Search Results for 'espin telescope'

[David Strange]

Paul, that was only a private school party that visited La Palma then, but it has triggered a few other hairy moments i shared with Bob.
I remember that many of the hire cars then had completely bald tyres. On one occasion I ran over a large rock which smashed the oil sump, but was very grateful for a replacement car within half an hour. Another time myself and Bob were driving down fron Roque de los Muchachos one very foggy night early in the morning. The fog was so thick that Bob had to lean out the window and direct me in case I drove over the edge. As we rounded one corner a massive articulated truck rounded the bend on our side of the road, he had to to get his backend around! As it went by we realised it was the main body of the Liverpool Telescope being transported up the mountain!

David

[Richard Miles]

Alex – Well done for trying. At least you didn’t miss a positive from your observing site!

I have had two similar experiences; one when a few minutes before the predicted time, a cloud appeared from nowhere in a clear sky and prevented any timing. And another occasion when I had to travel 12 miles to get to my observatory so by the time I got there the sky had started to cloud over badly. I set up and managed to have enough sightings of stars to set up pointing the telescope in the right direction and, low and behold, some minutes before the due time a sucker hole appeared allowing me to achieve a timing.

Richard

[Nick James]

I was monitoring it in Chelmsford using an HD11 + ASI6200. Half the telescope aperture was occulted by my observatory shed and the the rest was looking through the branches of a tree. Because of this I had to use 0.25s exposure to get the star. At least the sky was clear but but no occultation detected here.

The comet is currently in a faint state. The attached is a 60s exposure taken at 2127 showing the comet and the star.

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[Paul G. Abel]

Hi Lars,

For Venus, use a 50mm blank circle. I crease all mine in free software package called ‘the Gimp’. The phase can be constructed using the ellipse tool, you can get it to produce the right phase using the formula: W= 5*(1-2*phase). So if Venus is 60% illuminated, you would put the phase = 0.6 in the formula and the value you get for W is the width of the ellipse.

You can use a similar thing for Mars but be aware that the terminator changes sides- in a normal mirror inverting telescope with north at the bottom, features pass from right to left (i.e from the following side to the preceding side). Before opposition, the terminator and therefore the phase is on the left (preceding side), and after opposition it is on the right or following side. The phase on Mars is not always at 90 degrees, but the value Q in the BAA handbook (or the value ‘maximum phase’ in WINJUPOS) will tell you where the widest part of the terminator lies.

Jupiter is fairly easy, you need to use an ellipse 60mm wide by 40mm in height (it cannot be a circle as Jupiter is appreciably flattened). Finally the Saturn Section has some excellent templates which can be used to draw on with the rings, Cassini Division and the C-Ring all correctly depicted.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to email me.

Cheers,
-Paul

[Robin Leadbeater]

There are some a nice high resolution spectra coming from from the amateur 2SPOT team using their new echelle spectrograph on their remote setup dedicated to spectroscopy in Chile.
http://www.spectro-aras.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=3090
Here is a picture of their setup on the telescope farm showing both the original low resolution faint object spectrograph on the Newtonian and the high resolution fibre fed echelle using the RC, both on the same mount
https://i.postimg.cc/440QkQdV/RC12-Aube-1.jpg

• This reply was modified 3 years, 6 months ago by Robin Leadbeater.

[Alan Thomas]

Ah yes . . . but these are not methinks what would commonly be recognised as ‘pies’. I think the pie would include JUICE and possibly MEAT (Massive Earthbound Astronomical Telescope). Hmm…
Alan

[Grant Privett]

I just had a quick look at the ASTAP manual.

If I am reading it right, then ASTAP needs two FITS keywords* populated with the approximate field centre coordinates in RA/Dec and also guidance from the user (field diameter/search size) to run. So, its not doing blind solving, but the much simpler user assisted solving. Which probably explains the speed.

I’m not sure though how most of us would get the RA/Dec values into the header. Is there a command line tool or something available? I imagine you could supply a target name and the software then use Simbad or JPL Horizons online to supply the current position from your lat/long.

Does anyone know of such a tool? That would be extremely useful – and not too hard to write in Python.

Certainly, I control my telescope via TheSkyX, but I don’t like its imaging interface and so use my own CCD control software (or sometimes AstroArt) – which just takes images and does not talk to the mount. I imagine others may also be in the position of generating FITS from their camera without RA/Dec coordinates in.

*Or possibly 4, as I have seen two different definitions of keywords for RA/Dec.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 6 months ago by Grant Privett.

[Jeremy Shears]

Yesterday I lunched at the Space Invader pub, just across the fields from Jodrell Bank. The pub signage included images of the iconic Lovell telescope and Sir Bernard himself. Inside there were pics of the telescope at various stage of construction, plus a few antique telescopes and even an oscilloscope.

The beer was excellent too. There is a possible link to a former Papers Secretary. Perhaps I will keep this for the Christmas Quiz……

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[Robin Leadbeater]

Even MIT asteroid specialists are partial to the odd NTU and have even provided a conversion factor.

https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/does-earth-have-new-quasi-moon/

Longtime asteroid specialist Richard Binzel (MIT) tells Sky & Telescope he estimates this object’s [2023 FW13] size to be about 10 to 15 meters across: “Somewhere between a boxcar and a large Winnebago.”

• This reply was modified 3 years, 6 months ago by Robin Leadbeater.

[Simon Kidd]

Large plastic telescope tube, length 2040mm, internal diameter 308mm, with 3mm wall.
Also included some ply rings.
The tube itself was very good thermally, and enabled the original long focus planetary scope to perform extremely well.
Could be easily cut down for a shorter scope.

Please note that its the Tube only….no mount, optics, finder, dovetail plate or focusser are included, and the item cannot be posted!

Simon Kidd

Cottered

Herts

 

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[Roger Dymock]

Hi Richard,

I am using the SLOOH 0.5m telescope to obtain 5 images per night of TOI-1259A b. After a month or so I will process these with Astoimagej for photometry and then construct a folded phase curve using Peranso. Only just started to learn the latter so might take a while.

Regards

[Kaustav Bhattacharya]

Telescope: WO 110 Megrez ED f/5.95
Imager: ZWO ASI533MC Pro, 1″ square

Given the above telescope and image, I’m looking for advice on what the ideal field flattener would be to get.

Thanks.

[David Arditti]

I think it would mainly cost an enormous amount of time to convert it into a telescope, but if the glass is suitable (and I really don’t know whether it is), it should be possible; after all, Andrew Common in the 19th century managed to build an even bigger telescope on an amateur basis, with little prior experience of mirror-making. The mechanics would perhaps be more challenging than the optics.

As for a remote BAA telescope, I have to say, without saying too much, that Council has not been very keen on going down that route, feeling it is a service well-covered by commercial suppliers, and not wanting to risk a ‘stranded asset’ that could be difficult to manage. But we may discuss it again.

[Dr Paul Leyland]

Certainly sounds interesting to me!

I would love something that size and have somewhere to put it. I also have no idea how much it would cost to convert it into usable telescope – preferably a Cassegrain-style to keep the size of the housing to a sensible size.

If the BAA as an organization would like to have a robotic telescope in La Palma, please get in touch. I can provide site, power, internet, ancillary equipment like computers, etc at zero cost. Would a subscription model make sense? A significant contribution to construction costs would give you a guaranteed number of hours per annum for the remainder of your BAA membership.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 7 months ago by Dr Paul Leyland.

[Alan Dowdell]

I am sorting out my garage and I have put to one side a collection of bits and pieces of old telescope building parts.It includes a pile of mirror blanks from 8 to 14 inches tubes flats and a large steel fork.
Does any body still makes their own equipment and would like these items?
I can send for list for those interested free to Good home but must be collected from Hampshire
Alan

[Eric Watkins]

I’m trying to run my paramount MEII mount with NINA and using THE Sky X as the planetarium. The telescope, camera and focuser appear to connect and controllable via NINA. However, I can not get planetarium choice, SKX – local host and port windows to become active (light up).
Is there anyone who has any advice or experience to share on the topic.

Thanks,

Eric

[David C Rayment]

News from Science 23 February 2023.
India’s government has apparently approved plans to build a high-speed rail line through the site of the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) at Narayangaon, Maharashtra. It is to run as close as 1km to the 30 antennas (each 45 meters wide). The telescope focuses in particular on the 21-centimetre waves from neutral hydrogen and is used by around 35 countries to probe the dark universe before the first stars were born. Astronomers are concerned about the radio interference of the collected data.

[Grant Privett]

There are camera specialist photographic companies that will attempt to dismantle lenses and clean mould off them. Given the number of elements in a DSLR lens, a telescope lens is a stroll in the park by comparison. I will ask camera enthusiast friend for a recommendation.

I noticed the inside of my 300mm F/4 starting to smell slightly of damp so went over to forced ventilation – have not had condensation on the mirror since.

One thought, I recall hearing of an SCT user inserting a tube containing packets of silica gel into the focuser (the tube had a wire mesh end so the air from the telescope got to the gel). You could also buy a couple of large packs silica gel from Amazon and put velcro tape on to them and place a fresh one on the inside of the lens cap at the end of every observing night. You then warm the spare up and store in an air tight jar so its ready for use on the next clear night.

[Trevor Emmett]

Hi Martina,

I’m firmly of the view that this sort of problem is the ‘elephant in the room’ with regard to SCTs. It’s been a constant issue for the 10 years I’ve owned my CPC1100.

Small specks on the corrector won’t be a big problem and, unless it’s obviously affecting your images I would leave well alone.

Steve Collingwood of SCTelecopes (and Pulsar Observatories) did a good job cleaning and collimating my telescope about 5 years ago. I’m not sure he still offers this service but try

http://sctelescopes.com/sc-telescopes-broadhurst-clarkson-and-fuller-fullerscopes/

With the recent demise of David Hinds I think Tring Astro might be able to advise.

I would appreciate knowing how you get on. Good luck!!!!

Trebor

[Nick James]

Paul – That is why I have never liked fork mounts although the price I pay is meridian flips. The comet was really nice tonight despite the bright moonlight. I get it to be 5th mag now. Here is a picture of my telescope effortlessly pointing near to the pole taken while it was taking the picture in the inset. I don’t get many chances to take a picture like this!

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