开云体育

jay.anderson@... Aug 30 #31398 If you'd like a look at the map of El Ni?o impact on April's cloud cover prospects (something I discussed a month or more back), you'll find it on the Sky and Telescope site https://skyandtelescope.org/2024-total-solar-eclipse/el-nino-2024-total-solar-eclipse-cloud-cover/ Jay https://eclipsophile.com

Just a reminder that Kingston and Belleville Centres are hosting their annual Fall'n'Stars star party 15-17 Sep. All are welcome. This is a smaller more intimate star party, usually a few dozen attendees. You can find registration details and form at https://rascbelleville.ca/fallnstars/ Johnson's RV park is a lovely dark site in the SE corner of Prince Edward County, great camping, good facilities. Rick

Hi The 2nd annual Festival of stars at the North Frontenac observing park on coming up September 15 -17 Formerly Frontenac dark sky preserve. details on the facebook page Dave

The public Star Party at the Diefenbunker in Carp has been given a green light for tonight. I will be there with my Celestron 8" Evo, and will be demonstrating the DIY/Homebrew Gen3 (HBG3) devices designed/built for Celestron/Nexstar mounts. Anyone here with Celestron gear is encouraged to show up, with or without your own gear, and check it out. More info about the HBG3 is here: https://rtr.ca/hbg3/ Hoping to see and meet more folks there tonight! -- Mark Lord

Hello all, This Saturday night will be the peak night of the famous Perseids meteor shower, one of the year's best! Even better is that the Moon will not present any problems this year! The broad traditional annual maximum is predicted on August 12/13, between 07h UT and 14h UT (which translates to between 3am and 10am EDT). Under very dark skies and ideal viewing circumstances, the rates could surpass one meteor per minute during the early morning hours of the 13th. In areas affected by light pollution, or obstructions (such as buildings or trees) the rates will be lower. This shower is known for producing good numbers of colourful meteors, and fireballs. The Perseids can be enjoyed from nightfall onwards, although rates generally increase during the hours after midnight. Here's a good article to learn more... https://www.imo.net/viewing-the-perseid-meteor-shower-in-2023/ This year's shower might have a couple of additional surprises: 1) A weak filament is expected to cross Earth on August 13, around 03h UT (11pm EDT), according to meteor dynamicist Peter Jenniskens. (A filament is thought to be an accumulation of meteoroids in a mean-motion resonance.) 2) There is also the possibility of enhanced activity on the following night Sunday August 13/14, between 01h UT and 0245h UT (between 9pm and 10:45pm EDT). Meteor dynamicist Jeremie Vaubaillon predicts that the Earth will encounter a very old trail of dust released in 68 BC. It is definitively worth monitoring although a prediction of the activity level is essentially impossible. Back on the morning of August 14 2021, I was fortunate to observe an unexpected strong outburst with a ZHR of more than 100 above the basic level, about a day and a half after the nodal maximum! So if your skies are clear Saturday and/or Sunday night, give the Perseids a try! :) Clear skies! - Pierre

Hello fellow OAFs. Do you have a Celestron Focus Motor? (it doesn't even have to be on a Celestron mount). If so, please get in touch with me -- I need to know something about it, and no longer have such a beast here myself. Thanks -- Mark Lord

Hello OAFS -- I never heard this phrase before I listened to this podcast (n.b. I was driving, so I didn't see the youtube version) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQnUa5Bq5x4. It's long at ~2 hours, but very interesting about cosmology, stellar evolution, and especially this idea of understanding the early universe by studying very old stars that were formed before enough supernovas had spewed out heavier elements. Enjoy -- Michael

Hi folks, I recently picked up a Starmaster 20" f3.7 and was hoping to get some advice re collimation and cooling: Collimation: I have a 1.25" sighttube/chesire, a 1.25" non-barlowed laser and a 2" auto-collimator and use them in that order. I've read many how-to docs on the internet but have little practical experience using them. If there is an experienced hand that wouldn't mind spending 10 minutes or so with me at the next starparty to validate my technique, I'd greatly appreciate it. Collimation seems quite critical at this f ratio. Cooling: Any idea what size fan I need attach to my tailgate to cool a mirror of this size? Thanks, Tony.

Hey fellow OAFs! The years have caught up to me, and I find I am not longing up to hauling my astronomy equipment out to dark sites, and have decided to step back from the hobby! Consequently I have quite a bit of high end astronomy items for sale. I am putting this out first to the OAFs before posting on the buy/sell sites. If you are interested in receiving a list of the items w/ pricing, please drop me a message at r.elleray.harding@... Thanks and Cheers! Richard Harding

Hi folks. I'll be taking the 20 inch for some deep sky observing at the camp Opemikon overflow parking lot tonight between ~8PM to ~2AM (if I last that long). Feel free to join me... always welcome the company of fellow OAFs :) Location is here: https://goo.gl/maps/TSP6wQNhoAXHjstq6 I may go earlier and set up the H-alpha scope late afternoon, assuming I can get free from work and domestic responsibilities in time. You can reach me at 343 202 4149, but I'm not sure I get phone service out there. -Tony.

Hello all! It's that time again... Messier Marathon observing night at Pit Road, near Cobden... this coming Saturday night! All are welcome ... weather permitting! This is a great opportunity to meet new and old friends and get together under dark skies : ) Please see all the details in the PDF file linked below... /g/OAFs/files/Messier%20Marathon/Messier_Marathon_2023.pdf Here is the updated 2023 Messier Marathon Object observing order (see file MARATHON-2023-list.pdf ) /g/OAFs/files/Messier%20Marathon Let's hope the weather cooperates... It's looking quite iffy though with the possibility of a late winter snowstorm this weekend! Clear skies! Pierre

Easily visible in 10x42 binoculars during a full moon -- provided the moon is only 5 or so degrees above the horizon. Even showed a slight asymmetry suggesting a tail.

Apologies if others have shared and I didn't see it, but thought people might like the warm obituary from Terence Dickinson's obituary. Terence Dickinson Obituary - Napanee, ON | Wartman Funeral Home Inc. (wartmanfuneralhomes.com) Paul

Hello all! I plan to be out to observe the Geminids meteor shower tonight, at a dark sky site east of Ottawa. It has been a long while since we've done any group observing sessions, therefore I'm extending an invitation to join me if you are interested in having some company. The location is on the side of a quiet country road. It is called Johnston Rd, and located just east of the town of Bourget, about 45 minutes east of Ottawa. This is a decently dark area with no lights, and has some excellent horizons. It has become my typical "winter go to" site for the east end, due to its quietness (traffic at night is very rare), the road wideness, and for being reliability plowed. Here's a link to the exact location on Google maps. It's a fairly easy drive. Note that my exact position along that road might not be exact. If it is very windy, I may relocate further down the road to gain the protection from a row of trees. https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Ottawa,+Ontario/3809+Johnston+Rd,+Curran,+ON+K0B+1C0/@45.4317948,-75.5734165,10.36z/data=!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x4cce05b25f5113af:0x8a6a51e131dd15ed!2m2!1d-75.6971931!2d45.4215296!1m5!1m1!1s0x4cce638d757942fd:0x188415158e000777!2m2!1d-75.1108939!2d45.4465393 Tonight, the gibbous moon rises at 9:20pm, so meteor observing will be affected — with reduced numbers. However, the Geminids are well known for producing bright, colourful meteors especially near and shortly after the peak. It is arguably the year's best and most reliable meteor shower, and also my favourite so I feel that the effort to bundle up and head out in the cold is worth it. The exact peak time is tomorrow morning after sunrise, but the Geminids typically show near max rates for several hours. The weather is expected to be clear all night, with the exception of some possible clouds between 8-10pm. Nevertherless, I plan to get there around 9pm to setup and stay until the morning. Due the bright moon, I'll likely observe mostly facing the north (and keep the moon's glare behind me). Expect temperature of -5C (will feel like -11) at around 9pm, and a low of -8C (will feel like -13) at around 4am. If you are interested in coming to setup a scope, that's fine but we cannot block the road (traffic is unlikely but still possible). The best approach is setting up on the side of the road, along a single file. I will have reflective markers to warn any possible motorists. If you are interested in watching the Geminids, all you need is a lounge chair and a warm sleeping bag and lots of blankets. I also highly recommend air activated or battery "hand and feet warmers". Trust me, it's a lot easier to get cold when you're not moving much. If the weather is good tomorrow night (and so far it looks promising), I may return early in the evening to observe any post-maximum activity (possibly brighter meteors). If interested, please let me know so that I get an idea who wants to join in. Cheers! - Pierre

Hello knowledgeable OAFs: Soooo, let's start with the fact that I am NOT Mr. Handyman. But I did recently get a 3D printer, and my goal for 2023 is to build my own scope of some sort. I found a decent layout for a Newtonian reflector, can get it down to a simple 6" to try with a lot of 3D printing of the parts/trusses, etc, BUT obviously ordering the mirrors. I am not particularly interested in grinding my own mirrors, etc., so willing to order a package for that. Agena has a combo that is recommended (out of stock at the moment) for $220. Plus a Crayford focuser for $115. Then there are assorted other parts, screws, etc. By the time I'm done, I don't think it will be a lot cheaper than just buying one hehehe. However, I guess I was wondering if people had thoughts about building a small Dob that would push me one way or another. Here's the link to the 3D printer setup (free files are good). I guess I'll still have to build a wooden base for it. https://bigbigspace.com/telescope/n606-newtonian-reflector I'm not wedded to it. I confess I would MUCH rather do something with a Mak design similar to the Sarblue commercial version. I'm almost tempted to buy one and rip it apart for dimensions. :) Paul

Hi. I am Mark Lord, and am quite active on the CloudyNights site. I use a Celestron 8" Evo, and have used Covid isolation time to design/build several interesting (open source hardware and software) electronic accessories for Celestron mounts. But alas.. everything I build always works perfectly on my own Evo mount, but not always on other types. So I am hunting for more Celestron Go-To mounts to try stuff on, especially older ones but also the latest stuff. This is very low risk to the mount -- the hardware is designed to be as electrically safe as possible. So if you have a Celestron, and want to partake in testing and perhaps even build or acquire a gizmo for yourself, please get in touch. These gizmos include Celestron-compatible WiFi and Bluetooth adapters (much less expensive than the brand-name, and better performing too), GPS (aka. "SkySync") clones, joystick style slew/focus controllers, and a bunch of other nifty devices. More info on some of the various gizmos is on my server, at https://rtr.ca/telescope_stuff/ But there is lots happening beyond what is currently there! I have started on a project to clone Celestron's fancy (expensive) Dew Heater Controller for $50 or less, which will be compatible with their software and hand-controller menus. Cheers

LEONID METEOR SHOWER ALERT: Earth is approaching the debris zone of Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, source of the annual Leonid meteor shower. Forecasters expect a minor peak of 15 meteors per hour on Nov. 17th (~2300 UT), followed by a more intense peak on Nov. 19th (~0600 UT). How intense? Estimates range from 50 to 200 meteors per hour. The possible Nov. 19th outburst is associated with a dense stream of debris ejected from the comet in 1733. Its timing favors observers in the eastern half of North America, who should be alert for meteor activity this Saturday morning between 1:00 and 1:30 am EST.