From: "Tom Krajci" 
To: 
Cc: "'Kochetkova, Irina'" 
Reply-To: "Tom Krajci" 


>From: Guy Brandenburg 

>That wooden scope that took 1st place for craftsmanship is a marvel.
> http://www.ct-astronomer.com/images/stellafane_2003_10.jpg

It appears that the maker of this telescope lives in a very cloudy
climate...or else is not using this scope much for observing, but perhaps
decorating the living room with it.

In some ways this reminds me of the Dark Ages practice when monk/scribes
made copies of 'classic' works in math, philosophy, astronomy, etc.  The
copies were ornately decorated.

Rubbish.  The important part was the information in the text.

I must go home and re-read A Canticle for Liebowitz.  ;-)

This Stellafane award winner is sure to win almost any 'bathing suit
contest' in which it is entered.  But when it's time for the nut
cutting...how well does the mount support the optics?...how well do the
optics perform?  (When will the Stellafane folks buy a 2 or 3 axis
accelerometer board and laptop...and during cloudy weather...at least test
the damping qualities of telescope mounts...and announce the winners?  That
would be far more useful that the bathing suit competitions.)

My scopes are often repaired, or fabricated, with such mundane materials as
duct tape.  I currently live in a climate that gets lots of clear nights.
See:  http://cba.phys.columbia.edu/archive/newmexico.html And note the date
of submissions from the last few months.  I'm too busy observing and taking
science data...no time to hand rub and lay on yet another unneeded layer of
varnish.

I am in hell (or heaven, depending on how you look at it).  I have a day
job.  I'm an astronomer every clear night.  It's tough serving two masters,
and I sometimes pray for cloudy weather so I can get more sleep....not for
cloudy weather so that I can spend more time with a scroll saw putting a
few more flourishes in a wooden tube.

Stellafane means 'shrine to the stars'...yet is located in a place with bad
weather?!  The high priests of Stellafane should consider moving to a place
with more clear weather...so that the pressing urgency of repeated
opportunities to observe under clear skies brings the design and
fabrication ethic back to reality.  Or they should fabricate an artificial
star light source on a mobile tower...and use it on cloudy nights to star
test optics...and announce winners of optical excellence. They could do
even better by putting a webcam or CCD at the focuser and record
extra/intra focal star images...and display them after the competition for
all to see.

Tonight's forecast for Tashkent?  See:
http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/local/UZXX0004?whatprefs=&lswe=tas
hkent&lswa=WeatherLocalUndeclared

There are no pretty telescopes in Central Asia...but they are getting very
heavy use.  This is as it should be.  ;-)

Tom Krajci
Tashkent, Uzbekistan


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