APRIL 5th - Looks like a GREAT night for observing and some preliminary attempts at some prime-focus film astrophotography and maybe even a little CCD imaging.........COME ON UP!!!

April 12....grounds are too soggy to hold tonight's event. OBSERVING CANCELLED THIS EVENING.

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Bob Moody

Hello Mr. Bob Moody, I was unaware of tonights fuction and I regret that I will be unable to attend. There is a very good chance that my familly and I will attend on the 12th. Is there a area in this forum that post a schedule of future events like this one? Should I bring my own equipment? Is there a cost? What time should we arrive?

Larry

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Clear Skies-Larry

Did you get any of the pictures developed that you took?

I got my nikon 35mm ready for friday night @ Mulberry Mtn........Thought I would try some wide angle "Piggy Back" and some prime focus shots on my 10"SCT/CG5 ASGT.......If the weather permits.

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nSpace01

Hey, Larry,
If you're referring to the star party Saturday night, the function is free. It's open to the general public; some people have telescopes, some don't. Those of us who have telescopes are invited to bring them - it's kind of a free-for-all. We arrive about an hour before it gets dark, pick a spot, and start setting up. If your telescope is big, then you might want to arrive a little earlier for cool-down time.

There are also certain areas with power, if you need it. Everyone wanders around looking through each others' scopes, pointing lasers in the sky and just shooting the breeze. When newbies come around, we help educate them. (I'm still a newbie and still need educated!)

My telescope is almost finished - a 12.5" dob. Bob Moody's got one the same size that is fantastic! It's got an expensive mirror that gives spectacular views. Bob's been teasing me that mine will never hold a candle to his, but between you and me, when my superior scope is completed, Bob will be so ashamed of his, he's gonna cry! In fact, he'll probably throw his away. So keep an eye on the dumpster for a good mirror!!

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"Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array." - Genesis 2:1, NIV

I''l keep an eye on the trash, too.................Bob is pretty sensitive when it comes to his "Baby"...............

When can I expect to look through your new scope, Eric? I am really looking forward to check it out............

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nSpace01

POSSIBLY tonight..... IF I can break away. I have so much that's coming to a head next week, if I can pull off getting out there tonight, I'll be enjoying my "calm before the storm".

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"Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array." - Genesis 2:1, NIV

RIGHT! Just throw it away, huh? Make me cry, huh?

NOT a chance in, well, you know....


B

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Bob Moody

I'm all dressed up and no where to go and the clouds up here will not go away!

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Clear Skies-Larry

Oh, well that's just great!

Well LAST time you tried to cancel this event for the same reason, you remember what happened? You got OVERRUN! Well, I'll be a good boy and stay home, but if anything changes, someone please call me! I'm working on my scope now - should be done some time tonight.

... or post an update here - I'll keep checking!

Eric

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"Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array." - Genesis 2:1, NIV

Eric,
I hate to say this, but I may have jinxed you. The clouds up here seem to be heading you way. It's the new scope curse I tell you!

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Clear Skies-Larry

You're right, Larry, it's got to be Eric with that "should be finished [soon]" statement......Eric you gotta start thinking about that. You can't buy anything new, or plan for first-light in a new telescope anytime close to a scheduled event, you'll jinx it everytime. Besides, wouldn't you really rather wait another week or so before you see how badly your fancy new telescope DOES NOT compare to my "Redshift"? (heh, heh, heh)




Bob

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Bob Moody

Uhh...I'm walking away from this one

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Clear Skies-Larry

(squish, squish).....

What's that sound? Is it the soggy ground on Bob's front lawn? I think there's some mud, here!

Stand back, everyone, there's about to be some mud-slinging! Wait. It's already started.

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"Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array." - Genesis 2:1, NIV

Welp, it's Sunday night (or rather, officially Monday morning) and I just experienced "first light". I was like a virgin, touched for the very first time!!! I must say, things are looking up.... or maybe I was looking up.

I have only one eyepiece at this time - I picked something that would keep me occupied while my wife has some time to maybe forget about the money I spent on my scope parts! And since I like planets, I decided on an 8 mm University Optics Kellner, which I read a great review on. In fact, the reviewer had compared this eyepiece to a TeleVue eyepiece of a similar design and they claimed the difference was quite unnoticeable. I don't have any experience to speak of, so I have to just take their input and roll with it. But here's what I DO know.

I pieced the scope together and found it top-heavy, which I was afraid was going to happen. The conical mirror is too light to counter balance the UTA. Guess I'll have to "invest" in some rocks. In the meantime, I placed the teflon pads for the elevation bearings as far apart as they would go to add friction. No good. So I covered the teflon with scotch tape. Now the scope holds its position! Kind of a crummy situation, but I'll come up with a real fix soon....

Collimated the primary / secondary with a laser collimator (which I just discovered I love). And Off I went looking at the moon. With an 8 mm lens, I was looking with a zoom factor of 198 and could only get about an eighth of the moon in view at one time. The field of view in the eyepiece is actually quite large and the view was stunning. The moon was so bright it hurt the eyeball. I thought I saw a planet behind me so I swung around. All I could see was a ball of fire! It looked fluffy and would not focus. After playing with the focus for a bit, I finally discovered what a warm mirror looks like when out of focus on a star.... you can actually SEE the heat waves boiling off the mirror! Question answered.

Because it is after midnight, I decided to come in, since the monsters are probably out by now. Hopefully, I'll be able to tweak a few things before the next party.

Tah.

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"Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array." - Genesis 2:1, NIV

I do a little astronomy DYI (Southern Engineering) to save a little money. I try to think outside the box, so to speak.

This is just an idea for a way to counterweight you tube:

Last year I bought a 10" Dob, (Later Sold it)..........When I inserted a 2" 30mm eyepiece into the focuser, it would overbalance the tube and pull the front down. There was no adjustment on the scope to fix this, i. e., no way to slide the bearing forward or backward on the tube without drilling new holes and moving the bearings.

I came up with a simple solution, as follows:

I went to the Walmart Sporting Goods Department and purchased a set of "5 lb Ankle Weights"

There are 2 weights in a set. Each one consists of a nylon pouch about 8 inches long with pockets for five 1 lb beanbag weights, and nylon attachment straps.

When I got home, I cut off the attachment straps and attached a 2" X 6" piece of "Male" velcro to the top surface at the rear of the scope tube. The ankle weight pouch already had the "female" velcro on the inside, to attach the other end of the attachment straps.

You simply stick the inner surface of the ankle weight to the velcro strip on the rear of your optical tube and remove or add the beanbag weights to the pouch till the tube is balanced.

The setup looked like it was manufactued that way.....very sharp looking.

This may not work for you on your scope, but maybe worth a try......................

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nSpace01

Nice idea, Leonard. Thanks for that. I'll give it some thought and play around with the idea.

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"Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array." - Genesis 2:1, NIV