Looking for all the backyard astronomers on Chessatwork.com/redhotpawn.com/playtheimmortalgame.com to exchange tips on scopes, eyepieces, and stargazing techniques and maybe set up a few games while we're at it.
Originally posted by Joerilla Looking for all the backyard astronomers on Chessatwork.com/redhotpawn.com/playtheimmortalgame.com to exchange tips on scopes, eyepieces, and stargazing techniques and maybe set up a few games while we're at it.
Interesting thread. I wonder how many chess players on RHP share an interest in astronomy. And does anyone have experience with the Orion Tri-Mag 3x Barlow Lens or the Shorty 2X Barlow Lens. Do they really double or triple images? And if so, how well do they do it? I have an XT6 Dobsonian and would like to ge beyond my 25mm and 10mm Sirius Plossl eyepieces.
So far I am in the large binocular stage, a nice 20X80 job with a solar filter, you can look directly at the sun and see the sunspots which right now are practically zero. Astronomy sucks pretty bad around this part of Pennsylvania, north of Philly about 80 miles, It always seems to be cloudy just when there is something interesting in the sky like the passing by of the ISS or new comets. The desert rats get all the fun.
I rescued a 10 inch mirror, extremely high quality used for silicon lithography, so you know it has to be as good as money can buy but it has a problem, it is a spherical shape, which can be fixed by a little assembly on the back a double ring affair that was the basis of an article in Sky and Telescope a few years back how to turn a spherical shape to a parabolic.
So one of these days....
Kind of surprised. I thought there would be a lot more chess players who share an interest in astronomy and have the time to post on this thread. Maybe the time needed for the two interests, chess and astronomy, are too competitive.
Originally posted by Vince123 Kind of surprised. I thought there would be a lot more chess players who share an interest in astronomy and have the time to post on this thread. Maybe the time needed for the two interests, chess and astronomy, are too competitive.
Not me, its music, chess, astronomy, physics and math.
Originally posted by Joerilla What kind of scope are you sporting?
I got an 8-inch reflector on a Dobsonian mount.
How dark is the sky in your part of Sweden?
I use a telescope in the club, where I'm a member, from time to time.
The summer nights in Sweden are quite bright, but winters are quite dark. I live at 57 degrees north, nearby a big city, so the conditions could be better.
I am more of an 'armchair astronomer' than practioning outdoor one. I like more to read about the objects than observing myself. The occational nights I go out observing, I do so with friends, non stronomers who want to learn from me, or other amature astronomers who I enjoy being with.
Originally posted by FabianFnas I use a telescope in the club, where I'm a member, from time to time.
The summer nights in Sweden are quite bright, but winters are quite dark. I live at 57 degrees north, nearby a big city, so the conditions could be better.
I am more of an 'armchair astronomer' than practioning outdoor one. I like more to read about the objects than observing myself ...[text shortened]... on stronomers who want to learn from me, or other amature astronomers who I enjoy being with.
I'm a new convert to astronomy. I really got started this winter. As Vince123 can tell you, I've been proselytizing ever since.
Hear, hear! If it weren't for Joerilla, I wouldn't have become actively involved (getting an XT6 Dobsonian, reading "NightWatch," by Terence Dickinson, seeing the moon and Jupiter and its four largest moons in my telescope, and downloading "Starry Night"😉 in amateur astronomy. Hope more people will become interested in this great hobby: good for the mind and the soul.
Originally posted by sonhouse So far I am in the large binocular stage, a nice 20X80 job with a solar filter, you can look directly at the sun and see the sunspots which right now are practically zero. Astronomy sucks pretty bad around this part of Pennsylvania, north of Philly about 80 miles, It always seems to be cloudy just when there is something interesting in the sky like the pass ...[text shortened]... lescope a few years back how to turn a spherical shape to a parabolic.
So one of these days....
Whoa, building a scope from the mirror up, that's an endeavor!
I work with a guy who says he and his brother ground their own mirror and built a scope along with an equatorial mount made from pipe fittings.
If you are looking for a do-it-yourself image stabilizer for your binos, I saw this article on skyandtelescope.com a few weeks back: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/howto/visualobserving/Image-Stabilize-Your-Binoculars.html
Originally posted by Joerilla Whoa, building a scope from the mirror up, that's an endeavor!
I work with a guy who says he and his brother ground their own mirror and built a scope along with an equatorial mount made from pipe fittings.
If you are looking for a do-it-yourself image stabilizer for your binos, I saw this article on skyandtelescope.com a few weeks back: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/howto/visualobserving/Image-Stabilize-Your-Binoculars.html
Hey, thanks for the link! I see how that is done and my 20X80's are even shakier than those 10X50's. I can also see a couple of improvements.
All the astronomers in the house say HEY!
18 Jul '08 18:01
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