Astronomy photos
- Thread starter #juan
- Start date
You may regret saying that.................And here is the obligatory shot of the moon:
I will try to limit the photos on this thread to deep space objects. I kind of wish there were a few other contributors.
Here is a site that most astronomy buffs will have bookmarked. These superb images have been collected over the last twenty years or so.
Astronomy Picture of the Day Archive
Astronomy Picture of the Day Archive
Portable back pack left on Moon.
Portable Life Support Systems Backpack on the Moon (NASA, Moon, 7/17/09) on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
other photo's
Most Amazing Images from NASA on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Portable Life Support Systems Backpack on the Moon (NASA, Moon, 7/17/09) on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
other photo's
Most Amazing Images from NASA on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
I wonder what the story is on the backpack. Were they changed when empty, or did they re-fill them from on board supplies?
Good question,why was it left behind, if I remember right, they tried to remove just about everything they brought with them. Didn't want to create a trash dump.
I've done a bit more reading on the subject, and what I've learned is that they got rid of everything they could in order to get the weight down as much as they could for the trip back into lunar orbit. The backpacks were just the most visible things left behind.
My son does a lot of wide field, long exposure stuff but for that you need a great telescope mount with excellent tracking which puts it out of the financial range of most of the typical back yard astronomers. I have a Meade great Polaris mount and a 5 inch Maksutof reflector. I've had bigger telescopes but for the last couple years it has been important that I be able to lift the damn thing. Auto-guiding adds a whole new level of sophistication and cost.
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Oh, I can believe that,and yet there is this older dude (WELL retired) who has built his second reflector ,packs it into his car every useable ( or even a hint of one) day, and has discovered several comets.His scope is a rough looking bugger,and damn near as big as him.
BTW ,Thanks for the images,my screensaver collection has gotten MUCH bigger,You've reminded me on the subject, I may need to look into it again.
Maybe you can get a subsidy from the Canadian Space Agency ( a forklift)
My last scope was a 10 inch classical cassegrain reflector It was a home built so it was heavy. The mount and tripod weighed just under eighty pounds. The telescope tube assembly was another sixty. Sixty pounds doesn't sound heavy until you have to lift it up and put it on the mount, in the dark. My current scope weighs a total of forty pounds.
I would think with the advances in material science they could do better than that.
Perhaps I should strike the sentence above, perhaps a better uh delivery system is called for.....
Something to think about, especially when they can come up with systems to allow the disabled to move (no matter how poorly, a improvement is a improvement)
BTW would you welcome links to telescopes from a historical basis?
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The little Meade Maksutov is a pretty good scope for the money. The Polaris mount with the counterweights make up most of the weight. My son has a pretty decent observatory. Here is a link to the building of his dome: Let me know what you think: Converted document
I will be happy to look at any and all astronomy sites....;-)
I'm having to rebuild my bookmarks but I found this:
Make: Online : In the Maker Shed: Newton's Reflecting Telescope Kit
kinda nifty , I may need to look into it myself
Make: Online : In the Maker Shed: Newton's Reflecting Telescope Kit
kinda nifty , I may need to look into it myself
Thank you. That is pretty impressive. Newton's scope was pretty basic by today's standards but in it's day it was the best thing around. I will read through that site a few times I'm sure.