Prepping for a Star Party

 

               I’m excited! The AAAP will be holding star parties once again. With the majority of the population in Pennsylvania being vaccinated, the mask requirements have been dropped.

               This will be the first star party in 20 months. Since my retirement is nearing, I am no longer working Friday nights. This will free me up for both nights (July 16 & 17^th) at the Wagman Observatory in Deer Lakes Park.

               The general idea behind a star party is to show the public the wonders of the night sky. Club members bring their telescopes and set them up so that visitors can use them. Guests are welcome to bring their own scopes or just look through the member’s scopes. All the telescopes are there for you to look through, including the two large scopes mounted in the observatory. 

                  I can’t remember the last time I took a telescope to a star party. I do know it has been a long time! I used to go to lots of them. I had possession of one of the clubs better refractors and would set it up near the observatory. I remember fondly people saying that the refractor showed better images than the two mounted telescopes inside the building. Ahh, those were the days. It is always enjoyable showing people the stars!

               Since it has been such a long time since I went to one and dealt with the public, I figured I needed to make up a checklist to make sure I didn’t forget anything I would need.  I also made a list of possible objects to view during the night.

               Forgetting things is something I tend to do very well. There is nothing worse than driving 10-15 miles only to discover that I’ve forgotten the box of eyepieces or the weights used to balance the scope.

               There are approximately 20 days until the first star party. (Depending on when I post this or when you read it) I’ve made up my “to take” list and my “to view” list. Both are subject to change as the dates near. Here is what I’ve included so far:

To Take:

The Refractor

Tripod

Weights

Eyepieces

Binoculars

Flashlight (red)

Log book/ pens

Star Atlas, Observers Handbook & the current Astronomy magazine

Drinks / Snacks

Jacket

Hat

Bug spray

 

To Observe:

    Venus (west) sets around 10

    Mars (west)

    Moon- sets after midnight

    Jupiter (east) rises around 10:30-11

    Saturn (east) rises around 9:30- 10

    Any satellite passes worth noting

    Mizar and Alcor (Ursa Major)

    M81 & 82 (Ursa Major)

    M-31 Andromeda Galaxy

    M-57 Ring Nebula (Lyra)

    Double Double (Lyra) Epsilon Lyrae     

    Double cluster (Persius) after midnight ?

    Coat Hanger Cluster  (in line with Alberio)

    Alberio Double star in Cygnus 

With my list of objects to observe, I try to go for things which will be exciting for novices to see. It is also important to list things which will be visible during the night of the party! No sense listing the Orion Nebula if Orion won’t be in the sky that night.

               Venus and Mars will be in the western sky, setting shortly after dark falls. The moon will be in the sky until around midnight, being about 40% illuminated, it will be a good object to observe. The mountains along the terminator are always fun to look at.

               The planets Jupiter and Saturn are always crowd pleasers, they will be showing up in the east as the night progresses. The moons of Jupiter can be seen to move over an hour or so and the rings of Saturn are always memorable.

I have included a couple double stars and a few other things such as clusters and asterisms. I also included M-57, the Ring Nebula. This can be a difficult object for some to discern since it is rather faint, I’ll save it for later in the night, after the moon sets.

Before the event, I’ll go out in the yard and try to locate these objects. I haven’t done a lot of observing lately and I need to be able to quickly locate these things. It is always tough when someone is standing there, waiting to see what you have in your scope!

I’m anxiously looking forward to these dates. It will be great to spend a night under the stars. This though, brings up another subject, the possibility of bad weather. We live in Pittsburgh and it has a terrible history of bad weather conditions. I always say, “If there is something astronomical planned, the chances are it will rain!” (The picture above was taken during a VERY close conjunction between Saturn and Jupiter. The weather gods laughed at us…) I might have a cramp or two on July 16^th and 17^th, because I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed until then!

If you’re in the area, I hope to see you there!  Mark these dates...July 16 & 17, 2021! Find out more at The Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh web site:

3AP.ORG

I went outside for awhile last night and located a couple of the items on my list. It was a beautiful night, the temperature was perfect for observing. A pair of shorts and an open shirt was all I needed. (That and some bug spray) The stars competed with the fireflies. I saw a couple shooting stars and then got stuck on the items I was observing.  I wanted to just find them and then go to the next but I found I couldn’t help but stick with them for awhile, enjoying the beauty of the night. I saw LOTS of satellites; it seems as if no matter where I’m looking, one will drift through the field of view. Just before I tore things down, I saw a great shooting star, it was slow and bright and right where I was looking. How can you beat that?

Speaking of satellites, I woke up a little before 5 the next morning and watched the Chinese space station, Tianhe-1, go over and then a short while later, the International Space Station following a slightly different path. I watched both until they were lost in the brightness of the eastern sky.

The birds were chirping away, singing their morning songs and I, went back to bed where my dreams were waiting for me.

Not Bad For a Monday!

 

               It was right around 1:30 on a humid Monday afternoon. I was standing above the railroad tracks along the Ohio River. The 6 mile marker was only a hundred yards away.

               Below me, an eastbound Norfolk and Southern train was sitting, waiting for permission to continue on. Since it wasn’t moving, it gave me time to set up my camera, mount it on the tripod and frame my shot. I had an hour and a half until I needed to be at work, things were looking rather good!

               A short time earlier I had arrived at the Emsworth Dam where I had planned on watching trains for a while. If I was lucky I might see one or two and maybe even get a couple shots of them in the process.

               Coming down to the tracks I saw railcars moving through the trees. Getting closer, I saw flat cars with John Deere tractors loaded on them. Their distinct green color gave them away. I saw a line of large black tractor tires rounding the bend, moving away from me.

               I had always thought this would be a great shot. I’ve seen these tractor moves before but was never in a good spot to shot them. I’ve been on highways with no place to pull over or else, the train had passed by the time I got the camera out.

               They were already past my viewing area and the way the tracks curved here, I wouldn’t have been able to get them anyway. I figured it was another opportunity missed. “Oh well, no big deal.”

               I turned the car around and then stopped. Where could I get another shot of these cars? Maybe as they crossed the Ohio Connecting Bridge. I knew a spot that looks right into the bridges as they cross the Ohio River and Brunot’s Island. BUT, what if the train continued on to go up the Alleghany River? I’d miss it if I was waiting at the bridge.

               It was worth a try! I headed towards the bridge and Pittsburgh. The train was going slow when I left, hopefully I’d beat it there. As I drove along rt.65 towards Pittsburgh, different spots were running through my mind. I was thinking of the advantages and disadvantages of each as I went.

               The road going down to milepost 6 might give me a good view. It would be above the train and I might get a bit of the river in the shot also. The question was, would I be able to get there before the train passed? It was real close, chances are the train engines had already passed it. The road was coming up, I made a quick decision and turned.

               The road is paved with orange bricks and knotweed was desperately trying to hide the road. The bricks were outlined with moss; the weeds covered all but a car sized path down the hill. I crept down the road, the weeds scraping the underneath and sides of the car as I passed. I pulled over and parked where the road turns and drops down beside a cliff to the tracks below.

               I pulled onto what used to be a sidewalk. Now, potions of it are missing and the handrail, which comprised of wire rope going through cemented pipes, only existed in spots. The other spots were open to the tracks below. The road is steep and it is a long way down!

               There it was, below me, the train, sitting motionless. Things looked promising.

               After setting up the camera, while waiting for the train to start moving again, I ate my lunch and wrote a couple notes. The wind was blowing hard, showing the underneath’s of the leaves. It felt like rain was coming, thunderstorms were predicted.

               I heard a couple toots and another train passed on a track behind the stopped train. Going in the opposite direction, three engines pulled a combination of cars with a helper situated in the middle.

               A couple minutes after it passed, I heard two more toots and then the clanking as the couplers pulled against each other. I put down my drink and re-checked the settings on the camera. Slowly the train gained speed. I kept a watch where the railcars came into view, about a quarter mile away. “Nope, not a tractor…nope, not a tractor…”

               Finally, as I was starting to wonder if this was the same train, I saw that tell tale green appear. One by one they appeared making a long chain that slinked around the curve. All the details blended together forming a snake that followed the lay of the tracks.

Nearing, the details became obvious. Large wheeled tractors, most of them the same, an occasional box of equipment or tires strapped to the flatbed, every so often one that was a bit smaller than the rest. There were at least forty of them, maybe more. One after another, they were a study in similarities.

               Bringing up the end was a couple of red and blue International Harvester tractors. They just didn’t match the nice consistency of the John Deere tractors, at least in my eyes.

               I watched the rest of the train pass by as I tore down my set-up. I took a quick glance at the shots on the screen of the camera and was pleased with what I saw. With the train gone and my gear back in the car, I slowly backed up the weed choked road. The rain finally came as I was driving in to work.

               I was happy! I had gotten my John Deere train picture, the rain had held off until I was back on the road and I had stayed “fairly” dry. I did mention it was very humid! All in all, it had turned into a great experience. My rail adventure had proven fruitful. Not bad considering it was a Monday!

The Boring Head

 

               I thought you might find this tool I was using rather interesting. It is a Universal Boring Head. With it I can face surfaces, turn diameters, bore holes and put scrolls (actually concentric circles) to bite into gaskets amongst other things.

 Here are a couple shots showing how it works. Excuse the quality of the shots, the lighting wasn’t the best! The shots are not in the order I did the work. (Clicking on the photos will enlarge them!)

This is the head. There are holes in its face where you can place boring bars or other tools. The screws hold the tools in place. There is a hole that runs through the sliding part so you can put tools sticking out the ends also if needed. I have a tool clamped in its center so I could put small grooves in the face of the casting. The head is held in the spindle of the mill, behind the knurled ring.

I just put grooves in the raised face here. They are put there so that gaskets will sit tight against it when the casting is assembled. Each groove is .032” (1/32) away from the previous one. They are all .004” deep. I control how deep they go by moving the machine spindle.

In this shot I have just finished cutting the diameter to size. The boring bar is held in one of the holes and the entire head is moved across the diameter as it is rotating, by moving the spindle out of the machine.

This tool was specially made to face the back side of the flanges. It is a carbide tool holder welded onto a boring bar. There is a piece of carbide (that is hidden by the tool) which does the cutting. There is a rod inserted in the knurled ring, holding the ring stopped while the rest of the head rotates. This engages the feed, moving the tool to cut across the face, just like it did in the front. How deep the cut is, is controlled by where the spindle is located.

Another view of the same set-up

Cutting the face. Each cut removes about .02".

Cutting the face

The thickness and diameters are important and need checked in-between cuts. You can see the piece of carbide in the tool holder in this shot.

A different tool is put into the head to cut a small chamfer on the edges and to remove any burrs.

I’ve removed the boring head and replaced it with a drill chuck. All the diameters and thicknesses are with-in tolerance, if not closer! Tomorrow I will drill a ring of holes around the flange. I will do this by moving the head of the mill up and down and moving the table back and forth. Another fun day at work…

 

 

The Dictionary

 

I pulled a dictionary off of the shelf in the living room this morning. There were at least ten other dictionaries sitting near-by. I pulled out the oldest one of the batch. The Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language.

               The red hardback cover is worn and the edges of the pages have a definitely dirty look to them. It has the appearance of being well used.

               The other dictionaries are newer and have more illustrations in them along with some words which weren’t being used when the older book was published. Still, this old worn book is the one that is most often consulted.

               It was a present to my father from my mother on Christmas of 1966. I know this because of the inscription on the title page written by my father. I would have been ten years old that Christmas. I can remember the times my parents sent me to it, to find out how to spell a word or to find out what a word meant. Rather than just telling me, they taught me how to search for an answer.

               There were always books in our house. Reading was one of the things we did! Newspapers, magazines, comic books, Readers Digest compilations and of course, dictionaries, they were all there. My parents had a small collection of books and this prompted me to start my own collection.

               My father taught me when I was small how to treat books. I can remember us sitting at the dining room table and him showing me how to properly turn a page. He explained that I should never lick my finger to help accomplish the task. He told me how I should never write in a book or use thick objects as book marks. I should never have my crayons near a book unless it was a coloring book.

               These instructions didn’t mean a lot to me at the time but I find that to this day, I still follow them. I try my best to keep my books in as good a shape as possible.

               While holding that dictionary, a book that is now in its fifty-fifth year of occupying that shelf, I thought about my parents books. I thought about the quality of them and how they held up through the years. I also thought about how many of them bear inscriptions and signatures and how slips of paper and newspaper articles have stained the pages while they marked favorite recipes or paragraphs. I thought about how so many of them have notes penciled in the borders. These are all things I was instructed not to do, but they are the very things which make these books so valuable to me! 

               The marginalia, the little things my parents left in there for me to find in the future are what make them so special.

               I still attempt to keep my books note free but I don’t have as much aversion as I used to about making a small note in them every so often. Putting a star beside the title of a poem I enjoyed or putting some parentheses around a paragraph I want to remember, I have learned to live with these minor infractions. Yes, I have even underlined a sentence or two occasionally.

               Perhaps someone in the future will find them helpful, humorous or insightful, much like I have. I can only hope!