Guest Posted June 26, 2003 Report Posted June 26, 2003 Yeah, been having trouble aligning it with the polar star. Mainly due to the fact that since I got it the whole $#@$#!@ sky has been clouded out.
LostInSpace Posted June 27, 2003 Report Posted June 27, 2003 Yeah, the other bane to astronomers besides cleaning the equipment and alignment: The WEATHER!!! You know how many celestial events I and I'm sure many of you have missed because of the rotten weather. Speaking of hubble to bad there wasn't a way of hacking the frequency and take control. I hear the optics are so good you can see the landing sites on the moon. quote:Originally posted by Tac: Yeah, been having trouble aligning it with the polar star. Mainly due to the fact that since I got it the whole $#@$#!@ sky has been clouded out.
Guest Posted July 5, 2003 Report Posted July 5, 2003 Its been 100% clouded here the past 2 weeks since I got it. Today, the 4th, its nice and clear.. but too many bright things going BOOOOOM in the sky for me to see anything. Waiting for 2 AM
LostInSpace Posted July 5, 2003 Report Posted July 5, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Tac: Its been 100% clouded here the past 2 weeks since I got it. Today, the 4th, its nice and clear.. but too many bright things going BOOOOOM in the sky for me to see anything. Waiting for 2 AM Man, tell me about it there's always something. Anyway, wait till you get your first sight of the moom with full magnification.
Guest Posted July 10, 2003 Report Posted July 10, 2003 I DID I DID! Was a bit turbulent, I still dont have my other eyepieces or the barlow, but the moon was BEAU-TEEE-FUUUULLL!!! hOt DoG!
LostInSpace Posted July 10, 2003 Report Posted July 10, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Tac: I DID I DID! Was a bit turbulent, I still dont have my other eyepieces or the barlow, but the moon was BEAU-TEEE-FUUUULLL!!! hOt DoG! Cool, welcome to the club dude. The best times to view the moon is during it's 1/4-3/4 phase because of the shadows and contrast of the irregular surface. During a full moon it all looks flat.
LostInSpace Posted July 10, 2003 Report Posted July 10, 2003 quote:Originally posted by DREADA: quote: best times to view the moon is during it's 1/4-3/4 phase because of the shadows and contrast of the irregular surface something I've yet to see!! You can check out some samples here http://www.lunarrepublic.com./atlas/index.shtml Of course there's nothing like seeing it thru a scope yourself and putting on higher magnification.
TARWMSRK Posted July 10, 2003 Report Posted July 10, 2003 You guys might already know this but: On August 27th Mars will approach 34,649,589 miles closer than it has been at any time in recorded history. Not to mention it will also outshine everything else in the night sky. Dont miss it because apparently Mars wont come that close until August 28, 2287 and im sure we wont be around to see it .
Guest Posted February 21, 2005 Report Posted February 21, 2005 old thread revisited... Update: I still cant align the scope. But ive gotten nice views of the moon, mars and venus. Shameful as it is to say this, I cant seem to find the north star. It seems its always right above the horizon, which is usually covered by trees or light pollution covers it. No money to buy a CCD camera yet but ill get one eventually. Last night I was trying to find some planets when all the sudden this freaking HUGE airliner just zoomed across my view.. i could see the engine and the wing light so clearly..scared the heck out of me.
jamotto Posted February 21, 2005 Report Posted February 21, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Tac: or light pollution covers it. try a Light Pollution Suppression (LPS) filter it can help.
Guest Posted February 21, 2005 Report Posted February 21, 2005 I dont think it will help.. here, maybe some bad ascii art will show ya what i mean ------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------- /////////////////////////////////////////// ///////////////XXX///////////////////////// ///////////////XXX///////////////////////// /////////////////////////////////////////// /////////////////////////////////////////// ******************************************* ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo --- = clear sky /// = light pollution from city.. real real bright light pollution + haze from smog or whatever it is. *** = horizon ooo = ground xx = around here the north star should be found so as I hope you can see, its neigh impossible to align the scope from my back yard
jamotto Posted February 21, 2005 Report Posted February 21, 2005 well you can give this a try then. 1.)Adjust the altitude of the polar axis so that its angle to the horizontal is equal to your latitude. A plumb-line (or level) and protractor is useful for this if there are no suitable markings on the mount. 2.)Obtain the difference between magnetic north and true north for your location. 3.)Use a compass to set your polar axis to true north. Be careful not to let any iron in the mount affect your compass. 4.)You can also find true north by marking the shadow of a plumb line at true local noon (i.e. sundial noon, or Equation of Time applied to Local Mean Time). This should get the scope lined up without needing to see Polaris.
Guest Posted February 21, 2005 Report Posted February 21, 2005 1) my mount has a setting for that (mechanical not electrical) so that's set. 2) im a noob on all this.. how does one find that out? 3) already doing that. My scope has a '2 star alignment' system which I cant get to work either.. mainly because the scope asks me to point the thing to the correct star .... and fek if I know which winky dot of light is which. Yeah, im a total newbie on this hahahah. *sigh i suck* 4) I think I can do that. Be more specific? Gimme the for-dummies version hehehe
jamotto Posted February 22, 2005 Report Posted February 22, 2005 quote:Originally posted by Tac: 2) im a noob on all this.. how does one find that out?I think you can google this? quote: 4) I think I can do that. Be more specific? Gimme the for-dummies version hehehe At local noon (not necessarily the time at which a clock reads 12:00) a vertical indicator - called a GNOMON - will cast a shadow which is as short as is possible for that day. The direction of the shadow from the base of the gnomon is the direction of TRUE NORTH. You will need about 30 minutes to complete this. There is a more accurate version but it takes most of the day to complete.
Marvin Posted February 22, 2005 Report Posted February 22, 2005 2. The difference between true north and magnetic north is called "variation." Check the Net for an Army grid map of your local area or a navigation map of your general area. Variation is usually indicated by dashed lines set one degree apart. Rule of thumb is "east is least and west is best" ... which means subtract for east variation and add for west variation but, to be honest, it's been so long I don't remember if it's for going magnetic to true or the other way around. 4. H.O. volumes will give you the exact time of day, on any day, that the sun will be due south (assuming you're in the northern hemisphere). For tomorrow, 22 February, it should be 12:14 hours local. For the six days after that, it should be 12:13 hours local. To see if my calculations are correct, go to this website and get an accurate time of solar transit. Hint: I'm off by five minutes !!!
Guest Grayfox Posted February 25, 2005 Report Posted February 25, 2005 youre variation should be about 3 degrees EAST. theres a decent magnetic variation map here actually looks like youre between 3 and 4 degrees, but closer to 3. lol i remember having to remember the magnetic variation for landnav courses in basic... god sometimes i wake up screaming 2 degrees west drill sergeant!!!
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now