RAP 2012

Not a too bad weather for this year: 2 hours the first night, nearly a full night the second, with plenty of the sun every day!!!!

RAP 2012

2012_05_02_RASIII_plans_hotonnes

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Mars 2012

Here are some sketches of the 2012 Mars opposition. The weather was cooperative, so I could nearly draw a complete turn of Mars during one mounth, by observing each night at the same time. There were often clouds on high relief (Olympus Mons) or even on Syrtis Major shortly after sunrise on Mars. the scope used is a Meade Lighbridge 16 with a bino with 20mm eyepieces and a 4X powermate:

Lunt LS35T

How to enjoy the sun during winter time, when you the low rare sunlights occure when you are at work? The Lunt LS35 with a trumpet bag is the way to go!!!! For 35 euros this trumpet backpack includes:
- 3cm thick foam, doubled at the bottom,
-1 small bag for acessories, like a netbook,
-1 smaller bag with a separetion: ideal for 2 eyepieces
and other 1 zipped pockets for flat stuff...
and you are ready to observe the sun during lunch time!!! Or take it for mountain trecks and observe the sun at high altitude!!!
The LS35 is top for viewing proms and surface details, up to 2D=75x magnifications. The 10mm eyepiece included with the Deluxe version gives you 1D magnification, wich perfect to catch details and proms.

Vintage 80/1200 OTA

As a kid, how much time did I seen adds in astronomy mags for scopes like these, dreaming to use one.... so seeing one 30 years later at 40 euros was impossible to resist...

Old 150 F/8 newtonian OTA

This scope is a bit special for me, as it's may first homemade scope and that it has haunted my dreams during my Childhood... all stated with an encyclopedia at my great parents haouse: "Tout l'univers", aka All Universe. With many interesting thigs about history, geoggraphy, etc, there was a tutorial "How to make your own scope"!!!!!! I have grown up having a look insisde this 10 volumes encyclopedia. First as a small kid, only browsing the images and thinking, "Hey that looks cool, stars and a way to access them, gees!!". Then getting holder, after building some planes and boats with wood, I planned to get into action!!! The planes/boats convinced my parents that I could make it, so they bought the optics from Meade. However at 14teen, I took some books of math and physics to finalise the optical train and getmy first view of M42b like on picts. Here is the result, achieved in 1981, 30 years later, the optic is pristine!!! However the equatorial fork mount didn't survive....

Boomscope Corsica 2011

Voila enfin quelques photos en utilisation, près de Porto Pollo en Corse. Tout a marché comme prévu y compris un temps mitigé en début de séjour (3 jours de pluie en juillet: pas vu ca en 20 ans), pour cause de "nouveau" télescope....
Dans cette version, la partie caisse primaire sur le dos fait 22kg, la partie secondaire/tube fait 6kg.
L'installation se fait dans l'ordre, pour éviter du sable partout:
-pose du tapis sur le sable, puis pose du secondaire sur le tapis, du sac à accessoires, puis de la caisse du primaire,
-empilage caisse primaire sur disque de rotation, assemblage secondaire sur primaire, toile pare-lumière, assemblage du mat, puis basculement du scope sur le coté.
-enfin, ouverture de la trappe du primaire et fixation sur le tube du secondaire, puis retrait du cache secondaire (en dernier, permet d'éviter de se cogner la tête dessus)
et voila!!!!
L'ouverture de la trappe primaire incliné et en dernier permet d'éviter des choses de tomber dessus, attention aux oculaires qd même.