March 2003 - Utah-Astronomy - mailman.xmission.com

Re: [Utah-astronomy] SLAS meeting?
by RStmarie＠aol.com 26 Mar '03

26 Mar '03

I'm just curious what anyone else might have thought of last nights presentation? I was interested in the material the speaker wanted to present but disappointed in the delivery (or lack there of). Bob St. Marie

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] Tube blackening question
by Kim Hyatt 26 Mar '03

26 Mar '03

A couple years ago Wasatch Photographic told me that they would no longer stock the flocked photographic paper. I think at that time I bought their last roll. They may have since changed their minds. -----Original Message----- From: Chuck Hards [mailto:chuckhards@yahoo.com] Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2003 9:11 AM To: Astronomy in Utah Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Tube blackening question A good grade of flocked paper is all you need. Photographic-quality does not shed, and it can sometimes be found with a self-adhesive backing. I believe that TeleVue now uses flocked paper exclusively. The days of walnut hulls and grit suspended in goo are long-gone. If you want little pieces of grit constantly falling on your mirror, go this route. Differential expansion of materials will almost guarantee that this matrix will fall apart in time. The secret is to not allow light to hit the tube interior wall in the first place. This can be accomplished by an opening aperture slightly smaller than the tube ID itself, I typically go about 3/8". This still leaves room for warm air to rise out of the optical path, assuming a 1" clearance between mirror edge and tube wall. Criterion used a smaller-than-usual tube on the Dynamax, IIRC, so I would just recommend the flocked paper. I have purchased flocked paper from Edmund, Protostar, and locally at Wasatch Photographic. C. --- Richard Tenney <retenney(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > There's been a fair amount of discussion on the > Criterion Dynascope list I'm on lately regarding the > best ways to blacken the inside tube of a newtonian. > > What seems to be the preferred method in this group > anyway is to coat the inside of the tube with glue, > then apply crushed walnut shells (avialable > apparently > at Petsmart) and spray paint with Krylon flat black. > > Many on the list discourage the use of flocked > paper. > What do the experts on this list think of this? > Does > such a procedure really make a noticeable difference > over a simple coat of flat black paint on the inside > of the tube sans the shells? > > Rich > > __________________________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Platinum - Watch CBS' NCAA March Madness, > live on your desktop! > http://platinum.yahoo.com > > _______________________________________________ > Utah-Astronomy mailing list > Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Platinum - Watch CBS' NCAA March Madness, live on your desktop! http://platinum.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] SLAS meeting?
by Kim Hyatt 26 Mar '03

26 Mar '03

I enjoyed the presentation. Yes, Dr. Pratt may have been a bit disorganized, but remember he was trying to adjust a well-rehearsed talk aimed primarily at Latter-Day Saints for a different kind of audience. I'm LDS myself, and I know how hard it can be to discuss issues with religious overtones and try not to offend anyone, particularly other Christians. Remember, too, our speakers have almost never been compensated for their time... -----Original Message----- From: RStmarie(a)aol.com [mailto:RStmarie@aol.com] Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2003 9:19 AM To: utah-astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] SLAS meeting? I'm just curious what anyone else might have thought of last nights presentation? I was interested in the material the speaker wanted to present but disappointed in the delivery (or lack there of). Bob St. Marie

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Tube blackening question
by Richard Tenney 26 Mar '03

26 Mar '03

There's been a fair amount of discussion on the Criterion Dynascope list I'm on lately regarding the best ways to blacken the inside tube of a newtonian. What seems to be the preferred method in this group anyway is to coat the inside of the tube with glue, then apply crushed walnut shells (avialable apparently at Petsmart) and spray paint with Krylon flat black. Many on the list discourage the use of flocked paper. What do the experts on this list think of this? Does such a procedure really make a noticeable difference over a simple coat of flat black paint on the inside of the tube sans the shells? Rich __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Platinum - Watch CBS' NCAA March Madness, live on your desktop! http://platinum.yahoo.com

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] SLAS meeting?
by Kim Hyatt 26 Mar '03

26 Mar '03

Last night's speaker was Dr. John Pratt, a scientist/astronomer who has pursued a personal interest in astronomical calendars and archaeoastronomy. He discussed the purported connections between the Mesoamerican god, Quetzalcoatl, the cycles of Venus and other celestial phenomena, and Jesus Christ. If anyone is interested, you can find much of what he discussed at http://johnpratt.com/. President Ken Harris acknowledged the presence of Scott Crosby, who is recovering from a recent stroke. Ken also reported that the Board had elected Kim Hyatt to fill the vacant position of Vice President. During the business portion of the meeting, Kim Hyatt reported on the Clifford Holmes Grant of $1,500 recently awarded to SLAS for a handicap-accessible telescope. Kim also made a motion to authorize the expenditure of up to $2,000 from the SLAS General Fund to match the grant and allow SLAS to acquire a medium-aperture (12"-14") SCT for use on the mount already constructed by Bruce Grim. Initially, Kim suggested using money from the "Dark Site Fund," but when strong objections were voiced by DeLoy Pierce, Kim amended his motion to simply use uncommitted monies from the General Fund. The motion was seconded and carried. More discussion about the Dark Site Fund followed, with a motion to allow those interested in the Dark Site Fund until the end of June to present an acceptable proposal to the Board. Much of the reason for this was due to Scott Crosby's recent health problems. The motion was seconded and approved. Don Colton reported on the locations for future public star parties, including this coming weekend's Messier Marathon at SPOC; information should be posted soon on the SLAS website. After some miscellaneous business, the meeting adjourned about 9:30, followed by the usual "Advanced Training" at Village Inn. -----Original Message----- From: Patrick Wiggins [mailto:paw@trilobyte.net] Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2003 12:58 AM To: utah astronomy listserve Subject: [Utah-astronomy] SLAS meeting? Anyone care to post an overview of what went on at the SLAS board and general meetings last night? Patrick _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy

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SLAS meeting?
by Patrick Wiggins 26 Mar '03

26 Mar '03

Anyone care to post an overview of what went on at the SLAS board and general meetings last night? Patrick

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RE: [Utah-astronomy] Tube blackening question
by Paul Witte 26 Mar '03

26 Mar '03

I used flocked paper in my scope and didn't have any problems. I assume the reason people have discouraged the use of flocked paper is because of shedding. I bought mine from: http://www.fpi-protostar.com/flocked.htm It does *NOT* shed at all, and is very black/non-reflective. I am pleased with the results, though you have to be careful while applying it to avoid wrinkles (it has an adhesive backing, or you can just glue it on). I recommend you apply it in "tile" sections, and an extra pair of hands helps also. ---------- From: Richard Tenney Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2003 3:38 PM To: Utah-Astronomy Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Tube blackening question There's been a fair amount of discussion on the Criterion Dynascope list I'm on lately regarding the best ways to blacken the inside tube of a newtonian. What seems to be the preferred method in this group anyway is to coat the inside of the tube with glue, then apply crushed walnut shells (avialable apparently at Petsmart) and spray paint with Krylon flat black. Many on the list discourage the use of flocked paper. What do the experts on this list think of this? Does such a procedure really make a noticeable difference over a simple coat of flat black paint on the inside of the tube sans the shells? Rich __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Platinum - Watch CBS' NCAA March Madness, live on your desktop! http://platinum.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy(a)mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy

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Re: [Utah-astronomy] SCT or Newtonian?
by UTAHDEB＠aol.com 26 Mar '03

26 Mar '03

Brent, Have you looked through a D & G refractor? I went to their website last night and was drooling over the 6" f/12 refractor. Would the f/12 focal ratio be fairly color corrected? These telescopes are actually affordable. Deb

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AINTNO
by Dale Hooper 26 Mar '03

26 Mar '03

During lunch I was checking out several really good "challenging objects" lists at: http://www.angelfire.com/id/jsredshift/ I must admit that my favorite was "The Ultimate Observing List" (which you can go to directly at: http://www.angelfire.com/id/jsredshift/aintno.htm However, I'm a bit disappointed that someone already got the certificate for object #100. <vbg>

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Tonight's SLAS meeting
by Richard Tenney 25 Mar '03

25 Mar '03

If any of you are interested in seeing Chuck Hard's outstanding handiwork, and have thought about placing an order but wern't sure, I will have my bino parallelogram mount there tonight for display, along with the solar filters he's making. Rich __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Platinum - Watch CBS' NCAA March Madness, live on your desktop! http://platinum.yahoo.com

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