tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807403883562053852.post9143394137595161498..comments2024-03-27T08:40:31.785-06:00Comments on Clayton Cramer.: A Beautiful Generally Clear NightClayton Cramerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03258083387204776812noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807403883562053852.post-71035489095011902642011-07-04T23:02:45.246-06:002011-07-04T23:02:45.246-06:00Yes, there is a polar alignment scope in my mount,...Yes, there is a polar alignment scope in my mount, but it is so inadequate that I am glad that I didn't pay anything extra for it. Worse, these alignment scopes are merely a step towards the more precise alignment required for long-exposure astrophotography.Clayton Cramerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03258083387204776812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807403883562053852.post-75162245961455723062011-07-04T20:54:44.789-06:002011-07-04T20:54:44.789-06:00...oh yeah, rumnn. Now that you have pointed it ou......oh yeah, rumnn. Now that you have pointed it out, I can definitely see the dancing skeleton.Royhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10108430731483801350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807403883562053852.post-12235258048322826242011-07-04T20:53:28.906-06:002011-07-04T20:53:28.906-06:00I have just about given up on serious astrophotogr...I have just about given up on serious astrophotography. When I first moved into this house, you could go outside on a clear moonless night and you could barely see your hand in front of your face. The skies were magnificent. Now, just 12 short years later, there are so many of those damn security lights on everyone's house and garage, I might as well be downtown in the city.Royhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10108430731483801350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807403883562053852.post-71675100528985124502011-07-04T19:55:38.215-06:002011-07-04T19:55:38.215-06:00I thought one did it by putting a special spotting...I thought one did it by putting a special spotting scope through the mount and lining it up on Polaris.Mauserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11732614352398473302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807403883562053852.post-70317517325164277222011-07-03T18:31:13.577-06:002011-07-03T18:31:13.577-06:00You're making it too easy to be accurate: you...You're making it too easy to be accurate: you're taking the fun out of it!<br /><br />(I have never had the opportunity to try to calibrate a telescope, but if it's anything like calibrating a mill before machining a piece of aluminum, I would <i>certainly</i> be in favor of taking the "fun" out of it! ;-)Epsilon Givenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16772806403046781521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2807403883562053852.post-29604316646151569422011-07-02T18:12:09.740-06:002011-07-02T18:12:09.740-06:00The human brain's ability to pick out patterns...The human brain's ability to pick out patterns, even when they aren't there, is truly interesting. My brain <i>insists</i> that I'm seeing a picture in that photo of M16HA: a skeleton dancing a jig. The darker V shape is the rib cage; the two straight lines below are the legs. (The pelvis is missing but my brain fills it in just fine). One leg is bent at a 45 degree angle, hence the "dancing a jig" part of my comment. Two tiny bright spots above the V-shaped ribcage provide the neckbones, and the head (or skull), turned so it's "facing" the left, is the brighter spot above the neckbones with a darker patch on its left-hand side.<br /><br />When you look at clouds and say "that one kind of looks like a ship/a whale/a tree", you generally have to force yourself to see the resemblance. But the "hey, there's a skeleton dancing a jig" pattern popped into my head the instant I saw this picture, and I can't make myself <i>not</i> see it. Really fascinating how that works.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com