laowhoo
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Posts posted by laowhoo
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On 1/29/2018 at 04:34, alan potts said:
Sending button pressing thoughts to you from afar. Oscar Wilde, the only way to deal with temptation is to yeild to it.
Alan.
"Suffice to say, what we behold is censored by our eyes. To be possessed is the best reason for possessing." Lord Peter Wimsey
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Update. Our neighbors, who we love, put up 3 days ago the ungodliest, god-awfulest...there is no adjective, and if you saw it you'd agree. A porch light sufficient for an airport runway. I'm shocked it's even legal for sale. The most bothersome part of it for me is the sickness behind it. I can't even go there, wondering why/what is in their needy little mind for such, never mind the absolute lack of any consideration for others, and we've had them to our scope.
To the backyard we go, and I had an idea this morning to accomplish the trek...a sled. Bought 2 pieces 4" PVC w/ 45* elbows, and we'll cut down the tops to make them flat to accept the scope base from the dolly base we've been using on the driveway. YES!
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On 8/2/2012 at 16:34, Capricorn said:
Between 6 and 8 call it what you feel like.
That's called the sweet spot where everything works well and looks good
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All too human. I woulda liked to have been a fly on the hallway wall b/t Feynman and Murray Gell Mann. But when I learned what might have been the reason for Hoyle being snubbed--advocating too vociferously for Bell--well, that's about as human as it gets, and as fine as a person can be IMHO. Cheers!
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Fred Hoyle was probably denied the Nobel for arguing for Jocelyn Bell, and against their refusal to award her. Feynman's frailties made him the physicist he was, and these were more than bongos and strip clubs
I doubt he'd agree, respectfully...
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We were out yesterday for all things scope, and looking at the Home Depot sheds (our Walmart Builder box store). What I need to do is put together/modify something temporary but stable/sound. It'll have to come in come spring, but my wife is fine with having it up during the non-mowing seasons. Along the fence line should be an option but for poor sight lines, so middle of the yard is all we have.
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Just ran across this old gem of he and Hoyle discussing revelation/inspiration
or Eureka! moments. Just give it a soft pat, and...
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On 12/17/2017 at 15:49, 25585 said:
Larger diameters, theoretically anyway, make splitting double stars easier.
Can anyone advise on significant magnification & aperture increments for increasing arc & resolution etc?
This work was by Roger Clark done with the help of Mel Bartels and Nils Olof Carlin, and is based on the earlier work of Blackwell for the military
http://clarkvision.com/visastro/omva1/
Personally, I'm pushing mag all the time, accepting the limits of my aperture and conditions. I'm also always fiddling/collimating. Realistically, conditions here limit ideal viewing to about 250x generally, but there are always things to try to sneak up on, and sometimes if you wait 30 minutes, seeing will "break" for a few seconds. There really isn't an either/or proposition here, and unless you're trying things just beyond your grasp, well...isn't that what we're doing anyway?
(LOL I just realized what I'm doing--I'm probably trying to get a hint of what the imagers are getting. So be it!)
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We're on a caster deck (4" casters) and b/c of street LP I'm thinking of escaping into the back. I also have wagon wheels on the scope itself by wh/ we can manage the grass failing pavers, etc., but it takes more doing. Ideally we'll keep the caster deck (wh/ does lock well), but this shed's the thing. That's what I'll be waiting to see. Don't really wanna erect one square in the middle of a (large-ish) tree-lined backyard, but I'm tired of fighting the street and years of it has me obsessing a bit over getting every photon in. I'm also dying to see what difference lower ambient light makes--say we managed to completely block street light w/ a 10' screen, but then managed the same w/ the shed in back. How much effect do those stray/overhead streetlight photons degrade our seeing? The more I imagine it, the fussier I'm getting. Thanks for shoving me into action.
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On 11/14/2017 at 16:37, Hairy Gazer said:
I read a comment made on here the other day about the maximum magnification you can realistically use in UK skies (250x apparently). Therefore I was wondering what everyone else thinks this is, especially for you guys with 16" plus, apertures.
I'm still fairly new to this game (only being observing for about 7 months), and only have a 5" Newt at the moment (but am about to replace with a 10" Dob) so I don't get any higher than 159x (6.3 mm).
Here's something for your encouragement
Visual Detection at the Eyepiece
http://www.bbastrodesigns.com/visual.html
and his other articles that also address this, or observing generally, make a nice bit of kit for your consideration
Is Aperture King?
http://www.bbastrodesigns.com/Is Aperture King.html
Why I see More and What it Means
http://www.bbastrodesigns.com/The New Sub-F3 Richest Field Telescopes.html
Telescope Magnification is Key
http://www.bbastrodesigns.com/Telescope Magnification.html
Fear not. And if we ever build another scope, it'll be a 10"
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Telescope Trolley
in DIY Astronomer
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Mad dogs and Englishmen. I built a sled for the scope Catman, not a house. Now you've put me in mind of a small gauge train that the kids ride--straight out to the center of our backyard. Do you suppose the house will sell for more, or for less, having had an eccentric old man in it (meaning me)? My wife's very understanding, and I better keep it that way. But I admit to already having seen your build, after which I tested those waters with her, and her smile said it all.