Amateur astronomy and other miscellaneous topics. http://www.webjones.net Wed, 23 Jun 2010 11:12:01 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.webjones.net/themes/webjones/images/blockcoffee.gif http://www.webjones.net http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=44 I've never been completely satisfied with the spider design on the telescope, so I decided to read up on the various spider designs and what folks had to say about them. One design really caught my attention because implementing it would be so easy and it has an appealing simplicity - Gary Seronik's curved spider using a stainless steel ruler. The beauty of using the stainless ruler is that it is quite thin, is springy so it retains a consistent arc, and also has tension due to the springiness. Gary's design has a sharper bend and smaller arc than I eventually ended up with. When I first mounted the spider exactly as Gary did, I found out that it had quite a bit of vibration.
I was never able to eliminate the spider vibration when I move or bump the scope, I tried different configurations until I felt that I had it minimized. Now I just need a weekend when it is not raining or cloudy to test it out.

I also replaced my Kineoptics HC focuser with a JMI Crayford. Call me a luddite, but I prefer the two crank knobs to twisting the entire focuser.

Images can be found in this Telescope v.2 Modifications photo set on Flickr.]]> argot@webjones.net Telescope http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=44 Sun, 13 Jun 2010 21:57:05 +0100 http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=43 The Eerie Silence: Renewing Our Search For Alien Intelligence by Paul Davies

Davies is chairman of SETI's (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) post-detection task group - responsible for defining the protocol for reporting and managing the World's reaction and response to a confirmed alien detection or communication - and has been involved with SETI for many years. One might reasonably expect someone so involved to be something of an evangelist, but Davies is quite objective and realistic. The book briefly covers the history of SETI and how changes in technology have changed the way we scan for potential neighbors.But after 50 years of searching with no tangible results, he questions whether we are looking for the right thing and looking for it in the right way. Davies posits that it will take a broader imagination, making an effort to not anthropomorphize our speculation of aliens' potential form, environment or motivations. He advocates looking for other "footprints" of alien intelligence, from indicators of solar system or galaxy wide resource consumption to evidence of probes in our solar system, including "nano" probes and even messages encoded in our DNA by engineered viruses. Davies spends some time discussing the assumption that life is imperative, or even common, suggesting that a better understanding of how easy it is for life to develop could be key to SETI strategy.]]> argot@webjones.net Reading http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=43 Sun, 13 Jun 2010 15:39:57 +0100 http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=42 Four Ways To Forgivess by Ursula K. Le Guin

This book features four short stories that occur on the worlds of Yeowe and Werel (and partly on Hain, the mother world of all sentient races) which trace events in the lives of a handful of characters, some overlapping, as each searches for freedom. Le Guin explores aspects and relative meanings of freedom and liberty and reminds us that we don't live in a world of "this or that", "black and white", nor of one-size-fits-all Democracy.]]> argot@webjones.net Reading http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=42 Fri, 14 May 2010 18:08:10 +0100 http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=41 A Fisherman Of The Inland Sea
Unlocking The Air
by Ursula K. Le Guin

Le Guin is one of my favorite Sci-FI/Fantasy authors, most famous for her Earthsea books. But I particularly enjoy her short stories, which might take place on known or unknown worlds, fantastic or familiar lands, or on our own Earth. No matter the setting her stories are always a vehicle for deeper thoughts about society, justice, faith, culture.]]> argot@webjones.net Reading http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=41 Fri, 23 Apr 2010 15:00:14 +0100 http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=39
I was able to positively locate two globular clusters that were on my list. But the bulk of objects I wanted to track down were galaxies in and around the constellation Coma Berenices. The conditions were just too unsuitable to this pursuit. There were a number of guests in the field so I spent most of my time finding old favorites at the zenith for them to view and describing how the scope works and the process of building it. That was, actually, as rewarding as tracking down those galaxies would have been.

10" f4.7 Reflector | 20mm eyepiece (60x) | 9mm eyepiece (133x)

• NGC 5272 / M3 (GC Club) : Clear but small with the 20mm eyepiece. Ramping up to the 9mm gives me a well resolved and dense cluster of stars. This one is a class V or VI.


• NGC 5024 / M53 (GC Club) : Again, small but easy to spot with the 20mm eyepiece. With the 9mm it is large and bright, but there is no real clear resolution of individual stars. I put it at a concentration class V.

]]> argot@webjones.net Observing http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=39 Sun, 11 Apr 2010 18:09:56 +0100 http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=40 The Day We Found The Universe by Marcia Bartusiak

This book centers around one great discovery - that our galaxy does not comprise the entire universe and that the universe is expanding - and tells the story of the people and events that led to the discovery and it's verification. For it was not a single discovery, but the culmination of many discoveries, the work of many astronomers who were often at odds with one another. You only really hear a few of the names - Hubble and Lowell chief among them. In this book you'll also be introduced to Shapley, Leavitt, Humason, Slipher, Lemaître and many others.]]> argot@webjones.net Reading http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=40 Wed, 24 Mar 2010 00:20:43 +0100 http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=38 A Dream Of Armageddon: The Complete Supernatural Tales by H.G. Wells

This is another of my Barnes & Noble sale table finds and one that does not disappoint. A collection of short stories by one of the fathers of Science Fiction, some of them familiar and some of them quite new to me, that ranges in genre from science fiction, fantasy, horror and psychological thriller. Wells' novels are among my favorites and through this book I've decided that he's even more brilliant with the short story. Most of the stories are written in the 'documentary' or 'letter' style that was popular at the time, and Wells uses that style to demonstrate an excellent wit and skill at turning a phrase.]]> argot@webjones.net Reading http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=38 Fri, 12 Feb 2010 22:26:03 +0100 http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=37 Wizards: Magical Tales From the Masters of Modern Fantasy Edited by Jack Dann & Gardner Dozois

A decent collection of wizardcraft and witchcraft stories from some outstanding authors - Neil Gaiman, Tad Williams, Patricia McKillip, Tanith Lee and Orson Scott Card among them. The stories are set in a variety of places and times and some in our own familiar history. All in all a very good way to while away the time on the train each day. ]]> argot@webjones.net Reading http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=37 Sun, 17 Jan 2010 10:32:42 +0100 http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=36 The New Worlds: Extrasolar Planets
by Fabienne Casoli & Thérèse Encrenaz

A good overview of initiatives to detect and analyze extrasolar planets, from the very first efforts in the latter half of the 19th Century up to the dawn of the 21st Century. This book is excellent for getting that history and an understanding of the observational techniques that have been used and how those techniques have been refined with advancing technology and increasing knowledge. A lot has happened in this field in the 3 years or so since the publication of The New Worlds, so after reading it there is still quite a lot to catch up with.]]> argot@webjones.net Reading http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=36 Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:34:22 +0100 http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=35 Lonely Minds In The Universe by Giancarlo Genta

A book that tackles many questions about life beyond Earth not only from the standpoint of science, but also of sociology, psychology, philosophy and religion. It explores not just what if (or when) we might find other life, but how will we recognize it, how will we react to it, and how it might affect us as a species. And, of course, it's not just all about other intelligent life - it's about life of any kind. Genta looks at past and current ideas about how life came to Earth and efforts underway to search for life forms in our own Solar System, efforts to detect signals from alien civilizations and efforts to transmit our own signals to nearby stars, and efforts to locate earth-like exoplanets. Lonely Minds is not a particularly light read, but it is not so technical as to completely daunt the layman either.]]> argot@webjones.net Reading http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=35 Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:56:00 +0100 http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=33
What I found this time is that my own telescope design and documentation has been featured on Wired Magazine's GEEKDAD blog, maintained by John Baichtal, and cited on Make Magazine online by Phillip Torrone.

Build Your Own Newtonian Telescope on GEEKDAD

HOW TO - Build your own telescope on Make: Online]]> argot@webjones.net Telescope Whatever http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=33 Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:49:16 +0100 http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=34
Of course we all hung around so as not to miss the opportunity to observe. The forecast was perfect, the early afternoon promising, the late afternoon not so promising, and the evening more disappointing than not. In the late afternoon a light covering of high clouds began to move in and they stuck with us, with random clear respites, until around 10 PM. But as soon as it cleared up the condensation struck. Lots of dew. Everyone pretty much packed it in and went home by 10:30 PM.

However, I did manage to add a few new reports to the lists for the Messier observing Club, the Globular Cluster observing Club and the Herschel 400 observing club.

10" f4.7 Reflector | 20mm eyepiece (60x) | 9mm eyepiece (133x)

• NGC 7078 / M 15 (GC Club) : Fairly clear with the 20mm eyepiece with a well defined core of stars with many outlying stars in a halo around it. The view is much the same in the 9mm eyepiece. I'll consider this one a concentration class III.


• NGC 7089 / M 2 (GC Club) : It took me some time to track this one down with the 20mm eyepiece, mainly because the high atmosphere haze cut down on the number of stars I could see for reference (I don't use a magnifying finder). Once located I found a slightly larger twin of 7078 with a somewhat larger core of stars and smaller halo of outriders. I put it at a concentration class V.


• NGC 7296 (H400 Club): I used the 20mm eyepiece to get to the spot I thought I should be in, but everything just looked like the usual thick scattering of background stars you find in the field of the Milky Way. I had prepared myself with an image and a few other observer's descriptions, so with a succession of higher magnifications (15mm then 9mm) I was able to make out a somewhat triangular grouping of stars that matched the descriptions I'd read.


• NGC 7243 (H400 Club) : With the 20mm eyepiece and a good bit of willpower, I could make out a large and very loose oval grouping of stars. Moving up the 15mm and 9mm didn't reveal much else.


• NGC 7209 (H400 Club) : I'm only half certain I saw this one. My eyes and reflex finder tell me I was pointed at the right location, but the view in the eyepiece looked very much like the fairly uniform rich field of the Milky Way. I'm listing it anyway because other observer's descriptions indicate that's the way it should look.


• M 74 (Messier Club) : Tracked down with the 20mm eyepiece, this galaxy is only barely visible. It was from bumping up the magnification with the 9mm and then a 6mm eyepiece that I was able to discern a faint round patch of light, quite diffuse, and requiring averted vision to clarify.


• M 77 (Messier Club) : Moving down toward the horizon a bit, I was able to locate this one fairly quickly, despite that this is the most light-polluted part of sky from our observing field. Very similar to M 74, but with a discernibly brigher core in the 9mm eyepiece.

Of course we all looked at Jupiter, which was pretty as always and had 3 visible moons. Being close to time for the Leonids, we had a meteor about every 10 to 15 minutes.]]> argot@webjones.net Observing http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=34 Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:36:32 +0100 http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=32 A Game of Thrones
A Clash of Kings
A Storm of Swords
A Feast for Crows
by George R.R. Martin

After reading the short stories last month and seeing a few reviews of Martin's A Song Of Ice And Fire series, I thought I'd give it a chance.
I have not been reading much fiction for the last few years - nothing on the bookstore shelves (the real or the virtual kind) looked appealing. The few books that look promising usually fall flat upon thumbing them open and reading a random page. But this book has been excellent so far. Martin puts together an unsentimental and complex historical fantasy and his writing is nice and direct, and refreshingly free of the kind of formulaic dialog too often used to give fantasy novels a sense of "period". This is no cut and dried, good vs. evil novel, not for the reader looking for some light escapism.]]> argot@webjones.net Reading http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=32 Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:25:38 +0100 http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=31 Dreamsongs vol. I & II by George R.R. Martin

I picked up up this two volume set of short stories from the sale rack at Barnes & Noble for a bit of light, casual reading with no real expectations. This is my first experience with Martin's work and I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised. The stories go in chronological order of writing, and the first few were what can best be described as derivative and stilted. But they just kept getting better, deeper, more thoughtful and interesting. Now I suppose I'll have to seek out more of Martin's work. ]]> argot@webjones.net Reading http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=31 Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:36:26 +0100 http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=30 When I redesigned and rebuilt the telescope, one thing that I didn't change was the primary mirror cell. A few weeks ago I decided to clean the mirror and reached a few conclusions: 1) it was highly inconvenient to remove the mirror from the cell, 2) the cell did not allow for any air circulation at all and 3) the design was just sloppy. So I cast about for ideas and happened upon Gary Seronik's simple design. I especially like that, instead of having springs on each of the 3 collimation bolts to provide tension, Gary's design has the collimation bolts pulling the mirror cell tight against an acorn nut which provides a central pivot point. I didn't follow his plan exactly, but adapted it to the design of my telescope.

Images of my new primary mirror cell are in this photo set.

Gary Seronik's primary mirror cell design can be found on his site.]]> argot@webjones.net Telescope http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=30 Sun, 06 Sep 2009 21:47:52 +0100 http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=29 Globular Cluster Observing Club. I targeted a handful of GC's in Hercules, Lyra, Delphinus, Sagitta and Aquila to start off with. All of these are high in the sky this month. The GC Club requires fairly extensive observations, thorough descriptions, estimating concentration class, and some of the objects are difficult to find.

10" f4.7 Reflector | 20mm eyepiece (60x) | 9mm eyepiece (133x)

• NGC 6205 / M13 : Large and clear. With the 20mm eyepiece there is a well defined core of stars with many outlying stars branching out from it. It nearly fills the view with the 9mm eyepiece, and the outreaching legs of stars are much clearer.


• NGC 6341 / M92 : Located with the 20mm eyepiece and observed with the 9mm eyepiece. This cluster appears a bit oval, with a well-defined core and sizable halo of stars. Some of the outlying stars run in short serpentine patterns.


• NGC 6229 : Located with the 20mm eyepiece as a faint fuzzy spot. With the 9mm eyepiece it is still faint and diffuse. The core is well-defined but even with averted vision and a long stare, no individual stars are discernable in the core.


• NGC 6779 / M56 : Located with the 20mm eyepiece. Viewed with the 9mm eyepiece, it is small but clear. Stars seem evenly distributed with only the merest congregation at the center. There are a number of outlying stars distributed around it.


• NGC 7006 : This one was a challenge to track down, star hopping with the 20mm eyepiece. With the 9mm eyepiece it is very small and dim with a large core of stars and a barely discernible, thin halo of outlying stars.


• NGC 6934 : Located with the 20mm eyepiece. The 9mm eyepiece reveals a dense cluster with an even distribution. The core is large so that it takes up almost the entire span of the cluster, leaving a very thin diffusion of stars on the edge. One defining feature is a bright star just on the edge of one side. I don't know if this star is part of the cluster, or in front of it.


• NGC 6838 / M71 : Tracked down by star hopping with the 20mm eyepiece. Using the 9mm eyepiece, M71 appears more like an open cluster than a globular, with a roughly arrowhead shape. Though small, individual stars are reasonably clear.


• NGC 6960 : Much to my surprise, I landed on this one on the first try, hopping from d Aql with the 20mm eyepiece. With the 9mm eyepiece I see a faint, fuzzy ball with no real detail.

I spent some time also looking at Jupiter, which was bright and clear with 4 moons visible - two to each side. We saw half a dozen satellites, one of which passed through Cygnus in a direct line from head to tail and one which winked in and out of sight, and must have been rotating or tumbling.]]> argot@webjones.net Observing http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=29 Sun, 23 Aug 2009 16:23:02 +0100 http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=28 Forbidden Nation: A History Of Taiwan by Jonathan Manthorpe

This book provides a decent history of the colonization and development of Taiwan, which was my main interest. Manthorpe also uses this raw history to shape some understanding around contemporary political and social issues with Taiwan, China, the United States and the Southeast Asia region. There is plenty of information and insight into the culture of Taiwan and what makes it unique. In general it's a good read, well-written, in a style that is engaging and won't put you too quickly to sleep.]]> argot@webjones.net Reading http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=28 Thu, 06 Aug 2009 03:21:11 +0100 http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=27
I spent a bit of time browsing the star fields of the milky way, just enjoying the clarity. Then someone announced that the ISS would be passing over at about 10:30pm. And right on schedule it came in from the West, passing a bit to the South - bright when it first appeared and fading at about the zenith of it's pass. I tracked it with the Binoculars, but they only made it a slightly larger bright dot.

I decided to take a look at a few objects around Cygnus. First I tracked down NGC6871, a very small open cluster of stars. Then I moved out a little to look at NGC6882 and 6885, both open clusters very near one another and easy to see together in the 20mm eyepiece. I would not have found them had I not looked up images beforehand. Next I decided to make first use of the OIII filter and see if I could find the North America Nebula. I searched and searched, certain that I was in the right spot but not able to find anything. Then Alex came by, looked into the eypiece and told me I was right on it. With a bit of inverted vision and moving the telescope back and forth a bit I was able to make out a ghost of shadow, but nothing like the shape of North America. But at least I can now say I've observed it. After that I moved over past Ursa Major and tried to find NGC4530, which the SEDS NGC/IC database indicates does not exist. I suppose that might be true because I didn't find anything. Nearby is NGC5272 (aka M13) a pretty globular cluster.

Jupiter was up pretty good by this time and was showing well, with 3 moons. Ron showed us a moon transit with his scope and with various filters was able to bring out the great Red spot, which is not so red any more. Other than that there were satellites and several meteors, a couple of them pretty bright.]]> argot@webjones.net Observing http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=27 Sun, 26 Jul 2009 18:27:41 +0100 http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=26 Centauri Dreams: Imagining & Planning Interstellar Exploration by Paul Gilster

I've followed Paul's blog, Centauri Dreams, for some time - so it was inevitable that I would eventually read the book. This is an excellent introduction, for the nominally technical reader such as myself, to historic and present efforts to design interstellar missions. It's a serious book and has plenty of good detail, but the reader doesn't need to be a Rocket Scientist to understand appreciate the concepts. An inspiring read, Centauri Dreams encourages the reader to think long, as some of the mission plans could take thousand of years. It has been 5 years since the book went into print and there have been both delays and advances in interstellar mission projects, but it provides plenty of starting points for additional research.]]> argot@webjones.net Reading http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=26 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:14:51 +0100 http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=25 argot@webjones.net Whatever http://www.webjones.net/index.php?entryid=25 Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:34:56 +0100