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Our new telescope arrived today!!! While waiting for it to arrive, this weekend we had watched the "user manual" videos for this line of scopes on the Meade website, so I had become familiar with how to operate it. I had also learned that it needed 8 AA batteries. Once I got home from work, I ate supper quickly, then me and Carolaina walked over to the dollar store and got two sets of 8 batteries. Once we got back, I started opening the boxes as fast as I safely could.
The website didn't exactly prepare us for the sheer actual immense size of the thing. This picture doesn't really do it justice, but hopefully it will give you an idea of the size:
The yellow stripe you see on the tube above the eyepiece and viewfinder is a reflection of the flourescent lighting in our kitchen. It's not in perfect shape since it's factory refurbished, but it works great! While waiting for it to get dark, I tuned the viewfinder and used the computer controller to do a motor alignment. Then, we went out in the field beside Pizza Hut to try and use it. It seems I have a lot to learn, but we did get nice views of Saturn. It's easy to find objects in the low power eyepieces, but even once you think you have it centered, it becomes near impossible to re-find those objects once you put in a higher power eyepiece. I am so thankful for the tracking motor, though--I no longer have to constantly adjust to keep objects in the field of view. With the troubles I had finding and centering Saturn, we didn't see much beyond that. Saturn does look really impressive though the highest power eyepiece, though.
One thing we couldn't ignore was the amount of light pollution. Here in town it's really, really bad. We're planning on visiting my parent's place out in the boonies sometime soon, maybe this weekend, so we can see more (and more easily) through this shiny, wonderful telescope.
You may have noticed that I've made an addition to my weather page. The Clear Sky Clock is an invaluable resource to skywatchers and astronomers. It gives a highly accurate 48 hour forecast of sky conditions. The data is from Canadian Meteorological Centre cloud modeling simulations, which seem to have an 80% to 90% accuracy rate. I have the small version of the clock on the page which links to the Searcy Clear Sky Clock. Oh, and just because I can (and it's OK and allowed to link it in directly, really!), here's the large version of the Searcy clock:
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mp3 player and more astronomy (Friday, April 14, 2006 - 12:41:56 PM)
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I came across this neat (but ridiculously cheap) mp3 player yesterday. It goes for about $9 (US) over in Japan. The only reasonable place I could find it to order online was at this site for $15. I want, but it will have to wait until next month. I found a branded version of it for sale at another site, but they want $50 for it. That's quite the profit for something so cheap and disposable!
Since the sky was so clear last night, I took my old telescope out to see what I could. Saturn looked so tiny to me this time. I guess excitement and memory made it seem bigger Monday night. I was rather disappointed since there wasn't much of anything else to see. Sure, I could point the scope at Mars or any stars, but they didn't look like much. I guess my childhood telescope isn't good for much other than looking at the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn. It will be a long two weeks before the new scope arrives. Tom Petty had it right: "The waiting is the hardest part."
While looking for Meade telescopes, I came across this monstrosity since I was curious about their highest-end scopes. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and look at the price of the last one: $30,000! Click on the detail page, then click on the Images/Articles tab to get an idea of the size of the thing. The manufacturer webpage describes it as being an "observatory-level telescope for the serious astronomer and astrophotographer". The new scope I'm already getting may well be enough for me now, but I can easily imagine 40 to 50 years from now retiring in Arizona or New Mexico and setting up my own small observatory with one of these or one like it. Imagine the photos you can take with that scope! The thought of my own observatory to do real science with makes me smile.
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pizza and planets (Tuesday, April 11, 2006 - 12:25:55 PM)
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This weekend, I finally had pizza for the first time since going on the diet and losing so much weight. It was awesome. But first, Carolaina and I found out that the Pizza Hut across the street no longer does dine-in. We walked over there for lunch on Saturday, and were told that they only do carry out and delivery there now. The dining area is now behind a wall with two doors. I asked and they said it was being converted into offices. How sad. Anyway, I'm getting off subject. We then drove to the other Pizza Hut location and I got to enjoy it again. I had checked the nutrition info on their website and found that one slice of their personal pan pizzas has nearly 18g of carbs. So, after a salad with about 6 - 8 grams of carbs worth of dressing, I ate only one slice (of four) of the tiny little 6-inch pizza. It was so worth it, though. The rest of it has become my lunch each day for the first of the week.
Last night around 8 pm, I got out my old telescope I had gotten for Christmas when I was 10 years old. Despite one lens (of three or so) being missing from the eyepiece, it still works pretty well. Carolaina and I looked at the nearly-full moon first, which suitably impressed her. I kept it focused on that while waiting for the evening to get dark enough for the rest of the stars and planets to come out.
Without having to wait long at all, Carolaina pointed directly overhead and asked, "What's that?"
"Let's find out," I said as I pulled out my Palm handheld computer. The star chart program I have on it told me it was most likely to be Saturn. We both got excited then. She had never seen much of anything through a telescope, and I had never seen it that way myself, either. I'm not sure how, but I somehow missed Saturn all those times as a kid when I would take this telescope out and look at the stars and planets. I do remember seeing Jupiter quite a bit back then, though.
It was worth the wait. Once I got it focused properly, Saturn became the "star" of the night for us. To get an idea of what it looked like for us, I've adapted part of a screenshot from Stellarium that you can see to the right. It looks a little crude, but that picture faithfully recreates how it looked through my little scope last night. You can click on the image to get a view of the origional screenshot. Did you know that Stellarium is absolutely free software? It's awesome.
After that, we looked at the star Procyon and the planet Mars, then back to the moon again. None of these were as impressive as getting to see Saturn through the scope for the first time. We looked at it again one last time before the cool night air drove Carolaina inside.
Since we're getting money back this year from our tax returns, we'll be buying a much more impressive beginner telescope, at a really great price, too. I'll post info about that here once PayPal gets over their current technical difficulties.
UPDATE [4/12/2006 12:47 PM]: I was finally able to order the scope I was looking at. You can see it here on eBay. It's a refurbished 5" reflector that would normally go for around $400 or more.
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As it does twice every year, the time change has me so messed up. Because of one thing or another, I haven't been able to get to bed at a reasonable time nearly every night this week. Then, add in having to get up an hour early, and you get a sleepy me. I've also been constantly hungry all week and yesterday was really bad. I can't explain that one, but at least I'm keeping to my current level of diet.
If you have seen me on my webcam, then you may have noticed that I now have glasses. The day before my birthday (March 21st), I went to renew my drivers license and found that I couldn't pass the vision test. So, Carolaina and I went over to Dr. Lowery's office and got me checked out. Amoungst other tests, he did a test for glacoma (which thankfully, was negative) that messed up my eyes for the rest of the day. I hadn't realized how bad my vision had become until I was tested and got the new glasses. They're stylish, but I'm still having to adjust to them. Distances are just... off, and it gets worse the closer things are. I will often take them off to read. Oh, and they have this neat little magnetic sunglasses/shade attachment that I really like.
Every once in a blue moon, a song comes along that will resonate STRONGLY with me. I had no idea this band was still around, but it seems Duran Duran came out with another album in 2004 called Astronaut. As with very few other songs, in "What Happens Tommorrow" the music and the lyrics (specifically the chorus) come together to make a song that seems like it was written just for/about only me. Here's some of the relevant lyrics:
But nobody knows what's gonna happen tomorrow
We try not to show how frightened we are
If you let me, I'll protect you, however I can
You've got to believe
it'll be alright in the end
On the drive home from work everyday, I pass by a rather huge Ford dealership in Jacksonville. Their size means they usually have more than just a measly one or two of the new Mustangs. I want one of them so bad. For my birthday, I got a model kit of the 2006 Mustang GT. I've been wanting to put it together, but have been daunted by the complexity and haven't had time. The numerous parts are such that it's almost like having to build the car from the ground up. My friend David told me that I could rent one at a place near the LR airport, but I just can't justify the expense. [sigh] Someday...
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Yesterday, Carolaina and I did something we rarely do--go see a movie. We had heard of a movie coming up for some time that she was really looking forward to: V for Vendetta. For a full perspective of what the movie is about, check out Roger Ebert's review, RottenTomatoes, and the wonderful HD trailers from Apple. If you're not familiar with the film, go ahead and check out those links, I'll wait.
We think it's an incredible movie. It had a bit more violence than Carolaina was comfortable with, but otherwise it's really, really good.
VERY MINOR SPOILER: At one point in the movie, it shows arrests (and eventual execution) of homosexuals. That got me and Carolaina talking afterward. We both agree that homosexuality is wrong, but also don't think how they were treated was right, either. We came to realize that when you start treating them differently in any way, you can eventually get the kind of society that would act this way towards them. We came to the conclusion that government has no business making laws about such personal behaviour--either for or against hetero or homo relationships. I couldn't verbalize it at the time, but this is exactly why I didn't have us sign the "marriage amendment" petition for the Arkansas state constitution that came around a year or so ago.
We'll likely go and see the movie again sometime and definitely buy the DVD when it comes out.
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It seems to be getting harder and harder to find food specifically made for low-carb diets. For example, I've had a hard time finding Betty Crocker Carb Monitor brownie and cookie mixes lately. This seems to be why even though they still have it listed on their site. Yes, I know you can't believe everything you read online. We did find some Krusteaz low-carb muffin mix at Kroger, and later did find four (four!!) boxes of the Carb Monitor cookie mix at Sexton Foods. Needless to say, we bought all four boxes. But even then, Wal-Mart seems to no longer be stocking my now-favorite low-carb breakfast cereal. I don't know what I'll do if I can't get any more of it. I guess with the Atkins craze long since dead, the products must not be in demand anymore. That's a shame since ArchSchnitz and I are living proof that it works.
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