Anyone here interested in astronomy?

[#juan]

Do sidewalk telescopes come any bigger than 17"?

Don't suppose you could point one of those things at the area of the moon when the 'stuff they left behind' would be casting a long shadow?

I know what you are saying, unfortunately, you could have the biggest telescope on Earth and you still wouldn't be able to see any of that stuff. We are just too far away.

 

[s_lone]

I HIGHLY recommend this space simulation software to anyone who is interested in astronomy. It's kind of like Google Earth but in space. Very cool! It's free and expandable. CHECK IT OUT! Trust me, this is NOT spamming.

http://www.shatters.net/celestia/

 

[#juan]

40-200 is the magnification (as near as I know), as to his model, I was hoping you could give me a ball park figure (his is red) if that means anything. I'm from south western Ontario, so definitely have Vancouver beat for clear skies, also no nearby cities. I'm a night owl, and it would be time better spent in a motorised observatory. It doesn't take long for the internet to get on my nerves, but this forum beats the hell out of the one I left.

I will assume your friend's telescope is a Celestron. Celestron used to make a 10" schmitt cass on a fork mount with a computerized motor drive for about twenty eight hundred dollars. Have a look at the link and see if you can see anything that looks like your friend's telescope.

http://www.opticsplanet.net/telescopes.html

 

[able]

Haven't seen the thing in some time, but it does look like the pricey models. Will have to see his in order to form a better opinion. Presently trying to finish my plane, but know I won't be doing much night flying. Guess the scopes aren't that expensive if I compare them to my plane.

 

[#juan]

Haven't seen the thing in some time, but it does look like the pricey models. Will have to see his in order to form a better opinion. Presently trying to finish my plane, but know I won't be doing much night flying. Guess the scopes aren't that expensive if I compare them to my plane.

You are building a plane? Is it a well-known plane? Is it a kit or your own design?

 

[Dexter Sinister]

I HIGHLY recommend this space simulation software to anyone who is interested in astronomy. It's kind of like Google Earth but in space. Very cool! It's free and expandable. CHECK IT OUT! Trust me, this is NOT spamming.

http://www.shatters.net/celestia/

Okay, I trusted you, and you were right. Dood, that is so cool! I may have to add astronomy to my hobbies and get a good 10" reflecting scope... It's a 14Mb download, so folks on dialup may have some issues, but the man's right. Get it now.

 

[able]

Juan: the plane I'm building is called an Affordaplane, no kits as far as I know, but the plans come from Bradenton Florida. The original plans are too much like spit and baling wire for me, so I made a number of mods:- reinforced wings, fuselage, enclosed cockpit, tricycle gear, 3 bladed prop, and I doubt if I'm done making changes yet. People who have theirs in the air say they handle like a Cessna 150. Used to think the 150 was like flying a bathtub, now that I'm older that's more my style. Has a low stall speed as well. That's important, remember one time when having some hangar talk, and one of the guys thoughtfully said he figured he could get a DC9 down, and I said we can all get a DC9 down, only how many pieces will it be in when everything stops rolling.

 

[#juan]

Juan: the plane I'm building is called an Affordaplane, no kits as far as I know, but the plans come from Bradenton Florida. The original plans are too much like spit and baling wire for me, so I made a number of mods:- reinforced wings, fuselage, enclosed cockpit, tricycle gear, 3 bladed prop, and I doubt if I'm done making changes yet. People who have theirs in the air say they handle like a Cessna 150. Used to think the 150 was like flying a bathtub, now that I'm older that's more my style. Has a low stall speed as well. That's important, remember one time when having some hangar talk, and one of the guys thoughtfully said he figured he could get a DC9 down, and I said we can all get a DC9 down, only how many pieces will it be in when everything stops rolling.

I have a friend who built a VariEze, a Burt Rutan design made completely of fibreglass. My friend second guessed the designer so many times that he added almost a hundred pounds to the design weight. When it was finished.......when he stopped adding stuff to it......it never performed up to specifications. Up to that time I thought the VariEze was the best thing since sliced bread but I don't think I will be building one. If I had a dream airplane, it would probably be the latest Mooney, but that would require me to win the lottery.

 

[able]

Heard of the varieze, don't know anyone who built. Wouldn't try to change Rutan's designs, they usually look unflyable to me to begin with. Pulsar would have been my choice years ago, but now, have the idea that if I want to watch an animal climb a tree, I can fly in leisurly circles to watch, without concerning myself with fighter plane characteristics. Never change things too much, just enough to feel a little more confident.

 

[El Barto]

thought this might be interesting
http://www.unmuseum.org/siriusb.htm

 

[Dexter Sinister]

So is this. http://www.skepdic.com/dogon.html

 

[El Barto]

the creature story i hold in suspense.
The knowledge they had that's intriguing.
But anything from the sceptic web site I assume is too bias and also speculative in its own right.
So who's to say?

 

[#juan]

I HIGHLY recommend this space simulation software to anyone who is interested in astronomy. It's kind of like Google Earth but in space. Very cool! It's free and expandable. CHECK IT OUT! Trust me, this is NOT spamming.

http://www.shatters.net/celestia/

Thanks for that s_lone
I could play with it for hours....probably will...;-):lol:

 

[s_lone]

Okay, I trusted you, and you were right. Dood, that is so cool! I may have to add astronomy to my hobbies and get a good 10" reflecting scope... It's a 14Mb download, so folks on dialup may have some issues, but the man's right. Get it now.

Thanks for that s_lone
I could play with it for hours....probably will...;-):lol:

If you've got time to spare and if you really want to test out how precise this software is, you can try watching an eclipse! It worked for me but be sure that the ''eclipse shadows'' option is on. You'll learn about the software by hunting down a good view of a particular eclipse... Setting the time right... finding the right place on earth to watch it...

Heck, you can even check out Apollo 11 hovering over the moon if you want to!

This software is strangely addictive, once you get through to learning how to travel without getting lost...

There are some expansions you can download for more precision such as 3d detailed rendering of the surface of Mars... or delicately moving clouds on Jupiter... But for some reason I haven't managed to make them work...

Have fun!

 

[El Barto]

I live 20 minutes away from the observatory here at Mount Megantic visitors are allowed
http://www.tourisme-megantic.com/data/en_section07_p02.htm
sorry if this seems like a spam.
sorry i don't work there tho

 

[folcar]

Never taken up astronomy myself, but deffiantely a fan of space exploration. The fact that we are now detecting planets in other solar systems is very cool. Excellant pics too.

 

[#juan]

Here is another shot of the moon, just a raw image with no magnification. All of these pictures were taken through a 4" f-12.5 achromatic refractor that my son and I built.

 

[able]

That does it, I'll spend some time having a look tonite with my 2" toy. Any ideas for my untrained eye to look for. Should be a reasonably good night here in S W Ontario. Keep it basic, because I'm not certain my knowledge goes much beyond finding the moon.

 

[#juan]

That does it, I'll spend some time having a look tonite with my 2" toy. Any ideas for my untrained eye to look for. Should be a reasonably good night here in S W Ontario. Keep it basic, because I'm not certain my knowledge goes much beyond finding the moon.

You'll have a full moon so that will hamper your viewing of fainter objects. The link below will give you an idea what might be out there. The link is for Manitoba but you will just get everything an hour later.


http://www.manitobamuseum.ca/pl_night_sky.html

 

[#juan]

A few more pictures of the growing observatory.