|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
hook and crook alignment: any mention?
About a year ago, Mark Gingrich posted here about a new method of
doing polar alignment that was supposed to be as accurate as drift alignment, yet took only three minutes or so. Allegedly, it was going to be revealed at the July Astronomical League convention. Was it? Brian Tung The Astronomy Corner at http://astro.isi.edu/ Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/c5plus/ The PleiadAtlas Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/pleiadatlas/ My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://astro.isi.edu/reference/faq.txt |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Brian Tung wrote:
About a year ago, Mark Gingrich posted here about a new method of doing polar alignment that was supposed to be as accurate as drift alignment, yet took only three minutes or so. ... Oh my. I recollect claiming that polar alignment could be completed, with practice, in under ten minutes, with each iteration of the measurement sequence taking about three minutes. ... Allegedly, it was going to be revealed at the July Astronomical League convention. Was it? Some 4.5 months prior to the convention, I made a formal request to give a 15-minute presentation on the hook-and-crook method. Three months later, not having heard yeah or nay from the convention's speakers committee (which lead me to presume that my proposal was not accepted), I agreed to an employment assignment that would prevent my attending the AL shindig. As it turned out, an invitation to speak finally did arrive just three scant weeks before the convention opened -- alas, way too late for me to renegotiate my work commitment. Hence my talk was never given. For several years now, off and on, I've been fiddling with this new polar alignment scheme, trying out variations of the central idea to see if it's possible to shave still more time from the process. The scheduling of last year's AL convention -- one that would take place nearly in my own backyard -- seemed like a good excuse to end the tinkering phase and push the damn thing out the door. But since I couldn't attend, I've gone back to tinkering with it some more. (I readily confess to suffering from "engineer's disease"; I'll putter around with something for weeks if I believe I can squeeze another 10% improvement out of it.) Indeed, I've been exploring of late a way to make the process more robust against mistakes, though at the cost of a slight increase in complexity. I'd like my beta testers to evaluate this revised approach for awhile. After I get their feedback, I'll then decide whether or not it is time to go public with the details. -- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Mark Gingrich San Leandro, California |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|