Posts Made By: Fred Lusk

Venus transit as seen from....Fresno, CA?!?

Sorry for the visual pun, but I couldn't resist.

Fred

Because I have absolutely no musical talent (all I can play is the stereo) but I do have an engineer's sense of humor (Dilbert, et al), I like comedy music as much as "real" music…sometimes more.

My favorites include Tom Lehrer, Wield Al Yankovic, Lenny & The Squigtones (you'll have to trust me on this one), The Capitol Steps, Victor Borge, Allen Sherman, Ray Stevens, etc. Who have I missed?

Anyway, for all you low-brow guys and gals like me, who are your favorites in this genre?

Fred

Jim…

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy, though I would much rather have him on that plane than behind the wheel.

Seriously--this should never have happened, and when it did happen, it should have been cleared up immediately. TK may be an idiot, but he's no terrorist. This sure gives a nice Keystone Cops varnish to our good ol' gov't.

Fred

Here's some hints:

Hrundi V. Bakshi
Lots of soap bubbles
A 3-wheel Morgan

Fred

Ray…

M1 is sometimes visible in my Celestron C5+ from my backyard in light-polluted Fresno…with no filters. [Maybe your scope is too big???] However, M1 is dim and easy to miss, and frankly not too impressive visually.

Are you sure you're pointing at the right spot. The first time I went looking for M1 I got my directions messed up, then reversed. My first attempt started from the wrong horn of Taurus…Beta Tau instead of Zeta Tau. Spent probably 20 minutes on that futile endeavor. Persistance is great, except when you're persistantly wrong. I decided to put M1 temporarily on hold and try again later that evening. When I tried again, I immediately recognized my previous error, and moved right to Zeta Tau. Then I proceeded to go "up and left" instead of "up and right." I got mixed up between the inverted image and my RA controls. That was when I pretty new to using a telescope. Now I can find it pretty quickly each time…it's behind that cloud.

Fred

Craig…

Tom is still here in Fresno and we see him from time-to-time. Last summer Tom gave our astronomy club (Central Valley Astronomers) a tour of his shop. He did say that he was scaling back and even thinking about getting out altogether after he finished his then current projects. I think he was working on a 20" and a 24". I haven't seen him since August, so I don't know exactly what he decided to do.

If you want to see Tom's shop, I posted some photos on our club website. Go to http://www.cvafresno.org/ …on the menu on the left-hand side, click on Photographs, then click on 2004-07-31 Mirror Grinding. (the direct link to this page is: http://pictures.cvafresno.org/2004/2004-07-31%20Mirror%20Grinding%20with%20Tom%20Scott/pics.html )

The 24" that Arthur mentioned, if it's the same scope we know as "Big Blue" and "The Blue Marvel," is a phenominal scope: conical mirror, lightweight blue fiberglass/foam tube, and a GEM that I am told weighs about 1000 lbs. Last summer, Tom and the owner brought it up to Courtright Reservoir (8200') for one of our primitive campout/star party outings (see http://pictures.cvafresno.org/2004/2004-08-12%20Courtright/pics.html ). They also take it to Glacier Point, Kennedy Meadows, etc. In this scope, the Veil Nebula looks like a shear silk scarf. I have never seen so much structure.

Fred

We are going to Hawaii in two months and I wanted a better digital camera than the 2MP point-and-shoot I use for documenting construction projects (I'm a civil engineer). So, yesterday I bought an Olympus E-1 w/ 14-54 mm, f2.8-3.5 zoom. With the E-1's 2:1 equivalence to 35 mm, this is like a 28-108 mm lens. Here's a crop from a test shot I took late this afternoon under pretty dull lighting. I won't have a chance to try any real daylight shooting until this weekend. I may try this camera on my C5 later, but for now I will use the E-1 for photography and keep my OM-1N astrophotography. My OM-4T will continue to do double duty. My wife wants these weeds out of her garden area (we had a wet winter), but with a new camera to learn I don't know if I will have the time.

Fred

I found this flower (and many others) on a drive through Jose Basin NE of Fresno. Shot with my new Olympus E-1 w/ 14-54 mm lens zoomed out to 54 mm and focused in nearly as close as it will go. Actually, the close focus of this lens is much better than the published 22 cm (8.7"). You can actually get in to about one or two inches. This photo covers about 50% of the original frame.

Fred

For those who know the Central Valley of California, this waterfall is along Italian Bar Road on the Madera County side of Redinger Lake. Shot with an Olympus E-1 w/ 14-54 mm lens.

Fred

Took this on a recent drive through Jose Basin NE of Fresno--the same trip as the previously posted waterfall. Olympus E-1 w/ 14-54 mm lens.

Fred