulous shows. It does not take up the whole Explorers Lounge, so there will be plenty of space. The Resident Astronomer will deliver a series of talks covering NASA space missions, History of astronomy as well as general astronomy talks. My field is mainly astrophysics and I collaborate on NASA and ESA missions such as OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission. We will also utilise the planetarium and hold "stargazing nights" when weather permits. Resident Astronomers will, of course, be available to answer any questions guests may have and we look forward to meeting you all on board.

The secret is out and Viking Orion does indeed have the most advanced 3D Planetarium in the World on board! I am very pleased to have been appointed as Resident Astronomer on this wonderful ship and look forward to delivering iconic lectures, planetarium shows and stargazing nights for all the guests. See you on board!

The dress code has not changed, just what they are called. This was stated quite clearly in the Cunarder. Jackets are still required after 6pm in the public areas and dark suits or tuxedos on formal (Gala) evenings. Some areas of the ship, such as Kings Court, allow casual dress after 6pm. http://www.cunard.co.uk/life-on-board/what-to-pack/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=ECN948&utm_campaign=GDPR&utm_term=CU-6367833&utm_content=Find%20more%20information%20%C2%BB

Also, you do not use cash onboard. Everything is charged to your cruise card and you pay before disembarkation.

Today's email from Cunard links to the new dress designations which should explain the description changes. Nothing has really changed. http://www.cunard.co.uk/life-on-board/what-to-pack/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=ECN948&utm_campaign=GDPR&utm_term=CU-6367833&utm_content=Find%20more%20information%20%C2%BB

You have to pay and places are limited.

Cards are not based on accommodation but on the World Club level of the guest. There is no wat to tell a Grill guest unless you see them eating or in the Grills lounge and there is certainly no feeling of being in "steerage".

No they don't.

May l add a supplementary question pls.

How do you get issued the Gold Tier internet time (l assume you go to the internet centre?), and if both yourself and your spouse are Gold, can it be used on a single device.

Thanks. [emoji3]

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

You will need to purchase the amount of time that you are entitled to as part of your Gold status. It will them be credited back to your account. You will have seperate login details so can use the same device. No need to go to the Internet centre unless you have a problem.