[Dawson]

Thanks Bill. 

I think my question 1 was poorly phrased; it probably should have read: “with a colour sensor, is it desirable to block IR when imaging the moon and planets? If so, why?”

What about UV? I presume UV is blocked by clear glass.

James

[Dawson]

It apparently passed us by at about 10x the distance of the Moon:

http://earthsky.org/space/asteroid-2013-tx68-uncertain-trajectory-closest-earth-mar-5-2016

Phew 🙂

Jame

[Dawson]

Thanks Martin. I’ll take my hard hat off then; that’s a relief 🙂

James

[Dawson]

A copy of this book arrived this morning, and while I probably won’t read it from cover to cover, I’m looking forward to flicking through it at some stage and reading little bits and looking at the lovely pictures:

Fire in the Sky: Comets and Meteors, the Decisive Centuries, in British Art and Science Hardcover – 26 Feb 1998

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fire-Sky-Meteors-Decisive-Centuries-British/dp/0521630606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452170446&sr=8-1&keywords=comet+fire+sky

James

[Dawson]

Wow, that is a lovely painting.

James

[Dawson]

Yes, there is now a full frame version. It doesn’t fit into the body of the camera in a stunningly conventional way, but it does the trick. One has to flip the mirror up, and drop the oblong filter in the hole. It seems a bit Heath Robinson, but is easy to put in and relatively easy to take out.

james

[Dawson]

On one of the subs there was a bright meteor. After checking the time on the DSLR (and correcting as the camera was two minutes fast and on British Summer Time), I submitted the sub to the NEMETODE network to see if anyone captured the event. Sure enough at least two have captured the meteor on video, and initial analysis shows it was a meteor over Galloway, and had a bright terminal flash. It’s good to combine the widefield observation with video meteor detection. 

James

[Dawson]

A lovely capture. Well done.

I found it was quite hard to get the settings correct on the camera as either the remaining illuminated arc was too bright, or the rest of the Moon was too dark – you seem to have got a good balance. Nice work. It was well worth staying up late for.

At 5am though I was surrounded by mist and fog and it was like a scene from the Hound of the Baskervilles, and I was worried the beast might smell my remaining mini pork pie 🙂

James

[Dawson]

Clearly the images didn’t attach, so I’ll try again>

James

[Dawson]

Bill,

Thanks for this. I’m already making contacts on the family history websites and doing some digging.

I went to look at Robert’s grave on Tuesday, but the writing at the bottom remains elusive to me, even after trying a wax crayon rubbing. I’m waiting on the cemetery people to get back to me to say if they have a written archive of what was originally engraved on the head stone.

I think I have found Walter and his father on the mid 1800s censuses, and it looks like I’ve also found Walter’s paternal grandfather, John, on the 1841 census. I am still trying to work out what link, if any, exists between Walter and Robert.

Professor Ian Inkster who wrote this article about Robert in 1980 (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1980JBAA…90..245I) is coming to Nottingham in October, so I am hoping to catch up with him then for a coffee and a chat – even if I don’t learn any more about either Goodacre, it will be a great opportunity to just chat with a fascinating academic.

 

[Dawson]

Thanks. Yes, I guess that is the reason – I just wondered if there were BAA members in my locality as trying to promote my astronomical society.

Regards

James

[Author]

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