thanks hengy
got a few off bruce also

also see my post about a 3 hour piece im workin on

here

thanks to another reader here
i now have my own telescope winging its way to me
not sure if i am allowed to reveal his name
but either way im sure youll agree hes a top guy

wow.. .this is great vurt! Whatever it is , you might want to replace it's finder with the Telrad finder I mentioned.( page 1 of this thread) Nothing is more frustrating then trying to find things.( and it's also a bit hi-tech...uses LEDS to project 3 rings into the sky) Had a good session last night. Found M5 which is near Arctarus in Bootes. A very nice bright star cluster.

Also a neat thing I like to do is sometimes when I am scanning the heavens, a sattellite pops into view, so I follow it thru the stars as far as I am able, while imagining vurt cosmic music as i'm doing it.

My next step is to bring some headphones outt with my MP3 player and get into some nebula tunes while observing.

vurt: let us know when you get the scope!( and what kind is it...refractor, reflector, etc)

TC

Hi all

OBSERVATION REPORT


Just got the latest issue of Sky and Telescope ( a Father day gift!)
and they advise taking a look at M22 in Sagg this month. I took on
the challange, got a telrad chart for it. Tonight it was very clear,
so it was perfect. Went to the teapot,( in saggitarius) and positioned the telrad.
Found M22...a very nice Globular cluster. Pretty bright as well.
Sketched it, and went up to M25 above it which is an open cluster.
Then just scanned this area..what a nice section of sky this is! A
satillite crossed my eyepiece as well, and followed it for a bit for
some fun. An ejoyable evening amoung the stars.

anybody else with an observation report?

Tim

I observed a 3 inch palmetto bug in my bedroom last night


winged bastards..

sounds like an interesting project. I am just finishing up a "Saturns" ring piece based on saturns rings bitmaps imported into Cameleon and M42, with an Atari program called Camus producing the actual music while it draws a picture of Saturn and translating it into music. Just some finishing touches on it on.

hey...maybe something like Camus can help you compose for 3 hours ( but should not be too hard for you!!)..or just take several of your M42 space stuff and string'em together!

TC

now is there a BUG constellation? The Starship Troppers would be angy if there wern't.



TC

Hey Guys

Just found out from an ad in the new issue of Sky and Telescope that there is a company you can get cheap finders just like the Telrad.

http://www.apogeeinc.com/

They have a recticle finder for 20.00! Although I am very pleased with my original Telrad...you can get this for half the price.




There are also red/green bullseye finders for 12.00 if you don't need the 3 circles.Thought I would pass this tip along.




Heres the link as it was hard to find

http://www.apogeeinc.com/scopes.html

( bottom of page)



They also seem to have pretty cheap ( in price) eyepieces and accessories. Might check into those myself.



TC

thanks Tim,
i'll take a look at these
doubt if they'll be the equivalent of $20 here in the uk though

Mine's 10 inches of refractor....it was originally 18 of reflecting.

Well actually not quite mine....I grew up with Mills on my back door(just a few minutes walk from the park)and spent countless times in here.....

Here's the spec....Mills Observatory is the UK's only full time public observatory. The building with its distinctive papier-maché dome, was opened in 1935. It houses a refracting telescope, a small planetarium and display areas.

The main telescope is a 0.25m (10 inch) refractor, with a focal length of 3.75m. The instrument was built by Thomas Cooke of York in 1871, and is older than the observatory itself.The dome houses a fine 250 mm refracting telescope.

When the Mills Observatory opened on 28th October 1935 it originally housed an 450 mm (18 inch) reflecting telescope, constructed by the Newcastle based company of Grubb Parsons. The remains of the original telescope can be seen in the upper display area of the observatory. The dome itself is made of papier-mâché with a steel frame, and was also supplied by Grubb Parsons.Go Here for a bit more info....

http://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/mills/main.htm

I can give only few limited specs here since I have no clue what to look for.

but anyhow:

brand: Tresco

specs:
D=60mm
F=700mm

comes with extra lenses

It is only gathering dust here

And whom better to offer it

Hey that was nice of you Mystahr. vurt can make good use out of it. Top Guy as vurt says!!

vurt: if you need any help in getting started, just post here, as well as checking out your nieghborhood for any local astronomy clubs or star parties.

I would still get a telrad or one of those other bulls-eye finders however, as it really makes a differance and less frustration in trying to find things. However the best thing to do, is not even use the telescope at all for a little while, and simply go outside and become familier with the constellations. Get a copy of the latest Sky and Telescope mag for a star chart of the month ( I think there are some on-line ones too) and just get to know the sky. Then when you get your scope up and running, you will know what to look for.

I have to tell you right off: They are not going to look like those fancy pics you see in the mags and books. Those are long exposure photo's and when you look at a globular star cluster, you will see basically a etheriel hazy ball/cloud hanging in space. But VERY COOL! I'll post some of my eye-piece impressions soon to give you an idea.

TC

Heres my eyepiece impressions:







Basically I did sketches at the eyepiece, then just trasferred them to MS paint by hand as well. It looks better then a circle with black dots for stars.Tried to be as close as possible to the original sketch.

TC

yes the top guy in question is mystahr


and thanks tim,for the info,but the bit about long exposure pictures leads me to ask
is there any way to attach cameras to telescopes?