Posts Made By: Steve Thornton

Just wondering if anyone has used First Contact cleaner? Sounds like you spray it on, it hardens and then you peel it off. I think it's based on some sort of Colloidion solution, which is supposed to clean optics down to the molecular level. I'd like to check to see how well it works before I try it on my 17-year-old 6" f/9 AP Starfire lens.

Steve

I had a little time on my hand so I thought I'd put together this montage of Saturn in each of the past four oppositions. It really shows the changing aspects of the rings. The first two are a little closer to each other than the last two in terms of when I shot them. I used a Pro ToUcam with a 2X teleconverter on my C-11 with my G-11 mount. Processed in Registax. I have a feeling my next one is going to be close to edge on.

Steve Thornton

I was just wondering if anyone has used Orion's new autoguider. I have a Losmandy G-11 and a small CG-5 mount and curious as to whether it works on either. Thanks,

Steve

Has anybody heard what's going on with Burgess planetary eyepieces? I've had a 4mm on order for five months from Astronomics and they're not even listed anymore. I like my 7mm and 9mm but it's sounding like they're not in production anymore.

Steve

Anyone know what's happened to Heavens-Above? I haven't been able to access it for a while.

Steve

Here's my image of the Titan shadow transit shot 2 a.m. this morning on the west coast. I used my C11 on a G-11 mount with 2X Barlow and a Pro TouUcam processing in Registax. I stacked 444 images out of 2100 frames with post processing in Photoshop Elements 6.0.

I was wondering if someone could help me on the LEAD MCMP/MPEG codec. I had an operating one for my DMK 21BFO4 camera on my laptop but when I put in a new hard drive I lost it. Does anyone have a key I could use to reinstall it on my new hard drive. I have the software from Imaging Source, just not the key for the codec. You can send me a message through my e-mail if you want. Thanks.

Steve

Scott,

Using Fox news as a source is the same as using a fox as a source for the hen house. It's BIASED.

Roger Ailes, president of FOX noise, is a longtime Republican consultant who follows the party line. Given the lack of credible party leaders, he probably creates a lot of the party line. It's the same tactic used by the deniers on the Global Warming forum. Cite quasi-official sources which are nothing more than right-wing sites.

Here are two more reasons why I'm a proud Democrat.

Self-righteous Sarah Palin calls for Rahm Emanuel to resign after he used the word 'Retarded' in a closed-door meeting. He apologized(which he should have) yet you have the ever predictable Rush Limbaugh saying, on the radio, to the public, there's nothing wrong with calling "Retards, Retards." What does Saint Sarah say? "People shouldn't be disrespectful." Of course she can't criticize Limbaugh because she needs him too much. And now, e-mails are coming out detailing how small-government Sarah tried to cover up the $3,200 cost of putting in electicity for her tanning bed while she was Governor and getting pissed off because she couldn't get the state to pay for her daughter's air fare. Totally amazing.

Then you have the Republicans' leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, criticizing our intelligence agencies, after they're coming up with current, actionable intelligence from Umar Farouk Abdulmutallub, the underwear bomber, using smart and lawfull interrogation techniques. We Mirandize him, bring him members of his family to convince him to talk and he starts singing like a bird. And what's McConnell say? He says Holder shoulder be taking on the case and then says Larry King could have gotten more from him.

Ah geez, where do I start? Because it doesn't fit into their torture first, ask questions later view of the world, and because they are loathe to give any credit to the Obama aministration, these unpatriotic sleazebags put politics first and demean the brave men and women on the front lines on the war on terror who spend every waking moment worrying about threats and doing their best to combat it. Better to play politics than actually say the system worked. Mitch, remember Richard Reid, the shoe bomber? We Mirandized him after he was taken off the plane and tried him in a civilian court. Convicted him. System worked.

No wonder we're in such a fix. The Republicans are doing nothing but saying no to everything to get a political advantage in the midterms. Sad.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/33324.html

O.K., let's hear the excuses!