Fred Ley

...and then there is my alltime favorite 2001: A Space Odyssey. -Fred

Hi Everybody, There is the added fact that various members have joined this site for different reasons. Some to partake in groups, others to simply learn from the postings, etc. Then you may have a few members, like me, that do not know how to write in Greek-it's safer, I won't get into trouble that way. It is great that the site does exist and that we all able to glean something different from it. We should enjoy it and have lots of fun. Hope to meet some of you in Patras this Fall. -Fred

Hi Everybody, There is a very nice image of HE 1523-0901 taken by Anthony Ayiomamitis on the main page of spaceweather.com which is found at www.spaceweather.com. Real nice job Anthony. Fred

Hi All, There is a link to an image of the planet Mercury on the main page of spaceweather.com, located at www.spaceweather.com that was taken by Elias Chasiotis of Markopoulo. Clear Skies, Fred

Hi Gauss, My Tirion 2000 star atlas shows 1-degree increments for Declination and 10-minute increments for Right Ascension on the border of each page. I do not know which star atlas you currently use, but it should have the RA and DEC showing somewhere. Even some of the photographic star atlases that I have seen in the past come with transparent overlays to help ascertain coordinates. Norton's star atlas has the RA and DEC showing for its charts-based on my memory. I currently just use the three versions of the Tirion-the color version, white stars on a black background and black stars on a white background. If you have any more questions, just write back. That's what these groups exist for-to share knowledge. Clear Skies, Fred

Hi Gauss, I don't know if you have been successful in making a template to use in conjunction with your telrad and your star atlas. You are aware that the three illuminated circles of your telrad reticle show a true diameter of sky with the smallest circle showing 0.5-degrees, the middle circle showing 2-degrees and the largest circle showing 4-degrees. What you need to do is examine your star chart and locate where the degrees are shown on it. Once you have located that, it is simply a matter of taking a scale and measuring on the star chart how many millimeters cover the distance of 4-degrees on your star chart. You can repeat the same to determine the 2 and 0.5-degree fields. Say, for arguments sake, that a 35mm circle covers 4-degrees. By making a 35mm diameter template and placing it on your star atlas, you will know what will fit in the 4-degree circle of your telrad. I hope this helps you somewhat. Clear Skies, Fred

Our own galaxy produces its share of supernova. but they do occur in other galaxies as well. The supernova 1993J which took place in the galaxy M81 reached a magnitude of 10.5, as I recall, and was easily visible in telescopes. It was discovered on Sunday, March 31, 1993 by an amateur astronomer in Spain. Fred

Hi Gauss, There should be two small holes on the mounting plate of the Telrad. You can use that as a template for drilling two small holes in youre tube-should you want to do that. Then it is simply a matter of using two machine screws, four washers (one between the screw head and the Telrad base and one between the tube inner wall and the nut) and two nuts and you are done. If you intend to go with a machine screw setup be cartain to keep you tube horizontal while drilling and installing the fasteners. That way if you drop anything it won't hit your mirror. You may also want to cover your secondary too, as a precaution. Hope this helps you out. Fred

Hi Frank, A few years ago there was a Porter Garden telescope for sale E-Bay. It had a serial number of three and I saved the images the posted along with the listing. It too did not have the original optics and was sold without any optics. The history of Amateur Telescope Making and that of Astronomy itself has always been one of my high interests in this field. I have amassed a nice collection of items over the years. Russell W. Porters biography by Berton C. Willard also makes for some very interesting reading. Thanks for pointing this particular article out. Fred

Hi George, Hmmm... Never heard of the University of Northeastern Arizona. Sounds like Scudcrock is a big crock alright. Like they say "if it sounds to good to be true, it usually is". -Fred

Hi, Here are a few samples of astronomy and space related stamps from my collection. Enjoy. -Fred

Hey Anthony, Well, that's one razor sharp image you got there. Hmmm... not much else to say. -Fred

Hey Anthony, Sounds like a good deal to me. Hoping to go back in May for six weeks. Need to pick something up for imaging. Web cams are cool to a certain extent. Actually, I wonder if SBIG is coming out with something new or that chip prices have simply dropped. The advertised images of what can be taken with those cameras are just great. Where's my 14-inch RC? -Fred

Anthony, Saw the article on CNN's web site. What was she thinking? I wonder if she gets bounced out of NASA. -Fred

Hi Everybody, Here is a link showing some images of Comet Mc Naught taken by Rob Mc Naught at siding Spring Observatory. http://msowww.anu.edu.au/~rmn/C2006P1new.htm -Fred