ARCHIVE July2008
Trixie "first light" photos
I decided to use some non-point-source light for my first light. Helps when I had to chop the “tubes” twice to get the camera to focus. Running a saw in the dark […]
Telescope "first light" photos
I put in some temporary “tubes” so I could check the focal length of the telescope. The varnished pieces look really cool. I was not really prepared for how big the scope […]
Trixie Construction photos
To check the focal length, I set the scope up on a pair of sawhorses, and pointed it at a radio tower several miles away atop one of the local hills. These […]
Trixie Construction photos
The tubes are going to be aluminum, but because of my design, they have to be cut to exactly the correct length. So I decided to use some spare 2×2s I had […]
Harvest moon from WA
The moon in WA was pretty dang low – probably 20 or so deg. The Moon is in Sagittarius, at its lowest point on the Ecliptic. 20deg is a good guess — […]
Astro knowledge / General / Observing Reports
Chinese zodiac
Chinese Year of the Rat this year (my “sign”, you guess which multiple of 12 I am). I’ve decided that the “rat” constellation must be Aries, since the “Ox” is clearly Taurus. […]
insomniac quick look
Nice moon and Jupiter pairing last night at 3am in Freeport, Bahamas.
Trixie as a planetary scope
I really want to shoot some planetary shots with that big mirror. ‘m embarrassed to say that the palm tree has conspired to keep me from shooting any Jupiter yet this year. […]
ATM: varnish – lessons learned
I am looking forward to getting some photons on this thing. Might be able to get the scope constructed between the 2 trips.
RECENT UPDATE
Polar Alignment Calculations
Here’s a page that derives Polar Alignment Calculations. (update 5/2020: the original site is gone, so I found the text on Wayback and am inserting it below. This is by the original […]
Gear / Observatory / Telescope
Special Guest Star takes the mount at Hilltop O
The Astro Jedi needed somewhere to store his light sab—- I mean, bucket, and I was only too happy to accommodate him. I have decided that I need to come to a […]
General / Maintenance / Observatory
Dome shutter is motorized again!
I finally decided to bite the bullet and fix the shutter motor. Things went sideways last winter, and I’ve been opening the shutter manually (and tying it shut with rope, so we […]
Trixie 2017 – tube mods
I finally got around to cutting the MTA-UTA tubes to length; the only eyepiece that would come to focus with the focuser spacer in place is the Televue 55mm Plossl. If I […]
MOST COMMENTED
Observatory
Observatory 2.0 – Time has come today!
General / Maintenance
First Light, a deeper look
Mount / Observatory / Telescope
Observatory 2.0 – Result!
Observatory
Observatory 2.0 – The Pier goes in
Gear / General / Maintenance
Martin Farmer Wormblock installation notes
Deep Sky / Long Exposure Photography
NGC2244, The Rosette Nebula
Deep Sky / Long Exposure Photography
Another beautiful night.