From: georgea{at}cam.org
To: Tom Krajci 
Cc: atm{at}shore.net, "'Kochetkova, Irina'" 
Reply-To: georgea{at}cam.org


Hi Tom

As a person who has actually used this scope for viewing on several
occasions including public star parties I can say the following. Yes the
scope builder does live in a place with lots of cloudy skies, we probably
get less than 80 clear nights a year. And that includes nights with the
full moon.
Although the scope builder does not pursue scientific research at night he
does indulge in his other hobby, woodworking. And he has found scope
building very satisfying as it allows him to combine his love for astronomy
and woodworking. The scopes mount is very smooth and the scope can easily
be moved with two or three fingers while standing on a ladder four feet
above the ground. The scope sees plenty of outdoor use, just because
something is pretty doesn't mean it is only meant to be looked at. The main
differences between this one and a sonotube or truss scope is that it takes
up more space in the van and has to be packed with a little more care. As
for the optics they show as better than an honest 1/8 wave. And since they
used to live in a rough looking truss tube dob they must have been good...
Can only X amount (say 200hours) of effort be put into building any scope?
And therefore if the mirror took 150 hours to hand grind and polish you are
only allowed to spend 50 hours on the rest? If your research is nicely
typeset and laid out using a word processor does that mean the content is
less than someone elses handscribbled notes? To see the scope (and others)
in action have a look at
http://www.angelfire.com/space/lunatic/astro_day.htm

George Anderson
Montreal Canada

Clear skies and good health


Quoting 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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