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--- In OAFs@y..., "Bruce McGlashan" <mcglashanb2@h...> wrote:

Congratulations! And in such style, with that gorgeous sketch! Can
we have a blow-up of that sketch?

Thanks for the encouragement!

The actual sketch scan is only 20% smaller than the real one. However,
here is a link to an attempt at a close-up view of the sketch in
that file, effectively doubling the view of the crater and eliminating
the logbook portion.




L'Homme Photon ;-)

300 observing sessions in 3 years is a hell of an accomplishment.

Huge congratulations.

Now, we mere mortals want to know how you did it. I consider
myself very very lucky if I get to observe once every two weeks,
never mind once every 3 or 4 days.

-ad

ps. very nice drawing of eratosthenes.

It turns out that the problem wasnt unique to posts made through
the web page. Both emails to oafs@... and posts
through the web page were getting delayed up to about 8 hours.

All posts do seem to be getting through though.

If people want to post something they want seen in 8 hours,
i suggest the do direct emails to oafs members. At least for
this evening.

Then again it may take several hours for this post to show up.

-ad

"Yahoo is pining for the fijords."

--- In OAFs@y..., r.prevost@h... wrote:

Hi Bruce!

Of Bugs and Astronomy...

I have to say that the "bug" problem, as it relates to observing, is
not one that I have yet been able to solve. There are various
strategies that I've tried, but with relatively limited degrees of
success. I'm still looking for a usable solution, so any working
ideas from anyone would be greatly appreciated, I'm sure.

One of the problems here is that success is fairly relative. If you
get ten bites, is that failure or success? I guess it depends if
whatever you chose to do about bugs reduced the number of bites
substantially, but how are you to know that?

Muskol is definitely too strong to use around optics. I remember
first using some and having some plastic components on my equipment
start to dissolve under my fingers. You can try to imagine, if you
wantt to, what Muskol might do to multicoated optics.

So, let me tell you what I presently do, and then I'll add a couple of
ideas that I'd like to try out eventually.

... [snip of rest of excellent and thorough reply] ...

PhotonBug

Thanks, Roland, and everyone else who responded to my original question.

Am I safe in assuming that FLO is a bad place for bugs (seems to be low
land, and surrounded by lots of cedar trees)?

I think I'll definitely give the bug suit idea a try. I know that when I
visit my brothers-in-law in Barry's Bay during bug season, I keep seeing
tons of places advertising 'bug jackets' for sale. Maybe those are related
to Attilla's bug suits. I'll pass the question by my bro's-in law and see
if they have some advice too.

--- In OAFs@y..., r.prevost@h... wrote:

Made it so! - 300 Sessions in 3 years... Here is a scan on the May
1st/2001 page in my observing logbook.



Matt guessed correctly that I would maybe want to make a Moon sketch,
on the occasion of this 300th session. I had observed for one year
before that with a 4.5" scope, but at that time, did not think to keep
track of sessions in a logbook. Personally, I find it's really
satisfying to keep an observing logbook.

The crater in the sketch is called Eratosthenes after a Greek
Mathematician who was the first to calculate the Earth's size. The
crater is 58km in diameter and 3570 meters deep. I like the complex
of ridges visible inside it as well as the prominent central peaks.

I'm very glad to have met my goal with a few weeks to spare. Time for
some new challenges. Perhaps more astrophotography? Or maybe some
astrometrics? Just keeping the ball rolling... it's all in good fun.

Photons Rule!

Roland

Congratulations! And in such style, with that gorgeous sketch! Can we have
a blow-up of that sketch?

I have a suggestion for a new goal for you. We've had fun naming objects in
a part of the sky after you (I even mentioned you in my French class). It's
your turn to pick a person and find an appropriate part of sky to name after
him/her. Same rules of etiquette apply, of course! ;-)

BTW, I had fun finding Roland's Face last time I was out. Wasn't hard
either! Looks like Virgo is a ripe area for the next sucker ... ahem ...
honoree.

Bruce McGlashan

p.s. I hope Yahoo gets their act together soon and starts forwarding
e-mails again. It's no fun assembling replies by hand.

Several of the posts submitted this morning, including
Rolands long awaited #300 observing report, are not
getting into the archive. I'm at work at the moment
so I dont know if they are also not being emailed out.

The non-archived posts are all those being entered with
yahoo's web page, rather than ones being emailed to
oafs@....

I dont know if this is a temporary situation or if the
posted messages will be lost completely.

In the meantime, people might want to post by emailing
oafs@... instead of using the web form.

-ad

"now we see the violence inherent in the system"

--- In OAFs@y..., "Brian" <brianmartin@v...> wrote:

And a gracious good morning to all!
Would you guys mind a montrealer joining your list?
I'm somewhat astronomically challenged, but more than make
up for it with my amazing ineptitude and lack of experience!
(must be from all those years of "spam" & eggs ;-)

Clear Skies!!
brian

Hi Brian!

You're welcome here.

I hope you find this list of some interest. (It is an ottawa-centric
list, however, so you might find that aspect boring.)

"spam spam spam spam .... Nobody expects the Spamish Repetition"

-ad

--- In OAFs@y..., Rob Robotham <rob.robotham@a...> wrote:

I've never tried one of the bug suits Attilla mentioned I've always
worried that they'll make a muggy night worse - how bad are they

really

Attilla? (I guess since you say you have one, it can't be that

bad).

They have some insulation value. But I've never been too warm
in mine after dark.

Most of the problem with them is that to get
full head protection you need to zip up the face/head covering
hood. But to look at they sky or any eyepice, you have to unzip.
Mine has the zipper located so that I pretty much have to expose
my entire face to get my eye to the eyepice.

Oh ... that's closer than what I thought. And Calabogie isn't that far
away so for the non-campers (or the non-camping companions) that gives
some options since there is (was?) at least one resort/hotel/motel
around there. I've eaten there a couple of times after diving in the
area, but not recently.

Thanks a lot for looking into this (of course for most of the rest of us
just going out to your place is more than enough to keep us happy for a
long time).

Rob

Mike Wirths wrote:

The best way to get there I think would be to take 17 north and then
take 511 (I think) west towards Calabogie. About 8km past Calabogie I
take a right on Fergeson lake road (this is a windy dirt road --but
its in good shape) this road leads toward Dacre but as I remember it
(this was also the way i took to get to Foymount) you turn left at the
stop sign instead of right which goes to Dacre. From there its about
6-8 km but I'll get complete directions when I go back on my scouting
expedition.


--clear skies!
Mike W

P.S. Congrats Roland! did you do session no. 300 last night? wow I
wish I knew how many times I've been out (not disciplined enough for
that ;>)

Roland, I hope you got session no. 300 in last night, (it looked fairly
decent when I got out with the dog) - don't keep us in suspense -
what'cha see?

--- In OAFs@y..., "Brian" <brianmartin@v...> wrote:

And a gracious good morning to all!

Be Most Welcome, Brian of Martin, to our merry band of OAFs! I know
you to be an avid observer who sometimes travels far to get in a few
hours observing. So I'm looking forward to reading your posts, and I
hope you have some fun on this list.

All for now,

PhotonPerson

Made it so! - 300 Sessions in 3 years... Here is a scan on the May
1st/2001 page in my observing logbook.



Matt guessed correctly that I would maybe want to make a Moon sketch,
on the occasion of this 300th session. I had observed for one year
before that with a 4.5" scope, but at that time, did not think to keep
track of sessions in a logbook. Personally, I find it's really
satisfying to keep an observing logbook.

The crater in the sketch is called Eratosthenes after a Greek
Mathematician who was the first to calculate the Earth's size. The
crater is 58km in diameter and 3570 meters deep. I like the complex
of ridges visible inside it as well as the prominent central peaks.

I'm very glad to have met my goal with a few weeks to spare. Time for
some new challenges. Perhaps more astrophotography? Or maybe some
astrometrics? Just keeping the ball rolling... it's all in good fun.

Photons Rule!

Roland

I haven't done any observing during heavy bug season (though I didn't
start that late last year, so maybe I have) so take the following with a
grain of salt. But I have had normal levels of bug exposure in other
circumstances.

Personally, I ignore the little buggers. I used to get chewed on as
much as anyone else and the skeeter bites itched just as much, but over
the past few years things have gotten much better. I don't know if I
have become less tasty to them, or if I just hang around with people who
they find more tasty, or not. I know I don't flap my arms around a lot
trying to kill them (even if they do deserve it) - maybe that changes
the attractiveness. And this doesn't end at the time of exposure - I
still get bit but the bites don't get as itchy as they used to. Again I
don't know if I've become desensitized or if I'm just not scratching in
the first place (or I seem to recall a claim that mosquitoes left to do
their feeding will suck out most of the anti-coagulent that makes the
bite itch, if I'm ignoring them - they get to finish)(but I'd rather
not think too much about that). So I'm not going to claim that I know
why I'm successful, but it seems to work (I know I've just cursed myself
for the rest of the summer).

Note that ignoring bugs is much easier if you're with someone who is
being driven crazy by them.

Note that on a trip to India last year I did use lots of Deet (I also
didn't have a telescope) - though it turns out that the only skeeters
were at the airport.

I agree with Mike that most bugs won't stay active all night and if you
put some repellent on areas that won't be touching your equipment (back
of the neck springs to mind) and wash your hands thoroughly afterwards
you should make it until bedtime for bugs.

I've never tried one of the bug suits Attilla mentioned I've always
worried that they'll make a muggy night worse - how bad are they really
Attilla? (I guess since you say you have one, it can't be that bad).

clear insect free skies,

Rob R.

Mike Wirths wrote:

Roland,

We are all waiting with anticipation of news of your 300th.

It was clear last night. Give us the goods.


"and there was much rejoicing"

-ad

--- In OAFs@y..., "Mike Wirths" <mwirths@s...> wrote:

Some people's body chemestry just seems to attract them more than

others

sometimes (Attilla you're one of those lucky few arn't you ?)

No. Quite the opposite. They will be pestering me to distraction
while other people will be remarking what a delightfull bug-free
night it is.

Pththeewww... I hate swallowing them too.

-ad

Excellent.

I suggest we plan a session to go out to the blairs, where we
arrive in daylight. I suspect it would be wise to introduce
ourselfs so the Blairs know who those dark figure scavorting at
midnight in their feilds are.

Btw, do the blairs own the crest of the hill. i.e. the actual
former "Carty's mountain retreat" or have they bought one of
the severerd parcels? It would be wise of use to know exactly which
door to knock on.

-ad

Thought some of you Meade/Celestron guys might be interested in this
potential source of collimation problems.
Rick

Hi Bruce!

Of Bugs and Astronomy...

I have to say that the "bug" problem, as it relates to observing, is
not one that I have yet been able to solve. There are various
strategies that I've tried, but with relatively limited degrees of
success. I'm still looking for a usable solution, so any working
ideas from anyone would be greatly appreciated, I'm sure.

One of the problems here is that success is fairly relative. If you
get ten bites, is that failure or success? I guess it depends if
whatever you chose to do about bugs reduced the number of bites
substantially, but how are you to know that?

Muskol is definitely too strong to use around optics. I remember
first using some and having some plastic components on my equipment
start to dissolve under my fingers. You can try to imagine, if you
wantt to, what Muskol might do to multicoated optics.

So, let me tell you what I presently do, and then I'll add a couple of
ideas that I'd like to try out eventually.

Bottom line: I know my solution is far from ideal, and that many
observers would not use bug repellant at all near expensive optics.
Can't blame them one bit. But, near my own equipment, I do use some
bug repellant. I use it sparingly, and only in the minimum strength
required to get the job done. The key concept for me is percentage of
DEET in the bug spray or lotion.

I have tfour types of bug repellant: from house-rated somke coils to
deep woods spray repellant. For liquids, the DEET content ranges from
something like 10% to 50%. Muskol, I think, is more like 90% DEET so
I will use that only under very special circumstances and with my
cheapest eyepieces.

In my back yard, I will try two smoke coils first to see if that's
enough. I prefer not to put these too close to the main optics. I
also make sure to put on a dewshield at all times in bug season to
prevent errant fingers, etc. Then, if the smoke doesn't work. I
usually start with the low concentration DEET and work my way up. My
ideal goal is to get no more than 5 bites per session, if possible. I
guess I can stand that with minimum annoyance. Worst I got was 50
bites, one time. It's very much like going fishing in full bug
season. Sometimes, you know right away that it's extremely "bad" as
you are inhaling bugs just standing there, so you can skip a few steps
and move directly to "red alert status".

If I choose to use the strong stuff, I try to wipe the tips of my
fingers so that they don't have much at all. I put some on my
shoulders and back, so that I will stink of bug repellant without
necessarily having some on my fingertips. At this point, I use my
inexpensive Kelners and cheapo Plossls, and other stock eyepieces that
came with the scope.

Also, I try to have a "sting stick" available. This is kind of like a
magic marker for bug bites. Once you're bitten, you touch the bite
with this stick and the sting greatly reduces or goes away. Also the
post-bite burn and itch gets diminished quite a bit. These sticks are
available at any friendly Canadian Tire.

There are all kinds of gagets supposedly available to bug removal, but
up until now, these have proven either to be ineffective or too
expensive or take too much time to work, to be practical for
observing. Hopefully that can change eventually.

As I said, you may find that many observers, especially those with
more expensive optics, might opt not to use any of this goop at all.
Can't say that I blame them one bit. But the result is that, for a
few weeks each year, they either don't observe, or they maybe get
eaten alive by bugs and end up with 50 to 80 bites per session. I
don't like either of these options, so I do what I do. Maybe people
need a cheapo bug scope for such occasions?

Wear slightly thicker clothing, if possible. Otherwise, the darn bugs
bite you right through your clothes! I wear sweat pant material for
my legs at least. Thicker socks if it's not too warm. This
simple idea reduces bites by quite a bit. All that's left vulnerable,
if you do this right, are the hands and head. When I see
inexperienced people come to observe at a "deep-woods session" wearing
shorts and thin t-shirts during bug season... well... I guess I
just feel really sorry for them.

Finally, try to go where the bugs aren't, if possible. Avoid swamps
and low-lying areas. But go for stone quarries and large parking lots
( for example the OAOG's Casselman site is excellent for that - there
are 80% fewer bugs there, if you opt to observe from the center of
that quarry. Why? No vegetation. )

All of these solutions or attempts at solutions are not ideal, but
hopefully, they'll save you some time in that you won't have to use
the trial and error method. Use bug juice at your own risk, though.
I do so knowing the risks. So far, I am satisfied with the results.
Testing on my scope reveals that the optics are still performing
beyond the usual limits for such a telescope. So, I am a practical
observer and not an ideal one.

My rule #1 is "Observe". If there are obstacles to that, then try to
deal with them as effectively as possible while still observing. Make
it so! ;-)


OTHER IDEAS I'D LIKE TO ADD OR TRY:

- Bring "wipes" and leave them out in the open on a table. Wipe off
my fingertips before touching any optics. You'd have to to this often
as your fingers would tend to touch spray covered areas of your
clothing or body. However, you'd greatly reduce the chance of
transferring DEET to your optics, this way.

- But a bug suit. I imagine these can be fairly warm. However, a few
people I know (Attilla?) do wear a bug suit on occasion. I'm curious
to purchase one of these for my anti-bug arsenal and see if I can't
stay within my 5 bites/session range.

- Modify a bug hat. I've had this idea for two years and can't seem
to convince my dear Janice to use her sewing skills to make one.
Start with a regular anti-bug hat with netting. Cut a hole for the
eye(s). Either add a touch of velcro, or, add a king of 4" tube of
netting that you let dangle. When it's time to observe, open the
hatch. For me, the worst part of bugs is around your head and ears.
Anyway, I'd like to try that soon if possible. I may even try my
hacker hands at sewing to accomplish this. (I tried sewing once, to
make an observing shawl out of black parachute cloth, and ended up
sewing the darn thing to my pants!) ;-)


There, that'll everything I have in that particular file. Hopefully,
your question will stimulate more answers and ideas that might be
helpful to observers everywhere!

I hope this helps...
All for now,

PhotonBug

Hi Bruce,

Around my area the bugs seem to drop off sharply a couple hours after
sunset so I just set up, go inside for a while and then come back later.
Repellents could be quite bad for eyepieces so I tend not to use them or at
least wash your hands after applying them to your neck and exposed skin.
Some people's body chemestry just seems to attract them more than others
sometimes (Attilla you're one of those lucky few arn't you?). With this dry
spring the population may be less than usual.

--clear skies

Mike W

Morning everyone,

Well the other night I phoned Mr & Mrs Blair, the couple that have land near Cardys Retreat, and got permission to use a lot of land they have which Mrs Blair claims has a very good south facing horizon. She also said it would be fine if we wanted to camp out after a long night of observing (this is a good idea! I've tried to drive home a few times after a Foymount session when dead tired) , apparently her daughter has an interest in Astronomy so I told her that I'd let them know when we would be coming so that they can come visit us.
I'd like to take a trip out to the site in the next few days just to scout out the location, I'll take some pics when I go and post them at the OAFs site. This area rests in kind of a high plateau and has a elevation of around 1300-1600 feet and I would think that on a good night 7.0 + skies should be possible! The best way to get there I think would be to take 17 north and then take 511 (I think) west towards Calabogie. About 8km past Calabogie I take a right on Fergeson lake road (this is a windy dirt road --but its in good shape) this road leads toward Dacre but as I remember it (this was also the way i took to get to Foymount) you turn left at the stop sign instead of right which goes to Dacre. From there its about 6-8 km but I'll get complete directions when I go back on my scouting expedition.


--clear skies!
Mike W

P.S. Congrats Roland! did you do session no. 300 last night? wow I wish I knew how many times I've been out (not disciplined enough for that ;>)

And a gracious good morning to all!
Would you guys mind a montrealer joining your list?
I'm somewhat astronomically challenged, but more than make
up for it with my amazing ineptitude and lack of experience!
(must be from all those years of "spam" & eggs ;-)

Clear Skies!!
brian