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Posted by Paul A Brierley at 18:18 on 2010 May 25
Thanks Callum,I hope to get a peak at Comet R1, through my 10" next week, during my holiday, if the skies are clear.Martin’s pictures show, how much the comet has changed over last fortnight. And it does look like we will have a nice, all be it, very brief naked eye comet. The Northern twilight will be the killer for this one. But I still hope to get an eyepiece view, post midnight and 3am.
Posted by Callum Potter at 16:05 on 2010 May 25
Hi Roger,IRIS may not be intuitive, but it’s well worth persisting with.There are helpful tutorials and guides about, and the yahoo group has a lot of experts on it.Callum
Posted by Roger Dymock at 11:16 on 2010 May 25
Hi Andrea,Thanks for your reply. Two other people have recommended IRIS so I heave downloaded it and now have to understand how to use it.Regards
Posted by Andrea Tasselli at 00:47 on 2010 May 25
Roger,I would use IRIS to do anything. Do you mean using a filter like the Larson-Sekanina one or similar?Andrea T.
Posted by Paul A Brierley at 17:32 on 2010 May 21
Cheers Callum,I will use the dust cover I have for my ZS66SD. I have been a casual solar observer on and off for a number of years, and I hope that with my new 10" Dob which is, after all so easy to set UP. It might encourage me to do more in the way of Solar observing.I might even be tempted to join the solar section!
Posted by Callum Potter at 16:24 on 2010 May 21
Hi Paul,I would think a 3 inch diameter offset would be fine. Will make it about f/16 or so…Cheers, Callum
Posted by Paul A Brierley at 17:38 on 2010 May 11
Hello Callum,I have saved the excel report from. And will hopefully organise a meteor watch on Thursday August 12 with members from my local astronomical society. Thank you for the web links.
Posted by Dale Holt at 13:29 on 2010 May 10
Thanks to David for outlining some of the lesser known facts around LED street lighting. It does sound very worrying and already happening if David can witness deterioration from his NW London location.I have often wondered why more of the low level bollard type lighting isn’t used by local authorities as the units must be considerably cheaper that full lamp posts, especially for pedestrian only applications.Movement detection is also a good idea but with the energy usage being that much lower with LED’s the cost & environment cards will have already been satisfied to a greater extent, the advantages to residents & councils will not be so attractive.I think the serious option for many astronomers trapped in light polluted areas will be to concentrate or areas of astronomy that are less effected by the scourge of poor lighting, i.e. Lunar, Solar, Planetary. Double stars etc or to join the increasing number of UK astronomers accessing scope remotely under really dark skies. I appreciate that theses means imaging and not visual observation but what else can a small group of astronomers realistically do to prevent it?Dale Holt
Posted by Callum Potter at 11:52 on 2010 May 10
Hi Paul,there is the Excel report form at:/images_old/stories/sections/meteor/MeteorSectionReportBlank.xlsand also a scan of the old printed form at:http://www.britastro.org/meteor/images/report.gifJohn Mason is the current (acting) director of the section, and reports should be sent to him. Postal address and other contact details are in the back of the BAA Journal.Clear skies,Callum
Posted by Duncan Bryson at 09:41 on 2010 May 09
That Sounds GoodAs Long As You Don’t Dance Around Because You’ve Seen A New Planet Or Something (And Activate The Sensor On The Street Light) That Would Be A Good Idea – As Long As The Council Have Enough Money To Fund ItDuncan
Posted by Gary Poyner at 20:28 on 2010 May 07
Hi Paul,A quick look at the Meteor Section webpages reveals that John Mason is acting Director. He would be the person to ask as to where your reports should be sent. I also note that they have a ‘Report Form’ Excel Spreadsheet available for download. Things have moved on a bit since I used to send my paper MeteorReports to George Spalding years ago!Cheers,Gary
Posted by Gary Poyner at 20:27 on 2010 May 07
Hi Paul,A quick look at the Meteor Section webpages reveals that John Mason is acting Director. He would be the person to ask as to where your reports should be sent. I also note that they have a ‘Report Form’ Excel Spreadsheet available for download. Things have moved on a bit since I used to send my paper MeteorReports to George Spalding years ago!Cheers,Gary
Posted by Kim Burton at 20:11 on 2010 May 07
As LEDs don’t need to warm up, why can’t they use motion sensors. The lights could just come on when needed and save power.
Posted by Duncan Bryson at 19:40 on 2010 May 06
Dear AllThis Might Not Be A Long Term Solution For Astronomers Because "LED’s" Produce A Brighter Light (LED’s Are Usually Brighter Anyway) But What You Could Do Is Ask Them About Turning Off The Lights After 1am For Instance (Bob Mizon Has Suggested This In The CfDS Newsletter)Duncan
Posted by David Arditti at 02:46 on 2010 May 06
The answer is that the colour of sodium light is highly unpopular with the public. When consulted, people (non-astronomers) always demand white streetlights. They say it makes them feel more secure. This is behind the push towards white LEDs, as well as energy saving, and it is a highly political issue. I think it is very unlikely that astronomers will be able to bring pressure for non-white new lights to be introduced. Even Bob Mizon, when I asked him about it, expressed the belief that we cannot avert a move to white streetlights in towns, and the focus of the CfDS has been on getting the beam-pattern of lights improved rather than on their colour. Unfortunately, the greater upward reflectivity of white light off grass etc. is likely to more than compensate for improvements in beam patterns in terms of contribution to skyglow in the future.All round it is very bad prospect for astronomy and I often stress it at meetings as I don’t think amateurs realise what is coming. Here on the edge of London, where many of the lights in the centre of the city have already been changed to white, I can see the effect very clearly. If we could harness the support of the professional astronomical community more I think we would stand more chance of making an impact, but I think the trouble is, as they don’t generally observe from the UK, they don’t see it as such a big issue. They should all regard it, however, as part of their job to be working to preserve the sky that will inspire the next generation of both professional and amateur astronomers.
Posted by Nick James at 19:55 on 2010 Apr 30
Kim,I think the measurements Paul was talking about were from Topex. There’s a Wiki article here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TOPEX/Poseidon which goes into some detail.Sorry about the poor sound on some oft he last videos. We had many technical problems that day!Nick.
