saac

I think the concept is good and, like Goldfinger's comment  above, I think it points to the future direction. The price point is however flawed for my liking. 

Jim 

We seem hell bent on systematically destroying the planet at ground level; starlink is just finishing it off.  On a serious note the damage hardly seems worth what really is a frivolous benefit.  

36 minutes ago, Gonariu said:

Are you teacher of math and physics?

Just Physics Gonariu - secondary school 12-18 year olds.  From time to time something will be posted in the forum that will give you an idea to use in class.  At the moment I'm working on a radio telescope (see radio astronomy section) to see if we can identify the hydrogen line .  Struggling with the software at present but I'm hopeful to get a chance to sort it out during the summer holidays ( 4 weeks away and counting )  

Jim 

Welcome to the forum Gonariu. Good to see another Physics teacher on SGL, we can compare notes sometime  

Jim 

1 hour ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

Time to practice my Brian Cox look into camera provoking thought from the viewer followed by a gentle but firm turn of the head to the right tilted up at a distant cosmic object contemplating existance while the soundtrack reaches a crescendo look... (Breathes).

 

It won't be as good as the way Brian does it  

4 minutes ago, Stu said:

I’m guessing it’s an old nuclear bunker perhaps? Could be fun, and looks like it’s somewhere pretty dark! Might need a generator if spending any time there.

I think so, the concrete porch is typical of blast protection.  May even be a comms station or even explosive storage.  Should be easy enough to check land registry equivalent to find out what it was.  I would check that there is no tax burden or other maintenance charges associated with it and if not , and if the Op has the spare cash, then why not. Could be put to a number of uses .  Interesting project .

Alternatively , buy a 2nd hand camper van and you are good to go without the burden of ownership and ongoing maintenance of a strange building  

Jim 

2 hours ago, jjohnson3803 said:

 

 As far as I know, it's completely above ground.

 

 

Oohhhhh, I used to work in places like that - small cottage footprint on the outside - once you get inside it's an elevator ride down 12 flights !!!   The carpark at the surface to accommodate 300 cars was always the giveaway.  Buy it,  buy it now, and never think twice about the zombie apocalypse again  

Jim 

I will go against the flow here !  I think the rising air current problem is often overplayed and misunderstood  Consider that you will have the same from the surrounding ground anyway !   Concrete, brick built observatories are used the world over.  Roof top obsy tend to suffer from thermal air currents if the building/space below is an occupied dwelling and is heated. From the OP's description this does not appear to be the case.   To the OP, is there a reason you would want to specifically observe from the roof itself - could you construct a hardstanding next to it and use the building for secure storage. Perhaps you are looking to use the roof for height clearance . 

Jim 

Here's a question - can we actually compare galaxy density , any spatial measurement really, between back then and now?  What I'm getting at is given that spacetime was/is expanding then are we able to compare a standard unit of spatial measurement across the universe's evolutionary epochs (don't know if that is right word) ?  Are these measurements invariant in that way ? 

Jim

I think it is what we see - think of the Hubble Deep Field and Ultra Deep Field  - it's like every available parking space has been taken by a Galaxy .  Having said that there will also be the factor of the timeline for the rate of Galaxy formation - no doubt some complicated maths will describe the interplay there. I love this video - music fits perfectly (Shine On Crazy Diamond) .  Oh ignore the hack partway through - Ill try find a better one. 

Jim 

Man it will all be gone by the time this weather clears  

Jim  

23 hours ago, Ed astro said:

 

Ed that is a really cool setup, would be good for outreach. 

Jim 

Im finding that the drivers for my NESDR Smartee XTR SDR usb dongle are quite sensitive - Had to reinstall both SDR Sharp and the drivers several times before it settled again. Anyway,  I had a trial run last night with the IF Average plugin and tried to take a background calibration.  As Peter has said the article at (https://www.rtl-sdr.com/cheap-and-easy-hydrogen-line-radio-astronomy-with-a-rtl-sdr-wifi-parabolic-grid-dish-lna-and-sdrsharp/)  suggested the calibration would take up to 7 minutes but mine reported calibration really quickly - almost immediately - so not really sure it worked properly.    It was partly cloudy last night so I couldn't get a good fix on the Milky Way just pointed it randomly where I though Denab may be !  Anyway nothing showed  - probably not pointing in right direction anyway.   I also think I was too optimistic, I'm learning that the reading will take a few minutes to integrate before anything shows.   Was hoping to do something today but been raining non stop - need to modify my horn with a drain tap  

Getting there very slowly !

Jim 

Great set of videos; really enjoyed that .

Jim 

ps - I dont know if anybody has mentioned it but I would also download and install a copy of Stellarium  - digital planetarium, it will help your dad navigate the night sky making it easier to identify those alignment stars. 

pointedstick, firstly a very warm welcome to SGL.  People are offering good advice here but don't be overly concerned about the complexity of alignment or operating a goto system.  These systems are in fact pretty straightforward to use menu driven procedures. Once you have read the manual and carried out 2 or three alignments it will become second nature.  There are also plenty of amazing You Tube videos giving step by step support.  In my opinion, If your dad is happy using an ipad, then he will be more than capable of aligning the telescope and using goto. In any respect, the telescope will still function perfectly in manual mode - something I do with mine quite often. One of the fun parts of astronomy, for some, is getting all the technical wizardry to work .  I personally would be looking at the 8 inch SE -  the larger aperture would do it for me and I think would be the better longer term investment.  Good luck and have fun with the purchase, your dad will enjoy it. Something for both of you to get a kick out of learning to use it together .  

Jim 

As others have said , for me it's about whether you want to be an active participant or a spectator.  I've seen thousands of photographs of the Mona Lisa but 2 years ago (pre Covid remember that) I stood in front of her in the Louvre and she smiled at me.      That's the image and feeling I'll  remember; all those others just don't come close and are as quickly forgotten as they were acquired.  So it really depends on what type of experience you are after I guess.

Jim  

10 hours ago, maw lod qan said:

Yes a sad day. RIP Mr Collins.

I read "Carrying the fire" when I was much younger and enjoyed it. When he commented on how he would think and feel if something happened to two astronauts on the moon or when returning to the CM it really made me think.

I've always believed he would have done anything he possibly could do if there had been any chance of him saving them!

Although the light would be better tomorrow morning for the area, I still did take a few moments to view the landing area.

That generation of Americans were without question special; I often think their contribution to the 2nd world war and the Apollo program mark the USA's  greatest achievements and are a shining example to the world of the good we can do.  A very special generation indeed .  Very few moon walkers left now.  RIP Mr Collins : and, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod , the high untrespassed sanctity of space, put out my hand, and touched the face of God". 

Jim  

Peter I had a complete failure over the weekend with mine making effectively zero progress due to software issues. I'm not really into coding of such an my initial approach was to use gnu spectrometer based software advised by DSPIRA. That however involves installing and running ubuntu which is where the problems started.   Long story short I eventually went back to using SDR Sharp and eventually managed to install the If Average Plugin. So my next stage is to capture the background (instrument) signal so that it can be subtracted.  I think the If Average function also allows me to take effectively a long exposure and stack the signal to bring out the weak hydrogen line hopefully !!!!   I have yet to confirm that my system can pick up a signal - waiting for good line of sight of the sun and favourable weather to test that out .  One thing is for sure - this is not easy  

Jim 

On 26/04/2021 at 19:22, powerlord said:

I love flying up there in my paramotor - had a close one with US airforce last time right enough.. but still - awesome scenery. It's where I named my puppy after 🙂

Last time I was up (2019) I had amazing weather - motorhome parked next to sea in a wee place all to myself, swimming in the sea in the evening, and flying over the Cullins during the day. cannae beat it. Wasn't into astronomy then so probably missed out on some great night skies.

Saying that, yer a lucky lucky man to get those conditions, rain, cloud and wind are more likely.

one of my movies if interested:

 

Stunning , what a wonderful thing. 

Jim

There is a nice handy little car park at the foot of Tinto Hill which would be good for parking up and nice ground to set up on.  The skies should certainly be better than around Motherwell and not too far to drive.   The hill itself may obscure some of the sky though; I think it's one of those things that may need a recce.  If you really want dark - head down on the back roads towards Moffat or Wanlockhead in the leadhills - lots of nooks and crannies to explore there , some tracks up the hills if you are adventurous . Definitely one for a daytime recce  - be careful in winter (highest village in Scotland so weather can be grim while otherwise tropical in Motherwell) . Do you remember the night time sky around Lanarkshire when the Craig was still operating?  I used to be a regular driver on the M74 and coming home northbound I could swear I could pick up the orange glow of the coke ovens opening as far as Lockerbie  

Tinto Hill car park  https://w3w.co/mission.tomb.maddening

Jim 

Been a few years since I was last on Skye.  Was watching a programme on the iPlayer this morning which to be honest put me off visiting anytime except out of season ,maybe October is best. Visit Scotland has just been too successful at what they do, what with that and the influence of  the movies (Outlander etc).  The last time I was there we walked along the Quiraing and pretty much were the only souls there; I hate to think what it is like in the summer now. 

Jim 

Be ironic if it was junk from Starlink .

3 hours ago, Peter Masters said:

 

How "tolerant" will the probe length be?  I couldn't find any info really on that.  4.6cm long as per the SETI Horn of Plenty guide, but 1/4 wavelength would be 5.25cm.  I noticed that when I was trying to capture NOAA satellites that I'd forgotten to account for the length of cable outside the coax before it joined the actual probe (which of course is still part of the antenna).  In this setup, the excess cable is probably 1.5 cm, so maybe I'm close to the 1/4 wavelength anyway.  In any case, I don't know how much out that could be before it would make the probe ineffective.

Thanks!

Hi Peter, Im following your thread with real interest as I am on my own journey on this. The plan for my antenna design was provided by the DSPIRA team and they use a 52.5 mm probe (as you said 1/4 wavelength).  I wonder, subject to it being an easy thing to do, would it be worthwhile swapping your probe out for a 52.5 mm length just to take that out of the equation.   I am very far from being knowledgeable on any of this  - my learning curve inclines behind vertical !  At the moment I'm trying to get my software running  - started off using again the DSPIRA recommended spectrometer on gnu radio platform running on ubuntu (which I know nothing about).  I've hit a problem as their setup uses the (expensive) Airspy R2 SDR receiver while I have a Nooelec NESDR dr Smarttee XR connected to a SAWbird.  I think I somehow need to swap out the driver for the SDR so that the software recognises it but I have no idea how to proceed.   That is today's task    Anyway good luck , I think a lot of this as others have hinted is going to be a battle of persistence , trial and error. 

Oh,  where did you source your aluminised thermal board if you don't mind me asking - I couldn't get my hands on any so I went down the road of lining foam board with Al foil. 

Jim 

The University of St Andrews could look to improve the publicity they give to their open evenings. I quite often find a note in the local paper one week after the event 🙄   A a few years ago students from the Physics department at St Andrews were using the James Gregory scope as part of a wider team and in the process discovered an exo planet - kudos for such an historic scope.

https://news.st-andrews.ac.uk/archive/students-play-key-role-in-new-planet-discovery/

Jim