Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
My comet observing stats .
I came across these observing stats at the link copied below.
These are my observing stats since I came here to observe in 2011 at MPC Code I81
Apparently, according to this data list I sit at number 55 out of 1670 observing stations having observed measured and reported on 427 comets.Nr.Station All MPECs Discovery MPECs Observations
55 I81 220 19 197182011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
58 276 380 500 1374 1446 2274 1431 2135 2091 3419 2872 1462
I81 has discovered 0 objects. It has made 19718 of all 808978 observations (2 %) at 427 objects in all MPECs with involved station I81.
There are 2457 of all 87283 observations (3 %) at 110 objects in all discovery MPECs with involved station I81.Denis
Being only two years away from my 50 year membership of the BAA I am left feeling a little deflated by this anouncement of the scrapping of honorary membership by the Trustees. It is not the subscription money that I would have saved if my membership became honorary and therefore free, but it will be the lost feeling of pride and achievement that missing out on the award of an honorary membership by the Association that I have been proud to have belonged to for most of my adult life. Also I look back at the list of previous honorary members and I would have felt an extra pride that I would have joined their ranks. The sending of a certificate will not engender that same feeling of pride. I will not stop being a member of the BAA, my intention is to remain a member for the rest of my life. Now I suppose, looking forward, my main achievement may be to have an obituary published in the JBAA! I have been an active member of the BAA for almost 50 years and have participated in most of the BAA’S activities and contributed to its publications over those years. I was not asked about this decision before it was made,perhaps a rethink my be appropriate before it is sanctioned and ratified. Perhaps it is right that we recognise members who have been supportive of the BAA for so long. We are not a Association who are bereft of funds, both currently and going forward so why can’t we honour our long standing members in this way. I would be happy to send my membership fee to the BAA as a benefactor after being awarded an honorary membership.It is the recognition, by the Association, of long participation and continuous membership that is important to me not the free membership.
Denis BuczynskiHi Howard, welcome to your new role as acting coordinator for the Campaign for Dark Skies. I was in communication with Bob Mizon just prior to his death and we had agreed to offer a certificate to Northern Lighthouse Board Inverness for the work they had one in limiting the effect of the lighthouse on the penninsula that the Tarbatness Lighthouse sits. Do you have access to Bob’s email’s regarding this matter. I did leave a detailed message on the CfDS message page a few weeks ago and have not had a reply to date.
Best wishes
Denis BuczynskiIn my experience I would have fork mount any day over a GEM. The problem with cameras and ancillary equipment fouling the mount in the fork design is not a problem for Newtonian or Nasmyth designs or indeed prime focus SC’s like the Celestron RASA . Meridian flips in a GEM are amongst the most common irritations I have with my SC on a GEM. Image attached of my last large Newtonian, oh how I miss it!
Attachments:
Hello all,
My observing stats for 2022 were that I was able to observe and submit comet astrometry to MPC and the BAA Comet Section on 90 nights(I don’t count the number of comets observed but some nights up to twenty individual comets are recorded). This does not include the months of May, June and July when all sky twilight does not permit observing at this (58dN) latitude.The Summer months here were cool and cloudy and the Summer heat wave that was experienced in more southerly latitudes did not extend into the Highlands of Scotland. Whilst the high pressure dominated the south there was a ribbon of cloud diverted around the high that persisted over Highland Scotland.I have yet to look at my automatic metoer camera output to get the number of detected meteors. An automatic Aurora/NLC video camera was installed here in September by Nick James, this gave excellent detection of aurora alerting me to obtain more detailed aurora images.
Denis BuczynskiA fine response to the current energy crisis by LCC. There should be a review of all excessive and unneccesary outdoor lighting used by local authorities and companies, and statutory rules limiting their use.
DenisHello Andrea, I forwarded your post about the Steinheil refractor to Bart Fried of The Antique Telescope Society. I suggest you contact him for further advice. His reply is :
Re: steinheil refractor.
Bart Fried
12/10/22 23:44
1
It does, but there’s no tripod? Also, the wood block is a home-made adapter to use it on an alt-azimuth mount. But it’s a wood tube and it was almost certainly in a cradle of some sort. If I were that fellow, I’d offer 1500 Euros and see what happens.Bart
Sic itur ad astra!
On Wed, Oct 12, 2022 at 4:13 PM denis buczynski
Bart
FYI this post came up on the BAA forum, it looks a nice example of it
type.https://britastro.org/forums/topic/antique-steinheil-muenchen-refractor
Hi John, It is good to know that someone in the local area (you) are interested in this famous old instrument. What can be done I wonder. If a contact with the company that now ownes Closehouse Estate could be made to see if they would be willing to have the telescope removed would be the first step. Does anyone know contact details for this company?
I wrote to two academics in the North East who may have had some association with the observtaory and telescope.
Dr Anne Archibold at Newcastle University Astronomy Dept, who has not replied as yet.
Dr Jurgen Schmoll at Durham University who did reply, copied below:Dear Denis,
thank you for your nice email. I am afraid I am not in possession of the 24″ telescope, but of a re-built, unfinished 17″ telescope of the same pedigree.Reverend Espin of Tow Law had initially a 17″ f/8 Newtonian in his private observatory. Later he upgraded to 24″ (shorter tube, maybe f/5 but I am not sure) on the same mount. The 17″ fell into disrepair.
The 24″ was refurbished I think in the 1990s by the late David Sinden, ex chief-optician of Grubb Parsons in Newcastle. He rebuilt the tube (change from tube to truss) and made an excellent job. This telescope has been set up at Close House and used by Newcastle Uni. Sadly Newcastle closed its Physics/Astronomy section, and Close House was taken over in ownership with the new owners not being interested in astronomy. This is how it all fell apart.
The 17″ mirror was rescued by Alan Heslop and Gordon Percival, both Grubb-Parsons until it shut. I remember both later became teachers. They reground the mirror from f/8 to f/4 and built a new telescope around it, which was never finished. When Alan Heslop passed away end of 2012, his sun asked me to move the telescope away to rescue it. Since then it is in storage. I set it up once, using a crane in my observatory as it is a heavy machine at about 1/2 ton total weight. Currently I have it half-built in my new observatory, after moving house. The plan is to find a new home for it, but there is much to do and some measures are costly – recoating the mirror alone about £500. The ancient motors are to be replaced by contemporary dual axis control e.g. by AWR electronics, but this is about £2000. All money I do not have, and I will have to team up with someone else or an interested astronomical society.
There was also a 12″ Schmidt telescope at Close House. I have the optics of this one, as the mechanics did not survive. Also the optics is damaged, the corrector plate having a large chip on the edge. So probably a display item in a Grubb Parsons exhibit, as there is a science Paper about it authored by David Brown himself, an important figure within Grubb Parsons.
Feel free to contact me again. We may also have a chat on Skype or phone if you like.
So how to proceed from here. Perhaps an online working group to discuss what can be done to rescue this telescope would be a start. I live in the North East of Scotland 40 miles north of Inverness, so any participation on the ground by myself would be impractical. A willing person in the Newcastle area would be ideal. Does anyone know annyone in the Newcastle Astronomical Society who might help?
Denis Buczynski
Hi Trevor,
Thanks for your interest. I can see why you are as interested in knowing the current situation regarding the telescope. I have written to member of the Astronomy group at Newcastle University, Dr Anne Archbold, to see if she can shed any light on the matter. Here is a copy of my letter:
Hello Dr Archibold,
I hope you can help with this enquiry. I am an amateur astronomer and a member of the British Astronomical Association since 1979. At present I live 40 miles north of Inverness. I have had a particular interest in the telescopes that were used by pioneers of observational astronomy in the 19th and early 20th Centuries. The reason I write to you is to ask if you can shed any light on the current situation regarding the telescope used by The Rev.T.E .Espin (a founder member of the BAA and a recipient of the Jackson-Gwilt medal of the Royal Astronomical Society). He lived and worked at Tow Law in County Durham.This telescope has historical significance and was donated to Newcastle University in the 1990’s by David Sinden (who was chief optician at Grubb-Parsons and worked on the construction of the Issac Newton telescope and the Anglo Australian telescope). It was situated at the University Observatory site at Closehouse Estate west of Newcastle along side two other more modern telescopes that were owned and operated by Newcatle University. The University sold off the site and removed the two modern telescopes (still in storage at the University?).However I believe the 19th century Espin 24 inch Calver reflector was left in situ and may still be there, abandoned. Can you shed any light on the current situation regarding this telescope. I realise that this may be outside you sphere of interest and certainly the move away form Closehouse was before you time at Newcastle University, but I hope the subject and its historical aspect may interest you enough to make some enquiries about the telescope. I attach two links
1) a utube video made in 2021 showing the abandoned observatory
2) a link to the Society for the History of Astronomy webpage for this telescope whcih gives the historical background.
I hope you can find time to look at these and respond
Best wishes
Denis Buczynskihttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_FRY1XAmSk
https://shasurvey.files.wordpress.com/2019/12/espin-observatory.pdf
Hi Alan (dont know your surname as you have not displayed it), I have one of Paul’s paintings, the one of Saturn and its ring system hanging on my wall. Image attached. Also there are many of Paul’s sketches of comets in the BAA Comet Archive, such as these of comet Kobayashi-Berger-Milon at https://britastro.org/cometobs/1975n1/thumbnails.html
Denis Buczynski
The link in the previous post seems to need the .pdf at the end of the link to be included for it to work.
https://www.aavso.org/sites/default/files/Return_to_Starlight_Nights-eBook_(2).pdfHello all,
Anyone who is an aficionado of Leslie Peltier and his life story may be interested to read the material at this AAVSO link:
https://www.aavso.org/sites/default/files/Return_to_Starlight_Nights-eBook_(2).pdfDenis Buczynski (also an aficionado)
Attachments:
Hi Lyn
Attached is an rather low resolution image of this sunspot group taken this afternoon 20220418 at Tarbatness.
Best wishes
DenisAttachments:
Hi David and Daryl,
Thanks for the time effort you have put in to looking for information about Kellaway on my behalf. I do know of some of the information you write about, especially the Obituary of him in the JBAA. I will try the authors of the book that you mention about West Coker,that may provide me with the photographs of Kellaway, his observatory(ies) and his telescopes that I would like to obtain. I know RLW (Reggie Waterfield) well but never heard him speak of Kellaway. Once again many thanks.
Denis BuczynskiDon’t thow it away just offer it for sale to members, highest bid wins. Even as a curiosity it worth more than putting it in the bin.
Richard McKim has also suggested that we publish an obituary in the JBAA. I have spoken with Rob’s wife today and she is hopeful that an obituary of Rob will appear in a future JBAA. I am willing to write this.
Denis
Hi David, I do not know who wrote that article. I see from the end postscript that he/she had a private communication with Glyn who must have given him details after the removal of the Mond Astrograph from NLO. I will ask Glyn’s wife, Christine, if she knows who wrote it. I remember that there was a book about the history of Sir Robert Mond amongst the material I sent down to NLO with the Mond Astrograph and the measuring machines and some documents that Glyn had assembled. Did you manage to compare the 7 inch Zeiss lens that Gyln had on the Mond Astrograph and the mystery 7 inch you found? Was the focal length of the mystery 7 inch determined?
