09/22/2006, Kankakee, Il
^My barrage of Telescopes (well more like a duet)
Well tomorrow is the beginning (at least for me) of Astrofest 2006. It is the biggest star party in the Midwest. Hopefully it will be clear and dark, because I spent several hours on calibrating, cleaning, and organizing my equipment, and it would be a shame if I couldn't use it. I plan to listen to several lectures and do a lot of walking, hopefully someone will own the Meade RCX400 20", I've been dieing to see that. Well then, be back in two days. =)
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08/21/2006, Marengo, Il
Tonight was the best night yet for my astronomy career. I didn't necessarily find anything new, but the quality was absolutely amazing!!!
I decided to lay back a little bit and not set up all my equipment. All I brought outside was a pair of Binoculars and an open mind, when I walked outside, I was in shock of all the stars that lay above me. I laid on the ground and just staired for about an hour without blinking. I used my binoculars and decided to look at a few common points in my usual sessions. I first looked at the Great American Nebula and for the first time I could see the mist of nebulosity (before, all I saw was the stars) also I got to see Hercules Globular Cluster (of course the binocs would not be able to dissolve the stars) I merely saw a small fuzzy spot in the sky which was just as good. I will keep on observing for as long as the skies are clear and the mind is free.
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08/20/2006, Marengo, Il
Lately I have been slacking from my work due to other things that need to be done. I have painted all the ribs of the dome and also started cutting the gores. Instead of using fiberglass I am going to go with 1/8 inch fiberboard. I first started cutting the gores, but they were far from perfect, so I went out and got some posterboard to make a more accurate template. I have one gore done, and it fits almost perfect. This observatory will be finished around mid-to-end Fall.
On another note the skies of Marengo have been getting really clear and the quality is as good as it gets. For the first time in decades the Milky Way's star ban has popped out and is clearly visible in the night sky, I'm starting to see a lot more stars in the sky than previously observed. Hopefully it will remain this way for a long, long time.
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