Shirva
New Member
LOCATION BRIGADOON ,SCOTLAND.. GMT=0
Posts: 6
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Post by Shirva on Feb 20, 2016 15:38:18 GMT
avatar= shirva so for those who are wondering why that name and go to look it up,its not... a village in Udupi taluk of Udupi district, Karnataka, India lol. its taken from a stretch of the forth and clyde canal at the small village of twechar in Scotland,my papa was the last lock keeper on that stretch of the canal before it shut..so its in rememberance of where my mums side of the family came from.
astronomy,,relative newbie,i started getting intrested in 2011 or there abouts,i joined all the main forums looking at how to do astronomy,i settled in stargazers lounge,,i found myself getting pulled away from visual very shortly after getting started to astrophotography and was pants at it,,so I bought a book from steve Richards and got lots of helpfrom him and became competent with it,but the weather in the kelvin valley in Scotland is total murder,,must be one of the rainiest places in the planet. so I wanted faster results and thought about video,,never even new you could do it,,tucked away at the bottom of sgl and started reading ,,it was a bit of a ghost site but I read and learned a bit and as video astronomy grew I found I could pass on what I learned,,,two years ago I decided that video astronomers needed a more dedicated site to do video and created the video astronomy forum on proboards,i asked in guys I knew from sgl to help,,carlos the jackyll,,karl.spacedout, now of video astronomy live,ken dragonman,johnno,,rick marshall,allanuk,hemmi.and been enjoying helping fellow video astronomers since. kinda doing a bit with nsn now lol.
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Post by Rick in NWArk on Feb 22, 2016 18:14:11 GMT
I'm Rick and I live in Springdale, Arkansas in the US... thus, the nickname Rick_NWArk or Rick in NWArk.
It seems like I've always been looking up, lol! My first scope was a red Tasco 50mm on very wobbly legs when I was 15. I wish I still had it! I spent many an evening trying to see different objects through it but my favorite were Jupiter and Saturn and the Moon. I got a chance to go see Don Yeomans give a talk about the return of Halley's Comet and got his signature. I really wanted to go to the University of Arizona and study Astronomy, and I was accepted, but we just couldn't afford the out-of-state tuition.
In college, I took a couple of Astronomy classes along with my regular math and physics coursework. I was a volunteer for the Astronomy professor for various open houses and events like Halley's Comet. I got experience with Meade 10" SCTs and a 12" Newtonian. My senior year we upgraded to a Celestron 14" SCT, but I only got limited experience with it. I also got to meet Alan Guth (developed the theory of cosmic inflation) while in school.
After school, I pursued a career in IT and throughout the 90s held small Astronomy "parties", usually centered around the Perseid Meteor dates. I also participated in several outreach events, especially with schools. My main weapons were a Coulter 8" f/4.5 dob and a Celestron C80 refractor - both of which I still own. My son, who is 11, has taken over the Coulter when we bring it to club events, where he likes to show other kids.
I've been officially involved in Video Astronomy now for 2 years, but I researched it for a while before that. While I enjoy looking at different objects myself, my real passion is sharing it with others. For me, Video Astronomy is such a huge game changer. Instead of spending all night just to share 1 or 2 objects and managing kids in line and after every other kid having to re-adjust the scope, I can have a setup with multiple monitors and have a whole group of 10-15 standing behind me - all able to see the object. But its not just that - Video lets me show them some of the colors of the objects versus the standard "Do you see that grey smudge? That's it."
So far, my efforts have all been live video - meaning an analog camera with no stacking or a digital camera with no stacking. I'm looking forward to entering into the world of Miloslick and AstroToaster with DSLRs very soon, assuming I can get some consistently good weather. I have been very limited this past Fall and Winter due to continually cloudy skies or rain.
Right now, my focus is on getting better polar alignment with my Celestron AVX & Tripod. Due to huge trees to my whole East and my NW, it is constantly a challenge. Once I have that nailed, I want to move on to some of my other projects, including: - Live H-Alpha viewing of DSOs - Live viewing of Sun in H-Alpha - Live viewing of the Planets with Eyepiece Projection - Live stellar spectroscopy - Explore possibilities of a supernova search team
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mrwizard
New Member
Someday the sky in Tacoma will clear, I'll have a working mount and camera (all at the same time)
Posts: 40
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Post by mrwizard on Mar 6, 2016 17:16:44 GMT
Hey Guys, I'm basically, a reclusive sort and have always wondered about the things up there (pointing up). Astronomy was and still is my escape from human contact. When the sky is clear I am out in the privacy of my dome away from all of the ills of society. Jim Turners Night Skies Network dot com was the game changer for me. It pulled me out of my shell and had me being social after 40 years of living like a vampire. Nothing feels so good as to be able to share my rare days (we average less than 50 days a year)or night time skies (even fewer)with people from around the world.
List me as a total amateur, I never did like taking the route of actually sitting in a class to earn the "rights" to doing something I could learn at home quicker. The sky is the limit and I am happy to announce my presence here on the Pro boards for night skies network dot com!
My basic astronomical gear includes five telescopes (not counting the guide scope) ranging from a 71mm refractor to a 10inch SCT all from popular companies...(is Meade still in business??) A couple mounts support the scopes, the Losmandy Gemini I and an iOptron mini-tower (for solar), A box of great things called eyepieces for when the power is out and the night sky becomes a mag 20, six electronic cameras for different uses and my newest edition a Canon 7D Mark II for when I decide to start down the imaging path. All of the gear is housed in a POD type dome with the PZT roll off set up.
Thank you Joe for keeping things going, "Shirva" and Rick, great meeting you again, I am Craig aka MrWizard, clear and steady skies to everyone here on NSN pro boards
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Shirva
New Member
LOCATION BRIGADOON ,SCOTLAND.. GMT=0
Posts: 6
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Post by Shirva on Mar 6, 2016 17:42:42 GMT
great hearing from you again craig,enjoy the nsn forum,once the website is launched im shure it will be a game changer in the world of astronomy,hopefully bringing all to the table and making the world a smaller place.davy
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Post by scopesnc on Mar 6, 2016 18:31:14 GMT
Hi there all. I'm Jim Turner. I'm from somewhere in the Milky Way Galaxy near a place called North Carolina. I hope to catch a lot of broadcast shows using this site and to learn more from others.
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warpfactor
New Member
Chuckwalla Observatory
Posts: 4
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Post by warpfactor on Mar 7, 2016 0:42:04 GMT
What's up folks. I'm Charlie, aka Warp. I've been broadcasting on NSN since around 2013 under the name Chuckwalla Observatory. Some of you know me, a lot of you don't. Last year, life really got in the way of my hobby, so I took sort of a break from astronomy to take care of business. But since the start of the new year, I've been getting back into the swing of things. Hopefully once the new NSN site is up I can get back to doing what I love.
Just like Mr. Jim Turner, I'm also from a place called North Carolina. But currently I'm on the opposite side of the country, dwelling in the middle of the Mojave Desert in a paradise called Edwards Air Force Base. I've been with the USAF for 6 years, most of that time spent here at Edwards. SoCal skies are usually great for astronomy, except for this little thing called El Nino currently making the sky not so good.
I've had an interest in astronomy for as long as I can remember, but my involvement in the hobby really started to flourish about 10 years ago when I got my first real telescope. I love video astronomy, astrophotography, planetary and solar imaging and even good ol' visual observation from time to time.
I look forward to broadcasting and watching others broadcast once things are back up and running again. Clear skies!
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Post by Rick in NWArk on Mar 7, 2016 3:28:24 GMT
Great to see you again, Craig! I loved your broadcasts and look forward to seeing them again soon.
Jim, can't wait to see more of that Infinity! As always, thank you for all you've done and continue to do!
Charlie, I'm looking forward to seeing your broadcasts and I'm glad you're active in the hobby again!
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Post by AstroEd on Mar 7, 2016 18:43:01 GMT
Hi old, new, and future friends,
I am Edward "AstroEd" Henry from Springfield, Mo. I have been interested in Space and later Astronomy since I was About 16 years old but did not get my first scope until I was in my late 20's My first scope was a Meade ETX-80 that I mostly used to view the Moon, and planets till someone suggested a white light filter and I fell in love with the Sun. With in a year I upgraded to a Celestron 9.25 GPS setup till I cracked the corrector plate bring it into a very warm house from a cold night of viewing. Too broke to get it repaired it eventually ended up in the trash. Around 2010 I got a Meade ETX-125ec but hardly used it as something was wrong with the mount. Fast forward to October 2013 I once more was bitten by the Astronomy bug and decided to get a new scope. I discovered local astronomers and Night Skies Network where I drove people crazy trying to decide what I wanted. I eventually settled on a Celestron 11" EdgeHD CGEM-DX, Mallincam Hyper Plus (Later upgraded to a extreme) from a friend and no clue what I was doing but I was having a ball. I never could figure out polar alignment despite repeated efforts from Andy Harris to help so my images were full of star trails poor focus at times. Eventually I found this setup too heavy to set up especially in winter as the mount was too tall and heavy. I upgraded to a iOptron CEM60 (much lighter and shorter, I love it) got myself a Explore Scientific 80mm triplet, ZWO's ASI174mm and ASI120mc-S. A few months later went into debt for a Lunt 80mm Ha scope. I do mostly Solar currently mainly due to still having issues with a proper polar alignment. I have not touched the 11" or 80mm in a long time but I hope this will change soon as the weather improves as I have purchased a QHY PoleMaster and have high hopes my polar alignment troubles will be over and once more I can get out under the night skies. what does the future hold? Who knows, I am looking toward a larger refractor 100-152mm and a Daystar quark, I also hope to move to Arizona and have a permenent pier setup for a couple of scopes. Time will tell.
so come join me under the skies be it day or night and let's share the wonders of the universe in friendship, joy and education.
May your skies be dark and your visions bright.
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Post by johnsankus on Mar 9, 2016 19:43:45 GMT
Hi, just joined in. My name is John, I am new to the more online social part of astro imaging and video astronomy. I have been reading a lot of your posts on CN and other sites as well as the more recent videos on google+/youtube. I look forward to sharing in this exciting hobby!
About me: I am an IT Admin for T-Mobile USA. I have been working professionally in the info tech field since 1991, so you can imagine what I have seen and learned in all those years. :^) I am father of two krazy boys (Johnny, 8; Connor 4) and husband to my wife, Tonya (who puts up with a lot with all my hobbies, including this one!). I have always been interested in Astronomy since I was a child. Not until recently have I been able to afford all these new toys and it seems as though video astronomy has started to really take off, so I am glad to be here to learn and share with you all.
Look forward to some fun times this summer!
Thank you.
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Post by astrogate on Mar 10, 2016 0:25:56 GMT
Just wanted to say hi to everyone on this forum and I am very glad to be part of it. I have been involved in Astronomy for 25 years now with my first years in visual and film astrophotography. About 20 years ago I started to get into CCD imaging and was involved quite intense for about 15 years. My last 8 years have now turned to video observing or near real-time observing and broadcasting which I enjoy this part of the hobby the most. I have had a private dental practice now for 27 years and when not doing that, I love astronomy with a strong passion.
Cheers,
Chris Appleton Astrogate
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Shirva
New Member
LOCATION BRIGADOON ,SCOTLAND.. GMT=0
Posts: 6
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Post by Shirva on Mar 10, 2016 1:33:38 GMT
Welcome to the nsn forum john,it's a new forum and exciting times for astronomy,the launch of the new broadcasting site isn't far away now and then we hope this forum will be bursting with information,,well that's the idea we had anyway,,,but it a reality than can be achieved if we all pull together in here,,we all have a great opportunity to push astronomy further,guy's like joe and the rest of the staff here are taking a gamble not only with money but with there time to make this work.we have the drive we just need the help from all of the members,post your videos and images and help others achieve what you have achieved and make this a welcoming place to come and learn astronomy.davy
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Shirva
New Member
LOCATION BRIGADOON ,SCOTLAND.. GMT=0
Posts: 6
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Post by Shirva on Mar 10, 2016 1:36:40 GMT
Welcome to the forum chris and of course to your position of admin on the forum.your years of experience will be a great source of information for a lot of us..davy
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Shirva
New Member
LOCATION BRIGADOON ,SCOTLAND.. GMT=0
Posts: 6
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Post by Shirva on Mar 10, 2016 1:39:08 GMT
Welcome to the forum astroed,looking forward to your participation in the forum.davy
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Shirva
New Member
LOCATION BRIGADOON ,SCOTLAND.. GMT=0
Posts: 6
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Post by Shirva on Mar 10, 2016 1:45:03 GMT
Welcome to the forum,warpfactor Charlie,is good to see you here we need as many folk broadcasting as possible to make nsn.com and the forum work,the staff can only provide a venue but we need broadcasters and folk with passion for the hobby to drive it forward,the staff here are very excited about the new forum and website and will give it our all to make it a success..davy
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Shirva
New Member
LOCATION BRIGADOON ,SCOTLAND.. GMT=0
Posts: 6
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Post by Shirva on Mar 10, 2016 1:49:24 GMT
Hi jt,it's a two way door as you know ,you learn a bit and you pass on a bit,,it's great having you here as a member and of course without your vision for nsn a lot of us wouldn't be here,,hope the new forum and website carries on your good work..davy
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