Astro knowledge / General / Observing Reports / Solar System Photography

Transient orbital effects

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I have to say that, as a rule, I’m generally not into transient astronomical phenomena. The fact that I can observe and photograph the same, unchanging objects year after year is very […]

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General / Observing Reports

Lunar Eclipse 2011

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I woke The B up to see the lunar eclipse this morning. It’s the last one before 2014. Moon was looking good high in the west (it was much farther north than […]

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Techniques

Polar Alignment Calculations

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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 […]

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Gear / Observatory / Telescope

Special Guest Star takes the mount at Hilltop O

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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 […]

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General / Maintenance / Observatory

Dome shutter is motorized again!

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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 […]

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ATM

Trixie 2017 – tube mods

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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 […]

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