backbayastro : Messages : 27446-27475 of 43338

#27446

From: Mark Ost <jimcoble2000@...>
Date: Sun Jun 28, 2009 3:08 pm
Subject: Re: High Quality Reflectors.

jimcoble2000

Parallax custom scope would be nice; $3000 to $4000. Fully baffled newtonian in any f ratio would would like. Of course you will need another $3000 for a mount to hold it and $500 for rotating rings.

--- On Sun, 6/28/09, Garry Mitchell <garry_mitchell74@...> wrote:

From: Garry Mitchell <garry_mitchell74@...>
Subject: [backbayastro] High Quality Reflectors.
To: backbayastro@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sunday, June 28, 2009, 12:56 AM

I was wondering about Reflectors that are better in quality than Meade or Celestron and similar makers. I was looking for a scope in the 8" to 12" range on a very good EQ goto mount. I was looking at the ASA scopes but very expensive and built for Photography but will they work for visual? What about Vixen are they better build quality than Meade or Celestron? Thank you guys.

Garry

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#27447

From: "Jordan Bramble" <jordan.bramble@...>
Date: Sun Jun 28, 2009 3:44 pm
Subject: excellent night.

jordan.bramble

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Mark, Stan, and I had a great night last night. Seeing was poor at first  but it
improved, bugs were mild, and not a drop of dew, even on the orion tube. I
observed the moon while it was still day time, and as it began to get dark We
both observe Xi Sco, a pretty quadruple. Then, The Box Nebula in Oph, Noticeably
box like , it was somewhat difficult because of how low it was,  it's right next
to a star.

Then I did the little ghost nebula. its small, but at high power it is
noticeably irregularly shaped with an M or 3 shaped side.

Nearby, is globular NGC 6401, it appeared small and I believe all i could see
was the core because sky tools shows it as larger. in the same field is B82,
which is not visible, but it is obvious where the stars dissappear.

I could see the "tweedle dee" and "tweedle dum" clusters, as o'meara named them,
naked eye. and in the Scutum Star Cloud, I discovered the Globular cluster NGC
6712, it was interesting how the core was somewhat triangular.  This cluster is
rewarding because in my 1 degree field eyepiece there is an IC planetary also
visible with the aid of an OIII, IC 1295.

I attempted, and possibly glimpsed the Bug Nebula, then I did the GREEN not BLUE
racquetball.
Then, T Lyrae, a blood red carbon star, Carbon stars are eerie because of the
way they compare to other stars in the field. I did 4 open clusters in Cygnus
and Aquila. Then I Decided to hunt Planetaries again.

NGC 6804, was visible only with an OIII, it had a shape similar to the Ring
nebula.
and NGC 6852, also visible with an OIII and tough to pick out, requires
150-200x.

I did the Veil unfiltered, the North American, and M27, as well as revisiting
M11, since its been so long that I'd forgotten how to find it. It's awesome the
way the Wild Duck Sprays the whole FOV with stars at 57x.

one of the highlights and final objects of the night was the caldwell galaxy on
the border of cygnus and cepheus. NGC 6946, its face on, and next to a
triangular asterism, also there is an NGC open cluster that will fit in the same
field. I thought for sure that this would not be visible in mark's 5. But he was
able to pick it out, and I could see it was well, fairly easy, because I knew
where to look.

At about 1 we packed up and went home. By the time I made it home the sky was
looking cloudy.

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#27448

From: Greg Nottingham <gnpnotti@...>
Date: Sun Jun 28, 2009 6:29 pm
Subject: Re: IYA Mid year

gregnott2000

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Ted,

I wouldn't discount the numbers you quote.

I grew up as a young preteen during the space race when a lot of firsts occurred and before street lighting became so ubiquitous. When I was nine we moved from Fairlington which is in Arlington, Virginia to Fairfax and the "country". Tyson's Corner didn't exist back then but Tyson's Meat Locker where cows were raised and slaughtered and where we got our freezer full of beef did. Braddock Road was a narrow two lane road and it is now 6-8 lanes depending on what stretch you're on.

I think that when I was twelve or so the Kings Park West Civic Association voted to put street lights in and this killed the amazing sky available in my front and back yards. My first telescope was a Monolux department store telescope that was bought at Landsburghs. Landsburghs was a true department store in every sense of the word. I got enough performance and clear views of Saturn with a 60 mm refractor to hook me. Of course now I wonder how much my young eyes helped the performance!

My guess is now that most of the guests and parents who brought their kids have grown up during the Shuttle years, haven't lived through times where space and the space race consistently made news, have never or rarely seen a dark sky, and have never seen the Milky Way especially in a desert or true dark sky area like Spruce Knob or Coinjock. I bet that the required activities of the Cub, Boy, and Girl Scouts as well as children in various science classes has "made" people explore our fascinating and wondrous hobby and I guarantee that few if any of them have looked through the quality instruments of the BBAA from Mark's TMB to your 18" Obsession to Kent's 25" Dob.

I find it ironic that the inflation adjusted price of hardware is so low while the light pollution levels have risen so high. It is almost a perverse, inverse relationship.

I think that all people who have come to our events have been thrilled much as I was thrilled when I was in Pensacola and saw Halley's Comet through an 8" SCT. This was quite a leap in gear then what I was used to! It wasn't the first time I looked through a telescope but was probably at least a five year gap.

Who knows, we may either ignite or rekindle someone's interest in astronomy. You and the hard-core outreach group have done a wonderful job and hopefully it will spark young people's interest in science. From my experiences of the past year, I have found that many students are really interested in science once they can actually do something hands on and the subject is tied to their everyday experiences.

Sincerely,

Greg

On Jun 28, 2009, at 10:41 AM, Ted Forte wrote:

Last night, Georgie, Bruce, George 3 and I conducted the 21^st recorded IYA outreach event this year. (We were at Camp Pendleton where we did a presentation to about 45 scouts and 15 adults). We are now at the half way point in the IYA. We�ve had some surprising successes (100 Hours at Trashmore topped 1100 people!), a few letdowns and several canceled events due to clouds. But the numbers are still fairly impressive I think.

The total for the number of people attending our events (recorded) so far is 2,468, averaging better than 100 folks per event. The percentage of first time viewers is much harder to quantify. A few events were recorded as 100% first timers and I think we all know that we can discount those as quite unlikely to be accurate. My slightly educated guess is that the real average is somewhere in the range of 10-20 percent actual first time viewers which makes our contribution to the world-wide effort to end telescopic virginity to around 250 souls or so, maybe a bit more.

What might be a better way to look at this however, is to ask how many of the people that came to the eyepiece fall into the category of rarely (almost never) looking through a telescope. That number could be far better than 80% even 90%. I dare say, with some confidence, that there are at least some 2000 people in Tidewater right now that were thrilled to some telescopic view of the heavens that they would not have enjoyed without our efforts. And that is certainly a conservative estimate (and discounts the occurrence where our members interact with the public outside of the club�s events like Kent does at the Chesapeake planetarium every week).

So well done BBAA! And with a half dozen Boardwalk Astronomy events on the docket we could best our numbers in IYA Part Two!

Ted

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#27449

From: "Dale Carey" <vbstargazer@...>
Date: Sun Jun 28, 2009 9:50 pm
Subject: Re: hey ted-Green Bank

vbstargazer

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Well you missed it Chuck, Bruce, Stu.

Only one bad night (Friday)and everyone wanted it anyway - Saturday night was one of the

best I have ever seen at Green Bank. Oh, Bruce & Chuck, Tom Crowley said you are in deep s...

for not being there. Got an autographed picture of Alan Bean and a pic with him. Green Bank

Star Quest is getting bigger and bigger. Our own "Laser Girl" -Michelle Shinn drew the biggest

crowds during her two talks - I have pic's to prove it. Wed./Thur were very good nights with

small high clouds only lasting an hour. Friday night was cloudy but no rain. Cloudy most of the

day Sat. until 10:30pm and then till 4am can only be called,"spectacular". Once again the

forecaster got it wrong. The video will be ready in a few weeks.

Dale Carey
web site - http://mysite.verizon.net/vbstargazer/

----- Original Message -----

From: Chuck Jagow

To: backbayastro@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 9:12 PM

Subject: [backbayastro] hey ted

Hey Ted, guess who DID NOT drive all the way to Green Bank for one night of stars?

I can come assist with the Scottish lads Saturday if so desired� I have a base sticker and of course Navy civilian ID, I drive the HONDA PILOT with VA LIC: STAR VWR

Is the Nighthike still on?

v/r

Chuck Jagow

Rott�n Paws Observatory

36:46:23N / 76:13:31W

._,___

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#27450

From: backbayastro@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sun Jun 28, 2009 9:57 pm
Subject: Boardwalk Astronomy, 7/1/2009, 6:00 pm

backbayastro@yahoogroups.com

Send Email

Reminder from:		backbayastro Yahoo! Group

Title:		Boardwalk Astronomy

Date:		Wednesday July 1, 2009
Time:		6:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Next reminder:		The next reminder for this event will be sent in 2 days, 18 hours, 3 minutes.
Location:		VB boardwalk
Notes:		Changed from 30 Jun

Get reminders on your mobile, Yahoo! Messenger, and email. Edit reminder options

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#27451

From: Greg Nottingham <gnpnotti@...>
Date: Sun Jun 28, 2009 10:14 pm
Subject: Re: hey ted-Green Bank

gregnott2000

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Dale,

Sounds like you are becoming a Kent Weather Watcher, go and it will happen!

Sincerely,

Greg

On Jun 28, 2009, at 5:50 PM, Dale Carey wrote:

Well you missed it Chuck, Bruce, Stu.
Only one bad night (Friday)and everyone wanted it anyway - Saturday night was one of the
best I have ever seen at Green Bank. Oh, Bruce & Chuck, Tom Crowley said you are in deep s...
for not being there. Got an autographed picture of Alan Bean and a pic with him. Green Bank
Star Quest is getting bigger and bigger. Our own "Laser Girl" -Michelle Shinn drew the biggest
crowds during her two talks - I have pic's to prove it. Wed./Thur were very good nights with
small high clouds only lasting an hour. Friday night was cloudy but no rain. Cloudy most of the
day Sat. until 10:30pm and then till 4am can only be called,"spectacular". Once again the
forecaster got it wrong. The video will be ready in a few weeks.

Dale Carey
web site - http://mysite.verizon.net/vbstargazer/
----- Original Message -----
From: Chuck Jagow
To: backbayastro@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 9:12 PM
Subject: [backbayastro] hey ted

Hey Ted, guess who DID NOT drive all the way to Green Bank for one night of stars?
I can come assist with the Scottish lads Saturday if so desired� I have a base sticker and of course Navy civilian ID, I drive the HONDA PILOT with VA LIC: STAR VWR
Is the Nighthike still on?
v/r
Chuck Jagow
Rott�n Paws Observatory
36:46:23N / 76:13:31W
._,___

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#27452

From: "m.swingle6" <m.swingle6@...>
Date: Mon Jun 29, 2009 1:07 am
Subject: ASTRO-TECH EYEPIECES

m.swingle6

Send Email

I WAS WONDERING ABOUT THE AD IN ASTRONOMY MAGAZINE FOR ASTRO-TECH

EYEPIECES. I WAS CONSIDERING THE TITAN 32MM OR 26MM PARADIGM DUAL ED

EYEPIECES. ARE THEY A GOOD BUY FOR $79 AND $89 OR IS THERE A BETTER

DEAL ELSEWHERE. THEY HAVE 6 ELEMENTS, IS THAT GONNA DO THE JOB?

ANYBODY?   Matthew Swingle  mattswingle@...

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#27453

From: "Chuck Jagow" <chuck@...>
Date: Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:31 am
Subject: RE: hey ted-Green Bank

cajagow

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Thanks Dale,

Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

v/r

Chuck Jagow

Rott’n Paws Observatory

36:46:23N / 76:13:31W

Subject: Re: [backbayastro] hey ted-Green Bank