Subject: IBM senior engineer confounded by CCD Camera
IBM senior engineer confounded by CCD Camera
February 18th, 2014 at 10:53 am ESTHello Friend, It was a star party nightmare, never to be repeated. At Starfest, many many Moons ago, I recall having my very first experience with a CCD Camera. Now, I had dabbled with Astrophotography in the past with taking some nice photographs ...
Don't let the Sun catch you crying
February 17th, 2014 at 10:24 am ESTHello Friend, Dobsonian Telescope set on fire by Sun... Yup, it's true. Several years ago, while I was attending the annual STARFEST star party in Mount Forest, Ontario,I was standing on the 2nd floor of the what was then the commercial vendors dis ...
Does Johnny look through his telescope anymore?
February 16th, 2014 at 9:55 am ESTHello Friend, Does Johnny look through his telescope anymore? I recall many years ago(way before the internet rolled around) when looking through the Sky & Tel magazine, there would be an ad on the back pages for a company called Unitron. Pictured ...
Do you remember the St. Valentine's day massacre?
February 15th, 2014 at 10:49 am ESTHello Friend, It was a cold Winter's day in Chicago, at 2122 North Clark street, in the year of 1929 on February 14thSt. Valentines day. It was a time of Prohibition, and speakeasies. And the Moran gang were hijacking Capone's liquor shipments. An ...
Neutrino Hunters: The Thrilling Chase for a Ghostly Particle to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe
February 13th, 2014 at 12:21 pm ESTHello Friend. If you happen to be in Toronto tonite, then here is a fascinating lecture by Professor Ray Jayawardhana, the author of thebook: "Neutrino Hunters". The Best part is it's FREE to attend. All you gotta do is show up at the Metro Toronto ...
Why they just couldn't Dew it........
February 12th, 2014 at 1:00 pm ESTHello Friend, Why don't astronomical telescopes come equipped with built in dew prevention systems? This is an entirely reasonable question, asked by reader Frank Dempsey, when I previously wroteabout the neccessity for dew protection systems, if y ...
This ones a real Plonker, mate
February 11th, 2014 at 11:18 am ESTHello Friend, A Plonker? Being from England originally, and having made Canada my home, at very young age, when myparents immigrated in 1970, occassionally I will use the odd British slang expression in conversation,so my apologies in advance, if y ...
This 1800 power telescope was a real piece of junk
February 10th, 2014 at 10:49 am ESTHello Friend, Many years ago, when I was leafing through Astronomy magazine, I came across an ad for a telescope, bya reputable company (that's what I thought anyway), advertising an 80mm refractor, and claiming that ithad been tested to focus an im ...
An offer that's tough to refuse
February 9th, 2014 at 12:26 pm ESTHello Friend, As I have mentioned previously, One of my personal favorite telescopes to use is the Celestron Nexstar 8 SE. Especially during the Winter months. Main reason is that it quite portable, with a decent size 200mm (8 inch) aperture, and ea ...
The worst thing that can happen to you during an observing session
February 8th, 2014 at 12:28 pm ESTHello Friend, I've seen this happen so many times at Star Parties, that it no longer surprises me when it does. Primarily through Schmidt Cassegrains, and refractors but Newtonians, and dobsonians are not excluded. Heck, it's even happened to me. So ...