Saturday, July 4, 2015

JUPITER-VENUS CONJUNCTION , JUNE 2015



                                       Sunday, 21 June 2015
                    Moon-at left , Jupiter -center right and Venus -at right=
                                      Triple   Conjunction !
                                  Celestial Snooker!(I hope not!)



Sweet memories : Moon-Jupiter-Venus Conjunction above the chimney of old Sugar Factory ,Sunday 21-st of June 2015



Monday 22-nd of June : enter main actors of June 2015 Conjunction ,Venus at center and Jupiter at left upper corner.




Monday 22 of June ,Jupiter and Venus are getting closer.




Another pic on 22-nd of June,one of my favorite.


Friday June 26 : light clouds framing
the Jupiter-Venus Conjunction.



26 of June.





Friday 26 June -the Moon  used as a celestial meter stick is showing :
 distance between Jupiter and Venus = 4.607 times her diameter or 152 arc minutes.


At left or South of Venus it is visible the ghostly Jupiter .
Picture taken on Friday 26 June , with a Smiley A5 phone.



The Moon in the Smiley A5 phone.
Not exactly the right picture to look for the landing sites of Apollo missions.




The Jupiter-Venus Conjunction at peak on Tuesday ,June 30.



30 June 2015: at the moment of my observations ,the distance between Jupiter and Venus was of 24 minutes according to my calculations.


Jupiter-Venus Conjunction in my 60x 828 mm refractor ,at 33x /Sirius 25mm Plossl.




Jupiter -Venus Conjunction on 30 June ,as seen through my 60 x 828 mm at 110 x / Celestron ''orange'' 7.5 mm Plossl.
Note the Jovian moon Callisto close to the Western limb of Jupiter.



The first man-made triple planetary  conjunction :
Street corner-Venus-Jupiter ,03 July 2015.


03 July : brighter Venus at left /South
and dimmer Jupiter at right /North.

Good by , June 2015 Jupiter-Venus Conjunction !

All pics were taken with a hand held Nikon Coolpix S3300 camera by the author and are  in public domain.


                                









Monday, June 22, 2015

''Pluto Time'' in Arad , Romania






Sunday the   21-st of June 2015,at   21:35  UTC+2 ,  it was ''Pluto Time''  for me .
I learned this while perusing  the ''Sky&Telescope'' newsletter for current week.
There ,in an article by Kelly Beatty  about the sunlight on Pluto,  it is made available a link to a handy online app helping to find out when ''Pluto Time '' is for any location :




http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/pluto-time-061620155/?et_mid=761616&rid=247482406

''Pluto Time'',on 21-st of June , in my garden





''Pluto Time'' five minutes latter

''Pluto Time'' eighteen minutes latter.
If this is noon light on Pluto ,just  imagine how the night will look  like there!
Planet or not , sometime in the remote future , Pluto will be maybe claimed by descendants of amateur astronomers




Pluto Time in Arad ,Romania ,on 22-nd of June 2015.













Monday, April 6, 2015

Parghia binoculara,montura mea pentru binocluri / Bino Lever ,my binocular mounting




Inima pargiei binoculare ,parghia propriu-zisa si manerul-suport pentru binoclu.
Observati, pe maner ,saiba taiata dintr-o  cutie de lapte ,asa-numita ''milk jug washer''.
The heart of the Bino Lever ,the lever itself and the handle acting also as support for the binocular.
Notice,on the handle ,the so called ''milk jug washer''.



Alta vedere a parghiei si a manerului.Si sub umarul surubului de strangere a manerului se observa o saiba taiata din cutia de lapte.
Ambele saibe au fost unse cu vazelina si ajuta la  functionarea mai lina a monturii.
Another view of the lever and handle.Under the shoulder of the setting screw there is another ''milk jug washer''.
Both washers were greased with petrol jelly and help the smoother operation of the mounting.

''Parghia binoculara '' functioneaza pe montura ''Penelopa'' ,executata din armaturi de 1.5''.
The ''Bino Lever'' is working on the ''Penelopa'' pipe-mount made of 1.5'' fittings. 


Vedere dinspre oculare a ''Parghiei binoculare''.
A view from ocular end of the ''Bino Mount''.


Cate unul odata ,nu toate odata!
One at a time ,not all at the same time!

Contagreutatile cantaresc impreuna 1 kg si sunt suficiente pentru binoclurile modeste pe care le am.
The one kg counterweights are enough for the modest binoculars I own.



Oculare ,de sus in jos :Erfle -Erfle-Kellner-Kellner
Oculars,top down:Erfle -Erfle-Kellner-Kellner

Fujinon Mariner 7x50mm pe ''Parghia binoculara'',privind increzator spre Sud!
Fujinon Mariner 7x50mm riding the ''Bino Lever'' ,looking confidently South!

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Optimizarea telescopului meu newtonian 76mm F/9 -Revamping of my Three Inch F/9 Newtonian Reflector



Telescopul meu reflector tip Newton D=76mm F=700mm,dupa modernizare.
Acesta a fost initial un telescop ''Optus'' comercializat(si de) reteaua Lidl.
Inafara de optica din sticla si suportul din plastic al cautatorului,toate celelalte elemente ale tubului optic sunt confectionate din metal.
Am testat telescopul pe obiecte ceresti .Am vazut ca rezolva Porrima in Virgo  ,Epsilon 1-2 in Lyra si Alula Australis /Xi in Ursa Mare  si mi-a prezentat patru sau cinci benzi pe Jupiter ,Syrtis Major si calota polara a lui Marte.
Acest telescop e un supravietuitor!
My three inch F/9 Newtonian reflector ,after revamping.
This was initially an ''Optus'' telescop sold (also by) Lidl .
Excepting the glass optics and the plastic finder support ,all other components are made of metal.
I have tested the telescope on heavenly bodies and I find out it resolved double stars like Porrima in Virgo ,Epsilon 1-2 in Lyra and Alula Australis /Xi Ursae Majoris and it showed four or five belts on Jupiter ,Syrtis Major and the Polar Cap on Mars.
This telescope is a survivor!
Telescopul a avut ocularul cu axa orizontala.Am rotit portocularul cu 45 grade pentru pozitia recomandata de Herschel.
De fapt am rotit cu 45 de grade axele orizontale care se aseaza in lagarele furcii.
The telescope had the ocular in horizontal direction.I rotated the focuser with 45 degree to to position recommended by Herschel.
Actually I rotated with 45 degree the horizontal trunions sitting in the fork.
In constructia originala , tubul culisant al portocularului intra in fasciculul de lumina al oglinzii principale.
Initially ,the draw tube of the focuser was obstructing the light of the primary mirror.



Am rezolvat aceasta obstructionare suparatoare taind  tubul culisant al portocularului imediat la capatul dinspre oglinda secundara a cremalierei .
I solved this annoying obstruction by cutting the draw tube of the focuser right at the end of the rack next to the secondary mirror.

Detaliu al trepiedului din lemn ,de constructie proprie.Bratele de rigidizare sunt tot din lemn si sunt prinse in suruburi normale , suruburi cu carlig iar capul unui surub cu ochi joaca rolul de inel de asamblare.
Detail of the DIY wooden tripod.The spreader arms are made of wood and assambled through normal screws , hook-screws while the head of an eyelet-screw is holding all together.
Bucsa de nailon care forma ajustaj cu axa verticala a furcii nu mai exista.Am confectionat la un atelier de strungarie aceasta bucsa metalica ce formeaza ajustaj cu joc mic cu axul furcii.In acelasi timp ,prin diametrul sau ,bucsa va permite folosirea pe acelasi trepied a unui alt reflector mic si a unui lunete super RFT de 60mm F/4.
The nylon bushing fitting the vertical shaft of the fork there is no more.A machining shop made this steel bushing matching the fork shaft.When deciding the diameter of the bushing, I had the choice to make the tripod available to be used by another small reflector and of a 60mm F/4 super RFT refractor.
Trepiedul de constructie proprie nu mai este colapsabil decat pe directie radiala dar pe aceasta directie se poate inchide complet.
The DIY wooden tripod is  only radially collapsible but by this direction it can be fully closed.
Portocularul ,desi de dimensiuni normale , a fost prevazut de catre proiectant cu o bucsa care permitea folosirea ocularelor de 24,5 mm.Acea bucsa a fost inlocuita cu o bucsa de aluminiu care permite folosirea ocularelor pe standard de 1.25''.
Ocularul din imagine este un ocular militar de tip Kellner cu focala de 40mm ,primit de la prietenul meu Silviu aka ''zoth''.La o marire de 17,5x ,ocularul cuprinde intreg roiul deschis al Pleiadelor M45 iar imaginea stelelor este foarte frumoasa ,punctiforma peste intregul camp vizual de doua grade.
Even if the focuser is of normal size ,it was provided by design with a cap allowing the use of 0.965'' oculars.
The original cap was replaced  with an Aluminium cap allowing the use of 1.25'' oculars.

The ocular in this picture is a 40mm Kellnerian provided by my friend Silviu aka ''zoth''.At a magnification of 17.5 x ,it embrace the full open cluster of M45 or Pleiades ,while the images of the stars are pin pointed all across two degree  visual field.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Poze din 20 Martie /Pics of March 20



Luceafarul ,in faptul serii

                                                                             
Sirius si Mirzam ,printre ramurile marului



                                                                               
Jupiter ,la stanga si Zeta Hydrae la dreapta,
de sub pin


                                                                             
Castor ,sus,  Pollux ,jos
 si uimitor de multa culoare


Stele principale din Orion :Betelgeus si Bellatrix ,sus,
Alnitak,Alnilam si Mintaka la mijloc ,
Rigel si Kappa Ori , jos












Venus la Apus