Thursday, January 29, 2009

New Comet Lulin over Los Angeles 1/28/09

Comet Lulin will make its closest approach to Earth on February 24, and while it will probably be hard to see with the naked eye, astronomers think the "fresh" new comet has the potential to brighten rapidly. The icy body has the potential to do something unexpected. Comet Lulin is arriving from the far reaches of the solar system on a nearly parabolic orbit, as if it come from infinity.
The comet's orbit is in nearly the same plane as Earth's but is traveling in the opposite direction. This causes Lulin to appear to move unusually fast and display a rare anti-tail—an optical effect that creates a secondary "tail" pointing toward the sun.
Pictures from non light polluted sites already showing Lulin's rare anti-tail.
www.ruppel.darkhorizons.org/IMAGES/N3_false_color_012409.jpg
As seen from Griffith Observatory tomsastroblog.com/?p=2760#

More can be found on Google www.google.com/search?sa=N&tab=nw&q=Comet%20Lulin

This image is a stack (using Deep Sky Stacker ( DSS )) of nine 47 second exposures, ISO 800. My location is light polluted Los Angeles city.
exposures using a Canon 75-300mm lens at 300mm.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Comet Kushida over Los Angeles, closeup view

Comet Kushida over Los Angeles, closeup view
also at http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/2866027/Main/2866027

Taken with 530mm lens at f7 on 1/16/09

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Griffith Park Maps


IMG_5573_Q70_Per
Originally uploaded by edhiker
http://edhiker.googlepages.com/gpmap05_se.jpg

http://edhiker.googlepages.com/gpmap05_ne.jpg

gpark.html4k
gpmap.html3k
gpmap03_sw.jpg297k
gpmap05_ne.jpg231k
gpmap05_nw.jpg235k
gpmap05_se.jpg241k
gpmap05_sw.jpg255k
gpmap32.jpg826k


Old links
http://edhiker.googlepages.com/edhiker_links.html

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Yahoo is Watching YOU !


Yahoo is Watching YOU !
Originally uploaded by edhiker
If you belong to ANY Yahoo Groups - be aware that Yahoo is now using
"Web Beacons" to track every Yahoo Group user. It's similar to
cookies, but allows Yahoo to record every website and every group you
visit, even when you're not connected to Yahoo. Look at their updated
privacy statement at: Privacy
http://info.yahoo.com/privacy/us/yahoo/details.html
About half-way down the page, in the section on *cookies*, you will
see a link that says *WEB BEACONS*. Click on the phrase "Web Beacons."
On the page that opens, on the left find a box entitled "Opt-Out." In
that section find "opt-out of interest-matched advertising" link that
will let you "opt-out" of their snooping. Click it and then click the
opt-out button on the next page. Note that Yahoo's invasion of your
privacy - and your ability to opt-out of it - is not user-specific. It
is MACHINE specific. That means you will have to opt-out on every
computer (and browser) you use.

Friday, January 09, 2009

Springfield Telescope with Big Finder

Schmidt-Cassegrain Springfield Telescope

I'm thinking of making the ultimate user friendly telescope, fixed eyepiece and capable of having the observer in a warmed room.
It's amazing how close the final picture below is to my idea, goes to show how few ideas are really new.
Drawing fodder is below.


http://www.celestron.com/c2/images/files/technologies/starbright_xlt/tube_dia.gif
Optical layout of a Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope. A mirror will be placed near the center of gravity, directing the light path out the side, like the blue drawing below.


http://i.pbase.com/o6/22/675522/1/86448511.SfbXbEsU.IMG_7745.jpg


http://www.solarworlds.co.uk/images/about_sct.jpg


Below from http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Board/atm/Number/856685/page/2/view/collapsed/sb/7/o/all/fpart/3
"What I was looking at was an exact replica of the famous "Springfield Telescope" built by a gentleman who was a retired machinist. I handed him some money and asked that he send me a copy of Porter's original "blueprint". He did and I set about to model the device in one of today's more respected 3D solid modeling softwares: SolidWorks. - Art Bianconi Member # 15558
Total Posts 4659 Homepage http://www.vortexgenerator.net Occupation Mechanical Designer/Engineer
Attachment
(from edhiker) The project is to use a optical layout about like the above, but use a 8 to14 inch Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope mounted as a Springfield.

Book - Unusual Telescopes By Peter L. Manly, pictures below from the book.




Notes which document taking apart a C11 = http://www.rothritter.com/C11_Project/


Ed 11/18/08