There is a photo, and a cropped detail posted on my Gallery page: http://www.utahastronomy.com/view_album.php?page=1 Be sure to go to page 2 for the close-up detail shot. Couple of things to note: Ann's laser was not mounted on her telescope, she was aiming by hand, so I didn't see a steady beam, but intermittant flashes, sometimes minutes apart as Ann tried to home-in on my location. The photo is an approximate 30-second time exposure, and most all of the other foreground light sources were constant during that exposure, while the laser was only a brief flash- yet it compares favorably in brightness with all but the brightest foreground sources! Had the beam been continuous during the entire exposure, it would have imaged as easily the brightest object in the frame. The close-up is just a cropped section of Ann's location and the laser source itself. Also the view on-screen suffers. The original print is much sharper, with greater dynamic range than the scanned image on the monitor. I made several more exposures, but the laser was not on-target during any of the others, unfortunately. Next time I hope to have Ann's laser mounted-on and aligned with her telescope so she can aim more easily and precisely. Then I should be able to get a photo that more closely approximates the visual impression of being directly on-axis with the beam. BTW, I am making several adjustable laser-holders, so if you are interested in participating in a future laser "beam-up", let me know. The only requirement is a telescope on a mount with fine-adjustment capability, manual or electric, equatorial or alt-az. An erecting system will make aiming more intuitive (though is not required), and a cross-hair eyepiece is needed, the shorter the focal length, the better. No hand-moved scopes like Dobs or regular pan-tilt tripod mounts, please. They are just not precise enough to get the beam on-target easily. No holes need be drilled, it will mount temporarily with rubber bands or duct tape. And of course you will be supplying your own pen-style laser pointer. Standard size, approximately 6" long x 1/2" diameter. __________________________________ Yahoo! FareChase: Search multiple travel sites in one click. http://farechase.yahoo.com
--- Chuck Hards <chuckhards@yahoo.com> wrote:
There is a photo, and a cropped detail posted on my Gallery page: http://www.utahastronomy.com/view_album.php?page=1 Be sure to go to page 2 for the close-up detail shot.
Suggest adding a comment to the album with the observed beam diameter at your end. 3-4 meters?? - Canopus56 __________________________________ Start your day with Yahoo! - Make it your home page! http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs
participants (2)
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Canopus56 -
Chuck Hards