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#1
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Training report (observing report)
A colleague and I were asked to train about 8 or 10 camp counselors on
the use of their six 70 mm refractors. Nice instruments, f/10 with something like 35 and 10 mm eyepieces, 1x finder with the little battery-powered red dot, alt-az mount. We set up on a turnout on Angeles Crest Hwy (north of Los Angeles) at about 4900 ft elevation. The counselors were all high school students -- one was already quite knowledgeable about astronomy but I don't think had ever used a telescope (all book learning) -- they all were very excited to be there. Most of them dutifully installed their right-angle prism. Not I. And I had a chance to teach one of the kids how to point the telescope with both eyes open -- you know the trick, how to center the object as seen by your "off" eye in the field of view of the telescope that you're seeing with your "on" eye, and how as you got close the magnified version would appear in the telescope. It took some explaining, but she finally got it -- and the "oh wow!" when Saturn appeared made the whole trip worthwhile. That, and just spending time under the Milky Way pointing out the constellations and telling their stories. We stayed until about 10:30, looked the crescent moon, Mars and Saturn, Albireo (my colleague called it "the UCLA star" to the dismay of the USC fans present), epsilon Lyrae ... M31 was a good target although it was still low in the NE ... don't know if any of them found M57 although we mentioned it. I love doing this sort of thing. Not only is it fun to spread the joy and wonder of the night sky, it also helps me stay in touch with my roots. -- Bill Owen |
#2
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Training report (observing report)
On Monday, August 4, 2014 5:37:44 PM UTC+1, Bill Owen wrote:
That, and just spending time under the Milky Way pointing out the constellations and telling their stories. We stayed until about 10:30, looked the crescent moon, Mars and Saturn, Albireo (my colleague called it "the UCLA star" to the dismay of the USC fans present), epsilon Lyrae ... M31 was a good target although it was still low in the NE ... don't know if any of them found M57 although we mentioned it. I love doing this sort of thing. Not only is it fun to spread the joy and wonder of the night sky, it also helps me stay in touch with my roots.. -- Bill Owen Did you explain to them how to reference the annual motion of the constellations behind the Sun in sequence due to the orbital motion of the Earth. From this point of view these students get to appreciate the separate resolution for inner planetary retrogrades where Venus and Mercury swing out from behind the Sun in the opposite direction of the background stars (which are themselves moving due to the orbital motion of the Earth) and then swing back in front of the Sun and in the same direction of those stars - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdFrE7hWj0A This is entirely new and considering retrogrades haven't been touched for the last 500 years since Copernicus wrote the Commentariolis back in 1514, I suggest you teach them the difference between inner and outer retrograde motions and their separate resolutions. Did you explain to them that the great astronomers used a different system where the Sun moved through the constellations in order to determine the orbital period of each planet. |
#3
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Training report (observing report)
On Monday, August 4, 2014 1:53:09 PM UTC-5, oriel36 wrote:
On Monday, August 4, 2014 5:37:44 PM UTC+1, Bill Owen wrote: That, and just spending time under the Milky Way pointing out the constellations and telling their stories. We stayed until about 10:30, looked the crescent moon, Mars and Saturn, Albireo (my colleague called it "the UCLA star" to the dismay of the USC fans present), epsilon Lyrae ... M31 was a good target although it was still low in the NE ... don't know if any of them found M57 although we mentioned it. I love doing this sort of thing. Not only is it fun to spread the joy and wonder of the night sky, it also helps me stay in touch with my roots. -- Bill Owen Did you explain to them how to reference the annual motion of the constellations behind the Sun in sequence due to the orbital motion of the Earth. From this point of view these students get to appreciate the separate resolution for inner planetary retrogrades where Venus and Mercury swing out from behind the Sun in the opposite direction of the background stars (which are themselves moving due to the orbital motion of the Earth) and then swing back in front of the Sun and in the same direction of those stars - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdFrE7hWj0A This is entirely new and considering retrogrades haven't been touched for the last 500 years since Copernicus wrote the Commentariolis back in 1514, I suggest you teach them the difference between inner and outer retrograde motions and their separate resolutions. Did you explain to them that the great astronomers used a different system where the Sun moved through the constellations in order to determine the orbital period of each planet. Yes he did. I was there and heard him tell people exactly what you said. Uncaretrograde |
#4
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Training report (observing report)
On Monday, August 4, 2014 8:24:58 PM UTC+1, Uncarollo2 wrote:
On Monday, August 4, 2014 1:53:09 PM UTC-5, oriel36 wrote: On Monday, August 4, 2014 5:37:44 PM UTC+1, Bill Owen wrote: That, and just spending time under the Milky Way pointing out the constellations and telling their stories. We stayed until about 10:30, looked the crescent moon, Mars and Saturn, Albireo (my colleague called it "the UCLA star" to the dismay of the USC fans present), epsilon Lyrae ... M31 was a good target although it was still low in the NE ... don't know if any of them found M57 although we mentioned it. I love doing this sort of thing. Not only is it fun to spread the joy and wonder of the night sky, it also helps me stay in touch with my roots. -- Bill Owen Did you explain to them how to reference the annual motion of the constellations behind the Sun in sequence due to the orbital motion of the Earth.. From this point of view these students get to appreciate the separate resolution for inner planetary retrogrades where Venus and Mercury swing out from behind the Sun in the opposite direction of the background stars (which are themselves moving due to the orbital motion of the Earth) and then swing back in front of the Sun and in the same direction of those stars - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdFrE7hWj0A This is entirely new and considering retrogrades haven't been touched for the last 500 years since Copernicus wrote the Commentariolis back in 1514, I suggest you teach them the difference between inner and outer retrograde motions and their separate resolutions. Did you explain to them that the great astronomers used a different system where the Sun moved through the constellations in order to determine the orbital period of each planet. Yes he did. I was there and heard him tell people exactly what you said. Uncaretrograde Ah, the wonderful phrase of Dickens that sums up the productiveness of all eras - "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us " I said nothing,the visual narrative which alone belongs to the celestial arena relates the story of the motions of the planets and that of the stars behind the Sun,they alone are the authority which smiles on those who go outside and allow the observations in. The difference between now and twenty years ago is that the tools,and they are tools, are in front of us if you know how to use them properly and especially the ability to condense long term observations into more immediate form. We who are astronomers borrow from the story but never dictate it and with each dawn and twilight it brings with it a new story to tell in those hearts which are kind and gentle. |
#5
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Training report (observing report)
On Monday, August 4, 2014 12:37:44 PM UTC-4, Bill Owen wrote:
A colleague and I were asked to train about 8 or 10 camp counselors on the use of their six 70 mm refractors. edit We stayed until about 10:30, looked the crescent moon, Mars and Saturn, Albireo (my colleague called it "the UCLA star" to the dismay of the USC fans present), https://identity.usc.edu/print/colors/ https://identity.usc.edu/print/color-combinations/ BTW, you made no mention of observing with a video cam... are you a "dinosaur?" :-) |
#6
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Training report (observing report)
Hi Bill, thanks for the report and for your work in popularizing our hobby. I'm sure the camp counselors will transfer some of their newly acquired knowledge, expertise and enthusiasm to many more.
Sketcher, To sketch is to see. On Monday, August 4, 2014 10:37:44 AM UTC-6, Bill Owen wrote: A colleague and I were asked to train about 8 or 10 camp counselors on the use of their six 70 mm refractors. Nice instruments, f/10 with something like 35 and 10 mm eyepieces, 1x finder with the little battery-powered red dot, alt-az mount. We set up on a turnout on Angeles Crest Hwy (north of Los Angeles) at about 4900 ft elevation. The counselors were all high school students -- one was already quite knowledgeable about astronomy but I don't think had ever used a telescope (all book learning) -- they all were very excited to be there. Most of them dutifully installed their right-angle prism. Not I. And I had a chance to teach one of the kids how to point the telescope with both eyes open -- you know the trick, how to center the object as seen by your "off" eye in the field of view of the telescope that you're seeing with your "on" eye, and how as you got close the magnified version would appear in the telescope. It took some explaining, but she finally got it -- and the "oh wow!" when Saturn appeared made the whole trip worthwhile. That, and just spending time under the Milky Way pointing out the constellations and telling their stories. We stayed until about 10:30, looked the crescent moon, Mars and Saturn, Albireo (my colleague called it "the UCLA star" to the dismay of the USC fans present), epsilon Lyrae ... M31 was a good target although it was still low in the NE ... don't know if any of them found M57 although we mentioned it. I love doing this sort of thing. Not only is it fun to spread the joy and wonder of the night sky, it also helps me stay in touch with my roots. -- Bill Owen |
#7
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Training report (observing report)
On Monday, August 4, 2014 9:37:44 AM UTC-7, Bill Owen wrote:
A colleague and I were asked to train about 8 or 10 camp counselors on the use of their six 70 mm refractors. Nice instruments, f/10 with something like 35 and 10 mm eyepieces, 1x finder with the little battery-powered red dot, alt-az mount. We set up on a turnout on Angeles Crest Hwy (north of Los Angeles) at about 4900 ft elevation. The counselors were all high school students -- one was already quite knowledgeable about astronomy but I don't think had ever used a telescope (all book learning) -- they all were very excited to be there. Most of them dutifully installed their right-angle prism. Not I. And I had a chance to teach one of the kids how to point the telescope with both eyes open -- you know the trick, how to center the object as seen by your "off" eye in the field of view of the telescope that you're seeing with your "on" eye, and how as you got close the magnified version would appear in the telescope. It took some explaining, but she finally got it -- and the "oh wow!" when Saturn appeared made the whole trip worthwhile. That, and just spending time under the Milky Way pointing out the constellations and telling their stories. We stayed until about 10:30, looked the crescent moon, Mars and Saturn, Albireo (my colleague called it "the UCLA star" to the dismay of the USC fans present), epsilon Lyrae ... M31 was a good target although it was still low in the NE ... don't know if any of them found M57 although we mentioned it. I love doing this sort of thing. Not only is it fun to spread the joy and wonder of the night sky, it also helps me stay in touch with my roots. -- Bill Owen Bill, I've been doing this stuff at grammar schools in Orange & L.A. counties for years. It is a lot of fun to teach these little sponge-brains, they are quick to understand the basics, and the positive feedback I receive from them makes it all worthwhile. \Paul A, a dinosaur through-and-through |
#8
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Training report (observing report)
On Tuesday, August 5, 2014 2:16:46 AM UTC+1, Sketcher wrote:
Hi Bill, thanks for the report and for your work in popularizing our hobby. I'm sure the camp counselors will transfer some of their newly acquired knowledge, expertise and enthusiasm to many more. Sketcher, To sketch is to see. Positively viral wouldn't you say ?. It would be just as easy to teach these open young minds the proper principles if the observers themselves had an expansive view of astronomy but unfortunately people are being poisoned from one generation to the next so it is less a hobby than a destructive habit. |
#9
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Training report (observing report)
On Tuesday, August 5, 2014 4:22:13 AM UTC-5, oriel36 wrote:
The cooperation between you all can be quite remarkable but it is the type of mob cooperation that works against astronomy for how else to account for the cloak of obscurity covering some of the most enjoyable insights imaginable including new ones made possible with the ability to condense long term observations into visual narratives. Wonderful word salad. Well done, well done! Uncawordie |
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