Undermidnight's Amateur Astronomy Tales

8" Rebuild Complete!

2010-10-03T15:22:00.001-04:00

The finished 8" Scope in the Hocking Hills

I finished the 8" scope last weekend to make sure I was able to take it with me to the Hocking Hills. The scope has exceeded my expectations in many ways, but first, some details on how I finished it.

I followed the same design as my 12" and 16" scope except this time I build a tripod mount for the scope. I reused the same struts and secondary ring.

Close up of the back of the mirror box. I had an extra weight left over to add some weight to the back end. It is a little tail heavy, but that is easily remedied with a finder scope.

Here is the leg/ground board interface. I used a couple pieces of 3/4" birch plywood glued to the sides of a couple 3/4" pieces glued together. I really like the way the end plies look. A 3/8" bolt attaches the legs to the ground board.

I had a set of chains from an existing tripod that I no longer use and attached them to the legs.

I got the opportunity to use the scope out under dark skies this past weekend. The scope worked very well. In fact, it worked so well, I forgot about the scope altogether! The action was nice and smooth, with quick dampening of any vibrations. I spent about 8 hours combined between the two nights picking off all my favorite objects and concentrated on a bunch of new objects in Cetus, Sculptor, and Aquarius. Jupiter looked so wonderful on Friday night. Nice detail.

I have a feeling this will become my favorite scope soon.

Ok, what will my next project be?!?!?

8" Rebuild

2010-09-19T17:38:00.001-04:00

Been a little while since I last posted as I have been off doing summer type things. I did start a new project: I am rebuilding my 8" ball scope to be build the same as my 12" and 16" scopes. My ball scope journey has run its course and it is time to put it to rest. Some of the reasons I am moving to a dobsonian type mount instead of the ball scope mount is weight, design flexibility, and of course, an excuse to build a telescope!

With this scope, I hope to use as much scrap wood left over from my other projects as I can. I also have a bunch of extra hardware. I will reuse the secondary ring and struts from the existing ball scope. This scope will also be mounted on some type of tripod to being the eyepiece up higher. I figure the rocker box will be about 18" off of the ground to give me good eyepiece height. I think the tripod will be a challenge, but I am up to it!

I plan to use the same 3 struts from the ball scope like you see here. The mirror box is the same configuration as my other two scopes. I am using glue and finishing nails to put the pieces together and they seem to be strong enough for a little scope.

Like the 16" scope, I am using some wood glue and brass inserts to attach the bearings. I plan to retrofit my 12" the same way. All wood will be baltic birch plywood and dowels.

The bearings are 12" in diameter and 3/4" thick. The bottom of the mirror box is 3/4" thick
and everything else is 1/2" thick. The two dowels are 1" baltic birch dowels.

More to come!

The Sucker Hole Debut!

2010-04-27T19:19:00.000-04:00

Here is the debut of my new web comic: "The Sucker Hole"

Issues with Contrast

2010-04-20T10:45:00.000-04:00

I have long known that my 12.5" telescope suffers from contrast issues. I would constantly compare my scope to others and see a noticeable difference. The 16" also suffers from this malady. Contrast issues can be one of two things, overall contrast (i.e., grey background skies) and small contrast (i.e., fine planetary detail). My problem is with overall contrast where the faint wisps of galaxies can be lost in the grey background sky. This type of contrast problem boils down to unwanted light sneaking somehow into the optical path.

I went searching on the net on ways to solve it and I found a post on www.cloudynights.com that discusses how you can identify where that light is coming from. Mike Jones wrote an article in Astronomy Technology today that describes that technique. Essentially, you use a long focal length eyepiece and a another eyepiece stacked on top of it. Mike says in his forum post: "The second eyepiece must have a real focal plane such that you can use it like a loupe, like an orthoscopic, Plossl, etc."

I used a 35mm University Optics Konig and an 18mm University Optics Orthoscopic.

When you look into the top eyepiece, this is the view you get:

As you can see, in my 12.5" scope, the white screws and the pink of the dew heater reflects a lot of light. You would think that it would not be a problem, but it does contribute to the overall brightening of the background sky. Any light scattering is a bad thing! When I did this on my 16", I noticed that there is light reflecting off of the secondary shroud (the piece of metal that holds the secondary in place). It is painted flat black, but there is enough to cause problems. I added some flocking paper to the secondary shroud and part of the spider hub:

This noticeably darkened the view at the eyepiece. I redid the test recently when I was observing at a darker sky and it showed a considerable darkness around the primary mirror. In other words, the primary mirror appears to float in blackness.

For my 12.5", I plan to do something to block the reflected light from the "stuff" above the secondary mirror. I also plan to replace the spider and the secondary sometime soon with a Protostar. But that comes after the 8" is done.

New Moon Photographed!

2010-04-17T16:19:00.001-04:00

France's Thierry Legault has imaged a new moon. It is truly amazing feat!

http://astrosurf.com/legault/new_moon_2010april14.html

I have always wondered if it is possible to take a picture of the new moon and it appears it is. However, the technical challenge of doing so is pretty interesting. Félicitations Thierry!

Grieser Field Observing Report

2010-04-15T22:18:00.000-04:00

Electa and I's first night out under dark skies

Some fellow club members and I headed out to Grieser Field to enjoy and evening of deep sky observing. It was new moon, and the weather forecast was calling for clear skies. Jim and I got there first, braving rush hour traffic. Both of us almost got in accidents! Thankfully that did not happen. We arrived well before sunset and set up our telescopes, enjoyed Subway subs, and discussed the evening observing plans. The sky was still soupy from stubborn high Cirrostratus clouds and contrails and were were both worried that they would not clear off. Tim showed up just before sunset.

Jim brought his 12" Teeter. I brought "Electa", my 16" truss dobsonian I just finished. Tim brought a 10" Orion Dobsonian. Tim just purchased a 15" Obsession and Jim and I were giving him a piece of our minds for not bringing it!! We want to look through that thing! Tim has some tweaks to finish on it prior to using it, but he assured us next time, it will be available.

As twilight settled in, we caught brief glimpses of Mercury dodging in and out of the clouds. Venus burned brightly and steadily. The brighter stars started to peak through the soupy muck above us. My heart started to sink. May as well sit back and relax for a bit and hope the sky gets better.

Night arrived and the clouds really started to dissipate away. After some final tweaks to collimation, I started picking off some random objects including M35, M37, M47, M46, The Eskimo Nebula, and more. I brought my sketching materials to rekindle my fondness for sketching deep space objects. I have always wanted to sketch NGC2362, a beautiful open cluster off the tail of Canis Major. Mark Watson, a long time club member, bequeathed the title of "The Porch Light" because it appears like a group of moths are flying around a porch light. Initially, I started sketching using my 13mm Nagler, but I find I don't do well with a large field of view. So I plopped my 12.5mm Orthoscopic eyepiece in. Ahh, much better.

"The Porch Light", NGC2362

Once I finished NGC2362, I looked up and noticed the sky was getting really clear! I glided the telescope up off the handle of the Big Dipper to have a glimpse of M51. The arms are clearly visible! I stopped by some other familiar targets, NGC4565, M64, M63, and more. I wanted to continue to sketch some more objects so I decided to hop over to NGC4762 and 4754, a nice pair of galaxies off of Vindemiatrix in northern Virgo. Ron Ravneberg really enjoyed this pair and I was introduced to them by Jim not too long ago. They are quickly becoming a favorite pair or mine too.

NGC4762 and 4754

While I was sketching, Jim was calling out cool objects he was looking at. Tim was amazed at M51 in his telescope. Once I finished sketching, Jim gave Tim and I the grand tour of the Virgo Cluster. We would all start at the "Smile" in Virgo, and Jim would then guide us both throughout the cluster. It was a good time. We probably spent half and hour going through everything! It was a hoot. I would use my green laser that is attached to my scope to make sure I was in the right place as Tim and Jim could see the laser in their finders and eyepieces.

The temperature was not too bad and stayed into the 50s for part of the night. Then it quickly started getting colder as the night got clearer. I noticed a tick crawling on my hand. Jim and I took a walk earlier and we pulled off about 12 ticks from our pants. They were hungry! I was picking off "phantom ticks" throughout the night. My mind was playing tricks on me!

I spent most of the middle part of the night going through my observing run. Picking off galaxies in southern Virgo, working my way up towards Spica. I had some detailed charts of 3C273 so I went off and searched for some ancient light. I quickly found it, and shared the view with my observing partners. The light from 3C273 left there around 2.6 billion years ago. Back when the earth was mostly covered in primitive algae generating Oxygen in the primordial atmosphere. Amazing!!

The highpoint of the night for me is when I got to look at the Coma Cluster. We were seeing a lot more galaxies than I have ever seen. We counted 10 galaxies I believe! In the past, I could only detect about 3 or 4. This was turning out to be a good night!!

I continued looking for more galaxies. Jim gave me a chart to search for comet in eastern Virgo. And from there, I did some more galaxy hopping. I got to see Hickson 67 which is a nice compact group of galaxies. I think I may want to start hunting these galaxy groups down.

Next I attempted to sketch M104 in Virgo. It proved to be somewhat of a challenge. I wanted to make sure the dark lane was apparent in my sketch like it was in my scope. Many eraser marks later, I got this:

It was not that bright, so I still need some tweaking done on the sketch, but it sure was fun to draw!

I played around in Leo for a bit before going on to sketch the Siamese Twins in Virgo. I like interacting galaxy pairs and this was a nice one.

NGC4567 and 4568, The Siamese Twins

Along the same lines, another interacting pair is the pair off of Charr in Canes Venetici, NGC 4485 and 4490. This group is a fairly large set of galaxies in my 18mm Ortho and a fine specimen to draw.

NGC 4485 and 4490

I finished the night looking at the early summer sky enjoying old favorites like M27, M57, M17, M8, and M20. Dawn started to tinge the sky and it was time for bed. It was a great night.

Planetary Nebulae

2010-04-06T22:36:00.001-04:00

The Dumbbell Nebula - ESO

"Will the sun blow up when it dies?" I have been asked that question numerous times during a public program at Perkins Observatory. I inform them that no, the Sun will not blow up at the end of its life, but it will quietly live out it's last days as a planetary nebula. The sun is an average, middle aged star. It has existed now for over 4.5 billion years. It should keep burning for another 5 billion years before it becomes a red giant, when the outer layers of the sun's atmosphere starts to expand and the core starts to heat up and contract. After the red giant phase, the outer parts of the atmosphere will be thrown off due to thermal pulsations leaving a white dwarf at its center. This is the planetary nebula phase that most main sequence stars like our sun spends its retirement.

The Eskimo Nebula - NASA, ESA, Andrew Fruchter (STScI), and the ERO team (STScI + ST-ECF)

Planetary Nebula are becoming my favorite objects to observe. They usually have a high surface brightness which makes them quite noticeable even in my suburban skies. Some favorites that can be seen this time of year include the Eskimo Nebula in Gemini, The Ghost of Jupiter in Hydra, or one of my favorites, NGC2438 that appears to lie in the open star cluster, M46. They are fun to hunt down due to their smaller size. I enjoy using my orthoscopic eyepieces to get nice, clear, high magnification views to coax out the smallest details. For example, this past Saturday evening, my observing partner and I were up at Perkins Observatory. I was using my 16" scope and a 9mm University Optics Ortho, and noticed the bright ring in the Ghost of Jupiter. It was a great view! It was glowing a bright blueish-green. The Eskimo Nebula was showing nice detail in its core. So much fun!

The Ring Nebula - The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI/NASA)

There are other great planetary nebula to view throughout the year. The Ring Nebula is one of the most famous. The Dumbbell Nebula is another. Some planetary nebulae appear to be blueish-green, but some are very blue like the Blue Snowball in Andromeda. An Oxygen III filter can sometimes reveal more detail or cause a faint subject really stand out. Others, like the Blinking Planetary in Cygnus, will blink out of view when looking directly at it. But when you look away, it pops into view!

Planetary nebulae are fun to hunt down and enjoy. They represent the last stages of an average star's life and have many different shapes and sizes represented. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Clear Skies

- Photos are public domain images from

Under darker skies...and more refinements

2010-04-02T16:55:00.000-04:00

Last night I went to my good friend, and telescope maker, Bill Burton's house to give the scope some time under the stars. Although the seeing was bad, the transparency was good (in between high level clouds). Some objects observed: NGC2903, NGC4565, M81, M82, The Eskimo Nebula, M3, M53, M94, The Black Eye Galaxy, The Sunflower Galaxy, Mars, Venus, Mercury, and Saturn. It is nice to have the extra aperture.

Bill mentioned (and I noticed it too) the scope becomes stiffer at higher altitudes. After talking it over with him, and reading the section on stiction in Dave Kriege's The Dobsonian Telescope , I calculated out what the teflon pad sizes should be.

I weighed the upper assembly (mirror box, trusses, secondary ring, and accessories), and it came to 60 pounds. Divide the weight of the upper assembly by 4 to get the pounds per pad, which came to 15. Dave recommends 15 pounds per square inch for the teflon pads. Divide 15 by 15 and you get 1 square inch which is what I had on the altitude bearings already.

On to azimuth bearing, the total weight of the scope minus the ground board is 105 lbs. Divide that by 3 (because I use 3 pads) and you get 35. Again, using 15 lbs per square inch, divide 35 by 15 and you get 2.33 square inches. Take the square root of that, and that comes out to about 1.5 inches per side for the bottom teflon pads.

I cut out 3 1.5" by 1.5" pads and mounted them to the ground board. The scope moves noticeably smoother at the higher altitudes.

Thanks Bill!

Introducing "Electa"

2010-03-31T23:48:00.002-04:00

After some final tweaks, "Electa" is done. She is named after my great, great, great grandmother, Electa Ann Grubaugh Hissong who lived from 1841 to 1934.

Close-up of name tag I had made. You can see a piece of brass stock I temporarily attached as well. This will be replaced with a counterweight system from Scopestuff.com.

Here is the secondary ring with a Protostar, 3-vane spider and secondary. The secondary is heated using Protostar's built in dew heater. The light baffle on the other side of the ring is made of Kydex and I attached some Protostar flocking paper.

The focuser is a Kineoptics HC-2. Dennis Steele from Dobstuff.com made the spider brackets focuser board. The struts and strut seats are made by Moonlight Focuser.

"Electa" and "Ada" side by side. This has been a great project. I had so much fun and I learned a great deal. First light was last night and I noticed I had the truss tubes cut about and inch short. I was able to compensate for it by using spacers on the focuser. The action was stiffer than I would have liked too. This evening, I applied some Turtle Wax Express Shine Spray wax to the laminate bearing surfaces and the scope moves just like my old Obsession. I observed M81, M82, M37, and Mars this evening. I cannot wait to get her under dark skies!

Truss seats are here...

2010-03-29T21:40:00.000-04:00

Truss seats attached to the mirror box. Also have the dust cover finished.

Also got the baffle installed in the mirror box.

Moonlight Struts

2010-03-25T10:15:00.000-04:00

I ordered the Moonlight truss system yesterday. Completion of the scope should be next week sometime. I am trying something new to mechanically fasten the struts to the tubes. I saw Teeter use this technique on his struts (he uses moonlight as well). I will be using rivets to fasten the ball inserts into the tubes. I picked up a rivet tool and some rivets and tried it out on my existing tubes on my 12.5". They work great! I also plan to run the connecting cables through one of the struts. Ron Ravneberg did this on his scope and it really helps keep the scope nice and tidy. I will test this on a leftover strut I have on the 12.5". If it works out ok, I will use it on my 16".

First Light!!

2010-03-23T23:21:00.000-04:00

First light! I used a 2x4 as a strut to get the exact measurement between the secondary ring and the mirror box. I estimated it to be 51". Turns out it is 50 3/4". Now I just need to get the moonlight truss system and this will be done! Got to see the moon eclipse a bright star too in the scope!

Closeup of the Protostar spider and the secondary ring. You can see I used some clamps and scrap wood to attach the ring to the 2x4.

Mirror Box Completed...

2010-03-23T23:18:00.003-04:00

Finished the rocker and mirror boxes a few days ago. Instead of painting it, my wife and some other ATMs convinced me to leave the wood a natural color. I like the results!!! I used Minwax Gloss Oil Based Polyurethane.

This is a view of the back of the scope. There are two fans to blow air across the surface of the mirror. I also have a fan to blow on the back of the mirror. The top set of fans is controlled by one switch, the single fan that blows on the back of the mirror is controlled by a different switch.

I decided to name the scope "Electa". My wife and I recently got into genealogy and I found out my great, great, great, great, grandmother was named Electa. I thought it was such a great name!

Here is a closeup of the bearing mounting. I decided to use threaded inserts on the mirror box, and finish nuts on the outside. It has a really nice appearance.

The bottom of the scope. Here you see the back fan.

Close up of the electronics.

Saint Patrick's Day Prominence

2010-03-17T18:00:00.000-04:00

An amazing solar prominence was present on the limb of the sun on this wonderful Saint Patrick's Day. This is my first real attempt at doing solar photography with my PST scope.

Adding Polyurethane to the bearings

2010-03-14T22:02:00.000-04:00

Decided to go ahead and finish the telescope with Polyurethane instead of painting it. Really like the look better.

Ground Board finished

2010-03-14T21:57:00.000-04:00

Made the ground boards today. Instead of going with hockey pucks, I went ahead and used some plywood disks I had left over.

Laminate Installed... Secondary Ring just about done

2010-03-12T22:54:00.002-05:00

Cemented the Ebony Star laminate this evening. It always makes me nervous! It fit just right. I will be heading to Lowe's tomorrow to pick up a Flush Trim Bit for my router to get the extra laminate off.

Here is a shot of the secondary ring. I need to get some longer bolts to go through the 3/4" spacers and some washers so the spacers are not digging into the plywood. Dennis of www.dobstuff.com made the spider brackets (where the spider attaches to the bolt and spacer). He also made the focuser board. Great work Dennis!! I also put a 10-24 threaded insert on the opposite side of the focuser board for the light baffle. I will be using a threaded knob to attach the baffle.

Rocker Box just about done

2010-03-12T22:28:00.000-05:00

Just about done with the rocker box. I liked the tapered sides with the routed out circles. Makes it look nice. Instead of painting the rocker box, I have decided to Polyurethane it for a natural look. The bearings will also have a natural look. The mirror box will have a black textured paint and secondary ring will be flat black. I used screws and glue for all joints. Still wondering about whether I will glue the bearings on or bolt them. And if I bolt them, should I use threaded inserts or not.

Rocker Box Coming Together

2010-03-03T09:19:00.000-05:00

This past evening, I spent some time working on the rocker box. Got the sides cut and rounded. I am debating about whether I want to cut the circles in the rocker sides. I think it will look nice. It will save on some weight too. My only concern is that the plies are not all totally glued and there may be some gaps. Paint and some filler should cover it. Decisions...

Mirror Box Completed

2010-02-25T23:45:00.002-05:00

I spent some time in the wood shop this evening and I got the mirror box done. It turned out really well. This time, I used screws (and later glue when the final assembly occurs) instead of the pocket holes on the 12.5" scope.

The back view. The top hole will be used for the fan controls. The two bottom holes are for the fans that will blow across the mirror face.

Bottom view. The central hole is for the back fan. The three larger holes are for ventilation.

View with the mirror. It is slowly coming together!

Next up is finishing up the secondary ring and then the rocker/box ground board.

More progress on the 16" and other things...

2010-02-24T00:21:00.001-05:00

I found a little space heater my wife bought me a while ago and decided to put it to some good use. It kept me somewhat warm while working on the 16" scope. Did you know that the top of tablesaw is downright frigid? I finished the top of the mirror box and found that I need to pick up some extra wood. I am going to have Dennis at dobstuff.com build a new focuser board for me too. I will be sending my focuser his way here this week. Dennis does awesome work!

Fellow ATM and friend, Gary, made a wonderful light shroud for the 12.5". I hope to get some pictures of it soon and will post them.

This winter has been brutal. I can probably count on one hand the amount of clear skies we have had since the beginning of December. I really miss the stars. I am already in galaxy season mode and cannot wait to use the 16" on the spring sky.

Secondary Ring Started!

2010-02-09T22:30:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday, I braved the cold and started on the secondary ring. I used the brackets made by Dennis at Dobstuff.com and they worked perfectly! The ring is made of 3/4" Baltic Birch plywood and is 21" in diameter. The inside of the ring is 17" in diameter. I will probably have Dennis make a new focuser board because I marred this one up from drilling holes. I still attached it to the ring to get an idea of how it will look.

I have the places marked for the Moonlight truss system. I hope to finish the ring over the next week. Then it will be time to work on the mirror box.

Psalm 19:1

2010-01-31T22:31:00.000-05:00

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Spent some time under the stars this evening. Started out enjoying the view of Mars. Then I just stood under the stars and just stared into infinity. There is something about seeing the winter stars through bare tree branches. A nice way to get the wind back into my sails.

Kevlar Slings

2010-01-20T15:55:00.000-05:00

I am done using a cable sling for my 12" scope. It seems to be more trouble than it is worth. I had the scope out on a rare (very rare) clear night last week and it does not take much for the cable to need a new adjustment after transport. The problem is that even a small misalignment of the cable causes astigmatism in the mirror. This is caused be some of the side nuts getting loose and the cable moving up or down on the side cable pins (what the cable attaches to). I went with a Kevlar sling on the 16" cell and I think I am going to go ahead and do that for the 12" as well. I know that some telescope makers don't like using slings because they stretch over time but I am not too concerned about it. I will simply take up the slack or replace the sling. Using Kevlar will minimize any stretching anyway.

Now I wish these clouds would go away!

Protostar Spider Arrives!

2010-01-06T20:11:00.000-05:00

I saw that the Protostar spider arrived today!

16" Mirror Cell

2009-12-12T21:33:00.001-05:00

Here is the new mirror cell. Thanks to my friend Tim for doing such an awesome job on the triangles and bars. I used the dimensions specified in The Dobsonian Telescope for the triangles and bars. Since they were made of aluminum, I used 1/4" thick stock for the triangles and 3/8" bar stock for the bars as recommended by the book.

I used a Kevlar strap from McMaster-Carr for the mirror sling. It resists stretching pretty well.

I placed the mirror on the cell for a test and it fits just right!

This is the back of the mirror cell. The center hole will be used for one of the fans. The three large holes will help with ventilation and air flow.

Close up view of the point supports under the mirror with the kevlar straps. I am also using the split bolts from Obsession Telescopes.

One of the mirror clips. Simple dowel and eyebolt arrangement.

Mirror Cell Finished! And other stuff...

2009-11-25T01:46:00.000-05:00

I finished the mirror cell recently. I have not worked on my scope much because of other non-related activities, but hope to get some time over the long weekend to work on it some more. I will post pictures soon.

In other news, this has been the nicest November I could remember. I got out and did some observing with the 12" scope. I visited Bill's house and spent more time looking at an object instead of just going to the next one. I think I am going through a transition: it is about the quality instead of how many objects I can bag in one night. I spent 45 minutes staring at NGC40 digging out all of the details I could muster. I found it quite satisfying.

Clear Skies

16" Mirror Cell Work Started

2009-10-17T16:59:00.000-04:00

This afternoon I started work on the mirror cell for the 16" scope. It is designed just like the 12.5" mirror cell with some added holes for air flow. I am adding a fan to blow onto the back of the mirror cell as well as two that will blow on the surface of the mirror.

Throughout the week, I hope to finish it up. Fellow ATM Tim Scott is making the triangles and bars for me (thanks Tim!). I should have the mirror box finished over the next couple weeks. About that time, the new secondary and spider should be ready from Protostar.

I also ordered some split bolts from Obsession Telescopes and some muffin fans from Startech.com.

Slow but steady progress...

2009-10-11T21:29:00.000-04:00

Last week I ordered a Protostar 3-vane spider with built in dew control and a 2.6" secondary mirror. That should show up in the next couple of weeks. I also ordered the aluminum for the triangles and bars for the 18 point mirror cell. A good friend of mine will be making those items for me (he can do a much better job than myself). This week I hope to get the mirror cell started and hopefully finish it by the end of next week.

I am still fighting with myself on how I want to do the secondary ring. I like the look of the single ring, but having two rings (like most truss dobs) opens up some more possibilities. Like using a light shroud without having it custom made. I will probably go with what I know and stick to the single ring design. The 12" is just fine and I have no problems with it. I think I loose some contrast, but not enough to cause major problems.

My goal is to finish most of the scope before winter hits. I think I will be able to get it done by then.

September Nights

2009-09-15T13:26:00.000-04:00

September is usually a great month in Ohio for clear skies. The autumn skies provide a wealth of objects to observe! If you get a chance to get out to a dark sky, please do. In fact, many of us at the The Columbus Astronomical Society are planning to do just that!

The first thing you will notice when looking overhead is a glowing stream of light broken up by dark lanes. This is our very own galactic home, the Milky Way. What you are seeing is the combined light of billions of stars and in some places, obscured by intergalactic dust. Take a pair of binoculars and sweep this region of stars and you will see thousands of stars across the field of view. Occasionally, you may see clumps of stars together. These stars usually are part of a galactic star cluster. When stars are born, they hang around together during their early years. Bound by gravity, they eventually start to drift off to form their own paths in the Milky Way. About 5 billion years ago, this happened with our Sun.

Towards the south east during the evening, you may notice a bright star. This beacon is Jupiter, the king of the planets. With those very same binoculars, you can see Jupiter's orb and one of more "stars" close by in a line. Those stars are Jupiter's moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. If you are so inclined, make a little drawing log and draw the positions of the moons in relation to Jupiter. Galileo did the same thing 400 years ago!!

Towards midnight, the Milky Way starts to slide towards the west and the sky changes towards the autumn sky, dominated by Pegasus and Andromeda. Pegasus is comprised of what is called the "Great Square" and Andromeda looks like a tilted Christmas Tree off to the side. Andromeda holds a treasure called the Great Andromeda Galaxy. This galaxy can be seen with the naked eye in dark skies. And is very visible in binoculars. Some day, billions of years in the future, Andromeda and our Milky Way are going to merge together. Don't worry though, our solar system will probably come out of the merger unscathed.

Look towards the east and you will notice a grouping of stars. This grouping of stars is called the Pleides, or the seven sisters. A very nice object in binoculars. Towards the northeast, there is a bright star called Capella, the brightest star in the constellation of Auriga. Capella and the Pleides are part of the winter sky where Taurus and Orion resume their yearly battle above the frigid landscape below. But that is for another time.

Clear skies and I hope you take time to look up and notice the Universe above you.

Two Observatories Saved from Wildfires

2009-09-15T12:50:00.000-04:00

Thanks to the efforts of brave firefighters, two historic observatories have been saved from the wildfires in California.

Story

Bearings done

2009-09-07T17:11:00.001-04:00

I finished the bearings. They are 21" in diameter and 1" thick. On the 12.5", I routed some holes to give it a nice look. With these bearings, I decided to try something different. The bearings are made from two 1/2" pieces of baltic birch plywood. I routed similar holes only one of pieces and left the other solid. I think it looks nice. I sanded them so that they are perfectly matched. I plan to work on the secondary ring this week.

Also, I will not be painting these like I did on the 12.5". I plan to keep it natural by putting a layer of clear enamel over it. I think it will look good. The rest of the scope will be the same however.

16" Build officially started

2009-09-06T19:45:00.000-04:00

Today I started cutting wood for the bearings. The bearings are 21" in diameter and will be 1" thick. Pictures to follow tomorrow when I finish up the bearings.

16" Mirror Arrives safely

2009-09-03T21:43:00.000-04:00

I picked up the packages that contain my 16" mirror, spider, secondary, focuser, and a little surprise: A Meade Coffee Cup!! (Thanks Richard). You know, you don't really think about how big something is until you get it. When I pulled the mirror out, it was kind of overwhelming to see it. I did get a tape measure out and confirm that it indeed is 16" wide (instead of 18 or 20, hehehehehe)

The secondary was larger than I expected. I measured it to be about 3 5/8" wide. Pretty big for visual use, but not big enough to cause a problem (you want to stay between 20% to 25%). I measured the spider and it is just about the right size for my purposes.

Now the fun begins! I will start with the secondary ring and bearings, and then onto the mirror box. I need to start getting stuff together to sell so that I can afford the truss system. This is where I learn patience. Pretty hard to do when there is a nice 16" mirror waiting to reflect some photons.

Cannot wait to start cutting wood!

16" Mirror on the way!

2009-09-01T19:04:00.000-04:00

I just got confirmation that my new (to me) 16" mirror is on the way. The mirror used to live in a Meade 16" dobsonian and I plan to build a scope just like my 12.5" for it. Not too many differences really between them, but I will be documenting the build on this site. It may take longer because I need to build funds to buy some of the more expensive items (like the truss system from Moonlight Focuser which is an excellent product). The spider and secondary is included from the old scope and I have no doubts that it will be fine for my purposes. I originally was going to go with a Moonlight focuser which is my "dream" focuser, but in an effort to keep the cost down, I will be going with the Kineoptics HC-2.

Stay tuned for details of the construction.

Another Ballscope is Born!

2009-08-30T10:50:00.001-04:00

I just completed Kirk's 8" F/6.3 Ballscope yesterday and Kirk is coming over to pick it up. I am pretty excited and nervous about it. This is my first telescope that I have built for someone else (and getting paid for it). I applied some modifications to my original ballscope design that makes this one the best one yet.

Since this was a longer focal length, one of the things I wanted to do was to allow Kirk the ability to tear the scope down for transport. My 8" ballscope is short enough that I can leave the struts in all the time. If I left Kirk's that way, he would have to lay the scope down for transport. Since my mirror cell is based on R.F. Royce's design, the mirror stays in the cell by friction, but when tilted at 90 degrees (under normal use is fine) and bumped around too much (like during transport), it will fall out when at 90 degrees. So being able to remove the struts is a must.

With previous designs, I used threaded rods to push up against the two rings that sandwich the lip of the ball and down against the bottom part of the mirror cell. This is fine when the struts stay put. But when unscrewing the struts, there is leverage there that can cause the mirror cell to twist inside the ball. The threaded rods are not rigid enough to prevent that from occurring. So I placed some 1x2 struts inside the ball that attaches to the mirror cell and the top two rings. No more twisting now!

Another problem I have had in the past was centering the mirror cell in the ball and making sure it is parallel with the ball opening. I solved this by using a threaded spacer (1/4 20 thread) so that the bolt that sticks up from the center of the ball attaches to another bolt that attaches through the center of the mirror cell. This lines everything up making the mirror cell parallel and centered. As in my previous ballscope designs, collimation is done from the top.

On the secondary ring, I use captive knobs to prevent anything from dropping on the mirror during assembly. They are held captive by use of nylon lock nuts and washers. The washers are 1.25" washers so that the strut tubes don't damage the wood.

The red-dot finder bracket is attached using angle aluminum and is attached from the top of the ring. This is important as it supports the corner of the aluminum to prevent bending. I used Kydex for the light baffle and attached Flocking paper from Protostar here in Columbus. The light baffle is attached using velcro for easy attachment and removal. The focuser is a Kineoptics HC-1 1.25" helical focuser. This focuser is only 2 ounces which is great considering the weight considerations. The spider is from Meridian Telescopes in Michigan.

Speaking of weight, I placed about 15 lbs of weight at the bottom of the ball. It is sandwiched between the bottom of the mirror cell and the ball. I used a combination of barbell weights and good old sand bags from ankle weights.

The 16" Polyethelene ball was purchased from Formed Plastics, Inc. out of New York. I went with Polyethelene because it has less friction than Polycarbonate and also strong. Maybe not as strong as Polycarbonate, but strong enough for a purpose of an 8" telescope.

I had the pleasure of using the telescope last night under the stars. Kirk really did a nice job on his mirror. I was surprised to see how nice it moved. Much better than my 8" ballscope (it uses Polycarbonate which has way more stiction). The scope does vibrate, but it dampens in less than 3 seconds. Scopes that use a single secondary ring are more prone to direct light pollution than scopes with a solid tube or two ring designs. But when away from those lights, they perform very well. Plus, they are very light and I like the aesthetics of it anyway.

That pretty much wraps this project up. I am using the proceeds from this project to fund my next project: a 16" ultralight built just like my 12.5". The scope will be the replacement for my 18" Obession I sold. I hope to have it completed by winter.

Let me know if you have questions.

First Light

2009-08-02T23:32:00.000-04:00

This evening I was able to test the 8" F6.3 scope out under the stars. I found out the struts are about 4 inches too short, and I need to add more counterweights. The Polyethelene sphere has a smoother action than the Polycarbonate (like I suspected). It was exciting to see how well this scope will move once it is done. I plan to replace the 8" sphere on my scope. I like it that much!!

I will be posting the details on how I built this scope soon.

Here are some pictures.

My First Customer

2009-08-02T23:22:00.000-04:00

I have been busy building an 8" telescope for a friend of mine. It is a ballscope design like my current 8", but I decided to do some things different. Instead of a polycarbonate ball, I used a Polyethylene ball. It has a smoother action, thicker walls, and more round than the polycarbonate one. This scope is an F6.3 so it is longer than my F4.2 8". This presents some challenges, but I think I have overcome them. I am using larger diameter struts to be more rigid (I am using 1" struts on mine) and will need roughly 20 lbs of counterweight at the bottom of the ball.

This is an exciting time for me as I have never built a telescope for someone else before. I am really excited to see how this turns out. The proceeds from building this scope will help me move towards building my dream telescope to replace the Obsession I used to own. I hope to build a 16" scope complete with all that I want (Moonlight Focuser, right angle finder, etc.).

Buckeye On The Sky (BEOTS)

2009-06-18T22:36:00.000-04:00

I am heading to the Buckeye On The Sky (BEOTS) star party this weekend. The forecast does not look good, thunderstorms (some severe). But hey, there will be great people and great food present. I have never been to this event (I have planned on it, but something comes up). This time, I am going even if there is rain. My lovely wife bought me a new tent for our anniversary which is supposed to do well in rain. I am hoping that is the case as it should get a good workout!

If we get lucky with some holes in the clouds, I hope to get some observing in. I am approaching this as a weekend camping trip with friends so observing will be a bonus.

More scope photos...

2009-06-07T21:08:00.001-04:00

Today I added the other two dew heaters for the finderscope. One for the finderscope objective and the other one for the finderscope eyepiece. They are all wired to the controller that is attached to the rocker box. I also velcro'd some granite samples I got from the place we bought out granite countertops. These provide nice, attractive counterweights to the back. And they are pretty low profile.

The dew controller is a "Dew-Not" controller from www.scopestuff.com that I purchased from my observing buddy, Jim (thanks Jim!) The dew heaters for the eyepieces and finderscope is also from scopestuff.com. The secondary heater is from Kendrick.

I am calling the scope done (for now.. hehehehe). Someday I want to add a moonlight focuser, but for now, the HC-2 will work fine.

Here is the view of the secondary ring. The finderscope is an Orion 9x50 right angle finder (I also like to call it the neck saver). You can see the dew heater straps on the finderscope and the eyepiece. The secondary has a Kendrick secondary heater.

The rocker box with the "Dew-Not" controller. The wires are routed down the strut (I want to do this on the inside of the strut someday).

Front view of the scope. The 7Ah battery hangs off the front of the rocker box. It powers the dew controller/dew heaters. The 2Ah battery on the back of the rocker box controls the mirror fans.

New scope update...

2009-06-07T15:28:00.001-04:00

I have used the scope at two Perkins Observatory public programs and the scope has been doing well. I have some astigmatism going on and I discovered that the sling was too high on one of the sling bolts. I moved the sling down and it appears to have fixed the issue. The motion is a smooth as the Obsession I used to own which was my goal.

I also added a dew heating system that will keep the eyepiece, finderscope, and secondary mirror dew free.

Scope Finished!

2009-05-29T23:46:00.000-04:00

I assembled the painted parts this evening to finish the scope. There are some tweaks to do, but nothing major. The movement is somewhat stiff, so I want to add some SailKote to the bearings to get the stiffness out. The stiction is just right though, I am just not used to the stiff movements. I will be receiving my right angle finder tomorrow. I bought a dew controller and will be recieving the dew heaters this week. It is coming along nicely!

Star Hopping with a finderscope

2009-05-25T00:42:00.000-04:00

On of my favorite activities when observing is star hopping. Having a star chart and a telescope is a simple and intimate way to observe the heavens. No computers, no setting circles, but starting from a known star, and working your way to your goal. Some can do it with dead reckoning, i.e., pointing their scope to an area of the sky and getting close. I can do that somewhat, but it can be frustrating and a pain in the neck (literally) to be constantly looking through a Telrad or red dot finder towards the sky. It would be nice to have a right angle finder to save your sore neck.

With the ballscope, I pretty much gave up on having that ability and thought I was doomed to a bad neck. Today, however, I was able to put a finder bracket on the scope. When the scope was a ballscope, the weight was just too much to put on the bottom to counter the effect of the extra weight on top. With the new configuration, I have the flexibility of adding a nice finderscope.

I cannot wait to get this thing under dark skies!!!

The new scope at Perkins tonight

2009-05-23T01:10:00.000-04:00

I brought the scope up to Perkins this evening for her grand appearance. She still looks rough (i.e., no paint) but she provided some great views of the sky to the delight of the folks there. There are still some balancing issues. Top to bottom is balanced just right, but front to back is still off. There is too much weight on the back. I lashed some brass stock that I borrowed to the front of the mirror box and that balanced it out right.

Before I left, I wired up the fans to a battery and switch. The fans were on all evening and kept the mirror at ambient temperature. The fans do not introduce any vibrations at the eyepiece which is good. That way, I can leave the running all night to fight dew and temperature changes.

The motion is nice and smooth. Stiction is not an issue. It takes a little more force to move it than I would like (it is not bad or objectionable). It reminds me of my observing buddy's Teeter scope, which is a great scope. But it is still not my old Obsession's smoothness. I am going to put some SailKote on it to see if that brings that smoothness back.

I am really please at how this scope has turned out. It sure is a pleasure to use and I cannot wait to try it under a dark sky.

Scope Assembly Completed and First Light

2009-05-22T09:34:00.000-04:00

Last night I finished the 12.5" scope and got to use it under the stars. The first thing I noticed was the scope was just about perfectly balanced! Just a tad top heavy, but nothing that cannot be fixed with some small counterweights. The other thing is that it is so much lighter than the ballscope. The ballscope had a bunch of weight in it to balance it out. It was a real pain!

Here is a closeup of the back of the mirror cell. It is an open design to allow for better cooling. Fans will be blowing from the opposite side across the mirror. This will keep dew down and disrupt the boundary layer.

Here are the two 2" fans that will be blowing across the mirror. The opening above them is for the control panel (for the fans).

Here are collimation bolts. The 4 holes are for ventilation and for a possible 3rd fan in the future.

I got to observe with it last night looking at Saturn and M81 and M82. The scope moves so much better now. The azimuth stiction is just right. The altitude stiction is also nice, but takes more pressure to move the scope. It still moves smooth though. I used pocket holes for all joinery, although I think in the future I will probably use something different. Filling the holes with the plugs was messy. Plus, this forces me to have to paint it instead of using a stain.

I hope to build a 16" scope next and this scope was a prototype of sorts. I am also thinking about remaking the 8" to be a similar design. I think I am addicted to making telescopes. hehehehe

Rocker box almost completed

2009-05-21T07:28:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I just about completed the rocker box. I have a few more pieces of wood to cut, some laminate to place, and I should be done. I hope to have first light this evening. I chipped some of the laminate on the bearings trying to round it over, that was a mistake. It still works, but it just looks bad. Oh well. I may take the laminate off and get some more and apply it.

The real test came tonight when I placed the mirror box into the rocker box. A perfect fit! 1/8" clearance between the rocker box and the mirror box. And 1" of clearance on the bottom corner of the mirror box and the top of the rocker box, like I planned it, heheheh.

I hope to slap a coat of primer on after first light, then paint the first coat of black paint on the puppy tomorrow morning, then the final coat tomorrow evening. I hope to bring it to Perkins Observatory Friday night for her first outing.

Mirror Box Finished

2009-05-20T00:27:00.000-04:00

This evening I finished and glued together the mirror box. It should be ready for painting tomorrow. I also attached the Ebony star strips to the bearings. Getting closer to being finished!!

Mirror Cell Finished!

2009-05-14T23:13:00.000-04:00

I finished the mirror cell and tested out with the mirror. It is a perfect fit!

The mirror sling bolts can be adjusted up and down to allow for the sling to be centered on the edge of the mirror. They are locked down by tightening the two bolts to compress the mirror sling loop. The sling is a 3/32" galvanized steel cable that has a vinyl coating. I plan to put some velcro on the bottom of the mirror to keep the cable from slipping. The collimation bolts appear to move smoothly enough. I may take the T-Nuts out and put some epoxy in there to keep the permanently mounted.

The scope is slowly coming together. I plan to cut the sides and the dowels to the appropriate length this weekend to get the right height on the mirror box. I want to keep it the same as when it was in the ballscope so that I don't have to recut truss tubes.

I hope to have enough time and wood to go ahead and get the rocker box and groundboard done so that I can focus on painting next week and get this out the door for new moon!!

I got a good feeling that this will turn out ok.

More work on the Mirror Cell

2009-05-13T21:25:00.000-04:00

Cutting holes.. adding T-Nuts in preparation for the collimation bolts which should arrive tomorrow. Trying to decide on if I want to use springs with the collimation bolts.

12.5" Mirror Cell Partially Done

2009-05-12T22:01:00.000-04:00

I am mostly done with the mirror cell. I got the cable sling and retaining pins done. Just need the collimation bolts attached to the mirror pads and some more holes drilled (for venting and the back mirror fan) and I will be done! I am hoping that I finish all of the cutting this weekend and dedicate next week for painting.

Parts of mirror box are done

2009-05-05T22:04:00.000-04:00

I cut the parts for the mirror cell and mirror box this evening. They turned out better than I expected. I think I may have enough wood left to finish the whole thing off.

Bearings Done

2009-05-04T21:37:00.000-04:00

I finished cutting out the bearings tonight. They turned out really well. Tomorrow I hope to get part of the mirror box cut out and maybe a dry assembly. The new scope is taking shape!

12.5" Scope Redesign

2009-05-01T19:16:00.000-04:00

"A scope you make is never really done"

Ron Ravneberg warned me. That phrase echoes in my mind as I stay up late thinking about ways to improve my telescope. Every path I go down leads me to the same conclusion: time to try something new. The two telescopes that I have made are both based on a sphere as the interface between the mount and the telescope. This is a design that MAG1 Instruments and Edmund Scientific used for their commercial telescopes. While I really like this design, the limitations of it are hard to design around and every time I conquer a new challenge, another one is staring me in the face. Now, it is not the challenge that is frustrating me, but the cost involved to overcome that challenge. The money that I have spent on improving my ballscopes could have allowed me to purchase all of the items I really want on a telescope (like a Moonlight Focuser, anti-dew, right angle finder, etc.)

The current challenge is that the ball thickness is just not thick enough and the ball gets out of shape from some of weight of the scope (and also the stress involved in my technique of using pressure and friction to keep the mirror cell in place). This manifests itself at the eyepieces by the telescope rocking in certain orientations (about 30 degrees away from zenith). There are also alot of vibrations being enhanced by this (I may be barking up the wrong tree here on that one, but it is all I got to go on at the moment).

So I made a hard decision to start a new design based on good old two axis dobsonian mechanics. Originally, I was going to purchase either a Telekit from Astrosystems or a kit from www.dobstuff.com, and those are some great kits. But what fun is it to build someone else's design? Not fun at all! (Plus, I just don't have the money).

The current secondary ring is just fine. In fact, I love the look of a single ring: nice and minimalistic. The struts are also fine (good job Moonlite on such a great product). So I will be reusing the secondary ring and struts. No need to redo those. I am on the second version of the secondary ring and it is pretty light.

The bottom end will be a hybrid type of mirror box of sorts. Part of it will be a ring and the other part a box. The mirror box will be opened to allow for cooling (an idea I borrowed from dobstuff.com). 18" bearings for a nice smooth action, and I will probably paint it black with some type of fleck paint on some parts to give it some character.

Here are some preliminary designs I came up with in Google Sketchup.

Weekend Getaway

2009-04-28T17:35:00.000-04:00

Amy and I spent the past 4 days down in the Hocking Hills region of Ohio. The Hocking Hills has some of the darkest skies in Ohio so I brought my 90mm and 66mm refractors for the trip. I originally planned to bring the 12.5" ballscope, but there was not enough room in the car to do that so the refractors had to do. The weather for the first two nights was outstanding! Clear dark skies. So I setup the refractors and proceeded to do some observing.

The cabin was in a hollow so the amount of sky was limited, but that did not stop me from enjoying myself. I had a great view of Ursa Major and others straight up. The surrounding trees gave a great backdrop to the sky. I visited my regular favorites and the refractors did not disappoint. I used the 66mm as a sort of finder while the 90mm was used as the main scope. The first night the seeing was not as good, but the second night brought the best views of Saturn.

It was an enjoyable time. I sure wish I had more aperture, but that is ok. The refractors did a fine job.

Secondary Ring Rebuild

2009-04-19T22:26:00.000-04:00

I spent most of the weekend rebuilding the secondary ring on the 12.5" scope. My goal was to save weight. After calculating it up, I saved myself a pound of weight. I also improved the light baffling on it too!

Small Star Party on 4/17/2009

2009-04-19T22:09:00.000-04:00

A fellow CAS member, and long time telescope maker, Bill Burton had a small star party at his place this past Friday night. It was one of the best nights I can remember. The company was great, the scopes were great, and the sky put on one heck of a show! The sky was amazingly transparent and steady, not a common occurrence here in Ohio.

I brought the 12.5" scope along to attempt to do some galaxy hunting. The scope performed very well. I was surprised at how well it performed. I got the opportunity to use a tracking platform which was really nice. Thanks Tim for the use of the platform! I really need to build me one of those things.

I did not get home until 5am Saturday morning because the skies were just that darn good.

Amy and I are heading to the Hocking Hills for a nice getaway. A scope will be with me (probably the 12). Cannot wait!

I flocked up my telescope

2009-04-12T23:32:00.000-04:00

Just a quick note: I added flocking paper from Protostar to both ballscopes and I have become a believer in this product!! When I used both the ballscopes at Perkins this past weekend, you could see a noticable difference in the views. When looking into the focuser (without an eyepiece) the mirror just seem to float in blackness.

I cannot wait until I get this thing to our dark sky site!

8" Ballscope Refinished

2009-04-12T23:24:00.000-04:00

The 8" Ballscope is now refinished and she looks great! I got the opportunity to use it at Perkins this past weekend and she did pretty good. However, I discovered something interesting: she bounces like the 12.5" scope now. About 5 seconds to dampen vibrations. The 8" scope never did this before. One of the things that I did differently in this scope was use the threaded rods to separate the mirror cell and the lower compression ring like on the 12.5" I used wooden dowels before on the 8". This week I will be cutting some 1x2 solid oak pieces and wedging them in there to see if that makes a difference. I will cross my fingers!

100 Hours of Astronomy

2009-04-06T22:32:00.000-04:00

Well, a busy astronomical weekend came and went. Perkins Observatory, Ohio Wesleyan University, and the Columbus Astronomical Society sponsored an event to celebrate the 100 Hours of Astronomy event for the International Year of Astronomy. I participated in both the Friday and Saturday activities. Friday night, the clouds cleared just in time for observing and we had many visitors viewing the heavens for the first time. Awesome views of both Saturn and the moon were to be enjoyed.

Saturday, we had some of the best views of the Sun with many prominences. Club member Brad Hoehne was able to obtain some pictures of the sun taken through some of the solar telescopes on hand.

Tom Burns, Directory of Perkins Observatory, launched model rockets to the delight of the guests. Barbara S Andereck, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at OWU, presented a great lecture on Galileo. Of course, that evening presented more clear skies for everyone to enjoy.

Everyone was enthusiastic about the event. The staff at Perkins did a wonderful job running the event and many members of the club were on hand to run a telescope, park cars, and run the coffee and gift shops. I enjoyed the fellowship of my fellow amateur astronomers and the guests.

It was a very memorable event and I hope that everyone enjoyed the event as much as I did.

(Pictures taken by members of CAS)

In search for smoother action

2009-03-27T20:41:00.000-04:00

I think I did it! I have obtained a much smoother action with the 12.5" ballscope. After a few emails were exchanged with a fellow ballscope maker in California, I discovered the magic formula for the right amount of static friction.

You may recall that the scope had way too much static friction (stiction as some call it). When you start to slew the scope, it would lurch from the effort of getting it going. Originally, I was using 24 1" square teflon pads at a 45 degree angle. I then cut it in half at 12. It was not improved. If anything, it got worse.

Jay (the ballscope maker in California) suggested cutting a notch around the inside ring where the ball would rest. Then use some PTFE tubing to sit in the notch. The weight of the ball would hold the tubing in the notch. So I built a new mount following his suggestions and ordered some of the tubing from McMaster-Carr.

The scope works like a dream! Nice smooth action with minimal stiction.

I will post some pictures soon.

Galileoscope

2009-03-10T23:23:00.000-04:00

In celebration of the International Year of Astronomy, the Galileoscope cornerscope project was born in an effort to get a quality telescope at an affordable price in the hands of millions of people world wide. Their efforts have yielded a $15.00 telescope that can be assembled pretty easily. I plan to purchase one to use for my planned activities with the public.

www.galileoscope.org

Updates

2009-03-10T23:14:00.000-04:00

Some updates:

- In my effort to refinish the 8" Ballscope, I have applied the first coat of Rustoleam Primer. I will be ordering the new white, polycarbonate ball to replace the old one. I hope to have the scope done over the next few weeks. I need to replace the red dot finder brackets with something more secure, but don't know what. Some aluminum would work just fine if I can get something that is angled. I also need to replace the hardware with stainless steel as I think that looks better with the black finish.

- I finally cleaned my eyepieces which really needed it. I am hoping that I can duplicate the views that my observing buddy gets with his eyepieces. I finally have my dream eyepiece set, but I have neglected them when it comes to cleaning. I think it comes from me not cleaning primary mirrors because you seem to do more harm than good.

- I continue to enjoy reading Brashear's autobiography. He is now one of my heroes.

- The Columbus Astronomical Society is having its monthly meeting this weekend and so far, the forecast is showing favorable conditions so the 12.5" Ballscope will be joining the trip up to Perkins. I will also be working on my 6" F/6 mirror. I need to get the mask made as I am close to start figuring. The surface is still rough, but I am not completely done with polishing, so I hope I can get the surface nice and smooth soon. The surfaces of my mirrors tend to be rough. Oh well.

- I continue to be amazed at my little University Optics Orthos. I plan to get a complete set someday. My next eyepieces will be the 7mm and the 25mm.

- I have started a new article on the 12.5" Ballscope that I plan to submit to Astronomy Technology Today. Hopefully they will find it acceptable when done. Stay Tuned!

Kepler Launched!!

2009-03-09T23:38:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Kepler was launched and I am very excited about this mission. The goal of the mission is to find Earth like planets around other stars. Kepler will do this by watching the same section of sky for three years looking for eclipses by the planets that orbit those stars. How can this be possible? Well, amateur astronomers have already been doing this. Having a space telescope built designed for it will make it even more possible to look into depths of space for other worlds.

I also found out that L3-Brashear made the primary mirror for Kepler. I am currently reading John Brashear's autobiography who founded L3-Brashear. Pretty cool.

I will be following this mission closely.

More at:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/main/index.html

8" Ballscope Update

2009-03-01T19:07:00.000-05:00

Today I took apart the 8" ballscope in preparation for the refinishing work I will be doing. Started to sand it, but it was pretty cold out in the garage. When it gets warmer, I will be doing the refinishing. I did get a new label made for the scope as well.

Frontyard Observing

2009-02-25T20:08:00.000-05:00

Last night, I had the pleasure of observing in my front yard. Now my front yard is not even close to being an ideal observing spot. A street light blazes its light across my front lawn. I would not let that stop me. I pulled out the 12.5" ballscope and set it up to see what I could do.

My expectations were not very high. I know that objects such as Venus are not hampered by light pollution so I collimated my scope until it was dead on and placed the 24mm Panoptic into the focuser. I guided my telescope to the brilliant orb of Venus.

A nice crescent image formed in the eyepiece. What a pleasure to see! Venus is well on its way to be inside of Earth's orbit which allows it to present itself in such a phase. I placed the 12.5mm Orthoscopic eyepiece in the focuser to get a closer view, wonderful. Venus as a cresent is breathtaking when you see it. Many first time observers note this.

I called my observing companion, and good friend, Jim, on the cell phone to share the excitement of how well Venus looked. I rudely interrupted Jim studying the Virgo galaxy cluster (actually, he did not mind). He suggested finding some clusters that I was unable to see (NGC7789, my favorite, was one of them). I knew I was able to find M37 in Auriga (my second favorite cluster), so I pointed the telescope towards the zenith. In spite of the light pollution, the hundreds of suns illuminated my retina. I then decided to move the telescope towards the double cluster.

After hanging up with Jim, I decided to look at some planetary nebulas. The Eskimo nebula is a good one. Using the 12.5mm Orthoscopic eyepiece with the OIII filter, I placed the nebula into the heart of Gemini. I quickly located my destination. It looked great! It was time to see the little Dumbell, M76. My mentor, the late Ron Ravneberg, introduced me to the art of star hopping by guiding me to this object. Using the lessons learned from Ron, I zeroed in on this planetary. I saw the bright areas on the wings of this nebula. Whatever planets orbited that star, they must be gone now by the ancient stellar atmosphere shed from its former host.

I ended the night with a favorite target: M42, the great Orion Nebula. The detail! I easily saw the right wing off of the core of the nebula. The Trapezium blazed. I saw 6 stars in my handmade mirror. I ended the night with Orion's sword in my memory as it was a good stopping point.

After packing up, I made some mental notes about the 12.5" ballscope. I need to find a way to make the stiction better. Not totally going overboard (which could be bad) but just enough to make the scope's movement easier. It is not that bad, but it could be a little more. I felt good about my scope knowing that it provides adequate views being only my second mirror. I look forward to getting myself under some darker skies, but this evening provided the best views I had in a while from my own front yard.

Updating the 8" Ballscope

2009-02-17T20:08:00.000-05:00

I will be reworking some of my 8" ballscope over the next few weeks. I plan to replace the original polycarbonate sphere with a new one. The current one was a clear one that I painted on the inside. That paint is flaking off in some spots. The new one will be a white opaque sphere that I will paint with some different paint that seems to be holding up really well on the 12" scope. I will also be replacing the upper ring making it more like the 12" scope. The 8" scope will look almost like a mini version of the 12" because I like the black and white look of the bigger scope.

Simple Astronomy

2009-02-13T22:37:00.000-05:00

The sky was just too clear last night to pass up and opportunity to observe. However, I just got done helping my mother-in-law move and was tired. So I decided to do some "simple astronomy" observing last night. With 11x70 binoculars, Binocular Highlights book, and little red flashlight hanging around my neck, I proceeded out into the night. The sky was pretty darn transparent and seeing was not too bad. Since I was going wide field, seeing would not have mattered much.

Going through the book, I started with Kemble's Cascade and NGC1502. My good friend Jim Schoultz taught me a nice way to find it in the star lacking region of Camelopardalis by using Cassiopeia as a measuring stick and placing that stick up into the void to direct me to where I was going. And there it was: a nice stream of stars that reminds me of a bright meteor breaking up as it enters our atmosphere, frozen in space like someone took a celestial photograph of such an event. Next I was off to the double cluster and the strong man. What a nice pair in the binoculars! I continued on for about 20 minutes seeing such objects like M34, M35, M36, M37, M38, M41, M46 and M47. I always enjoy looking at the belt of Orion as there are just so many stars in that region. I stopped when I got to M42 and just sat and enjoyed the view for a little while. By that time, the dogs wanted in and my neighbor turned on their floodlights in the backyard (why do they need that much light? why?!?!?).

Buffing the ballscope

2009-02-10T20:46:00.001-05:00

I picked up some Novus plastic polish today from American Plastics here in Columbus. I got the ball buffed up some to remove some of the stiction that is going on. It seems to help. It really is not that bad, but not Obsession buttery smooth (which is what I am going for). I almost decided to give up on the ball scope design, but I want to stick with it as it makes my telescope unique.

I am looking forward to our club's winter star party down in the hocking hills on the 21st. It should be fun. One of our log time members tends to have an affect on the weather for this event as it has been clear for the past 6 years! It will be good to get the ballscope out under the stars.

When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer

2009-02-09T21:24:00.001-05:00

When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer
by: Walt Whitman

When I heard the learn'd astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts, the diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the learned astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander'd off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.

Godspeed Ron

2009-02-09T21:14:00.000-05:00

I met Ron Ravneberg about 8 years ago when I started getting back into astronomy after a long hiatus. We were at a little club star party doing a Messier Marathon. He had his scope, "Alice" with him and I had my Meade 2080 set up trying without much success to find M76, the Little Dumbbell. Ron patiently showed me how to find the "little Auriga" and from there, finding M76. It was my first experience observing with Ron.

Ever since, Ron has been a major influence to me. I recall many conversations with Ron talking about design ideas on my next scope or about life in general. He encouraged me throughout my telescope making journey. He always had a great perspective on things. Observing with Ron was a real treat as he would direct you to objects you may have never seen or heard of before. He introduced me to the concept of "simple astronomy" where you don't need the biggest scope or the latest gadget. A simple star chart, a red flashlight, and a small telescope can be very rewarding. He also warned me that a telescope you make is never really done.

Ron was an inspiration to many not only because of his many accomplishments as a telescope maker and amateur astronomer, but also because of the person he was. Thank you for helping this big dumbbell, find the little dumbbell, Ron.

Godspeed as you journey amongst the stars.

12.5" Ballscope called "Ada"

2008-09-11T12:49:00.000-04:00

Well, this past summer I finished my 12.5" Ballscope. It took over 2 years to complete and I almost sold it a few times. I have already made some improvements and more are planned. Some of the improvements include:

Changing the base - Previously, I made a base with 6 teflon furniture pads angled at 45 degrees. When I tested the scope, it had noticeable backlash and wobble. I found out that the problem is that the polycarbonate ball itself is giving at the 6 points. I had two choices, reinforce the ball with fiberglass, or add more pads. I figured I should try to do the simple thing first so I changed to using regular teflon strips arranged around the 45 degree ring. This distributes the weight more evenly around the ball. The scope does not give now and the wobble/backlash has improved. I may go with a smaller tapered hole to further reduce the stiction. I am so used to using my Obsession (I recently sold this) that I like a smoother action. Will post my results later.
Reinforcing the top ring - The top ring is the ring that sits on the ball. There is a tapered ring inside of the ball that is slightly larger than the ball opening. The top ring and the tapered ring sandwich the ball opening between them. Right now, I use three bolts to compress the two rings together. I think this is not enough. I notice that at certain elevations (mostly when looking towards the horizon) there is more backlash than when it is pointing up. I suspect that the ring is giving at the truss sockets. So I will be adding additional bolts to compress those two rings together. Probably one on each side of the truss sockets.
Cooling - This scope does not have fans and right now I use a little camping fan sitting on top of the ball blowing cool air onto the mirror. I plan to either put a fan in the cover (like I did on my 8" scope) or place some fans in the ball itself. Either way, I am attempting to avoid drilling any holes in the ball.

Dew Control - I hope to add dew control for the eyepiece and secondary mirror soon. The secondary poses a small challenge because it is simply the secondary glued to a 45 degree PVC dowel. I will probably use some hot glue and place some 1W resistors in series

I have had the chance to use it twice under dark skies and the scope is working well. I am very critical of the scope though because I keep seeing everything needs to be done to it. As I improve the scope, I am sure this feeling will diminish. Although I have been told that a scope is never truly completed.