7156 replies to this topic

[Mike96]

I was thinking about M13 but it appears to be so high in the sky I might be challenged a bit with the alt/az mount with field rotation that might be more apparent with a cluster, or am I overthinking this?  May just try M53 again…. That is one I did visually with the NP101 a few times so I could get a good comparison.    Thoughts?  I know M53 took fairly high power with the 101 for best effect.

[Mike96]

all my planning went to no good end...  The day of this planned adventure I was down back by the river clearing out some blowdown from our trails with the chainsaw and tripped and took a pretty good digger.  Chainsaw was fine and my first consideration was to hold it securely away from me as I fell.  Unfortunately I twisted my bad knee in the process and activities were pretty limited for a few days of intermittent icing etc..  Once the swelling went down it started moving pretty well I thought but my ex EMT wife was pretty adamant I was on almost house arrest unless she was there to supervise.  I am starting to get some freedom now if I wear my brace which is a PITA in this hot weather.  The consolation was that I got to spend quite a bit of time in my fathers day present..  one of those rocking folding chairs that's extra wide and got shocks like a motorcycle.   Now if we can get some clear skies again!

[Greyhaven]

Gosh Mike I'm sorry about the " Chain Saw Jig" you just danced through, but I just read your story to Lady Elaine and then had to listen to 10 minutes of " see just why  you think I'm always yelling at you when you wander off on your adventures especially when power tools are involved. House arrest ? You would be under house arrest too! You would be wearing one of those electric dog collars set to MAX strength that would keep you in sight .  I'm afraid she may be looking on Amazon Prime for one for me right now. Boy the ripples your problems sent through our small pond. Thanks for sharing? Me' Lady says you tell a good story.

 

Grey

Edited by Greyhaven, 08 July 2024 - 12:42 PM.

[Scott123]

I saw an old John Deere tractor pulling a baler around a field a few weeks ago. Brought up some memories.

When I was young the families would gather at my great-uncle and great-aunt's farm to get in the hay. He'd run his square baler around the fields the day before, then hook the hay trailer to the tractor. Stronger kids and the adults would toss the hay up onto the trailer. Us kids would stack the hay in layers under the supervision of an adult. Back to the, barn, toss the hay onto the conveyor, then more stacking in the barn. (That was hot miserable work!) Meals were served on trestle tables set up in the back yard. One more drink of lemonade, then back to it! I'd see cousins I hadn't seen in a year. It was better than a family reunion.

[Mike96]

Wow Scott….  I grew up next door to a farm and was enlisted into haying from an early age.  Stacking on the trailer while the older guys were collecting and throwing the bales and competing to see who could knock me over the most times is a vivid memory.  Putting the hay up and stacking in a hot barn was super itchy and uncomfortable like you say.  On the good side I got to drive tractors and trucks around the farm at an obscenely young age.  One old beast was just used to haul the trailer was an old Case narrow front end with the name “Brads Bomber” painted on the cowl.  A ice cold Nezinscot Springs orange soda when you were done was amazing.  Thanks for the trip back Scott!

[Greyhaven]

I was out doing a Ripley walk about 5AM and got to watch the sky put on its quiet sunrise show. I've been there and done that many times, but never made the mental connection that the red/pink glow first appears along the NNW horizon,well away from the  Eastern sunrise event horizon. As the glow slowly brightened I woke up enough to realize the color was 90° off from what I normally would have expected. When I turned to face ESE the sky was just beginning  to introduce red/pink glow and was still running a poor second to the now northern color. Things were changing at a rapid pace, as sunrise approached the horizon in the East. The Eastern color was intensifying and was now reflecting its now pink/red rays on my usually white home.A striking pink hue, but not a color  I would choose for my home and the Northern sky's glow was equally diminished.   

 

Slowly it "dawned" on me was I witnessing one more of the many events that the Flat- Earth-ers ignore that demonstrate the curve of our planet....or maybe it was just magic...

 

Grey

[Mike96]

That's a bit of a mystery to me Grey..  Would the glow to the north be a piece of high ground that see's the sun before you.  There's  also a couple of large solar arrays in that direction that might be reflective enough to light up the sky from the first light that shines on them.  Inquiring minds need to know.

[Greyhaven]

Mike, there will be more early morning walks to come and Ripley will see I get a chance to observe them. They're free so it fits right into my budget. All my nature observation are graded on the curve so a passing grade is almost assured. As long as I keep noticing the world around me and try to explain to myself what I see, I guess there will be reason to want to be here on the morrow.

 

Grey

[Mike96]

What's the odds?  Thinking of finding a target for early tomorrow morning and putting the Seestar 50 to work. (and then going back to bed and take a nap!)  Going to browse around for something in the SW to NW skies as thats my direction of best visibility here at the house..   My last two attempts have crashed and burned for one reason or another  :-)   I think my biggest challenge is going to be "operator head space", an old telephone term from the days of the old all relay mechanical telephone switches.  In this case I'm talking about me remembering how to run the darned thing... or falling into the pool in the dark...

 

or, after looking what I had for options to view here at that time given the time the moon will set, I could go to the farm and try shooting the moon early in the evening and make things easy on myself.

Edited by Mike96, 18 July 2024 - 01:25 PM.

[Mike96]

Last night was a nice night to be out at the farm.  Lots of wildlife etc..  My moon pics weren't worth saving.  The changing patchy clouds along with the glow from the moon totalled up to mush and the Seestar wasn't happy and tossed a lot of the exposures anyway.  It showed promise of getting better later but I had a docs appointment this morning and I had to get some rest so as to be on my best behavior  :-)  It was a good chance to get re-aquainted with the scope under low pressure conditions.  Coyotes were busy, sounded like a mother and a bunch of young ones.  A porcupine wandered over to see what I was doing then ambled off.  We had a white one there last year but no sign of him this summer.  Owls were busy too.

[Scott123]

Hi Mike, did you get out this evening? Moon is at 95%, so the sky was washed out. I opened up the observatory and took a few photos, then moon gazed a bit. No wildlife, but the mosquitos were fierce! I also had to clear out a small hornet's nest before I could do anything else. 

Edited by Scott123, 20 July 2024 - 05:31 AM.

[Mike96]

We had company last night for a while and after they left I went out and checked the sky a bit.  Like you said. most of it was washed out.  At 9:30 I could just pick out a few individual stars.  It seems like last summer it was always a rain issue and I had sold my good refractor so some of the magic was gone anyway.  This year we get nice nights but poor sky!   what a tease...

[Mike96]

don't want to jinx anything but CDS and the weather guy both are hinting tomorrow evening might be doable

[Greyhaven]

There were starry skies over the Cider House at 3 AM.... but the Moon was ruling the high ground. Feels like I'm loosing the close relationship with the night sky I once had. The prison across the street from the Cider House is being re-roofed this summer which means the South eastern horizon is freed from the glare of the roof mounted security flood lights and should help spark the old astronomizen' fire in my soul, but hasn't. Oh well.

 

I've been busy growing some additional facial hair this summer and that has taken up most of my free time so here is some proof that I have not been wasting my summer months.

 

Grey

 

[Mike96]

Looking good Grey!  Growing whiskers has always been a pastime of mine, then its fun to go bare as a surprise.  I'm throwing in the towel for tonight..  Since late this afternoon the smoke has been settling in.  Big red sunset here and the smoke filter filter was so good you could just look right at that big red disk.  Funny, CDS doesn't report much for smoke at all.

[Greyhaven]

Anyone heard from clearwaterdave ? May 29th was the last time Dave was active. My thoughts are centered on him often and can only imagine how he is coping with the loss of Miss Peg. 

 

Grey

[Scott123]

I have not heard from him, I hope he is doing Ok in this time.

Edited by Scott123, 31 July 2024 - 12:26 PM.

[Greyhaven]

I have been very fortunate as far as dental work in my young life. My parents never sent me to the dentist because they knew I needed braces and didn't think I would know it if I wasn't told. Oh well! I needed 3 extractions and declined the offer of adding bridges.  I couldn't justify having  almost 8 grand tied up in bridge work and no way to collect tolls. Just after lunch today the evil deed was done.... I"m still wrapped in the arms of the god of novocaine and wondering if they permanently broke the whistle I had this morning, or will it  return with my lips at a later date. Sure has been quiet here lately. Hope everyone is well.

 

Grey

[Mike96]

Sure hope that whistle comes back...   Probably the same with you but as a kid we partially judged in life by your whistle skill. also frog catching, ride a bike barefoot, put a worm on a hook the right way and always a big one...  shoot marbles!   Little note...  did you know your whistler is on your left?  A bunch of years ago I had a pretty bad stroke...  wiped out my left side.  At some point after while rehabbing etc. I noticed I could not whistle.  Darnedest thing.   So I deduced your whistler must be somewhere on your left side somewhere.   I have over the years regained quite a bit...  got some of the whistle, no Bing Crosby but works for the dog.

[Scott123]

The Summer Without a Shadow continues. I've only been out to the observatory a few times, seeing was poor. Maybe this Fall will be better!

[Scott123]

Clear Sky Alarm promises clear skies tomorrow night! No mention of high haze from the wildfires. For once I'm not on call, I'll have to take a look.

[Mike96]

I saw a few stars last night and an "artistic moon" framed by clouds...   that's a start!

[Greyhaven]

This hat was a gift to me from Lady Elaine saying anything more than would violate the TOS prohibiting  political speech.  Maybe I can't even do that. It is part of the Saint Javelin collection.

 

Grey

 

Edited by Greyhaven, 27 August 2024 - 07:03 PM.

[Mike96]

Started setting up last night just before sunset with half a dozen young male turkeys watching my progress from across the field.  I was surprised by the red haze showing up all around me, had to be smoke again.  I played with the Seesky 50 for a while but again, lost most of the sky to haze except for directly overhead.  It was good practice if not good viewing.  I should have probably waited longer but I packed it in and headed home by 10:00.  No pics worth looking at.  Sky was pretty clear here at 5:00 this morning.  I have decided I do need a good rugged tripod for the Seesky to keep it up where I can level it etc easily but not wiggle in the breeze.  I set up with the little tripod that comes with it sitting on the hard cover on the bed of my truck last night but then I can’t sit in the truck while the scope is doing its thing.  My old bones get creaky after a while in the lawn chair sitting in the dark.  I did have some fun playing with the scope playing “go find it” and being surprised how far off my eyeball judgement guesses of elevation are off.

[Greyhaven]

I am encouraged by the report of actual astronimizen’ by one of us. Beautiful blue skies seem to generally morph into a hazy soup by nightfall and my own lack of energy has handicapped my ability to mess with my circadian rhythm to change it.  I have been interested in the reoccurring nova that is due to do its 80-year cycle. I’m not sure if the Maine crew has it on their bucket list. There seems to be much chatter on the net about it. That usually means the equipment manufacturers and the talking heads are just looking for increased sales and airtime. Maybe the just the curmudgeon in me lashing out at anything that requires my attention or action.
I guess I’ll close now and chase those darn kids off my lawn now.
Be well.

Grey