Posts Made By: Gary Carter

Peter Higgs, a theorist who envisioned the particle as a young man in 1964, teared up as he attended the discovery announcement in Geneva.

“It’s really an incredible thing that it’s happened in my lifetime,” Higgs, 83, said when he took the microphone before a packed auditorium at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, which operates the Higgs-hunting Large Hadron Collider.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/scientists-discover-new-subatomic-particle-at-the-center-of-everything/2012/07/04/gJQADi8nMW_story.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/05/science/cern-physicists-may-have-discovered-higgs-boson-particle.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha2_20120705

If you are interested in getting a jumpstart in the art and science behind Astrophotography you might want to consider attending the imaging symposium being offered at the Texas Star Party this year. This event is being organized by Robert Moore, known for conducting the NEAIC events each year in concert with NEAF.

Daytime lectures coupled with live, hands on experiences and equipment demos at night will be included. These will be conducted by well known imagers including Vance Bagwell, Jay Ballauer, JOhn Davis, Ron DiIulio, Alan Erickson, Jim Lafferty, Wally Pacholka, Robert Reeves, Jason Ware and others.

http://texasstarparty.org/tais/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/2013/07/26/79eeada8-f643-11e2-9434-60440856fadf_story.html

I was testing a recent modification to my Baader Herschel Wedge to allow me to use Denkmeier Binoviewers. I spent a good deal of time testing out a number of different eyepiece pairs to determine which gave the most impressive views. While using pair of 7mm UO Ortho HDs I focused on Sol's limb and then panned over to AR2251 and tweaked focus. In the middle of the field of view was a large bright, circular spot. Close inspection revealed it to be a reflection from one of the two HD Orthos. These eyepieces were acquired from the used market in separate transactions from different sellers, and I am almost certain they are first generation HDs.

When I acquired the second 7mm HD I immediately noticed subtle differences. One of them was marked Japan, and the other not marked with the Country of Origin. The "unmarked" one came with a shorter barrel lacking an undercut which is now a "feature" of second generation HD Orthos. This UO HD Ortho has been in circulation awhile which makes me think it is a first generation. The previous owner may have swapped barrels with another eyepiece or maybe UO used smooth barrels on some early HDs. (For parfocal use in the Binoviewer I swapped it with a 6mm HD so they matched.) The retaining rings securing the lens elements are of a different diameter.

To confirm my suspicions I removed both HD Orthos and inserted my 19mm Pans. I verified the absence of the bright spot. It was gone. I then re-inserted the 7mm Orthos one at a time in the right SCD of the Binoviewer. The unmarked Ortho with the large retaining ring showed no spot. Moving on to the one marked "Japan" with the smaller retainer, there it was again - a bright circular spot in the center of the FOV! Close inspection reveals it to be a specular reflection off the thread locker on the smaller diameter optical retaining ring.

Now the question is: Why are they so very different mechanical designs? Was this a design change due to similar experiences from other users? I suppose I'll have to reach out to UO to see if they can explain....Does anyone here have one of these 7mm HDs that you can compare and comment on?


Regards,
Gary

On Jul 21, 2015, at 6:41 AM, wrote:
Okie
It's a fair offer so I'll take it if you're still interested
Sent from 's iPhone

On Jul 21, 2015, at 8:55 AM, Gary J. Carter wrote:
,
Excellent....done!
You probably know this....shipper's sorting equipment will manhandle this stuff....please pack accordingly! I'd recommend you bubble wrap/double box this stuff. UPS has been notorious for roughing up goods...
Regards,
-Gary J. Carter

On Jul 21, 2015, at 8:20 AM, wrote:
It's going usps priority insured
Sent from 's iPhone

The result? ....... PRICELESS!

This interesting message arrived in today's email: :S

FROM: [email protected]
Re: (ASTROMART) You have won the auction "Astro-Physics 1991 Catalog Set"

> On 1/27/2017 1:01 PM, [email protected] wrote:
> Congratulations, you were the high bidder on Astromart auction #19512 "Astro-Physics 1991 Catalog Set".
>
> Winning Bid: $28.00
>
> Seller's Contact Info
> Name: Mike Gibson
> Email: [email protected]
> Phone: EDIT-681-3443
>
> You can view the seller's contact information at any time here: http://www.astromart.com/auctions/view_contact.asp?auction_id=19512
> The auction details and bid history can still be viewed here: http://www.astromart.com/auctions/details.asp?auction_id=19512
>
> Both you and Mike Gibson have been given an opportunity to rate each other for this transaction. You may visit their profile at http://www.astromart.com/users/profile.asp?user_id=15223 to rate them.
>
> Sincerely,
> The Astromart Staff
> http://www.astromart.com

Google Astromart and what comes up next to the real deal?

AstroMart software and hosting services for Astrology... 8O


http://astro-software.com/

I can not login with the credentials I use here....

Hi Steve,
I'm not sure what level of text you might be seeking, but a very excellent resource for learning the basics of astronomical image processing is Richard Berry & James Burnell's Handbook of Astronomical Image Processing. The book has a very thorough background on CCD imaging technique including the mathematics behind it, along with the software AIP4WIN. Jim's website, http://www.jburnell.com also contains a number of tutorials he presents at seminars. A number of freeware programs such as K3CCD tools, http://www.pk3.org/Astro/ and Registax, http://aberrator.astronomy.net/registax will help get you on your way to capturing and processing great images. I've only just begun and I'm having a great time! As for techniques using the ToUcam specifically, Sky & Tel recently ran a couple of introductory articles on webcam imaging and if you search the web for ToUcam & astronomy you will find many websites with pictures and such, some with a few hints at the techniques employed. If you see something you like, ask how. Most folks I've asked reply.

Check out http://www.jburnell.com too. Jim shoots using a Starlight Express HX916