2007 Table Mountain Star Party

The 2007 Edition of the Table Mountain Star Party was definitely a
roller-coaster ride. The dips included inconsistent weather (windy and
cloudy) and a Kendrick Astronomy tent that failed within 24 hours of its
first use (fortunately Kendrick has arranged for a replacement tent
pole). The highs included meeting old friends, some excellent
astrophotography, a great speaker list, and finally figuring out the
complexities of astrophotography software.

The speaker list included three "stand-out" speakers. The first was
Gary Seronik, associate editor of Sky and Telescope, who gave an
excellent talk on binocular astronomy. If you haven't tried using
binoculars for astronomy you're missing a real treat. Almost everyone
owns at least one pair of binoculars making it one of the most
accessible ways to start into astronomy. And some objects (M44, M31, and
the Pleiades) just look better in the wide field that a binocular
provides. Gary elaborated on these points and more. He also provided a
nice obscure target list for the evening's viewing.

The next speaker of note was John Dobson. John is the inventor of the
Dobsonian mount. John is now 93 years old, but he is as opinionated and sharp-minded as ever!

The third speaker was Dr. Bonnie Dunbar, former Space Shuttle astronaut and current Director of the Seattle Museum of Flight. She gave wonderful insights into the Space Shuttle program and the future of U.S. manned space flight.

Link to Table Mountain Star Party Site

The SkyShed Pod arrives!

The SkyShed Pod odyssey has ended! On Thursday, July 5th, a Old Dominion freight truck pulled up in front of my house and disgorged many large cardboard boxes containing the POD.



Fortunately, all contents arrived in good order and without damage. After passing the large boxes off to local children (box forts!), construction of the POD began in the backyard. The lower walls were a snap to assemble. Wayne, Farhat, and SPI have done their homework! Hard work really began with the dome assembly. The dome halves are really a two person job (I did it myself, but don't recommend it!) to assemble. When it comes to placing the domes halves on the wall please do yourself a favor -- find a helper, maybe two helpers.

In any event, within 24 hours, I had an assembled POD.



Watch for more information on this exciting product.

My SkyPod XL3 ships!

Received the news I've been waiting for from Wayne of SkyShed. My POD has shipped! Apparently Wayne has had assorted problems with parts suppliers, probably not unusual for a new product. With any luck the POD will arrive before the Table Mountain Star party.

I just finished upgrading the solar panels on my Lazy Daze RV which gives me a spare 85 watt solar panel for the POD and its equipment. The panel will feed a 90 aH deep-cycle battery that in turn will run the telescope mount, cameras, and laptop. All I have to do is wire it all up :-)

BTW, if you're ever looking for solar power equipment, check out Amsolar. Great kits and great support. Their address is: http://www.amsolar.com .

SkyPod Odyssey continues ...

While I wait for Wayne Parker and SkyShed to finish my XL3 pod (a 3 pod bay version) there's plenty to do. One of the major projects is the installation of a 100' network cable out to the pod's location. The install required digging a trench and laying a underground conduit for the cable. One end terminates in a yard shed near the pod and the other end inside my house. The cable pulling under the house required a trip into the crawl-space under the house -- YUCKK!

Anyway the cable is pulled and ready to go. Now I just need the pod :-)

The SkyPOD odyssey begins...

Actually the odyssey to bring a SkyShed POD began in June 2006 when I saw the first POD ad on AstroMart. That was the beginning of a long wait for the POD to go into production. Well the wait ended on April 3rd and I now have one on order :-) I'll be blogging a bit more often now as I follow my POD's travels to my backyard.

What is a POD? It is probably the most innovative small observatory to come along in years. Check out this link for details: http://www.skyshedpod.com/.

A Year in the Life of the Universe -- Robert Gendler's stunning new astrophotography book

All I can say is WOW! Robert Gendler's new book is a piece of work! For those of you who haven't heard of Robert Gendler just take a peak at the year end photo specials that the astronomy magazines publish. He's sure to be in there. His work is also featured frequenty on the Astronomy Picture of the Day website.

But back to the book. The book is your basic coffee table picture book with a brief discussion of each photograph. I only wish there was more technical information on each photograph (exposure, equipment used). The book can be purchased at the Sky and Telescope online store or at Barnes and Nobles booksellers stores. If you're serious about astrophotography this is a must have purchase!

For more information on Robert check out his website.