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Thanks for alerting us Bill – actually the CPRE got a little ahead of us, as this is a joint BAA / CPRE project that we have been working on for the past couple of months. Helpfully the CPRE kindly offered to host the website submission forms and process the results.
I hope members will take part, and spread the word to their local societies, forums, and encourage friends and families to take part too.
Clear skies
Callum
Many thanks for the feedback on the livestream – this was just the second time the IoP tech team had done this form their new HQ and a first for the BAA.
Sorry if finding the link was a little tricky (thanks Lars for posting) – we’ll take this as a learning point for the future.
Everyone – have a very Merry Chrsitmas.
Callum
Hi Paul,
you are not the only weirdo on here – I use mainly Macs and also a couple of Raspberry Pis with Linux – and i’ve dabbled with other Linuxes in the past.
For convenience, though, I do use Mac version of MS Office…
Maybe you looked at the ImageJ photometry tutorial currently on the front-page – ImageJ is cross-platform and should run well on Linux/MacOS.
But sorry not able to provide much in the way of practical help on any VSS questions. But you certainly have my moral support!
Clear skies,
Callum
There are some eyepieces with a 3 inch barrel diameter.
There is a ‘short’ 30mm from Explore – which I saw at a show last year – a monster of an eyepiece.
But there is also a Japanese 80mm eyepiece available from APM – but not cheap – though if you have €2k spare…
Of course you need a scope with a 3″ focuser too…
Callum
Having examined the governing document, affiliated societies do not have a vote – any vote from an affiliated society will not be counted.
Voting is open until October 15th, so still time for members to get your vote in – either electronically or by post.
Thanks,
CallumHi Xiaoli,
M64 sits in the constellation Coma Berenices, which is a bit low in the sky setting in the west at sunset, so is pretty much un-observable at the moment, and I think that remote robotic telescopes in the northern hemisphere won’t allow you to observe that low.
Really it is a Spring constellation, though might come into view for imaging Feb onwards, depending on the telescope location.
If you are at school, you could try to get them to get you access to the Faulkes Telescopes, which have some nice big robotic telescopes.
There are a lot of galaxies available at the moment, so you might need to pick a different one depending on your project needs.
Best regards,
CallumHi Grant – currently working on it – will let everyone know once it’s confirmed. Probably Birmingham area, though.
Cheers. Callum
Hi Andrew,
always difficult scheduling meetings – the calendar gets pretty congested at some times of the year.
The annual programme is usually fixed up up to two years in advance, and the Sept meeting is usually the first weekend of Sept.
Winchester next year is the same weekend as Spring Kelling (only weekend the College is available).
BTW have penciled in March 23 for the Deep Sky Section meeting next year – assuming there is no major conflicting event. Location TBD.
Callum
I can never remember if arc-minutes and arc-seconds are ‘ and ” or vice-versa!
Does make hunting for some objects rather problematic!
Decimals are used on iTelescope plans, so conversion is usually needed from catalogue and internet sources…
Callum
Hello Graham,
though probably most local societies will not need to register (and pay a fee to the ICO) it does not mean that you don’t need to follow the regulations. The regulations apply to all businesses and organisations that process personal data – whether electronic or on paper.
Registrations are just the way that the ICO is funded, and the exemptions for small clubs and the like are more or less the same as under the old law.
So I am afraid it is not a silver bullet.
Regards,
CallumGood luck with the project Edward – I will look forward to seeing your results.
It would also be interesting to hear about your experience with the Hyperstar – an idea article for the Equipment and techniques section.
All the best,
CallumAnother Hyperstr user is Grep Parker who spake at last years Deep Sky Section meeting – though not all about the Hyperstar, though he did mention it in the task. Hopefully this to the video link will work: https://britastro.org/video/7951/9337
Callum
Hello Ian, and welcome to the BAA
We have a number of active double star observers in the Deep Sky Section, as Jeremy mentioned John McCue is the sections’s double star advisor.
If you send me a direct message I will add you to the deep sky section members list. There should be a section newsletter coming out soon which has some double star reports and a short article.
The section also has a meeting on April 22 in Bedford, if this is at all convenient for you to attend, you would be most welcome.
Best regards
Callum
hey Grant,
I remember reading some articles about using a Raspberry PI to serve it’s usb ports via Ethernet. At the PC end they just look like standard usb devices.
Some googling might turn up something helpful.
I did find this commercial offering https://www.virtualhere.com/
one device is free so might be worth an experiment.
Cheers, Callum
Thanks all for the observations.
I have been trying to observe with iTelescope in Spain, but the weather there has been poor the last few nights.
Cheers, Callum
W&W sell dew heaters, and have attended our B2B workshops and other meetings, and were at the IAS.
Website is https://dewheater.com
No connection except I bought one for a camera lens.
Callum
Have you looked at Christian Buil’s website.
Some in French (use google translate if need be) though much in English too.
http://www.astrosurf.com/buil/spectrographs.htm
Cheers, Callum
Hi Bill,
I noticed a couple of your twitter postings on this, so good to see a write up!
Where do you get the LC shutters from?
Cheers, Callum
Hi Howard,
I don’t have any direct experience, but I would say you need to make sure the generator is properly ventilated to the outside world.
Although it was different circumstances a couple of guys in a nearby town died from carbon monoxide poisoning because they were using a generator to pump out a flooded basement.
Have you thought about solar power at all?
You’d need to work out how much electric power you’ll need in the observatory, and then match to batteries and solar panels that would be sufficient to fully charge in a day or so.
Will be interested to hear how you get on, and what you decide to do in the end.
Cheers, Callum
Hi Tony,
one (of the many) mistakes I made when constructing my roll-off roof observatory I embedded the exteriors supports for the exterior rails (where the roof rides over onto when open) within the building, so when the eventually rotted, it was a particularly difficult job to replace them.
So, I’d suggest thinking about how you might replace them when that needs to be done. Unlike the main building the exterior rails will be subject to all the weather…
Look forward to hearing how the project goes.
Clear skies
Callum
