Posts Made By: Gary Carter

Join us for the 2010
Texas Star Party
May 9 thru 16th near Fort Davis, Texas


The 32nd Annual Texas Star Party will be hosted on the magnificent Prude Ranch, a 3500 acre mile-high ranch located six miles northwest of Fort Davis on Highway 118... 12 miles on the same road from McDonald Observatory...

Darkest Skies!

All over America, the search for dark skies is becoming a subject of great interest and concern for amateur astronomers. In many places when amateurs get together to observe the stars, they compare their skies to those they once saw on a remote Texas ranch ... Little wonder! The skies in the Davis Mountains of West Texas are the darkest found anywhere in North America.

Where else, after all, could one find so magnificent a view of Omega Centauri? High in the south and suspended against a sky that is the color of ink, the cluster is so spectacular through your eyepiece, you almost think you can reach out and touch it!

Where else does the Sagittarius Milky Way rise over the mountains with so vivid a presence that you might mistake it for an ominous storm cloud?

And what more natural setting could welcome amateurs than a frontier so remote and beckoning that Leslie Peltier himself once referred to it as "paradise?"

It has to be Texas! The perfect place for the perfect star party ... a huge gathering of more than 500 of the most serious astrophotographers and observers in the United States and beyond ... the culmination of an odyssey that is worthy of all the dedication and stamina it takes to get here and to return - year, after year, after year!

A Great Vacation!

Serious amateur astronomers have come to appreciate the "observer's environment" on the mile-high Prude Ranch, where bothersome lights and traffic are strictly controlled to reduce interference to photographers and observers. And during the daytime, there are many activities to keep you busy:

* Tours of nearby McDonald Observatory,
* Afternoon talks by amateur and professional astronomers and telescope makers,
* Prude Ranch activities including swimming pool, horseback riding, tennis, and hiking,
* Evening presentations given by special guests,
* Tour nearby mountains, Big Bend National Park, Carlsbad Caverns, the Marfa Lights, and raft trips down the Rio Grande river,
* Amateur Radio links world-wide and live Weather satellite coverage,
* Fellowship with over 500 astronomy enthusiasts including informal talks, flea markets/trading, and astronomy vendor displays.
* Prude Ranch facilities include motel rooms, family cabins, bunkhouses, RV hookups, and camping with convenient bathhouses. A western-style dining room is available for your meals.

http://www.texasstarparty.org/

I've been perusing some of the material in the Reviews section and it seems there are a large number of articles that contain "wing-ding" fonts dispersed throughout the document. Are these mis-translated line-breaks (common when moving files between Unix and Windows) or are they some other malady that has crept into the material somehow?

I hate resurrecting another rehash on this "auction vs. offer" issue but I've hit a few hard cases when it comes to urging folks to follow the spirit of AM's TOS on this point. I continue to see many ads, old and new, without a price listed and "make an offer" or "or best offer" selected. And many of these ads are by long time AM members with many, many excellent ratings. If one is expected to put a price on an item for sale (or else put it up in the auction category) then why is "make an offer" even a choice when placing AM Classified Ads? And why not force an entry in the price field? (I acknowledge that might present problems for ads with multiple items....) At least make this "set a price per item" requirement clear in the instructions...in simple terms.

And I'll be the first to point out and/or agree that the TOS rule:

4.2.3. Additional prohibitions include misleading offers that do not list the total purchase price or a “bait & switch” of products, advertisements listed in the incorrect category, make-money fast schemes, pyramid or chain letters, fraudulent or criminal offers including but not limited to registering another email address other than your own, or placing a fraudulent ad;

...does not clearly state that NOT putting a price on a (truly honest, in the intent of a seller) classified ad is expressly prohibited. And citing this as the rule is not well received by folks after-the-fact. They think they are being accused of shady dealings. This is a key point of confusion.

....and maybe this post belongs in "I like to complain about everything...."

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...I return you to your regularly scheduled browsing.


Sometimes I just can't help myself 8)

Dear Dad,

I miss our nights together under the starry skies.... Searching for, finding, and observing the distant objects in our universe. I miss sharing the simple chit-chat and the deeper conversations too. Often when I am out there observing on my own, I still feel your presence. And though the cycle of life placed a huge void between us - somehow the night skies seem to bridge this gap and bring us together again - if only for a little while. And even if this is only in my mind, these brief moments comfort me. Happy 79th! 8)

Love you...Miss you lots!
-Gary

`Star Gazer' host Jack Horkheimer has passed away....
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/20/1785361/star-gazer-host-jack-horkheimer.html

There are two reasons to do this. The first is to allow the use of 2" diagonals and 2" eyepieces that will allow you to enjoy the wider AFOV available in the "wide field" class oculars. The second, and more important, is to securely hold these heavier eyepieces whilst permitting you to reposition them as you swing your mount into position.

There are several designs on the market. Some 2" diagonals will have the visual back integrated into the eyepiece. Parks makes one of these. It is a convenient method, however, the one I have does not include a compression ring to prevent marring of the eyepiece so I do not use it. It is the most convenient design - I just prefer a compression ring.

I've used Lumicon, Televue, and Astro Physics visual backs. Televue and Astro Physics are the better designs. The Astro Physics features a second screw (and a third screw on 11" and 14" models) to hold the diagonal firmly preventing rotation when the diagonal is positioned such that the weight of the heavier eyepiece it parallel to the ground (and thus, the force of gravity). I've had some close calls when the diagonal has rotated upside down when using my 20mm T2 or 31mm T5 when using single-screw and non-clamp ring visual backs. Steer clear of these designs altogether!

I've been searching for a University Optics 32mm MK-80 Konig for some time and not had any luck finding one for sale. I've stumbled onto a Japanese website, Kasai Trading Company, that has these "Extra WideVue - 32mm" eyepieces for sale - they look to be the same design as the UO 32mm MK-80 Konig, maybe with a slight variation to one of the groups to further widen the AFOV by a few degrees. Is anyone familiar with this eyepiece?

Never ever! 8O

http://valuethewebsite.com/www.astromart.com

I second the vote for a Discmounts DM-6. It is a very elegant Alt-Az mount. Quick to setup & tear down. Very simple to track objects by hand. I've used mine with a 6" f/15 refractor as well as with a C-11.

I would not recommend the fixed height tripods offered by Discmounts. Its nice to be able to set the tripod height to match your observing plan and the scope you'll be using. For this I would look at something with adjustable height legs such as the HD type offered by Losmandy for the G-11. Discmounts has an adapter to fit the Losmandy tripod.