tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30401837986641838632024-03-05T16:53:39.881+05:30I want to be an AstronomerMy astronomy journal.The Amateur Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05764705045669645171noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3040183798664183863.post-44117817287857033272012-01-30T13:33:00.002+05:302012-01-30T17:35:38.550+05:30Star Party - Astronomy away from the city.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><b>What is a star party?</b></u></span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">A star party is a gathering of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_astronomy">amateur astronomers</a>,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telescope"> telescopes</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binoculars">binoculars</a>, and other night sky observing equipment at a location away from light pollution, with the aim of learning, observing, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrophotography">astrophotography</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CCD_imaging">CCD imaging</a>, home made telescope exhibition, networking etc. In this event the newbies are introduced to stars and constellations, taught how to locate objects in the sky and how to handle a telescope etc. <a href="http://www.astrophotographer.com/">Astrophotographers</a> spend their time capturing images and others observe through telescope binoculars or naked eye. <br />
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<u><b>Bangalore Astronomical Society Star Party at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agumbe">Agumbe January 2012</a></b></u></span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">From the time of receiving the mail of a star party, to the moment of writing this mail the excitement had never diminished. While i can never forget the experience i had in this trip, i write this mail only to accumulate all thoughts and climax them so that i can overcome the overwhelming distraction and go back to my everyday work. </span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">Although i have been quite active on the mails and with my telescope in lonely nights i had never been able to go to any of the star parties. On getting the mail i was overjoyed as it seemed i could make it this time. </span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">Before 20th January Friday: Registered for the party, made few calls to Vivek and received excellent cooperation from him.</span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>20th January, Friday:</u> Rushed from work to home after getting a working Saturday off request approved from my manager after some effort<span class="Apple-converted-space"></span>. Stared at the baggage in which i had packed my scope and wondered if it will come back alive. With this scare in mind reached the pick up place on time and boarded the bus. Navin welcomed us and described the agenda, after which we went to sleep. Me (and i guess many others) did not know anyone. It was a nice night. Sleep was less and irritating blue lights inside the bus did not help fulfill my desire to stare at the stars outside the window while the bus traversed the highway. </span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><br />
</u></span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>21st January Saturday:</u> Early morning arrival at Agumbe, a very small village. The bus was parked outside the 'hotel' where we witnessed the red horizon sunrise, while Vivek and others went and organized the big group of 30-32 into our rooms. As we reached the rooms and people got ready the silence was broken as Rajesh with his humor he sparked a conversation and we observed the magic which happens when like minded minds meet. From Engineers to teacher, from managers to students, from kids to moms, all united by the magic of <a href="http://www.astronomy.com/">astronomy</a>. In the guys room there was no introduction no stupid talks all had dived into the open sky. With the mood being set with this morning conversation we were invited for the breakfast, after which we went for the short trek. The waterfall was good and many relaxed with their feet in cold flowing water. The walk back was good. After reaching our hotel all had lunch and had a nap. We later went to sunset point and observed the sun. Few of us were able to see the sunspots at sunset. Great experience from a mountain top. </span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit8p5G4Pg2Db9lMHcqh8XxqTgKA854g4C_zpFbOv6KGNOtQsXO2Gfz5Bvfyby9jHaTQ56vGIoX49QmO8kj6r_qLh_SStGGpVX-zx60ybhEZYT7GGP_It1abJg_g2QFzw65T16vojXJo13R/s1600/Agumbe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit8p5G4Pg2Db9lMHcqh8XxqTgKA854g4C_zpFbOv6KGNOtQsXO2Gfz5Bvfyby9jHaTQ56vGIoX49QmO8kj6r_qLh_SStGGpVX-zx60ybhEZYT7GGP_It1abJg_g2QFzw65T16vojXJo13R/s640/Agumbe.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Agumbe</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfcxlHi5l9rNKzUTisxZwGc1Wxce6by4IgmELKXNxo6-orzlg7iFcdY54cMfHk-MmKDMQ7-UgKtVfJvknquyvbkusjMdVD2d130l_01T6xdJcmOucqOs-5FVBgVPQAhk0ePfNA8RsiE_NU/s1600/Sun_Spots_Visible_at_sunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfcxlHi5l9rNKzUTisxZwGc1Wxce6by4IgmELKXNxo6-orzlg7iFcdY54cMfHk-MmKDMQ7-UgKtVfJvknquyvbkusjMdVD2d130l_01T6xdJcmOucqOs-5FVBgVPQAhk0ePfNA8RsiE_NU/s640/Sun_Spots_Visible_at_sunset.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Sunspots visible at sunset from Agumbe sunset point.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"> As the twilight set we rushed back to the observing spot where the equipment was already set by BAS. We were divided into groups with a leader. My group leader was Amar, amazing guy. His explanations and descriptions simplified everything even the 3 small kids of our group were understanding so clearly. The enthusiasm of the kids was awesome, future of astronomy looks good with such kids. Parents you deserve to be appreciated as well. A small guy was awake so late with us while half the others had gone to sleep. Amar showered us with information about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus">Venus</a>, <a href="http://www.solarviews.com/eng/sun.htm">Sun</a>, other <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet">planets</a>. Explained <a href="http://christiananswers.net/q-eden/star-distance.html">how distance to the stars is measured </a>and various other phenomena. His talks kept the audience engrossed in his voice for about 1.5 hours which seemed to pass in a flash. He was not finished and neither were we satisfied when Vivek called us to see Jupiter through the monstrous 17.5" scope. We took turns and many amazed with the wow, To look at something which you cannot see with the naked eye, whose beauty you have not yet appreciated enough, whose mysteries you haven't yet solved, and its out there, with nothing between you and him(<a href="http://nineplanets.org/jupiter.html">Jupiter</a>), is a surreal feeling. It cannot be described completely in words. This feeling which gives me goose flesh each time i see through the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyepiece">eyepiece</a>, i am sure each one experienced it to some level.</span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNyrMrJdNPv1-q35DZy_Vd_Zkwh5T5BbcJ1R84Ba26rPyzuiWr_XMtLuT-M4NZReLXhDpUJRFPESv98faU1WXmlqD4ms6LJNUi55_4wAtq10ajfb11F-Sj9mVyUZ4nckclfnWeRwpTj58B/s1600/Celestron_Astromaster_130_Piggyback_Photography.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNyrMrJdNPv1-q35DZy_Vd_Zkwh5T5BbcJ1R84Ba26rPyzuiWr_XMtLuT-M4NZReLXhDpUJRFPESv98faU1WXmlqD4ms6LJNUi55_4wAtq10ajfb11F-Sj9mVyUZ4nckclfnWeRwpTj58B/s640/Celestron_Astromaster_130_Piggyback_Photography.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Telescope and sky in background</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">We were served dinner under the night sky, after which we proceeded with Navin who explained the<a href="http://startastronomy.blogspot.com/2011/01/basics-1-celestial-coordinate-systems.html"> celestial coordinate system</a> with brilliance. He explained how earth's coordinate system relates to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestial_sphere">celestial sphere</a>, he showed various <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constellation">constellation</a>s, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star">stars</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planets">planets </a>with continuous flow of information. Later Navin showed us <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirius">Sirius</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldebaran">Aldebaran</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_giant">red giant</a>. Explained <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_evolution">life cycle of a star</a>. Showed <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_42">Orion nebula</a> and various other <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestial_objects">celestial objects</a>. </span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><br />
</u></span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>22nd January Sunday:</u> It was around midnight we were sitting around in a circle with Navin who took us into the history and explained how <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomy">astronomy </a>emerged as a science. Many had desires to see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxies">galaxies</a>, they look wonderful. with this aim Navin - the hero of this story started <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telescopes"></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GoTo_%28telescopes%29">aligning </a>telescopes. But every story has a villain. Here the humidity. Dew started setting in on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyepiece">eyepieces</a> first. Cleaning of eyepieces helped at first but then the fog became denser making things tough. By 2-3 am sleep started dragging people to bed. But many stayed to observe <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn">Saturn </a>from the 17.5". It was amazing. But it would stay in the field of view for fleeting moments. I questioned why they make such huge scopes and give it a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dobsonian">dobsonian </a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telescope_mount">mount</a>. The scope need to be moved after every observer. Later in the night we saw polar ice cap of Mars too with the huge scope. By 4am almost everyone was asleep. At that time Navin guided the very few of us awake to see <a href="http://earthsky.org/clusters-nebulae-galaxies/omega-centauri-milky-ways-prize-star-cluster">Omega Centauri</a>. Saw it through <a href="http://www.stargazing.net/david/binoculars/">binoculars </a>and my scope. Though not very bright i was amazed on seeing it. By 5:30 my legs, my back and eyes gave up and went to sleep.</span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf7AqvVcdq2CNh0xoRPsXJF6bVcbJ1ty4LhMi7Oi8Rxf38EtQIsxBWyYfxNfjRN_GQs_7WX40kHlLvpbG7xu7TJc2if-2SJ-nZ8g_E-EXjkqYSzzukxmBvzuqFziZHqu9wAIEEevP_z2DP/s1600/Telescopes_wet_by_dew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf7AqvVcdq2CNh0xoRPsXJF6bVcbJ1ty4LhMi7Oi8Rxf38EtQIsxBWyYfxNfjRN_GQs_7WX40kHlLvpbG7xu7TJc2if-2SJ-nZ8g_E-EXjkqYSzzukxmBvzuqFziZHqu9wAIEEevP_z2DP/s640/Telescopes_wet_by_dew.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ and Celestron Powerseeker 70 EQ wet with dew.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="background-color: black; clear: both; color: #eeeeee; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">We said bye to <a href="http://www.agumbe.com/">Agumbe </a>at around 10 am. Left the small beautiful place with a great experience. On the way back we went to the famous <a href="http://www.sringeri.net/">Sringeri </a>temple and by late night everyone was home.</span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;">To conclude, the star party was a culmination of great minds, awesome people, excellent equipment, pure knowledge and hunger of exploration. To quote Prakash "<span style="line-height: 14px; text-align: left;">Such a wonderful weekend it was ! My life's first <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_party">Star Party</a> ! Never imagined the night sky to be so awesome ! Excellent minds around, powerful telescopes by the side, freezing temperature in the middle of a dark deserted forest, is there any way to fly out of this world and join the cosmos ? Fabulous experience altogether !" and Gaurav "</span><span style="line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">No camera flashes, no lights, torches-n-mobiles covered with red films ... half a dozen telescopes along with a monster 17.5" and few binoculars .. witnessed <a href="http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Jupiter">Jupiter</a> <a href="http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Display=Moons&Object=Jupiter">moons</a>, Saturn rings, mars polar caps, <a href="http://donnayoung.org/science/constellation-orion.htm">Orion</a> nebula .. Knew nobody when I left and came back with a dozen of good friends .." not to forget hilarious jokes of Rajesh, experiences of Muhen, knledge base of Navin... i now know that stars do not exist in sky alone.</span></span></div></div>The Amateur Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05764705045669645171noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3040183798664183863.post-21886776494028005302011-03-15T11:27:00.006+05:302011-03-16T11:41:44.126+05:30Celestron Astromaster 130 | Star Pointer, illuminated Red Dot Finder<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Finding objects in the night sky is a challenge with every amateur astronomer. With <a href="http://www.celestron.com/c3/product.php?ProdID=429" target="_blank">Celestron Astromaster 130</a> it becomes even more difficult. The red dot finder is perhaps the most criticized part of a <a href="http://www.celestron.com/c3/product.php?ProdID=429" target="_blank">Celestron astromaster 130</a>. I have read approximately 20 to 30 posts and blogs where this item is regarded as completely useless and replacements have been suggested. However, I disagree its that bad. It does the job for me. I am able to point at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon" target="_blank">Moon</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jupiter" target="_blank">Jupiter</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polaris" target="_blank">Polaris</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betelgeuse" target="_blank">Betelgeuse</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_42" target="_blank">M42</a> etc at one go. It takes a little getting used and practice. It becomes slightly difficult to find fainter stars with this but some <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_hopping" target="_blank">star hopping</a> eventually leads to the desired object. Here are some useful tips to use the red dot finder at its best.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><u>CHECK FOR EXACT ALIGNMENT OF RED DOTS:</u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As mentioned in my <a href="http://startastronomy.blogspot.com/2011/02/celestron-astromaster-130-eq-review.html" target="_blank">earlier posts</a> I have had lot of difficulty when I had received the telescope and wanted to point at some object in the sky using the red dot finder. Later I discovered the red dot finder was improperly aligned. So instead of helping me out finding a star it was misguiding me. Here’s how you can check if your red dot finder is well aligned.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><u><b>Note: This activity can only be performed in well lighted area. So I suggest you do it before deploying your telescope for observation.</b></u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In your red dot finder or star pointer you will see two circles each of same diameter. You will also notice that there are two thumb screws on the top. Go to the front side of scope, in front of the aperture opening and observe the star finder. You will see the nearer circle enclosing the farther circle within it. Now the thing to observe here is whether these to circles are equally separated all through their circumference or not, as explained in the following diagram:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZE2_uWer2vi4it0jv9LK-h0B4wyX5qNHMLQK1rBJPzj_dyEXgroXmEe1RUBA768L-0uKscYrMpTV6HjpjIfQPe3B9yUrU3RNDQSUY-lga4qRd2tKT-MHSFhOvc8ftDhCNCwR84uFzPF0V/s1600/Alignment_Star_Pointer_Red_Dot_Finder.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZE2_uWer2vi4it0jv9LK-h0B4wyX5qNHMLQK1rBJPzj_dyEXgroXmEe1RUBA768L-0uKscYrMpTV6HjpjIfQPe3B9yUrU3RNDQSUY-lga4qRd2tKT-MHSFhOvc8ftDhCNCwR84uFzPF0V/s1600/Alignment_Star_Pointer_Red_Dot_Finder.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alignment Star Pointer - Red dot Finder scope</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Another condition to check is whether the front red dot completely covers the rear dot when these circles are equally separated or not. If these above conditions are not true on observance, you will have to adjust the two screws on top to achieve perfect alignment of the circles and the dots. This process requires patience as you might get lucky to get the right alignment at few twists or you might not get it for long, as motion of the transparent panel is quite weird when screws are turned. After this is done your Star Finder/Red dot finder is ready for use.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><u>POSITIONING YOUR EYE:</u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Initially when I had begun I used to try a lot of positions to see through the finder. I tried going far, near, from the finder, behind the OTA etc. Finally I settled for a position which works best for me. Its about 10- 15 cms behind the finder over the OTA. Now the trick lies here, once you have positioned your eye like this and the two dots are overlapping perfectly, close one eye and do not move. Move your scope as you move along with it as if one. Now see the star through the finder, overlap it over the red dot and you will see it in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyepiece" target="_blank">ocular</a> too. However if you had moved your eye considerably if u moved the scope you need to realign for perfect alignment of the three, the two dots and the star. See how alignment impacts the view:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-G5HYsHlX-SkbpLZoBGF-Np7DHiZN1llyoffMiJAbSKWl11WcsmU4cfxIEDluENBWVGKGg4j4LQb5_-qIz9JNYjuhEtfD7w9FhsldshfHcE9gScyU6rchEWhQMQQIU0TAUtivkpWakwMu/s1600/Star_Pointer-Alignment.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-G5HYsHlX-SkbpLZoBGF-Np7DHiZN1llyoffMiJAbSKWl11WcsmU4cfxIEDluENBWVGKGg4j4LQb5_-qIz9JNYjuhEtfD7w9FhsldshfHcE9gScyU6rchEWhQMQQIU0TAUtivkpWakwMu/s1600/Star_Pointer-Alignment.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Celestron star pointer mechanism</span></td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The above method works well for bright objects, however for faint objects there is another small trick involved, you will notice while pointing to a faint object you are not able to view the object itself through the star finder. Now this gets really irritating. You can eliminate this problem by doing the following.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><u>LOCATING FAINTER OBJECTS:</u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Fainter objects cannot be seen when viewing through the starpointer. This is a solvable problem. All you need to do is bring the red dots of pointer near to the star and now open one eye to view the star alone. Now make an estimate about the star’s position and move the OTA accordingly after closing one eye and keeping watch that the two dots are aligned along with your eye as you move the Optical Tube Assembly (OTA). Now open the other eye again and repeat the process. See whether you have reached nearer to the star or not. This technique needs some practice especially because the star’s position appears to change in the sky when viewed with both eyes and when viewed with only one. But if you practice for sometime you will know what I am talking about and make this method work for you.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">That’s all is required for viewing through the starpointer. If it doesn’t work for you still, you may substitute it with a telrad or something. Happy viewing and clear skies.</span></div></div>The Amateur Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05764705045669645171noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3040183798664183863.post-68258957746341526872011-03-01T19:46:00.002+05:302011-03-01T22:34:12.391+05:30Close encounters with the third kind, Tempel 1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">NASA’s Stardust probe came very close to comet Tempel 1 for the second time on February 14<sup>th</sup> 2011. This allows scientists to discover changes in the comet since the last visit. The time of closest approach was estimated around 04:40 UTC on February 15. Stardust went past the comet at a distance of 112 miles (181 km) and travelling at a relative speed of 24,300 mph (10.9 km per second).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">NASA’s briefs video:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jZKSWuowgPI" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Animation video showing a series of images taken as stardust flew by:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kXcqEf92Fe4" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">About Tempel 1 from wikipedia:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Tempel 1</b> (official designation: <b>9P/Tempel</b>), is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periodic_comet" title="Periodic comet">periodic comet</a> discovered by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Tempel">Wilhelm Tempel</a> in 1867. It currently completes an orbit of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun">Sun</a> every 5.5 years. Tempel 1 was the target of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Impact_%28spacecraft%29" title="Deep Impact (spacecraft)"><i>Deep Impact</i></a> space mission, which photographed a deliberate high-speed impact upon the comet in 2005. It was re-visited by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stardust_%28spacecraft%29" title="Stardust (spacecraft)"><i>Stardust</i></a> spacecraft on February 15, 2011.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">More about Tempel 1 at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempel_1">wikipedia</a>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/517102main_n30037te01-43_full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/517102main_n30037te01-43_full.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">Tempel 1 as viewed by Stardust in 2011</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">About NASA Stardust:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Stardust</b> is a 300-kilogram <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robotic_spacecraft" title="Robotic spacecraft">robotic</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_probe">space probe</a> launched by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA">NASA</a> on February 7, 1999 to study the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid">asteroid</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5535_Annefrank">5535 Annefrank</a> and collect samples from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coma_%28cometary%29" title="Coma (cometary)">coma</a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet">comet</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/81P/Wild" title="81P/Wild">Wild 2</a>. The primary mission was completed January 15, 2006, when the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sample_return" title="Sample return">sample return</a> capsule returned to Earth.<sup><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stardust_%28spacecraft%29#cite_note-route-0">[1]</a></sup> Operating for 12 years and 21 days, <i>Stardust</i> intercepted comet <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempel_1">Tempel 1</a> on February 15, 2011, a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_Solar_System_body">small Solar System body</a> previously visited by <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Impact_%28spacecraft%29" title="Deep Impact (spacecraft)">Deep Impact</a></i> on July 4, 2005. It is the first <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sample_return_mission">sample return mission</a> to collect <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_dust">cosmic dust</a> and return the sample to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth">Earth</a> and the first to acquire images of a previously visited comet.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><object style="height: 390px; width: 640px;"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/He1oHCpCla0?version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/He1oHCpCla0?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></object></span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">More about stardust at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stardust_%28spacecraft%29">Wikipedia.</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">More details about </span></div><ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Key Spacecraft Characteristics<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Propulsion<o:p></o:p></span></strong></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Altitude control<o:p></o:p></span></strong></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Command and data handling<o:p></o:p></span></strong></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Telecommunications<o:p></o:p></span></strong></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Power<o:p></o:p></span></strong></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Thermal control<o:p></o:p></span></strong></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Structure<o:p></o:p></span></strong></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Redundancy and<o:p></o:p></span></strong></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">Whipple Shield at this </span></strong><a href="http://stardustnext.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/spacecraft_details.html">Spacecraft details</a> page.</span></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">About stardust launch: <a href="http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/files/misc/stardust.pdf">Stardust launch PDF</a>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Images from stardust:</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/518830main_pia13873-43_full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/518830main_pia13873-43_full.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">Tempel 1 impact site</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This pair of images shows the before-and-after comparison of the part of comet Tempel 1 that was hit by the impactor from NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/518778main_pia13869-43_full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/518778main_pia13869-43_full.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: small;">Comet Tempel 1 six years later</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">More images at NASA <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/stardust/multimedia/gallery-index.html">Mission pages</a>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Stardust did not only get images of the comet but also managed another breakthrough, it recorded the sound of a comet. Following video for the same:</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">An interesting video, “Its done with Math”, “B2 Bomber flying through flak”.</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This was a bonus mission for stardust, which previously flew past comet Wild 2 and returned samples from its coma to Earth. During this bonus encounter, the plan called for the spacecraft to take images of the comet's surface to observe what changes occurred since a NASA spacecraft last visited. (NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft executed an encounter with Tempel 1 in July 2005).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Courtesy NASA.</span></div></div>The Amateur Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05764705045669645171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3040183798664183863.post-19055410246549998962011-02-13T03:05:00.010+05:302011-02-26T01:25:28.360+05:30The Sagan Series<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><u>The Sagan Series, Part 1, The Frontier is everywhere.</u></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"We were hunters and foragers. The frontier was everywhere. We were bounded only by the earth, and the ocean, and the sky. The open roads still, soft and cause. Our little <span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><em style="font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.wordnik.com/words/terraqueous">terraqueous</a></em></span> globe is the madhouse of those hundred, thousand, millions of worlds. We who can not even put our planetary home in order, riven with rivalries and hatred, ARE WE TO VENTURE OUT INTO SPACE ? By the time we are ready to settle even the nearest planetary systems, we will have changed. The simple passage of so many generations will have changed us. The necessity will have changed us. We're.. an adaptable species. It'll not be we who reach Alpha Centauri and the other new by stars, it'll be a species very like us, but with more of our strengths and fewer of our weaknesses. More confident, farseeing, capable and prudent. For all our failings, despite our limitations and fallibilities, we humans are capable of greatness. What new wonders undreamed of in our time will we have rot in another generation and another. How far will have our nomadic species have wondered, by the end of the next century and the next millennium. Our remote descendants safely arrayed on many worlds in through the solar system and beyond, will be unified. By their common heritage, by their regard for their home planet, and by the knowledge that whatever other life may be, the only humans in all this universe, come from earth. They will gaze up and stream to find the blue dot in thier skies. They will marvel that how vulnerable the repository of war potential once was. How pairless our infancy. How humble our beginnings. How many rivers we had to cross before we found our way." <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan" target="_blank">- Carl Sagan</a></span><br />
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</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><u><b>The Sagan Series, Part 2, Life looks for life.</b></u></span><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">As children we fear the dark. The unknown troubles us. Anything might be out there. Ironically it’s our fate to live in the dark. Head out from the earth in any direction you choose, and after an initial flash of blue, you are surrounded by blackness; punctuated only here and there by the faint distant stars. Even after we're grown the darkness retains its power to frighten us, and so there are those who say we should not enquire too closely, into who else might be living in that darkness. Better not to know, they say.<br />
There are four hundred billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy. Of this immense multitude, could it be that our humdrum sun is the only one with an inhabited planet? Maybe, maybe the origin of life or intelligence is exceedingly improbable. Or maybe civilizations arise all the time but wipe themselves out as soon as they are able. Or, here and there peppered across space. Maybe there are worlds something like our own. On which other beings gaze up and wonder as we do, about who else lives in the dark.<br />
Life is a comparative rarity. You can survey dozens of worlds and find that in only one of them does life arise, and evolve, and persist. If we humans ever go to those worlds, then it will be because a nation or a consortium of them, believes it to be of its advantage, or to the advantage of the human species. In our time we have crossed the solar system and sent four ships to the stars. But we continue to search for inhabitants. LIFE LOOKS FOR LIF</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">E</span> -<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan" target="_blank">Carl Sagan</a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Carl Edward Sagan (English pronunciation: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English">/ˈseɪɡən/</a>) (November 9, 1934 – December 20, 1996) was an American <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomer">astronomer</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrophysics">astrophysicist</a>,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmology">cosmologist</a>, author and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_science">science popularizer</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_communication">science communicator</a> in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_science">space</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_science">natural sciences</a>. During his lifetime, he published more than 600 scientific papers and popular articles and was author, co-author, or editor of more than 20 books. In his works, he advocated <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_skepticism">skeptical inquiry</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method">scientific method</a>. He pioneered <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrobiology">exobiology</a> and promoted the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SETI">Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI)</a>.Sagan became world-famous for his <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_science">popular science</a> books and for the award-winning 1980 television series <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmos:_A_Personal_Voyage">Cosmos: A Personal Voyage</a>, which he narrated and co-wrote. A <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmos_(book)">book</a> to accompany the program was also published. Sagan also wrote the novel <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_(novel)">Contact</a>, the basis for the 1997 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_(film)">film of the same name</a>.</span><br />
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This social media series aimed to spread the message of the need to enhance human efforts in space exploration and astronomy, created by Reid Gower for NASA. Includes original narration by Carl Sagan. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">The narration conveys the true feelings of an astronomer to the common man. An astronomer who walks out to stare at the night sky appreciates the vastness and expanse of his vision. The magnitude of countless objects visible to him. The separation between him and object in his line of sight. And then wonder about the scale of his existence. Him on a planet which is like a grain of sand resting on the earth and him living on that grain of sand with other fellow beings. These fellow beings, enriched with such vision, courage and wisdom that they endeavor to explore the humongous objects presented to them by the universe, in tiny small steps. Carl Sagan says that we evolve, and evolve we do. Into better lifeforms, each generation better than the other, greater than the previous one. Progress with generations which lead to species which are humans but very different from us, they are the ones who realize the futility of war for small tiny tangible objects, they realize the greatness which needs to be achieved. The frontiers which need to be conquered, the things which need to be explored, the lives which need to be made better. They explore the vast expanse, they explore the other species, they appreciate what they have done and have already learnt from their mistakes. They do not fight for becoming wealthier, for possessing the rare and precious, they fight for knowledge, which comes from explorations and discoveries. We, such tiny creatures have explored tremendous vistas, this works as the ultimate motivation for them. Those will be the humans who go out to Alpha Centauri, inhabit other planets and become a matter of pride amongst all the species. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #29303b;"> </span></span></span></div></div></div>The Amateur Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05764705045669645171noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3040183798664183863.post-88697620929604621772011-02-12T02:10:00.010+05:302012-05-10T00:11:04.529+05:3012th February 2011, 23:45 to 02:00 hrs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;">Was not getting sleep today. Although had not planned any observing session for today, it happened. The telescope was pulled out and planted, polar aligned and i was ready to go. The moon setting at western horizon looked beautiful. Saw Moon, M42 and Saturn today.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;">Luckily, today camera was able to focus at the eyepieces. So i took a few pictures and few videos. Here they are. The best video was of Saturn. I could clearly make out the rings. See yourself.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;">In the video it appears slightly blurry. Actually viewing through the eyepiece gives a sharper image. But still its nice that only with the 20mm eyepiece Saturn is visible with its rings. 20mm = 33x magnification in my scope. Planning to get low mm eyepieces. The view will become better.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;">The moon Video:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje7PDtMdm500TGtXCRvLUcLiZdPRQFlmDjQd_IQ-6mVNYQJYnlH7GJ88CRiLlxvNqzgfZNyI2wbi7wdEWfHMTmc55SQqvhaKM0GaEvovtiHMpkjNu2m_TmdxBEI3b_HRKP_wHo4TWqKNdx/s1600/IMG_9332.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje7PDtMdm500TGtXCRvLUcLiZdPRQFlmDjQd_IQ-6mVNYQJYnlH7GJ88CRiLlxvNqzgfZNyI2wbi7wdEWfHMTmc55SQqvhaKM0GaEvovtiHMpkjNu2m_TmdxBEI3b_HRKP_wHo4TWqKNdx/s640/IMG_9332.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;">Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ with moon setting on western horizon.</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;">This image is taken by mounting camera on the piggyback mount of the telescope. Let me see if you can find out moon in the picture. Huge amount of light pollution.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirzVIx9XPw5KYfyKR6ZEQgHGdjk8yBt7Bz3lad_ZNexe0qhbmCavZRHgN7Pf-CFjNbAezO-0eTac8Q59L0nKbf8T5Y6iMgvXCptQSjf3kQFaZSaOdfhyE9FfJxfmC6-zK_eg3Gh3x-BdMa/s1600/IMG_9334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirzVIx9XPw5KYfyKR6ZEQgHGdjk8yBt7Bz3lad_ZNexe0qhbmCavZRHgN7Pf-CFjNbAezO-0eTac8Q59L0nKbf8T5Y6iMgvXCptQSjf3kQFaZSaOdfhyE9FfJxfmC6-zK_eg3Gh3x-BdMa/s640/IMG_9334.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;">Moon from Canon SX 120 IS, 10x zoom, ISO 200, Exp:10s, f=5.6, No Post Processing.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs7kvMFAAEu-hr8-PDmh0GVVOyOY2bNllrC25VCpUmGcC9DcEK_QRHguv7Gtiymg2T9AN5RP_-_R5ETBhNfrxjjYELRJJ9X1XW7TRSFzeplQCn9nw6Lfr46WE6jDOfl71v8tcWLFwemjxj/s1600/IMG_9343.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs7kvMFAAEu-hr8-PDmh0GVVOyOY2bNllrC25VCpUmGcC9DcEK_QRHguv7Gtiymg2T9AN5RP_-_R5ETBhNfrxjjYELRJJ9X1XW7TRSFzeplQCn9nw6Lfr46WE6jDOfl71v8tcWLFwemjxj/s640/IMG_9343.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;">M42 Nebula in the Orion. Canon SX 120 IS mounted on Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ no post processing</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh73IZn3v4xzHcPwO7b9XlJSjn3-LpKWgLW7uHFI30D3lgQ_xJjLh44Y2XHsn2tzvIwF3ESHQ_eB-crU1udgOLPy4jB88IH6xXszpkh4E4bBG-zT3h9dLE1o1XaRevW71nay3rQ4dc_lh5n/s1600/M42_Canon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh73IZn3v4xzHcPwO7b9XlJSjn3-LpKWgLW7uHFI30D3lgQ_xJjLh44Y2XHsn2tzvIwF3ESHQ_eB-crU1udgOLPy4jB88IH6xXszpkh4E4bBG-zT3h9dLE1o1XaRevW71nay3rQ4dc_lh5n/s640/M42_Canon.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;">M42 Orion Nebula. Some post processing on the same picture.</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;">Notice the star in the center sorrounded by a cloudy patch. Thats the M42 Nebula. Which actually looks like the inset image through the telescope. One of the easiest to find nebulae in the sky. Quite bright too. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;">Moon through 20mm eyepiece. Notice the orange tint of the setting moon.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;">Few other images of the moon taken today.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirAvN0tn0ZxLm0OoevhEzvxgyzTjMJl2jehzi_9HaobfUSiu0TlEUYp-JURxFZm38oj5HNgvqQ4XmDr-4fPdtAyamAAf3B4TGgyhMhLNhHe7U9PVhhW3-4b4Ca602r4846frgyhJHb6G-k/s1600/IMG_9310.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirAvN0tn0ZxLm0OoevhEzvxgyzTjMJl2jehzi_9HaobfUSiu0TlEUYp-JURxFZm38oj5HNgvqQ4XmDr-4fPdtAyamAAf3B4TGgyhMhLNhHe7U9PVhhW3-4b4Ca602r4846frgyhJHb6G-k/s640/IMG_9310.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0pXA7-SWmCzgqcIAnrqQuHxWuXQGPZCkShxIQFQ9Vjhj4n1xam33pEs9Fur__jvqmGSt9Zi9X9y70Qv8Rt8yYjm9UNVIqXj1diZUfbQyV22PY9IsjTaEWDfPPHSf3t-dNTc_2RBHsBdyA/s1600/IMG_9325.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0pXA7-SWmCzgqcIAnrqQuHxWuXQGPZCkShxIQFQ9Vjhj4n1xam33pEs9Fur__jvqmGSt9Zi9X9y70Qv8Rt8yYjm9UNVIqXj1diZUfbQyV22PY9IsjTaEWDfPPHSf3t-dNTc_2RBHsBdyA/s640/IMG_9325.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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</div>The Amateur Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05764705045669645171noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3040183798664183863.post-47470091607656543792011-02-02T21:11:00.013+05:302013-05-04T10:08:43.374+05:30Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Around a month has passed since I got my scope and I have used to for about 10-12 short and long sessions. I’m now in a position to write a review of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MLL6RS?ie=UTF8&tag=iwanttobeanas-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000MLL6RS" target="_blank">Celestron 31045 AstroMaster 130 EQ Reflector Telescope</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=iwanttobeanas-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000MLL6RS" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />. I will try to make it as detailed as possible.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Many of the reviews i have found on the internet of this telescope are the one's written by experts having 10" and higher scopes, </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here are some of them:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.astronomyforum.net/celestron-telescope-forums/81296-celestron-astromaster-130eq-review.html" target="_blank">Review at Astronomy Forum</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=2483" target="_blank">Cloudy Nights Review</a> and<a href="http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Number/3922978#Post3922978" target="_blank"> comments</a>.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Some other reviews:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.telescopereviews.org.uk/celestron-telescopes/celestron-astromaster-130eq-telescope-review/" target="_blank">At telescope reviews</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://reviews.costco.com/2070/11594676/celestron-celestron-astromaster-130eq-dual-purpose-telescope-reviews/reviews.htm" target="_blank">Costco review</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Very obviously they will not like this scope much. They forget the fact that no one who is an expert is going to buy this telescope, its not meant for the one very experienced with telescopes, then why review it as an expert. The person who is looking for this scope is the amateur first buyer, just like me.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I purchased a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MLL6RS?ie=UTF8&tag=iwanttobeanas-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000MLL6RS" target="_blank">Celestron 31045 AstroMaster 130 EQ Reflector Telescope</a>.The telescope arrived home in a heavy package, heavier than I had expected, around 15 Kilograms. <b><i><a href="http://startastronomy.blogspot.com/2011/01/finally-celestron-astromaster-130.html" target="_blank"></a></i></b> These were the included parts as I remember:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1. Optical Tube Assembly (OTA) (dark green metallic)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">4. Dovetail bar (metallic orange color).</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">5. OTA holders (rings) (light black)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">6. German Equatorial CG3 Mount. (heavy, same color as rings, with RA setting circles and slow motion gear of metallic orange color which looks great)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">7. Tripod (Steel)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">9. Latitude adjustment screw.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">10. Counterweight bar (steel).</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">11. Counterweight safety screw (metallic orange color).</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">12. Two wedge shaped counterweights with locking screws.(approx 1.2 kg in weight, not sure)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">13. Accessory tray.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">14. Two slow motion cables/knobs.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">15. One 20 mm erecting eyepiece (plastic casing).</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">16. One 10 mm eyepiece (Metal casing).</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Recieved parts of Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I guess I am not missing out anything but will check once more and update if that’s the case.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So I received these parts and started assembling the equipment. First I expanded the tripod and extended the legs to full length and tightened the knobs in all three. Tripod is lighter than it looks in the images or videos, but <b><i>sufficiently strong.</i></b> I placed the mount on the tripod next, attached the latitude adjustment screw, then the dovetail bar, and attached the counterweight bar next, then the weights and the safety screw. Next I placed the OTA and tightened the screws. Balanced the assembly on declination and right ascension and it was ready. This whole process took me around 15-20 minutes, and <b><i>it was easy</i></b>. For the first time I got stuck once when I forgot to attach the latitude adjustment screw but <b><i>the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkuV21d9ucg" target="_blank">official celestron video</a> of how to assemble helped me out</i></b> and I was back on track. I would advise all first timers to have a look at the video and then go ahead assembling the scope; it makes the process easier and flawless.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In the first observing session I did not know how to polar align the equatorial mount, and I did not bother about it either, was just too excited to have view from the scope first. I removed the eyepiece cover and inserted the 20mm Eyepiece, then aimed at the moon and with some difficulty was able to point it in right direction. It took some time and I cursed the <i><b>red dot finder as it was’nt so helpful</b></i>. This red dot finder is perhaps the most criticized part of this particular make telescope, but <i><b>it’s not that bad once you get used to it</b></i> and use it correctly. Please read <a href="http://startastronomy.blogspot.com/2011/03/celestron-astromaster-130-star-pointer.html">how to configure and point a red dot finder correctly</a> in the next post.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The moon appeared majestic and in <b><i>extraordinary detail</i></b>, even with my camera at 40x zoom I had not been able to view such immense detailed view of moon at just 33x with the 20 mm eyepiece. At first view itself <i><b>the telescope boasts its power well</b></i>. I was impressed and ready to insert the next 10mm eyepiece with 65x magnification. The view became even better. It was impressive. I tried <i><b>viewing terrestrial objects</b></i> too after that and actually I could not locate what I saw through the scope from the naked eye. This was amazing too.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The first day itself I aimed it at Jupiter; it was difficult as the star pointer was mis-aligned but I had no idea, scope that it could be mis-aligned and <i><b>can be aligned to point correctly.</b></i> More about using the red dot finder here. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So finding Jupiter was tough but I did not give up and finally viewed it in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyepiece" target="_blank">ocular</a>. With the 20 mm eyepiece I could see the four <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galilean_moons" target="_blank">Galilean moons</a> and Jupiter clearly. On the first day I forgot to change the eyepiece to 10mm, as a result of over excitement. But later I have observed Jupiter, and you can make out the upper band of Jupiter (<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1277734/Jupiter-loses-stripes-scientists-idea-why.html" target="_blank">after the lower band and the great red spot vanished last year</a>) and the four satellites clearly <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Io_(moon)" target="_blank">Io</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_(moon)" target="_blank">Europa</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganymede_(moon)" target="_blank">Ganymede</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callisto_(moon)" target="_blank">Callisto</a>. I should also mention that the <b><i>focusing knob moves very smoothly</i></b> and it’s very easy to focus.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In the next few sessions I learnt how to polar align the telescope, which, opposed to the common conception is <i><b>quite an easy process</b></i>. The Celestron Manual which accompanied the telescope <i><b>describes 3 methods</b></i> of aligning the telescope to Polaris, after polar alignment it is <b><i>easier to view and track objects</i></b>, without the knobs and mount coming in the way, or leading to some direction of motion which is not possible. That used to happen with me when I used it without polar aligning it first. I really thank the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equatorial_mount" target="_blank">equatorial mount</a> for the ability to view objects and I am glad I did not choose a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altazimuth_mount" target="_blank">alt az mount</a> telescope, for I can now figure out how difficult it will be to follow an object with such a mount. At high zoom the object moves out of scopes view in 8-10 seconds. You have to keep rotating the RA knob to follow it. An alt az mount must be very difficult to use.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3blyjqu59ihYqGeWs9guG0JiDUZa9idP-42Y1rIL9wH9D8PnIDOPXniA7rAmVmimm5U_u2ZWaIlzDS0k05cOCtESsskBbhNaAJu0wgUvPftnN4Es0ZcWE74YU_9owGuGISf1k24ydkWRp/s1600/IMG_9025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3blyjqu59ihYqGeWs9guG0JiDUZa9idP-42Y1rIL9wH9D8PnIDOPXniA7rAmVmimm5U_u2ZWaIlzDS0k05cOCtESsskBbhNaAJu0wgUvPftnN4Es0ZcWE74YU_9owGuGISf1k24ydkWRp/s640/IMG_9025.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The CG3 German Equatorial Mount of</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeE70d0bxAxOUVUTMzyZfa3L8Leydk_cLiCHUIU_ku7oWzsgtKiCgQMdj6RARlFCrgFTkIjd5fHgvLT2LV97oJFiahkgIMJmNr-070BOORgTQYhClo94T2lPVvaqoQ_Ns7Q3XDeybMZWNf/s1600/IMG_9023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeE70d0bxAxOUVUTMzyZfa3L8Leydk_cLiCHUIU_ku7oWzsgtKiCgQMdj6RARlFCrgFTkIjd5fHgvLT2LV97oJFiahkgIMJmNr-070BOORgTQYhClo94T2lPVvaqoQ_Ns7Q3XDeybMZWNf/s640/IMG_9023.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Counterweights </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The <b><i>counterweights are so beautifully shaped</i></b> it adds to the looks of the telescope. None of the telescopes have so good looking counterweights. Along with the <b><i>metallic orange gears, screws and dovetail the telescope is a beauty.</i></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The piggyback camera mount is also helpful and I have taken few nice pictures of constellations using it. The front lid has a small aperture covered with a cap which can be opened and <b><i>helps in reducing brightness of very bright objects</i></b> such as the moon.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP2IjLXqxfOCFNyzBphcd6Ki9Z1yg4ApvLWBhnBmJi3CppOOj_5_UhWDd0ANgIhYmK7H3Em32-iZQcHM38VoPowZhvuTSe3TfbS1-ht-yV_3zzhLSv7v7UcveNtEaXeiWRYBpeaevLO2Km/s1600/IMG_9012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP2IjLXqxfOCFNyzBphcd6Ki9Z1yg4ApvLWBhnBmJi3CppOOj_5_UhWDd0ANgIhYmK7H3Em32-iZQcHM38VoPowZhvuTSe3TfbS1-ht-yV_3zzhLSv7v7UcveNtEaXeiWRYBpeaevLO2Km/s640/IMG_9012.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Piggy back mount on </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjND9-o2t4NE6dz37TCNJqf-B3IonEjg3UWZL8PSiq06Djm1K_Zo-2G0zknFiHa5g4oc-TsinmW_ojhW72cUXBAVy45ceweRAii7BkRfWxofqAc901yvwtrZo_zb6eWl997YabWpR2bDibJ/s1600/IMG_9027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjND9-o2t4NE6dz37TCNJqf-B3IonEjg3UWZL8PSiq06Djm1K_Zo-2G0zknFiHa5g4oc-TsinmW_ojhW72cUXBAVy45ceweRAii7BkRfWxofqAc901yvwtrZo_zb6eWl997YabWpR2bDibJ/s640/IMG_9027.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ Lid</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Till now I have had about 10-12 observing sessions. Some of them lasting all night, and I am <b><i>very satisfied with the telescope.</i></b> I have seen the Orion Nebula M42, Saturn and its rings, Venus in its phase and various star clusters such as the Pleiades. All this with only the supplied eyepieces. Celestron specifies <b><i>maximum usable power of this scope as 307x</i></b>. Which is a lot compared to the maximum I have seen with it at 65x (with the supplied eyepiece). I have ordered a solar filter and Celestron accessory kit with various eyepieces, filters and Barlow to extract the maximum out of this scope. Definitely expecting a lot more to explore with the upgraded eyepieces. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_h0VAxIoGjGX5H-qIowGdX0c3Oe5U0DBXdzMKckZBbUPlw0Qqy6cmmkqaxZX_s469VD1U4SXw0kBVVIukykhnU-sabGq7C3VfJQ0qPLvUixIyJ6P16KC2RyXDJHB6csbIQQT9od4FhjFj/s1600/IMG_9028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_h0VAxIoGjGX5H-qIowGdX0c3Oe5U0DBXdzMKckZBbUPlw0Qqy6cmmkqaxZX_s469VD1U4SXw0kBVVIukykhnU-sabGq7C3VfJQ0qPLvUixIyJ6P16KC2RyXDJHB6csbIQQT9od4FhjFj/s640/IMG_9028.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The supplied eyepieces of</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Nothing can be made perfect, so it is with the Astromaster 130. The tripod could have been stronger and sturdier, every time you rotate the knobs <b><i>it shakes for about 3-4 seconds</i></b> before stabilizing which <b><i>gives eye strain</i></b>. The extension of the legs <b><i>slightly bends out away from their axial line</i></b>, which was not what I had expected, but it might be the case with all such tripods. The focuser is not very firm and <b><i>moves sideways</i></b> slightly. Yes, I will also mention that the red dot finder<b><i> is not as good as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finderscope" target="_blank">finderscope</a> could have been</i></b>, but not as bad as the degree of criticism it has received. The setting circles <b><i>could have had <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernier_scale" target="_blank">vernier scales</a></i></b>, as in some skywatcher telescopes for more accurate pointing and lastly the telescope s<b><i>upplied accessories are highly insufficient</i></b>, one has to buy better eyepieces and a Barlow lens compulsorily to enjoy the scope fully.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6XQ2_0VbaXPlMnXtlIonJht5Dbxk3P3UvXcs1jCYn-jucviTzvxZw9rwWwdRExYr-8exzsqdxvI84MmMPOu0vfF7HCTPnM395r3JBGHoeT7Yv7OvNJA6s1gN1x1C9ytEfr1t__i0O2tj/s1600/IMG_9014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6XQ2_0VbaXPlMnXtlIonJht5Dbxk3P3UvXcs1jCYn-jucviTzvxZw9rwWwdRExYr-8exzsqdxvI84MmMPOu0vfF7HCTPnM395r3JBGHoeT7Yv7OvNJA6s1gN1x1C9ytEfr1t__i0O2tj/s640/IMG_9014.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> Red dot finder Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Overall, for a beginner I think it is one of the best scopes available and huge value for money considering that certain nexstar series scopes and certain meade telescope of the same aperture have very high price for very few added features. I would rate this scope 7 out of 10.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">More images at : <a href="http://startastronomy.blogspot.com/2011/01/finally-celestron-astromaster-130.html" target="_blank">This page</a></span></div>
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The Amateur Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05764705045669645171noreply@blogger.com61tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3040183798664183863.post-7409391984774965342011-01-30T13:37:00.000+05:302011-01-30T13:37:38.780+05:3028th January 2011, Friday<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1calS_-msmqalt7JpxptTi7uRVr8-Fr-5B4VqW91A8MlKXvd3tohfkx82dYizunYHzVzkVzRMSEDzG0wgHPRnra7a0IbFpUQXTB5JamS6ekHoHhuMn7bhXLni_4QVU8bh2YjgszzdW90F/s1600/IMG_9002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1calS_-msmqalt7JpxptTi7uRVr8-Fr-5B4VqW91A8MlKXvd3tohfkx82dYizunYHzVzkVzRMSEDzG0wgHPRnra7a0IbFpUQXTB5JamS6ekHoHhuMn7bhXLni_4QVU8bh2YjgszzdW90F/s640/IMG_9002.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br />
</div>The Amateur Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05764705045669645171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3040183798664183863.post-83080141583454135772011-01-30T03:36:00.008+05:302011-02-23T14:31:39.608+05:30Contact | An Astronomer's dream movie.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If I did not discuss about <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118884/" target="_blank">this movie</a> I just watched, something would always be missing in this journal. I am stunned and goosebumped by this amazing <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118884/" target="_blank">movie</a>. Calling it “Any astronomer’s dream movie” is most appropriate. Definite must watch for any aspiring astronomer. The best of Science Fiction and beauty of human imagination. I am astounded.</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vGyq7d62oPQ?rel=0" title="YouTube video player" type="text/html" width="640"></iframe><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118884/" target="_blank">The movie</a> begins with space view of the earth, It zooms out slowly and with a nice view of sunrise from space. Further zooming out continues and moon passes by, then mars, then comes the asteroid belt, then Jupiter and its satellites, then comes beautiful Saturn and its rings, zooming out continues to show M16 pillars of creation, milky way galaxy and further. The start itself was so perfect. The little girl sending signals and receiving response from initially unknown locations creates the feeling of true exploration and pleasure of discovery, the feeling that every astronomer cherishes within himself. Elly is heard telling “i’m gonna need a bigger antenna”. That was something. Everyone wants bigger aperture bigger antennae, again a feature of a true astronomer.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5KQREzDiMgjjGwSWSYWr_C0KPDZ5gdr-yLgVvE_JbohwBKyUx8fjROk1Jyzm-A8jqCZoJejK8Jy2NUU4zoEvTzHMAGxfkgGNLlwhS9gENB4MlC_IZVovZrbG7R8FKOCufOtwpf2hYRnzi/s1600/Contact4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5KQREzDiMgjjGwSWSYWr_C0KPDZ5gdr-yLgVvE_JbohwBKyUx8fjROk1Jyzm-A8jqCZoJejK8Jy2NUU4zoEvTzHMAGxfkgGNLlwhS9gENB4MlC_IZVovZrbG7R8FKOCufOtwpf2hYRnzi/s640/Contact4.jpg" width="438" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Contact, Astronomer's dream come true.</td></tr>
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Later in the movie they also show the beautiful sound of a pulsar, awesome. So truly amazing that was. Wish I could hear the true sound of a pulsar. Or if they’ve shown the real pulsar sound in the movie, hats off to you movie guys. But whatever was heard in the movie was extraordinary. The sound, sounds so surreal. </span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Later, Elly sits on her car with tens of huge antennae in her background moving together in identical motion like a bunch of sardines in water, that’s a view. The alien signal is received and whole process of decoding it was well laid out in the movie. Elly’s travel through wormholes in space, passage of 18 hours which appeared like a fraction of a second on earth. Elly’s expression on seeing that beautiful view of the galaxy, meteors blazing through the skies on the imaginary planet, such view you don’t see very often, and all very well designed, flawless and majestic views. Later, the most discussed stuff in science may be, wormholes and the Einstein Rosen bridge were mentioned. Everything in the movie seems so happening. That’s what you would want to see. One of the best Science Fiction movies ever. Wait! I have double thoughts in calling it a science fiction, today’s science fiction might be tomorrow’s reality. Still you say we can’t see the future. Yes we can. Human imagination is one of the best things which we possess. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After watching the movie I am stunned. It made me feel, when will we leave our stupid and wasteful worldly affairs and start appreciating the universe which has been thrown to us. Mere presence of it is like the utmost pleasure you can get. Go out in the open in night and try this, If you really understand what i am trying to say. I doubt everyone will. Go out on the terrace, close your eyes for few seconds, Look up and open your eyes. Feel like you were just born now, imagine this sky you had never seen before, wind passing by, stars shining into your eye, why does it happen, it’s a gift, something exclusive for us to enjoy and cherish, only if you realize its presence. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I would like to end by this random line. A very strong line, very well said in <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118884/" target="_blank">the movie</a> contact <b>“The Universe, is a pretty big place. Its bigger than anything anyone has ever dreamt of. . . So if it’s just us, .. .. .. Seems like an awful waste of space”</b>.</span></div></div>The Amateur Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05764705045669645171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3040183798664183863.post-17813434353550588962011-01-24T16:45:00.003+05:302011-02-20T19:50:57.862+05:30Astronomical Observation Record Sheet.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">Last time I had an <b><i><a href="http://startastronomy.blogspot.com/2011/01/1-21-01-2011-friday-2130-to-0130hrs.html" target="_blank">observing session</a></i></b> I felt the need of a good observing sheet, complete will all the fields and tables, with appropriate space for sketches and notes. Forms which look clean and contain data capture areas exhaustively. I searched the internet and found many sheets but none of them were “simple, exact, exhaustive and clean”. So I decided to make one myself, combining the good points of all the sheets I had seen. The one from <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://jaysastronomyobservingblog.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jay’s Astronomy Blog</a> </i></b>was by far the best; I tried to improvise on it.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I made sure all data fields are considered. I tried to subdivide various divisible fields such as Location (latitude, Longitude, Altitude), Subject (Name, ID, Magnitude, Distance, RA, Dec, Alt, Az, Constellation), <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Eyepiece</i></b> (mm, Type, Magnification) etc, in an effort to ease out data gathering process. The following documents are a result:</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZxKxLt2DW1vkYTwaMm5YNY97Mdf7dnKvdx2XuL06AU2AZB9gqNCYozz0fK9BSDzlYINk_aI5ZpvcZRbULLF8DfDcGhhCTZslif3MreqOHFloCT5VFk6gt5VRZ5EqkgbRT7yqyKiUXyUsL/s1600/Aorcolor.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZxKxLt2DW1vkYTwaMm5YNY97Mdf7dnKvdx2XuL06AU2AZB9gqNCYozz0fK9BSDzlYINk_aI5ZpvcZRbULLF8DfDcGhhCTZslif3MreqOHFloCT5VFk6gt5VRZ5EqkgbRT7yqyKiUXyUsL/s1600/Aorcolor.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Astronomical Observation Record Sheet Template (color)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGHja8XJcrdyHpevmT_gDwBEBer_LvyaiZYTflQP0tvQaLK1Q0nlokXew06vuAPmNmlYRf33mk0Ds-liNvBrHG3V24P9bCi9KfJVpAaXANYMd4H_RtQFDrub_7FiaZDUEVnc7SzrSQZhv2/s1600/AORPlain.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGHja8XJcrdyHpevmT_gDwBEBer_LvyaiZYTflQP0tvQaLK1Q0nlokXew06vuAPmNmlYRf33mk0Ds-liNvBrHG3V24P9bCi9KfJVpAaXANYMd4H_RtQFDrub_7FiaZDUEVnc7SzrSQZhv2/s1600/AORPlain.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Astronomical Observation Record Sheet Template</span></td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Please feel free to download and use these documents, it’s not only for myself but for you too, if you wish to use it. If you feel some changes are required go ahead and make one of your own and share, or suggest me those changes by leaving a comment. It’s my promise I will make the changes and make the newer document available within two days. Lets pray fort clear skies and awesome sessions ahead. Cheers!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">DOWNLOAD LINK:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Color: <a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B-abr4CKiTdrMDA4NWJhMGUtZjlkOS00NDY4LWFlYmQtYmE2YTQ5MDI3MTI3&hl=en&authkey=CJaxr4UL" target="_blank">Astronomical Observation Record (Color)</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Blank: <a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B-abr4CKiTdrODEzNzI1ZTUtYTM3NS00N2M1LWE0YzMtMmQ2YjdkYjYxOGU5&hl=en&authkey=CKmTm4AJ" target="_blank">Astronomical Observation Record (Plain)</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Go to the link and choose 'Download Original' from 'File' in upper left side of the screen.</div></div>The Amateur Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05764705045669645171noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3040183798664183863.post-80503781633157041312011-01-23T12:17:00.001+05:302011-01-23T12:26:18.587+05:301. 21-01-2011, Friday, 21:30 to 01:30hrs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Aim:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1. To observe the moon.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2. Observe Jupiter and its moons.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">3. See some star clusters.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This was my first proper observing session,the day being a Friday, i had ample time to observe and stay awake late nights. This session turned out to be very good, i saw the Orion Nebula for the first time, and it was unintentional, it came in my FOV when i was trying to find another star cluster in the Orion. It felt thrilling, I guess thats what astronomers used to do long back, discover new things in the night sky when trying to search something else. This thought gave me a surreal feeling. So thats what astronomical pleasure is about.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The nebula had three stars almost in the center arranged like a 'therefore' symbol with apex pointing in somewhat eastward direction at about 23:45 hrs. These three stars if surrounded by a circle, had a sector of about 40 degree angle in the lower part which appeared dark, the other parts of the surroundings were dimly lighted and appeared to emit diffused light. There were 3-4 bright stars in the scope view.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I tried some astro sketching for the first time, forgive the bad handwriting :( and ugly sketch but that was the best i could do, considering it was very dark, and my first time, i plan to learn Astronomical sketching and hope to improve. I will write a section on how to astro sketch, when i have learnt it myself.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here's the Orion Nebula sketch,</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd0DjAI-oxmLaL2PvKCBrmrDjGoejv5hMDEeTDKg6rBoAuV8zHeoFZvO_Ian3ZoCpyrcDNegm-EIEDJePJSeNpAJ38TSB7rZN4b-viM7Q3SEfXYmicnGcEq-_9_iFJIwLJgMawaaWLgs0j/s1600/IMG_8871.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd0DjAI-oxmLaL2PvKCBrmrDjGoejv5hMDEeTDKg6rBoAuV8zHeoFZvO_Ian3ZoCpyrcDNegm-EIEDJePJSeNpAJ38TSB7rZN4b-viM7Q3SEfXYmicnGcEq-_9_iFJIwLJgMawaaWLgs0j/s640/IMG_8871.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1. Orion Nebula M42 amateur sketch</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Eyepiece: 10mm</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Scope: Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">21-01-2011, 23:45, Bangalore, India</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Other sketches made:</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyaC3ol93uFAis0K4SqmhJSdaQvtt60AYSHfMe8lGCMet7Ejs_WiKILN4Z7a7i_OKzhA2-waU8yVJEeVf4CvMKPUfBVKOcWvN5UXWyrWWTnV2z_B2VuDJTSL1pGq5-NVWRJ63x6EL13LSB/s1600/IMG_8872.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyaC3ol93uFAis0K4SqmhJSdaQvtt60AYSHfMe8lGCMet7Ejs_WiKILN4Z7a7i_OKzhA2-waU8yVJEeVf4CvMKPUfBVKOcWvN5UXWyrWWTnV2z_B2VuDJTSL1pGq5-NVWRJ63x6EL13LSB/s640/IMG_8872.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2. Some star cluster near M42</span>.<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Eyepiece: 10mm</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Scope: Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">21-01-2011, 23:20, Bangalore, India</span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDA75Y3AJBpAMJYm19X0hqOfw6STtRG9X7Wx5-dezL0JLoyvMny8jx8ehW6IaDqnencsYiA8-qvp2kvq21FHqRyziGVWS5N_30Xx12eVkWeFTZZqT-QhmzSf7faTcE7iLr5wUjQ16AO6Iy/s1600/IMG_8873.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDA75Y3AJBpAMJYm19X0hqOfw6STtRG9X7Wx5-dezL0JLoyvMny8jx8ehW6IaDqnencsYiA8-qvp2kvq21FHqRyziGVWS5N_30Xx12eVkWeFTZZqT-QhmzSf7faTcE7iLr5wUjQ16AO6Iy/s640/IMG_8873.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">3. Another star cluster in Orion.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"></span></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Eyepiece: 10mm</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Scope: Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">21-01-2011, 23:14, Bangalore, India</span></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
Conclusion:<br />
1. First time view of Orion Nebula.<br />
2. Need to learn Astro sketching.<br />
3. Have to make a Astronomical Log sheet(form). <<coming in="" next="" post="" soon="">></coming><br />
4. Saw jupiter and its moons.<br />
5. Saw Moon with Crater copernicus, one day short of full moon.<br />
<br />
</div>The Amateur Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05764705045669645171noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3040183798664183863.post-28226403677959639262011-01-22T11:07:00.004+05:302011-02-12T20:23:13.474+05:30Betelgeuse to explode.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I was watching BBC Stargazing live recently and happened to hear some amazing stuff. Professor Brian Cox says "The most interesting star, the star that could be shocking in our sky" referring to Betelgeuse. "Its an enormous star and about to explode", "May be one of the most amazing astronomical events of our lifetime", "It would shine like a second sun in the sky". Now thats truly amazing. For those of you who do not know Professor Brian Cox,</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><b>Dr. Brian Edward “B. E.” Cox</b> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_British_Empire" target="_blank" title="Order of the British Empire">OBE</a>, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.Phil." target="_blank" title="M.Phil.">M.Phil.</a>, <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PhD." target="_blank" title="PhD.">PhD.</a> (born 3 March 1968) is a British <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Particle_physicist" target="_blank" title="Particle physicist">particle physicist</a>, a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Society" target="_blank" title="Royal Society">Royal Society</a> University Research Fellow and a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professor" target="_blank" title="Professor">professor</a> at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Manchester" target="_blank" title="University of Manchester">University of Manchester</a>. He is a member of the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_energy_physics" target="_blank" title="High energy physics">High Energy Physics</a> group at the University of Manchester, and works on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATLAS_experiment" target="_blank" title="ATLAS experiment">ATLAS experiment</a> at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_Hadron_Collider" target="_blank" title="Large Hadron Collider">Large Hadron Collider</a>, CERN, near <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva" target="_blank" title="Geneva">Geneva</a>, Switzerland. He is also working on the R&D project of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FP420_experiment" target="_blank" title="FP420 experiment">FP420 experiment</a> in an international collaboration to upgrade the ATLAS and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_Muon_Solenoid" target="_blank" title="Compact Muon Solenoid">CMS experiment</a> by installing additional, smaller <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Particle_detector" target="_blank" title="Particle detector">detectors</a> at a distance of 420 metres (1,380 ft) from the interaction points of the main experiments.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>He is best known to the public as the presenter of a number of science programmes for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC" target="_blank" title="BBC">BBC</a>. He also had some fame in the 1980s as the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_player" target="_blank" title="Keyboard player">keyboard player</a> in the rock band <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dare_%28band%29" target="_blank" title="Dare (band)">Dare</a> and in the early 1990s with the Irish pop band <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D:Ream" target="_blank" title="D:Ream">D:Ream</a>.</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">See him speak on BBC stargazing live, here:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kBFt3BLN19w" title="YouTube video player" type="text/html" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If this explosion happens and the star shines like a second sun in the sky, How long will it shine? Will there be any side effects of this explosion on earth? Any harmful radiation which we might encounter? How will we know? We have started seeing its rapid shrinking only recently, considering that its 640 light years away, HAS IT EXPLODED ALREADY? After Betelgeuse is gone, Orion wont resemble the hunter anymore, what name do we give to this constellation then?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">More related links here:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/01/21/will-the-earth-have-two-suns-by-2012/" target="_blank">Will the earth have 2 suns by 2012 ?</a></span><br />
<a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/06/090610-betelgeuse-star-shrinking.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Famous star is shrinking, National Geographic.</span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><br />
</i></span></div>The Amateur Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05764705045669645171noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3040183798664183863.post-32265429100972672722011-01-19T13:27:00.010+05:302011-03-16T23:40:38.123+05:30Basics: 2. Finding objects in the sky.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Now that we know about <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=3040183798664183863&postID=3226542910097267272" target="_blank">The Celestial Coordinate System</a> we can proceed further in our knowledge building process by learning how to locate stars and planets in the night sky. Basically the stars do not change their positions in the sky. So i feel, as we see the night sky more and more we will get trained automatically to know objects and their positions in the sky. But this will take time, and we need to help now. I found two methods to locate sky objects. Both of them are simple and precise. Lets start discussing about each of them.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">__________________________________________________________________________________</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><u>First Method: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planisphere" target="_blank">The Planisphere</a>.</u></b> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.answers.com/topic/planisphere" target="_blank">Answers.com</a> defines planisphere as</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><i>"A polar projection of half or more of the celestial sphere on a chart equipped with an adjustable overlay to show the stars visible at a particular time and place." </i></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><i></i></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The planisphere is made up of two flat disks, one on top of the other. The top disk, the horizon, has an oval opening. This open area allows you to see the portion of the sky chosen on the planisphere for a specific time, month, date and latitude. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The horizon of a planisphere is made for one particular latitude. However, a horizon can also have multiple latitude lines. Planispheres can also have changeable, multiple horizons for different latitudes. <i>Different planispheres are made for different latitudes.(From <a href="http://www.ehow.com/about_5250331_planisphere_.html" target="_blank">ehow</a>).</i> </span><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We can make our own planisphere out of paper. If you simply Google 'Printable Planisphere' you will get various links which provide printable pdf's of planisphere's at different latitudes. Here are a few valid links for the finding 'printable planisphere':</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/images/education/doc/planisphere-e.pdf" target="_blank">Planisphere for Canada</a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.trulscronberg.com/www/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/planisphereall090503.pdf" target="_blank">Planisphere <span class="Apple-style-span">15</span><span class="Apple-style-span">° North</span></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.lpi.usra.edu/observethemoonnight/downloads/starchart_largeformat_north_4web.pdf" target="_blank">Planisphere with instructions</a></span></div><div><a href="http://lawrencehallofscience.org/starclock/starwheel.pdf" target="_blank">Planisphere for California</a></div><div><a href="http://www-personal.umich.edu/~dgs/alway/planisphere.htm" target="_blank">Planisphere for Michigan</a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.geocities.jp/toshimi_taki/planisphere/dbl_side_a.zip" target="_blank">PLANISPHERE for all Latitudes.</a> from <a href="http://kriegerscience.wordpress.com/2010/09/19/all-the-stars-in-the-sky/" target="_blank">this page</a></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">View this video to see how to make a planisphere from the prints.</span><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="510" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EP0AhYGXp2g" title="YouTube video player" type="text/html" width="640"></iframe><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Also, if you want to learn how to plot and construct a star chart and a planisphere of you own you can use this useful <a href="http://kriegerscience.wordpress.com/2010/09/19/all-the-stars-in-the-sky/" target="_blank">link</a>.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here's few images showing how i made my planisphere.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">__________________________________________________________________________________</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><u>Second Method: Computer Method.</u></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This method uses computer softwares for locating objects in the sky. Various softwares are available which have the capability to show sky objects if correct location and time is set. Here's a list of good softwares </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">available</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> for astronomy:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1. <a href="http://www.bisque.com/sc/pages/thesky6family.aspx" target="_blank">Sky 6</a> (comes free with Celestron Telescopes)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2. <a href="http://www.redshift-live.com/en/" target="_blank">Redshift. </a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">3. <a href="http://www.starrynight.com/" target="_blank">Starry Night</a> (comes free with Orion Telescopes)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">4. <a href="http://www.ap-i.net/skychart/index.php">Cartes Du Ciel</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">5. <a href="http://www.google.com/earth/index.html">Google Earth.</a> (Easy and free)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">6. <a href="http://www.stellarium.org/" target="_blank">Stellarium</a>. (Free)</span><br />
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</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">All these softwares are pretty easy to use and give detailed maps of the sky with RA and DEC or ALT AZ coordinates. Seeing those coordinates you can easily aim at the sky and point the telescope if your telescope has setting circles or appropriate markings. Here are a few screenshots of Sky 6, Redshift and Google Earth. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The simplest and most easily available software is Google Earth. Here is a video which demonstrates the usage of Google earth for astronomy. It includes the following steps: </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1. Choose your location on Google Earth in 'Earth mode'.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2. Switch to sky mode. The current time (your computer time) view of the sky is shown.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">3. By checking the check boxes for various objects in the left side of the window objects can be hidden or viewed.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For more see this video:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><u>MOBILE METHOD:</u></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Google Sky for Android: This is an amazing app for the android. It makes finding objects in the sky very easy and fast.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> This app is a boon for astronomers. Warning - Using this app from the beginning may handicap you certain astronomical skills, so get to know the sky on your own before using and getting addicted to this highly addictive application. See how it works here:</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/p6znyx0gjb4" title="YouTube video player" type="text/html" width="640"></iframe><br />
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</div></div>The Amateur Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05764705045669645171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3040183798664183863.post-74685080902953306462011-01-15T22:13:00.009+05:302011-01-21T11:56:27.488+05:30Basics: 1. The Celestial Coordinate Systems.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">"A basic requirement for studying the heavens is determining where in the sky things are". Having a coordinate system for the sky will help us specify any position just like we do on earth by specifying Latitude and Longitude. It is very nicely visualized in this video:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><br />
</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><br />
</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The above video shows how to visualize the </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestial_sphere" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">CELESTIAL SPHERE</span></a><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> and the coordinates. For astronomy various coordinate systems exist. </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The coordinate systems <b><i>differ only in their choice of the</i></b></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span></i></b></span><span class="apple-style-span"><b><i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">fundamental plane</span></i></b></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">, which divides the sky into two equal</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">hemispheres</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">along a</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">great circle. For example, the fundamental plane of the geographic system is the Earth's</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">equator. Each coordinate system is named for its choice of fundamental plane. The following table shows a list of them:<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></span></div></div><table border="2" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-collapse: collapse; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; text-align: justify;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 11.65pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;"> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 11.65pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Coordinate system<o:p></o:p></span></b></div></td> <td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 11.65pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Fundamental plane<o:p></o:p></span></b></div></td> <td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 11.65pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Poles<o:p></o:p></span></b></div></td> <td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 11.65pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Coordinates<o:p></o:p></span></b></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Horizontal (Alt Az)<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestial_equator" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Celestial Equator</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestial_pole" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Celestial Poles</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Altitude -Azimuth<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Equatorial<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecliptic" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ecliptic</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecliptic_pole" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ecliptic_pole</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Declination – Right Ascension<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Galactic<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Galactic Plane<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Galactic Poles<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">--<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Super Galactic<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Supergalactic Plane<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">--<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">--<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><br />
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</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The Horizontal and Equatorial System are sufficient for our use now and if required we will discuss about Galactic and Super galactic system. For now we will shrink our scope to Horizontal and Equatorial System only. The following video helps in visualizing the celestial coordinates.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><object height="505" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VtyapmLYg2Q?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VtyapmLYg2Q?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><br />
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</span></b></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The Horizontal Coordinate System: </span></b><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The Horizontal coordinate system uses the observer's local</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">horizon</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">as the Fundamental Plane. This conveniently divides the sky into the upper hemisphere that you can see, and the lower hemisphere that you can't (because the Earth is in the way). The pole of the upper hemisphere is called the</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Zenith. The pole of the lower hemisphere is called the</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><em><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">nadir</span></em><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">. The angle of an object above or below the horizon is called the</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><em><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Altitude</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(Alt for short). The angle of an object around the horizon (measured from the North point, toward the East) is called the</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><em><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Azimuth</span></em><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">. The Horizontal Coordinate System is sometimes also called the Alt/Az Coordinate System.</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The Horizontal Coordinate System is fixed to the Earth, not the Stars. Therefore, the Altitude and Azimuth of an object changes with time, as the object appears to drift across the sky. In addition, because the Horizontal system is defined by your local horizon, the same object viewed from different locations on Earth at the same time will have different values of Altitude and Azimuth.Horizontal coordinates are very useful for determining the Rise and Set times of an object in the sky. When an object has Altitude=0 degrees, it is either Rising (if its Azimuth is < 180 degrees) or Setting (if its Azimuth is > 180 degrees).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdIBh6Drf727rmbICNU-avuGALtNnHgsOiaj80R4b_J1i8id_Kd56HqGg8vivoaJqJv-1U3Ox5sKqKaaXGcnie_1DfXW6l9eRmldCuDCbA89msUb1v_mikk7O0PN9QI1JEgj0iHfj4gskM/s1600/Horizontal_coordinate_system_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdIBh6Drf727rmbICNU-avuGALtNnHgsOiaj80R4b_J1i8id_Kd56HqGg8vivoaJqJv-1U3Ox5sKqKaaXGcnie_1DfXW6l9eRmldCuDCbA89msUb1v_mikk7O0PN9QI1JEgj0iHfj4gskM/s1600/Horizontal_coordinate_system_2.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Alt Az or Horizontal System</td></tr>
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</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Equatorial Coordinate System: </span></b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">T</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">he<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Equatorial coordinate system</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>is probably the most widely used celestial coordinate system. It is also the most closely related to the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Geographic coordinate system, because they use the same fundamental plane, and the same poles. The projection of the Earth's equator onto the celestial sphere is called the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Celestial Equator. Similarly, projecting the geographic Poles onto the celestial sphere defines the North and South<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Celestial Poles.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">However, there is an important difference between the equatorial and geographic coordinate systems: the geographic system is fixed to the Earth; it rotates as the Earth does. The Equatorial system is fixed to the stars, so it appears to rotate across the sky with the stars, but of course it is really the Earth rotating under the fixed sky. The<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">latitudinal</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>(latitude-like) angle of the Equatorial system is called<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Declination</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>(Dec for short). It measures the angle of an object above or below the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestial_equator"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" target="_blank">Celestial Equator</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. The<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">longitudinal</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>angle is called the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Right Ascension</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>(<span class="acronym">RA</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>for short). It measures the angle of an object East of the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://docs.kde.org/stable/en/kdeedu/kstars/ai-equinox.html" target="_blank" title="The Equinoxes">Vernal Equinox</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. Unlike longitude, Right Ascension is usually measured in hours instead of degrees, because the apparent rotation of the Equatorial coordinate system is closely related to<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://docs.kde.org/stable/en/kdeedu/kstars/ai-sidereal.html" target="_blank" title="Sidereal Time">Sidereal Time</a></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://docs.kde.org/stable/en/kdeedu/kstars/ai-hourangle.html" target="_blank" title="Hour Angle">Hour Angle</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. Since a full rotation of the sky takes 24 hours to complete, there are (360 degrees / 24 hours) = 15 degrees in one Hour of Right Ascension.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXHF-5Mc41dc_PH8Nijyiusyo_zDf1uT6fkFd7GAXHa-muFbipCxu_ixvKYZtOtiORdaQrE7_vqoKP53zLdBQabjPeGeciW8Ep97XeiPSV8ur1yGqtfrEmjtEOA0pIFIWjmCNXhMy2JHHx/s1600/equat_coord.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXHF-5Mc41dc_PH8Nijyiusyo_zDf1uT6fkFd7GAXHa-muFbipCxu_ixvKYZtOtiORdaQrE7_vqoKP53zLdBQabjPeGeciW8Ep97XeiPSV8ur1yGqtfrEmjtEOA0pIFIWjmCNXhMy2JHHx/s1600/equat_coord.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Equatorial System</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The following video is helpful in understanding the celestial coordinate system and the apparent motion of stars in the sky because of movement of the earth.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Google Earth is a very useful tool to see sky maps at a particular time and also see their position by seeing the coordinates. As shown in the video, choose your location on ground by selecting 'earth' view first. Then switch to sky. Google earth will see the current time of your computer and show you the objects visible in your sky at that particular time. Its awesome. You don't need to buy any professional software like 'Sky' or 'Starry Night' or 'Redshift' etc. Google earth alone is very sufficient for basics. Watch the video for how to use Google earth as an astronomical tool.</span></div><br />
<object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9RDggLzJyvc?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9RDggLzJyvc?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br />
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</div></div></div>The Amateur Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05764705045669645171noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3040183798664183863.post-52227365612943243112011-01-11T20:03:00.020+05:302013-09-01T04:28:25.306+05:30Flowchart | Complete telescope buying guide<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><u><b> TELESCOPE BUYING GUIDE</b></u></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;">A picture is worth a thousand words indeed. Check out the latest telescope choosing flowchart.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhySFWS3LZcQqOw110jiTFWYfXXnw1SffCVpUlPMuWTyMEPcVfDEZMB0o8QCrNmZYEZ6Z_kger1QUCOwuquAVfcz5oJwx5dSPKSfcpf0Fsd47FEUx1rmdU6BmxufYU0vvc1VxaHf6y3hyyq/s1600/Telescope+Buying+Guide.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhySFWS3LZcQqOw110jiTFWYfXXnw1SffCVpUlPMuWTyMEPcVfDEZMB0o8QCrNmZYEZ6Z_kger1QUCOwuquAVfcz5oJwx5dSPKSfcpf0Fsd47FEUx1rmdU6BmxufYU0vvc1VxaHf6y3hyyq/s640/Telescope+Buying+Guide.png" height="560" width="750" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;">How to choose a Telescope flowchart</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: cyan; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhySFWS3LZcQqOw110jiTFWYfXXnw1SffCVpUlPMuWTyMEPcVfDEZMB0o8QCrNmZYEZ6Z_kger1QUCOwuquAVfcz5oJwx5dSPKSfcpf0Fsd47FEUx1rmdU6BmxufYU0vvc1VxaHf6y3hyyq/s1600/Telescope+Buying+Guide.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;">Having problems in viewing ? See high resolution image <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/112874903292428510259/IWantToBeAnAstronomer02?authkey=Gv1sRgCNL5wZCxpq2z9wE#5560936985869207890" target="_blank">HERE</a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;">Here is a flowchart which i have made after 2-3 months of research going through websites of various manufacturers like <a href="http://celestron/" target="_blank">Celestron</a>, <a href="http://www.meade.com/" target="_blank">Meade</a>, <a href="http://www.skywatchertelescope.net/swtinc/index2.php" target="_blank">Skywatcher</a>, <a href="http://www.telescope.com/control/main/" target="_blank">Orion</a>, <a href="http://www.bushnell.com/astronomy/" target="_blank">Bushnell</a>, <a href="http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/binoculars" target="_blank">Canon</a>, <a href="http://www.zhumell.com/" target="_blank">Zhumell </a>and others. A thorough comparison was made considering the specifications of each scope. While <a href="http://www.celestron.com/c3/product.php?ProdID=568" target="_blank">Celestron firstscope</a> has other alternatives too like the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_254291932">Skywatcher </a></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.skywatchertelescope.net/swtinc/iya_products.php" target="_blank">HERITAGE 76</a> or <a href="http://www.escience.ca/telescopes/RENDER/5/1024/1043/14564.html" target="_blank">HERITAGE P130</a> the Celestron firstscope has been chosen in the particular subcategory of the flowchart as it suits that category best. Also various features of a certain scope are more likeable than the others. The choice placing <a href="http://www.escience.ca/telescopes/RENDER/5/1024/1043/14564.html" target="_blank">Celestron Astromaster 130EQ</a> instead of similar others like the <a href="http://www.celestron.com/c3/product.php?ProdID=501" target="_blank">Celestron Powerseeker 127EQ</a> was made after careful analysis. I also went through a lot of reviews reading various customer feedbacks on a certain product and it was considered while making selections. So if you have the questions like "<b>Which telescope should i buy?</b>" or "<b>How to choose first telescope?</b>" or "<b>Celestron or Meade?</b>" "<b>Binocular or telescope?</b>", i feel they will be answered by this flowchart.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: cyan; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif; font-size: large;">And read related text <a href="http://startastronomy.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-you-should-choose-your-first.html">HERE</a></span></div>
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The Amateur Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05764705045669645171noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3040183798664183863.post-48012369205496530702011-01-09T12:05:00.004+05:302011-02-02T22:14:17.000+05:30Things to do till you decide and get a Telescope (min 2 months)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Yes, do not decide and buy a telescope in haste. Take more time as you will understand it better. Be involved in browsing through products and making comparisons, reading reviews etc and keep adding stars to your list of telescopes. At the same time you need to go through a lot of reading, browsing and learning too.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I cannot suggest what are the perfect things to do before you start astronomy but i can describe the stuff i did (and it worked). All you need to do is, to do things which expand your knowledge base in astronomy. Without a strong foundation of knowledge one cannot expect to progress in any area.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sounds boring ? Astronomy and boring ? Of course you can make the most interesting things boring if you don't know the right way to do it. Lets do it my way. I did not find it boring so it might work for you too. To make astronomy work for you, you have to break the barrier.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You might not want to end up like this as shown in BBC Stargazing Live:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So, We need to understand the basic stuff first. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">These basics will be covered one by one in the following posts.</span></div>The Amateur Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05764705045669645171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3040183798664183863.post-77716259664276102882011-01-08T22:47:00.014+05:302011-01-11T20:35:44.117+05:30How you should choose your first telescope.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There are a lot of things to consider before buying your first telescope. Many may vary person to person. But few parameters can be considered common to all. We will look at these parameters and try to develop a method to buy your first telescope. Some of these parameters are:</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>1. Are you a geeky\technical\scientific\probing person:</b> If this condition is true then you are one of those people who will make the most out of your telescope. As you venture into astronomy you will like to keep logs and track objects in the night sky taking data and keeping a record. You expect more out of your telescope than just point and watch. for such types i would advise an Equatorial mount.(<a href="http://starizona.com/acb/basics/equip_mounts.aspx">Types of mounts</a>). An equatorial mount is more complex to set up. It offers more challenge than the altazimuth or the dobsonian. Fixing the mount, <a href="http://www.optcorp.com/category.aspx?uid=105-183">Counterweight</a> bar, weights, balancing and stabilizing the mount will be few things which you will enjoy. If you read the disadvantages of Equatorial mount at <a href="http://www.astronomytoday.com/astronomy/tbfaq_7.html">this link</a>, one of the disadvantages is you need to 'polar align' it and 'Less intuitive for beginning amateurs' both these points are ruled out. In fact what is stated as a disadvantage appears as advantage as these things provide more things to learn and greater challenge inusage initially. You can keep a time based log while tracking an object in the sky keeping track of its <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_ascension">RA</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declination">DEC</a> values at all times. Yes do not forget to write coordinates of your observation position. You can use google earth for it. Point it to your position and note down Latitude, longitude and elevation. Google earth will prove to be a good tool in astronomy, we'll see how as we progress.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSWnVFw9vBz-w6xw7-recbafbS0a8viJdHy-QLyOsvp3UVwBcN715pKWk-zBgXrd1zhZhckXqx952rFWdVW_VF1ljgdA5q0xROegj_SGB4uUOGRO7wG19YtRNk-7Zn97_6NPK1DG92F8ZC/s1600/telescope-mount-types.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSWnVFw9vBz-w6xw7-recbafbS0a8viJdHy-QLyOsvp3UVwBcN715pKWk-zBgXrd1zhZhckXqx952rFWdVW_VF1ljgdA5q0xROegj_SGB4uUOGRO7wG19YtRNk-7Zn97_6NPK1DG92F8ZC/s320/telescope-mount-types.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Telescope Mounts, The Alt-azimuth (left) and the Equatorial (right).</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">However, if this parameter (You being a technical guy/gal) is not true the definitely you should go for the alt azimuth as it is simpler to point and assemble. Also no need of polar alignment, and also it is cheaper than the equatorial. No counter weights so easy to carry and more portable. However you are loosing the ability to track objects correctly and loosing some data too if you plan tracking objects.</span><br />
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</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>2. Whats your budget\ Where are you located ? </b>Budget is big factor when you consider buying a telescope. Fix a budget range and browse products on websites which lie in your range. Make a list of those products for analysis later.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Now about where you are located. This might not seem like an issue to you if you are in the United States or UK or other bigger nations but quite a problem if you are in less developed countries. I am in one. And i have ordered two telescopes till now from ebay. One of them did not get shipped, and as of today i am waiting for the other one to get shipped as three days have passed since i purchased. Also your budget will give you an inferior scope compared to what you could have got if you were in the US. Disappointing. So make sure you have searched thoroughly for authorized dealers of Celestron, Meade, Orion etc in your country, or ebay for a good deal.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>3. Future plans for upgrades: </b>If you wish to upgrade to a higher power scope in future then i would suggest a refractor scope. As it will serve as finder scope for you future high power scope.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3DGSFCVssrt3Z7bzvM1Qnu4vGJO0jtXKE49yozQ90wdBfJeFHpdwGgCia2LYWk4IqhqX8q1ZjWaEiKTyv2QIY6SP8XC6EQIpFe7tOw_vW5kAqr9Bn5lE1HSrta_DHLh0UJDmpLzsIBLX_/s1600/starfire-observatory-s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3DGSFCVssrt3Z7bzvM1Qnu4vGJO0jtXKE49yozQ90wdBfJeFHpdwGgCia2LYWk4IqhqX8q1ZjWaEiKTyv2QIY6SP8XC6EQIpFe7tOw_vW5kAqr9Bn5lE1HSrta_DHLh0UJDmpLzsIBLX_/s1600/starfire-observatory-s.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Low power high FOV refractor as finderscope</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>4. Portability: </b>If you live in high density city with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_pollution">Light Pollution</a> you might wish to go out on weekends for a good view. If this is the case opt for a more portable scope.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>5, Binoculars ?</b> Many people suggest to buy a good binocular first before buying a telescope. Because a binocular gives you a wider view of the sky and its easy to locate objects. This is a good suggestion as a binocular can be good companion always with a good telescope. So why not buy a binocular first. However if you have done sufficient preparation and know enough about the objects in the sky, no harm in buying a telescope first too, make sure you have the resources ready in your head before you get a telescope or else even the best scope won't be half as useful.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>6. Bigger aperture is better:</b> Yes more light gathering capacity, better is the view and magnification. In the list you made in step 2 mark one star in front of all the scopes that have high apertures. Usually more than 4" is considered good. Refractors get very costly as their aperture increases, but they render sharper images giving more detail. So apertures above or equal to 90mm in refractors can be considered good.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>7. The first telescope should come with basic accessories.</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Good Starter Scopes List:</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>1. </b><a href="http://www.telescope.com/control/telescopes/dobsonian-telescopes/orion-skyquest-xt8-classic-dobsonian-telescope">Orion XT8 Classic Dobsonian</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2. <a href="http://www.celestron.com/c3/product.php?ProdID=429">Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">3. <a href="http://www.celestron.com/c3/product.php?CatID=62&ProdID=426">Celestron Astromaster 90 EQ</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">4. <a href="http://www.shopatron.com/products/productdetail/Meade+DS-2130AT-TC+Altazimuth+Reflector+%2320136/part_number=20136/1323.0.1.1.28926.45510.0.0.0?pp=8&">Meade DS-2130AT-TC</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">5. <a href="http://www.shopatron.com/products/productdetail/Meade+90AZ-ADR+Altazimuth+Refractor+%2304085/part_number=04085/1323.0.1.1.28926.45510.0.0.0?pp=8&" style="line-height: 24px;">Meade 90AZ-ADR</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Orion XT8 is a very large aperture on dobsonian mount. Very simple to operate and gives you large power at you disposal. However the dobsonian mount is another variant of the altazimuth mount. So tracking and data collection won't be possible, also the XT8 is very bulky. Moving it from backyard to house will also be troublesome. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ is a good scope but has less aperture compared to Orion XT8.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">LATEST and UNIQUE one of its kind.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://startastronomy.blogspot.com/2011/01/flowchart-how-to-choose-telescope.html" target="_blank">FLOWCHART TO HELP YOU CHOOSE THE RIGHT SCOPE, a picture is worth a thousand words.</a></span></b></span><br />
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</b></span></div>The Amateur Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05764705045669645171noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3040183798664183863.post-67481955878745563382011-01-08T00:08:00.004+05:302011-01-08T16:52:35.299+05:30How i chose my first telescope<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">From what i remember, i started off browsing products lists of various telescope manufacturers like Meade, Celestron, Orion etc. It was helpful as i got to know about all of their products. I had studied about the three types of telescopes before i.e. The Refractor, Reflector and Cassegrain.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><u>The Refractor Telescope</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Its called the refractor telescope because it achieves magnification by refraction. This was what was earlier known as the 'spyglass' and was invented by Hans Lippershey, to whom the credit of inventing the telescope is awarded. These are the oldest type of telescopes, used by Galileo and others, till Sir Issac Newton invented the newtonian reflector. Well a lot can be written about the construction and working of refractor here but it is out of the scope of this journal. I studied them for information and better understanding and concluded that they have these advantages and disadvantages, well summarized at this link: </span><a href="http://www.astronomynotes.com/telescop/s2.htm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Advantages and disadvantages of refracting telescope.</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOj0zJ-KoDaurWjjdNTrjEgQUARu-cAqnWR-GqvvyL6sn7DG8plhk2nI1YSAgdC56ScqdyCWLIBiKZpWo8xm_w4S0WILXxfkyPTLnpMSxYvWlBMmpUxXyzVSDXEGkB3vRBNKIrIbO76jj0/s1600/telescope-basic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOj0zJ-KoDaurWjjdNTrjEgQUARu-cAqnWR-GqvvyL6sn7DG8plhk2nI1YSAgdC56ScqdyCWLIBiKZpWo8xm_w4S0WILXxfkyPTLnpMSxYvWlBMmpUxXyzVSDXEGkB3vRBNKIrIbO76jj0/s320/telescope-basic.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So refractors are rugged, more weather proof, easy to maintain and give more steady and sharper images. But, i was a buyer of limited resources. If i could i would have bought the best schimdt cassegarin telescope worth many grands. This brought me to consider the next type of telescopes, the reflectors.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>The Reflecting Telescope</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></u></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Yes, it achieves magnification by reflecting, and for reflection we need a mirror. So it has a concave mirror (primary mirror) in one end which collects the light and focues on a secondary mirror which reflects it to the eyepiece. I studied about them too and made the following conclusions, summarized at this link:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> <a href="http://www.astronomynotes.com/telescop/s3.htm">Advantages and disadvantages of reflecting telescope.</a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuYw2snpK5O4NMKFQ0JTTxfRTXTRPBLjDu7ecIzrj8fHB_7KLWNg2GdZkFUYe81BTQH2gnXpDHwpL-dbNfr98-fqHf8-5piudcsDrJ0KpU-nNjJy12Lt7D_Z2WnlA6lPt2ITPpZthFFyI1/s1600/reflect2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuYw2snpK5O4NMKFQ0JTTxfRTXTRPBLjDu7ecIzrj8fHB_7KLWNg2GdZkFUYe81BTQH2gnXpDHwpL-dbNfr98-fqHf8-5piudcsDrJ0KpU-nNjJy12Lt7D_Z2WnlA6lPt2ITPpZthFFyI1/s1600/reflect2.jpg" style="cursor: move;" /></span></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So reflectors are without chromatic aberration, and are cheaper than refractors of the same size and can be made bigger. <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Considering the above aspects a reflector was a more suited choice for me. Notice that i have not even considered Schimdt Cassegrain Type here beacuse the cheapest of them are unaffordably costly for me in India right now.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikYQEYBx0n7RmlPX64IbybCkyZ6l_tFDTafUbl7kZU73sSmVsUAEdMSuIXkcq2yhszKcC9zm7iNmTI3zSqPhEyIRfI0E3yAPR7DKw5MLC7147k4UGWdYCE7lofPjmxXBpX8GHwTg50MiaG/s1600/Celestron+21037+PowerSeeker+70EQ+Telescope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikYQEYBx0n7RmlPX64IbybCkyZ6l_tFDTafUbl7kZU73sSmVsUAEdMSuIXkcq2yhszKcC9zm7iNmTI3zSqPhEyIRfI0E3yAPR7DKw5MLC7147k4UGWdYCE7lofPjmxXBpX8GHwTg50MiaG/s320/Celestron+21037+PowerSeeker+70EQ+Telescope.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></span></a></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Celestron Powerseeker 70 EQ - The Telescope i chose, but then...</span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Now the search began for a telescope on ebay. Due to the limited budget and shipping and availability constraints i settled for a 'Celestron Powerseeker 70 EQ', price 7142/- INR. Free shipping. Yes it is a refractor, but you need to read the second sentence of this paragraph again. Yes, i had chosen and ordered my telescope, who new something else was in store for me. Find out in the next post.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #eeeeee;">How it<span style="font-size: small;"> all started?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">May be it all began when I used to visit my grandma in the countryside. In <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">India</place></country-region> those times there used to be no electricity in the villages. So I was blessed with absolutely dark skies and no work to do as a kid. After finishing dinner for the night I used to lay down on the rooftop staring at the skies. Little knowledge I had about stars and constellations but looking at them was fun and joy. The milky way used to appear so bright. <i>That’s the last memory I have of seeing the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milky_Way" target="_blank">milkyway</a> so bright as I never got a chance to visit such suburbs again.</i> After those few days nothing much happened. I used to watch the night sky once in a while from my home. The view was not that good.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Time passed and nothing considerable happened which may be mentioned. It was till the age of 12 that my astronomical instincts lied dormant. And then, it woke up. There was a chapter on optics in my physics book, it had topics like ‘<a href="http://www.yesmag.ca/how_work/telescope.html" target="_blank">working of a telescope</a>’ and ‘<a href="http://astronomyonline.org/Science/TelescopeMagnification.asp">telescope magnification</a>’ '<a href="http://www.astro.ufl.edu/%7Eoliver/ast3722/lectures/Scope%20Optics/scopeoptics.htm" target="_blank">field of view</a>' etc. After reading those stuff a desire for having a telescope grew in me. The idea of being able to see things not visible by the unaided eye seemed fantastic and very appealing. It grew up to a level when I asked indirectly about the telescope to my strict dad, who in those times never wished to hear anything else except studies. I asked I know how to make a telescope if I could get the convex lenses. He told me I could buy lenses from some shops in my small backward city (those times). On paper I started calculation for <i>(f<sub>objective</sub>/f<sub>eyepiece</sub>=magnification )</i> so as imagine how maximum magnification I should get on combining those lenses which my dad will get. Those lenses never came but the seed of desire for the telescope was planted and watered already. Once I had been to a toy shop and asked dad for getting me binoculars. I still have those plastic binoculars, small yet powerful for a kid of that age.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Time passed and I grew up, got busy with lots of things. Stargazing remained a dream. One of my friends in college invited me to a trekking expedition. My first question was <i>“Oh outside the city on mountain top, will I be able to high density of stars in the night sky”.</i> She had told yes. The trek was good, but on the top you could not see stars in night. Guess why. Clouds, they come when you don’t want them.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Time passed, I got a job and started working. In recent past I had developed a hobby of photography. This hobby as of now is about one year old. So I had already upgraded my knowledge and skill base to a level that I now needed a DSLR. So the search began. While searching for the DSLR I found a telescope column on ebay unintentionally. And there it was, <a href="http://www.celestron.com/c3/home.php" target="_blank">Celestron</a>, <a href="http://www.meade.com/" target="_blank">Meade</a>, <a href="http://www.telescope.com/control/main/" target="_blank">Orion</a>, <a href="http://www.zhumell.com/telescopes/" target="_blank">Zhumell</a>, <a href="http://www.bushnell.com/astronomy/" target="_blank">Bushnell</a>, <a href="http://www.skywatchertelescope.net/" target="_blank">Skywatcher</a> and what not. I browsed and wondered how good telescopes were now affordable. <i>Plan for DSLR was dropped</i>. Telescope became my first priority. For two months I searched to gather knowledge about telescopes. About what telescope would be good for a starter like me. And now as I wait for my telescope to arrive I write this blog. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #eeeeee;"><i>This blog is nothing but the preparations I made, things I studied, logs I made as I begin my journey in astronomy.</i> It will contain each and every step I take as I proceed with becoming an astronomer. So if you are beginning like me, it might come useful for you, if not this blog will serve as a journal for my activities. <a href="http://www.startastronomy.blogspot.com/">I want to be an astronomer.</a></span></span></div>
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The Amateur Astronomerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05764705045669645171noreply@blogger.com2