Scattered Thoughts . . .

The sun was shining this morning so, on my way to the bathroom for my morning cleanup and visit, I immediately turned on my new Ha (hydrogen alpha) solar filter so it could warm up.  This particular filter requires power to keep the etalon (interference filter) at the optimal temperature so I can see the most details.  The wavelength band varies very slightly by controlling the temperature of the etalon.  The more finely tuned the temperature setting, the more details you will see.  The filter requires about 10 minutes to warm up so I turned it on before washing up and brushing my teeth so it would be ready when I was ready for the day. I then headed out into the frigid single digit temperatures (just like the other morning) with the battery pack in my pocket and the telescope and mount in my hands.  I carefully made my way down to the end of the icy driveway where I have an unobstructed view of the sun quite low in the southeastern sky. I had far more success at pointing the telescope

W hen I got up this morning, I immediately noticed that the sun was shining through our windows.  It was very noticeable because this is not something we see all that often and especially not in the dead of winter when it is typically snowing every single day.  The sky appeared blue so it meant I should attempt a quick solar observing session with a new solar filter.  I had received this new filter a few days previously and was waiting for clear skies to use it for the first time. The temperature was in the single digits but there was no wind so I figured that the sun would help keep me warm.  I quickly dressed for the frigid outdoors and collected my astronomy gear.  I headed outdoors for a "first light" with this new filter. As expected with these sort of things, this session didn't go as planned.  It is often difficult to figure out the focus point for a new piece of equipment so I expected to have to play around with different configurations.   Needless to say, I had

A few days ago, while still recovering from mast cell symptoms, the sun had peaked through the clouds so I grabbed a lightweight telescope with a solar filter and headed outside.   I wasn't feeling well enough to do any solar imaging (that can get complicated and involves a lot more gear...  as well as a clear head) so I just grabbed one of my lightest scopes which happens to be my lowest quality scope too.  Even though this was my lowest quality scope, I knew it would be good enough for a few quick views of the sun.  Besides, it was still mostly cloudy and the sun was just peaking out in between clouds.  I knew the solar observing would be short-lived on this day so it would have been a waste to use up energy on my better, heavier and bulkier astronomy gear. The moment I peered through the telescope, I realized that the sky conditions were lousy too.  I hadn't noticed it before but it was hazy and the sun was veiled in thin clouds that I could see passing in front of the sun. 

I started off the day hoping to get enough accomplished today to check a few things off my absurdly long to-do list.  First, I did some spraying painting...  that went well.  Then I pulled out a can of white paint, a stirrer, a screwdriver and a ladder so I could put a second coat of paint on a few windows I started a couple of weeks ago.  That didn't go so well. I couldn't seem to hold onto anything.  I dropped the paint can lid into leaves and pine needles so I then had to stop to clean it up.  Then I dropped the screwdriver into the paint covering me and the screwdriver in paint.  Then I dropped the brush to the ground into the pine needles and leaves.  At that point, I was just finishing up a sloppy second coat of paint and decided to call it a day.   It is a bit of a hazy, partly cloudy day but I decided to try out my newly built telescope pier anyway.  Crystal clear skies would have been far better but the last time I saw crystal clear skies here is one night late l

Our little lab... We had Kenzie visiting us for most of the day yesterday which was a nice surprise for Gee and me.  We started off with some tasty French Toast with bacon and sausage.  Then Kenzie played with her dolls with Gee for a little while.  As they played, I set up an area on my desk for a hands-on lesson in micrology.   I have always felt that this stuff would interest Kenzie so even I was a bit excited to have a short session with her to see how she would react.  If it didn't interest her, we'd just move on to something else. If it did interest her, then she could get excited about something new! We talked about what a microscope does... she learned that we can study the cells that make up each thing we view... she learned that healthy cells, generally speaking, are very similar... then we viewed all sorts of prepared slides to compare the cells. While Kenzie was viewing the slides through the binocular lenses on the microscope, I looked on by viewing each s