Posts Made By: Paul Walsh

I have friends who live near there and I paid em a visit a couple of years ago and have these brief observations: Shop was jam packed with astro and camera gear, new and used - it was to the point of being a little messy in there but that made it all the more fun to poke around - kind of like an old style hobby store. Very knowledgable people behind the counter. I bought a Zuiko lens and some knick knacks. I got good quality and a decent price and enjoyed conversing with the folks there.

-Paul

My first non-Oscar winning attempt at capturing a full motion clip of the moon rising from the treetops a mile and a half across the valley from me.

Watching the moon rise up through the trees over a forested ridge is one of my absolute top favorite observing events, especially if there are lateral wisps of cirrus slicing across the ascent.

Here's a link to the clip:

http://www.pswalsh.com/moonvie2.mpg (.5 megabyte - best to
Right-Click-Download first and then view it.)

This first attempt is way flawed but it begins to indicate the grandeur a little bit.

I hope to improve on my technique - this was essentially a first draft at getting the basic equipment to function and what settings are useful - also to get a feel for how well my copy of The Sky could show me where to aim to catch the first rays poking through the limbs. It got me very close to dead on.

If anyone else has attempted this, I'd love to see your results.

Image Specs:

Scope: Sky 90 with reducer/corrector on a Bogen tripod.

Processing: First edited in Pinnacle Studio 9 and then time-compressed using Roxie Videowave 5.

Camera: Phillips 740k webcam w/scopetronix adapter at prime focus, using the included software set to Auto. This was shot through a thermapane window (hey, it's FREEZING out there :-) and, yes, moving outside would be my first priority on a serious endeavor. I would also set up down on the valley floor so when the moon crests the ridge, it would be a little further up out of the soup (I shot this straight across from the opposite ridge where we live.


-Paul S. Walsh

I just tried out my new Sky 90 reducer/ Flattener and it wouldn't come in far enough to focus with my ST-7E

Anyone out there know how these go together? The Sys Charts aren't really helpin' me out here.

Attached is the current arrangement (which did not work) I can't figure out how to shorten all this so the ST-7 can reach focus.

-Paul S. Walsh

There was an observer from Perth
who focused for all he was worth.
yet try as he might,
he just couldn't sight
his stars at their regular girth.

just kidding 8)

I "inherited" a pair of those awful ruby-coated binos that only succeed in making everything green.

Were it not for the dumb coatings, they wouldn't be half bad. As it is, they are all but useless.

Does anyone know of a solvent of some kind that will remove coatings from a lens and leave the glass intact?

-Paul S. Walsh

I recently acquired a Burgess binoviewer and while it works wonderfully in my C8, I cannot get it to come to focus in my Tak Sky 90.

using the 1.9x adapter and racking it in all the way, it comes ALMOST to focus. I just seem to need another 1/8th inch or so.

I 've tried it with both my Tak mirror 1-1/4 and my Celestron Prism diag to no avail.

Any clues?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

-Paul

I have not had the time to do any serious imaging of late but I grabbed this shot of the moon last night with my Nikon 5700 just as it reached my favorite color. No retouching. This is the raw .jpg

I just finished my second Banks book,"Excession", and am a HUGE fan of his wit and imagination.

I had first read "Consider Phlebas" a couple months ago and loved it.

Now, I'm afraid I'm going to have to read everything the guy has written - and in chronological order.

Any other I.M. Banks or "Culture Ship" fans hangin' out here?

-Paul S. Walsh

P.S. oh, and "Forge of God" by Greg Bear is also awsome S.F. The sequel, not so much.

My Brother, Doug, is in the hospital tonight with a life threatening infection in his leg. His daughter called and asked me to reach out for prayers and good thoughts for his recovery. I am here to honor her request as I cannot think of a finer group of people to ask. Doug is as good a man as has ever walked the earth and I am here to ask that you hold him in your hearts this hour that he might be returned to us whole and hale.

-Paul

Took this last weekend at American Camp on San Juan Island. Nikon Coolpix 5700 (an older 5 megsapixel, 8x zoom). Lots of fox, rabbits, and raptors mix it up there. Every walk reveals a good show of some kind.