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andy fearn

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Posts posted by andy fearn

  1. 17 hours ago, ArmyAirForce said:

    October 23rd

    The final paving stone was cut and laid on the 23rd of October, along with a 10 inch tall slab cut and fitted vertically to end the path and hold back the earth and gravel behind.

    obsy578.jpg

    Poor weather is delaying further work right now, but the next stage will be to clear out the rubbish behind the garage. When that's done, I can rake out all the dead plant matter, prior to starting to dig out in preparation for the garage path foundations.

    obsy579.jpg

    I probably won't post again until this path is complete. That will complete the garden landscaping part of the project. The thread will then probably go dormant until the Spring, when I get to plant the flowers in the railway embankment. That will be the final act to complete the whole project.

    I'm looking forwards to seeing some colour in the embankment, but for now, I'm really happy to get so much of the path done this year. Fingers crossed for a few more dry days to complete it.

    All your hard work is now  coming together and what a great job you have done. I have watched this project with great interest and admiration. now the longer nights are here hopefully the weather will be kind and you can enjoy the obsy. Clear skies.

    • Thanks 1
  2. On 02/10/2023 at 23:08, Lurcher said:

    Hi,

    I've been so focused on seeing deep sky objects I haven't viewed the moon in quite a while.

    I noticed it was clear on Sunday, and although the moon was bright I headed out with my scope into the back garden with the intention of concentrating on double stars.

    After a while I thought I'd take a look at the moon, as it was at a phase, (one day after full moon, which I don't normally catch.  I  noticed a nice line of craters on the edge of the terminator and thought I'd have a go at sketching them.  It's probably been a couple of years since trying to sketch anything on the moon, and I felt really rusty to begin with. But I had forgotten how absorbing and enjoyable it is to focus so much on a few craters! - I think next time I'll pick just one or two craters and try to get the detail  of a limited area correctly.

    lunar sketch oct23.jpg

    nice to see you still sketching. Brilliant piece of work.

    • Like 1
  3. On 21/08/2023 at 21:52, ArmyAirForce said:

    The new lawn is taking hold quite well, though I did overseed some thin areas after getting back from France. While we were away, I think the heavy rain washed the seed off some areas. Looking back towards the observatory, it's looking quite good. For the next part of the job, I need to order another fourteen sleepers for the final top layer of the sleeper wall and thirty six 900 x 600 paving slabs, for along the hawthorn hedge.

    obsy545.jpg

    The day ended with a fireball sun setting on the West North West horizon, so I grabbed a few phone pictures over the gate. The last time I did this, there was no ballast or lawn.

    obsy546.jpg

    An amazing transformation, for all the hard work, time and effort that you have put in to it,( not to mention the cost ) you must be very pleased with the end result. I know you haven't finished yet but have really taken an interest watching this huge project of yours.  p.s  i think your truck deserves a well earned rest as well as yourselves.

    • Thanks 1
  4. 12 minutes ago, astrolulu said:

    It must be said with appreciation that everyone did a really good job posing for this photo. Everyone brought out as much color as they could. And the blue Aristillus crater made the most effort. Only INA - a mysterious area distinguished by a blue tint, because of which it is sometimes called "Blue Lake", does not want to be blue... As usual.


    MONTES-APENNINUS-2022-09-17-C8-N-2.jpg

     

    So so good, can't get enough of these. Thank you.

    • Thanks 1
  5. 19 minutes ago, Xiga said:

    Thanks! I never actually produced a finished image first time around, i was that unhappy with it. But i did find the version below, which seems to be the most recent one i had before i gave up on it. 

    Pretty bad, i know! 😅 🙈

    1754807013_IrisNebula_Nights1and3-lpc-cbg-QuickGo-csc-SC-St-Cropped-denoise-75.thumb.jpg.46abfde45b2fec4b05560c3484633545.jpg

    Wow, what an improvement. very nice.

    • Like 2
  6. 1 minute ago, ArmyAirForce said:

    The neoprene was then glued to the plywood rings and weighted down to dry again. A little while later, both rings were screwed down to the floor of the observatory.

    obsy359.jpg

    With the first in place, the second mount was able to be bolted to pier two and the original mount was removed to allow fitting of the other ring. That was then refitted and the observatory closed up. The rest of the day was spent indoors processing my solar images as it was too hot to be outside.

    obsy360.jpg

    I like the neoprene idea, very neat.

    • Thanks 1
  7. 9 hours ago, ArmyAirForce said:

    I managed a quick Lunar close up with the ASI178MM and 742nm IR Pass filter before it clouded over. Still a daylight image. It was due to clear again, so I switched off, closed the roof and waited.

    The "Moon Duck" crater formation.

    obsy345.jpg

    Good job I closed the roof, because it rained for a short time. I was rewarded with a rainbow over the observatory which must be a good sign!

    As it got darker, I took my daughter out to look at the Moon for a while and we got a brief view of Saturn rising, before it went behind those tall trees you can see below. I think it's about to come back out the other side, so I'm about to head back out.

    obsy346.jpg

    congratulations on a fantastic build, and end result. That looks a bit of a climb to get into the obsy ??    hoping you and your family enjoy clear skies.

  8. 6 hours ago, peter shah said:

    Thats a lot of stars!.....M11 The Wild Duck Cluster and Barnards 110 dark Nebula. A two panel Mosaic imaged remotely from Spain with the Takahashi Epsilon 180ED and ZWO 2400MC pro full frame camera,  Total exposure time was 5hours. Worth taking a look at the full res.

     

    Thanks 

    Peter

    M11 B110 Two Panel Mosaic.jpg

    Amazing image. very thought provoking.

  9. 8 minutes ago, ArmyAirForce said:

    July 28th - I knew today wasn't going to be so productive, having burned myself out yesterday. I began with the vacuum cleaner, sucking up all the dust and shavings inside and outside the observatory. With a clean work area again, I proceeded to make more mess! The second concrete pier was drilled for the new adapter and the lower plate was fixed in place via studding glued into the concrete.

    obsy295.jpg

    While that was curing, I turned my attention to the slightly sagging roof. I suspected it would sag to some degree with the weight of the roof panels and as a result, the back edge of the upper wall was now rubbing on the lower wall. if the roof was opened, it dropped a fraction below the lower wall, preventing easy shutting. I needed to fix the sag and restore the gap.

    I made a plywood wedge which was hammered into the now closed up gap, to lift the wall and roof back up to where it should have been. Then one by one, I cut some diagonal braces to fit into the rear roof panel to stop the sag. Each was individually cut to fit and slightly on the large size. The ends of the timber were tapered slightly to help them fit, with some persuasion from a big hammer. The tight fitting pieces worked perfectly, lifting the sagging rear wall until the temporary wedge fell out of its own accord. The gap was restored.

    I have some small brass rollers that have been kicking around the workshop for years. I think I'm going to add two to the rear wall, so that during the long periods of the roof being shut, the wall is supported. It took quite a while to fit them all and was heading towards 1pm by the time I finished - lunch time!

    obsy296.jpg

    This is so impressive.

    • Like 1
  10. 1 minute ago, ArmyAirForce said:

    The remaining two pieces of timber were cut for the rear braces. These help to keep the vertical supports upright, especially when they have the load of the open roof on them. A steel strap joins the two timbers in the centre and is then bolted into the centre concrete foundation. The over-long runner timbers and the vertical posts were also cut down to remove the excess. The cut ends were treated with shed paint followed by several coats of waterproof PVA glue.

    obsy273.jpg

    So that was all the roof support timbers fitted and painted and I still had time left in the day.

    obsy274.jpg

    This build is so impressive. How are you going to open and shut the roof, Manually, or electronic.?

  11. 3 minutes ago, ArmyAirForce said:

    July 7th - Today was all about painting. I started with non-observatory stuff; finishing painting three jerrycans for my Dodge truck. I'm away for the weekend with the truck and wanted to take the cans for accessories to the display, so the painting was finished first thing and left in the sun to bake dry.

    Last night, my daughter helped me to move around some of the panels, so I could get access to the rear of the front panel. That allowed me to paint all the panels today. In the corridor, the front panel and the right hand end.

    obsy210.jpg

    In the workshop was the rear panel, left end, door and the roof ends and rear walls. With all the panels accessible, the inside of the front wall was given its first coat of paint. I then moved on to all the other panels for their second coats. By the time I'd done all of those, the front wall was dry enough to give it a second coat.

    I'll get home from my military weekend on Sunday evening. On Monday morning, I need to check over all the panels, plus the base and be sure I'm ready for the main wall assembly. That's because wifey is free to help on Monday evening, but probably not for the rest of the week. So if everything looks ok, the plan is to get the four walls and the door assembled on the base on Monday evening.

    obsy211.jpg

    Enjoy the weekend, and good luck with the build on monday.🤞

    • Like 1
  12. 5 hours ago, malc-c said:

    10/10 for an understanding and considerate council.  Not only did they listen to your complaint they acted quickly to implement a solution that accommodates the needs of the council to illuminate the road, but reduce the spillage of light into areas that would have seriously impacted the enjoyment of your hobby.   Makes a change compared to some of the stories we read on here where other councils are less sympathetic to their constituents.   

     

    8 hours ago, ArmyAirForce said:

    June 30th - I went outside just after 11pm yesterday to check the illumination of the road with the new lamp orientation. The speed chicane was still well illuminated, so no safety issue there. I sent the council that picture this morning, as they only fit lights in daylight and never know if they really are correctly illuminating the area.

    There was still quite a bit of daylight as it was partially cloudy, so I waited until near midnight to take some comparison pictures around the garden. By that time, it had clouded over. The pictures are shown below, from June 10th, just after the LEDs were installed, then the 16th with the first shields, 24th with the adjusted shields and 29th with the tilted lamp head. As before, all pictures were 30 second, f14, ISO100 images, given the same processing. The processing doesn't reflect the actual brightness of the garden, which actually appears darker to the eye. Of course that brightness changes as your eyes dark adapt!

    Overall, the general brightness in the garden has reduced dramatically and the strong daytime shadows cast by the LEDs have gone. That can be seen clearly in the first four images. The next four from the patio show the glare reduction when looking straight at the light. The last four are a view from next to the deepsky pier, looking towards the street light with the lawn brightly illuminated in the first picture. The garden doesn't look much different in the last three pictures, but the halo around the lamp has reduced significantly. I'll have to try and process a picture to show the apparent darkness to the eye.

    The council are having a batch of larger shieds made, so in time, these may be fitted, but for now, I think we can call this a win for astronomy and a 10 out of 10 for the assistance from the lady in the council office.

    obsy194.jpg

    congrats on getting a positive result. onwards and upwards. how long do you antisipate the build until finished. ??

  13. 1 hour ago, alecras2345 said:

    Hi guys i have joined an online telescope site and there are various lessons, called quests,  that you have to complete in order to get gravity points.     I tried a beginner quest about nebula and i din't understand the terminology.   I was told my a member of the site that i need to understand science to understand astronomy.    I suffered head injury wen i was young so i it difficult to learn things.  It's kind of put me off astronomy, so i can't know about what's up there without understanding science?     Here is a little of the definition of Emission nebulae from the site i joined, Emission nebulae are clouds of ionized gases that emit their own light.   What??   I give up!

     

    Ash

    Hi Ash, welcome SGL. Is there an astronomy group near to you that you could join and help you. I  have learnt so much by joining my group, and from this site as well. I wish you well and good luck.

  14. 1 hour ago, ArmyAirForce said:

    Once they were dry, which didn't take too long as the sun came out, I turned them over and did the bitumen coat on the inside. One plank was quite warped, so this has been left, weighted down by some lumps of concrete in the hope the heat from the sun and weight will reduce the twist. Failing that, it will be used for some of the short tapered sections on the end.

    obsy129.jpg

    By about 6:15pm, I was done for the day, with most of the first end also planked. All the tools were cleared away and I came indoors to share the joy here!

    obsy130.jpg

    it's starting to come together nicely now. looking really good.

    • Like 1
  15. 11 hours ago, ArmyAirForce said:

    The runner timber was screwed down into the wall uprights and the tongue and groove was screwed from the outside into the runner, tying it all together. The excess T&G that extended above the runner was then chisled away to almost flush and needs a final sand to bring it level. I must buy myself a new small plane before the other pieces are done. My old small razor plane died a while back and was never replaced. The overhanging end of the runner still needs trimming off.

    obsy052.jpg

    I'd just got the runner screwed in place when it was time for the school pickup, so chiseled the T&G when I got back. That was it for the day. The first side is done.

    obsy053.jpg

    Yesterday, all the end grain on the legs and floor joists were painted with several coats of dilute waterproof PVA glue, allowing it to soak deep into the wood and help seal it. The only other job from today was to paint the four legs in bitumen paint. While it is treated wood anyway, the PVA and bitumen paint will help to keep moisture out. I'll be doing the underside of the floor before fitting too.

    starting to take shape now. looking forward to seeing the end result. 

    • Like 1
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