what can one do

What kinds of activities with at least an 80mm telescope can one do rather
than just point and look. Are there astronomy exercises that will pass the
time?

It's a good start it seems.



o sketching
http://www.rangeweb.net/~sketcher/

o learn star hopping

http://education.gsu.edu/spehar/FOCU...ar-Hopping.htm
http://calgary.rasc.ca/starhop.htm

o general observing
http://edu-observatory.org/eo/observing.html

o sketching
http://www.rangeweb.net/~sketcher/


The solar observing at NEAF was severely limited by clouds, and we got only
one brief look through a very nice Ha setup. However, the scope's owner
also had on display some of her sketches, and they were fantastic. To
capture such nuanced detail requires excellent observing as well as drawing
skills. So often I see folks take a brief look at a target and then move on
to the next, and I know that they have seen little more than nothing. One
doesn't have to sketch to be a good observer, but one cannot be a good
sketcher without being a good observer.

Dennis - a non-sketcher who fancies himself a decent observer!

Dolly Swalerd wrote:

What kinds of activities with at least an 80mm telescope can one do rather
than just point and look. Are there astronomy exercises that will pass the
time?

You could learn to take astrophotographs with it. That's what I'm
trying to learn to do, and I am using a 76mm telescope. One of my
photos (my first-ever CCD image) is here
http://www.davidillig.com/ast-stl-firstlight061125.shtml. Another one
is here http://www.davidillig.com/ast-rosette-Ha.shtml.

I guarantee you that you will pass /a/ /great/ /deal/ of time learning
this process. At the same time you will learn patience, especially if
you live where you where you are lucky to have two clear nights per
month. But it's still fun for me, and that's why I continue to bang my
head on that wall.

So: whatever you do, have fun.

Davoud

--
usenet *at* davidillig dawt com

Dennis Woos wrote:

The solar observing at NEAF was severely limited by clouds, and we got only
one brief look through a very nice Ha setup. However, the scope's owner
also had on display some of her sketches, and they were fantastic. To
capture such nuanced detail requires excellent observing as well as drawing
skills. So often I see folks take a brief look at a target and then move on
to the next, and I know that they have seen little more than nothing. One
doesn't have to sketch to be a good observer, but one cannot be a good
sketcher without being a good observer.

That would have been one Erika Rix. I met Ms. Rix in the ground-floor
hallway as she was talking to my old friend Alan Friedman shortly
before the sky started to improve on Sunday. We had a tour of Ms. Rix's
sketchbook. You say fantastic, I say stunning; the point is she does
beautiful work. My feeling is that people who can do what Ms. Rix does
must the most skilled observers of all. Ms. Rix does not have a web
site (yet) but I hope that Alan has persuaded her to start one. The
college's 802.11 network was unavailable on Sunday, but I connected my
MacBook Pro to the Internet via my Verizon Express Card and my forearms
served as a laptop table as Alan showed his site
http://www.avertedimagination.com to Ms. Rix.

Dennis - a non-sketcher who fancies himself a decent observer!

Davoud - a casual observer who fancies himself as one who could
/approximate/ a circle for you if you gave him a saucer, a pencil, and
paper.

--
usenet *at* davidillig dawt com

On Tue, 01 May 2007, "Dolly Swalerd" wrote:

What kinds of activities with at least an 80mm telescope can one do rather
than just point and look. Are there astronomy exercises that will pass the
time?

Related to some of the other suggestions would be maintaining an
observing log -- a record of what was observed when and with what
instrumentation, as well as any other desirable details.

An observing log can be as formal or as informal as desired. One
could use loose pieces of paper, a spiral notebook, a loose-leaf
notebook, a hard-bound 'blank' (or lined) book, a computer, or even a
website or blog. An observing log could be reserved for one's
personal use only, or it could be shared with others.

Regardless, an observing log of some form is highly recommended for
*anyone* involved in this hobby.
--
Bill
Celestial Journeys
http://cejour.blogspot.com

Davoud wrote:
Dennis Woos wrote:

The solar observing at NEAF was severely limited by clouds, and we got only
one brief look through a very nice Ha setup. However, the scope's owner
also had on display some of her sketches, and they were fantastic. To
capture such nuanced detail requires excellent observing as well as drawing
skills. So often I see folks take a brief look at a target and then move on
to the next, and I know that they have seen little more than nothing. One
doesn't have to sketch to be a good observer, but one cannot be a good
sketcher without being a good observer.

That would have been one Erika Rix. I met Ms. Rix in the ground-floor
hallway as she was talking to my old friend Alan Friedman shortly
before the sky started to improve on Sunday. We had a tour of Ms. Rix's
sketchbook. You say fantastic, I say stunning; the point is she does
beautiful work. My feeling is that people who can do what Ms. Rix does
must the most skilled observers of all. Ms. Rix does not have a web
site (yet) but I hope that Alan has persuaded her to start one. The
college's 802.11 network was unavailable on Sunday, but I connected my
MacBook Pro to the Internet via my Verizon Express Card and my forearms
served as a laptop table as Alan showed his site
http://www.avertedimagination.com to Ms. Rix.

Some googling found these:

http://hea-www.harvard.edu/hrc.ARCHI...3aug06/rix.jpg
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/hrc.ARCHI...oct06/rix1.jpg

Very nice.


Shawn

On May 1, 4:06 pm, Sam Wormley wrote:
Dennis Woos wrote:
o sketching
http://www.rangeweb.net/~sketcher/

The solar observing at NEAF was severely limited by clouds, and we got only
one brief look through a very nice Ha setup. However, the scope's owner
also had on display some of her sketches, and they were fantastic. To
capture such nuanced detail requires excellent observing as well as drawing
skills. So often I see folks take a brief look at a target and then move on
to the next, and I know that they have seen little more than nothing. One
doesn't have to sketch to be a good observer, but one cannot be a good
sketcher without being a good observer.

Dennis - a non-sketcher who fancies himself a decent observer!

I can get stuck on the Orion nebula for hours.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

One of the most useful exercises you can perform with
a "grab and go" scope is to try to *zero in* on the
Celestial North Pole. And I mean ZERO. I use the
chart supplied in Burnhams Handbook (p. 2008, vol. 3).

Over the years you learn to compensate for precession
by concocting all sorts of asterisms in the field to guide
your alignment. If you learn a system in a small refractor
then the transition to polar alignment in a larger SCT or
Newtonian is less painful.

Ben, 90.126 n 35.539

PS: I can get stuck on the Orion Nebula for hours.

- Double-star observing: positions, separations.
- Lunar, planetary (rare) and some asteroid occultation
observing/recording.
- Variable star observing/recording
- Observe/record the orbits of Jupiter's moons, and try to determine
on your own which is which.
- Crescent Moon recovery after New phase.
- Enjoy clusters of stars and brighter nebulae.
- Observe the Sun (eyepiece projection or get a filter for the
objective end).
- Observe phases of Venus.

Gads, there's a UNIVERSE of stuff to look at...


"Dolly Swalerd" wrote:
What kinds of activities with at least an 80mm telescope can one do rather
than just point and look. Are there astronomy exercises that will pass the
time?


=============
- Dale Gombert (SkySea at aol.com)
122.38W, 47.58N, W. Seattle, WA
http://flavorj.com/~skysea

On May 1, 12:24 pm, "Dolly Swalerd" wrote:
What kinds of activities with at least an 80mm telescope can one do rather
than just point and look. Are there astronomy exercises that will pass the
time?

If your local astronomy club is a member of the Astronomical League or
if you join as an AL Member-at-Large, you could try for some of these
programs and awards:

http://www.astroleague.org/observing.html

The important point is to observe at every opportunity, even if
conditions aren't perfect.

Once you've learned your way around the sky you could volunteer to
help with observing sessions for the general public.