17 October 2008

Measuring the Sky


Above is a sketch showing approximately what's seen when one looks through a Celestron Micro Guide eyepiece. The linear scale has a real length of 6 millimeters. Adjacent scale divisions are 1/10 of a millimeter apart. I'll be using the Micro Guide eyepiece to make a variety of measurements while using Excalibur - my 13cm refractor.

The separation distance between scale divisions will of course vary depending upon the magnification that the eyepiece provides with a given telescope. My measurements indicate that the divisions are about 24.80 seconds of arc apart when the eyepiece is used with Excalibur without a barlow. With my three barlows the divisions become 11.06, 10.36, and 7.84 arc-seconds apart.

The linear scale will be used to measure linear distances such as the separation of double stars. The outermost circular scales will be used to measure position angles.

I was stricken be a sore throat on the 5th of October. Some congestion and an occassional cough remains. Hopefully it's not progressed to bronchitus or pneumonia. Currently I'm not sure if this situation is getting better or worse, but at the moment I'm feeling healthier than I was earlier. I might be feeling up to at least a brief observing session tonight. I stepped outside this morning in time to catch sight of Saturn in the east-southeast with the unaided eye.

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