Snake Valley Projects

[davidpretorius]

Hi, (moderators) please move or merge with Snake valley thread if needs be.

My project list for Snake Valley

Centre spot and collimate and produce a article for the website
Eyepiece comparisons from series 500 to naglers in 1.25" and 2" thru my scope and in others types
Long exposures with the Modded Toucam thru a variety of tracking scopes. Orion as the target.
Planet and DSO processing for beginners ie wavelets etc

Comparison of modded toucam with a dslr on the same scope and same exposure time? Is there an appreciable image difference per $?

Object list to view

10am: M31,M33, NGC253
12am: M45 pleiades, Mars, M77,
1am: NGC1535, Orion and more orion
2am: M35, 36,37,38, M1 crab nebula
4am: Saturn


Please feel free to add any other things that can be carried out at such a fine gathering of experience and equipment.

Noobies: what things no matter how simple would you like answered or reported on. If you can't be there, then next best thing is to add it to this list and we will try and test it, evaluate and report back.

Only 37 more sleeps!

[janoskiss]

Your list is perhaps a bit overly ambitious. :D Apart from #1, which you should do at home before Snake Valley, and #6, which is what it's all about, you should probably concentrate on just one of the other projects #2-5. Otherwise you'll go crazy! :eek:

[ballaratdragons]

Good grief, a workaholic!

My Project list for Snake Valley

1. Meet everyone
2. Have fun
3. Quick Collimate
4. Have fun
5. Have fun
6. Object list to view:
1. Stuff up there
2. More stuff up there
3. Yep, even more

To any newbies: Please feel free to stick your eye through my scope. :thumbsup:

WOW!!! ONLY 37 MORE SLEEPS! :eyepop:

[Starkler]

Im with you Ken, the star camp for me will be about relaxing, meeting the fellow IISers and having fun !

I do have a project im working on, and thats a boom mount for my binos that will attach to my tripod alt-az head. If i get that complete I might leave the ed80 at home .

I might fire up RTGUI and post some lists of possible targets here also.

Dave dont forget to schedule some time in there to enjoy yourself ;)

[davidpretorius]

:ashamed: #1 i need help with!

[Starkler]

Dave theres plenty of daylight hours to get everyones scope well collimated ;)

edit: :doh: sorry i cant help with your 10am viewing of M31,M33, NGC253 :P

[davidpretorius]

Don't worry. I want to set aside 1 to 2 hours a night where i am trying to attack one of the projects and the rest of the time, will be as you and ken are looking forward to do!

As I am our local star party representative, I would hate to pass up learning as much as possible, whilst having heaps of fun!

[davidpretorius]

cool thanks Geoff!

[janoskiss]

What I meant re #1 is that you should do the centre spotting at home. Collimation will be easy with so many "experts" around. :D You'll probably need to recollimate anyway after the long trip to Snake Valley.

BTW. I hope Valley does not = Fog. :eek:

[ballaratdragons]

The blind leading the blind! LOL! Should prove interesting.

[ballaratdragons]

Normally not at that time of year.

[davidpretorius]

centre spotting on my scope has been done, but it would be good to do an article for mike on how it and collimation is done for all the noobies. I am looking for demonstrators for collimators for the article, I have already organised the models to stand there and point at the equipment as it is dismantled? i am picking them up from bar20 in the way there

any takers?

[ballaratdragons]

For those of you with 12" Reflectors I will be launching the release of my ACME tube shape-holder at the camp! Notice when you take your Mirror Cell out, the tube fall out of round, and makes it hard to get the cell back in!!!!

I've invented a tool to hold the tube round :thumbsup:

[davidpretorius]

pray tell ken, what do you have that is 12" or more wide that can keep your tubes straight?????

you don't get naked do you???

[ballaratdragons]

Nup! And it's a simple fix!! I'm not gonna sell them, Just show anyone with a 12er how to simply make one.

[davidpretorius]

cool, can i add 2.5" to mine and make one too?

Hey Ken, at the camp, do you think we could get asimov on the phone and late at night when we are meant to be asleep and we keep giggling and talking, will Mike come and knock on the doors and tell us to go to sleep?

[ballaratdragons]

Why, is Mike the Sleep Police?

Someone will no doubt have IIS online on a lappy and we can all annoy him about the terrific fun we will be having and how he missed out. Snicker, snicker.

[janoskiss]

No mischief, David! :P

For an astronomer, sleep is not an option unless the Sun's up!

[davidpretorius]

Mike is always the sleep police!

Yes we will have fun all night until he comes knocking on the door at 6:30 to 7am when he wants to talk astronomy!!

Yes it is definately asimov hours whilst at camp.....what was that dear, will i be available for family events.... of course, i will make sure i am in bed by 10:30.....heee heee hee am that is!!!

[ballaratdragons]

David,

You don't get away from your missus very often do you!

[davidpretorius]

nope, she won't let me!

[ballaratdragons]

Mine is always trying to get rid of me!!!

She is standing here laughing and agreeing!!

[xstream]

Only 36 more sleeps!
I better start thinking about this poison I mean potion :D for the Spit Roast. ;)

[iceman]

All sounds pretty good, and yeh it's not long to go now, getting very excited - not just for the starcamp but because it's our annual holiday with the family, going down to the 12 apostles, great ocean rd etc.

For me, the starcamp will be meeting other IIS'ers and looking through their scopes. I don't (and won't) have an observing plan, but i will bring my eyepiece case.

Also while it'd be nice to do allnighters, because i'll have the family staying in a motel down the road, and expecting to do touristy things the next day (going into melbourne, etc), I need to get some sleep too!

Really looking forward to it though, I hope the weather cooperates! Even Terry (mojo) is coming out of hiding for the camp and is expected to be there at least some of the nights. I don't think he's staying on-site though. I don't know if he'll pack his LX200 in the car for its first roadtrip, either.. ;)

[janoskiss]

How did you go with your to-do list, Dave? I guess you got most of it done to some degree. :cool: No DSLRs got hooked up to any scopes but you saw what Bird's CCD could do. :thumbsup:

[davidpretorius]

starting to write up my nagler experiences as we type!

[janoskiss]

Looking forward to it, Dave! :D

[ballaratdragons]

Me, Steve (Janoskiss), John (xstream), Darren (Wombat) and a few others did lot's of EP comaprisons through my GS 12" dobbie but we never wrote anything down! We were too busy saying things like "WOW! Oooooh! Aaaaaah!"
We gradually worked our way from Series 500's through GS, TeleVue, Meade and Nagler in several focal lengths and wide-fields.

I must agree: there is a difference :rofl:
But I also have to admit, due to the seeing conditions, the series 500's did very well!!

HELPFUL TIP!: At 5:30 in the morning all EP's start looking the same :zzz2: :P