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Post by howie1 on May 6, 2018 19:27:46 GMT
Crap weather again, clouds, and wind. Saw davy's test daytime focus on a telecoms tower so thought might as well start a thread. Here's my daytime test out a camera and software and find the focus point testing object. Kills two birds with one stone (pardon the pun). Test camera and find focus point as well as see if the nest has another chick / anything roosting in it. Couple of Sea Eagles use this every year. I've seen them feeding the young un's and fighting off swooping magpies and crows up there.
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Post by davy on May 6, 2018 21:22:51 GMT
Cracking site for them,,do they make the mast like that specifically for nesting birds
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Post by howie1 on May 7, 2018 2:15:46 GMT
Yes, they are made like that davy. I think it started in WA (State of Western Australia) where some local group saw the telco maintenance guys having a problem up a tower! LOL - can you imagine the scene!. An osprey (think it was?) had nested down between the receiver/transmitter pillars (those 7 or so aluminium columns under the nest in the photo). They were facing an eviction, but locals made a steel "nest" and got the telco mtce guys to install it right up on top. Kudos to our telecom carrier Telstra, as management took it on board as a public media / green thing. Dunno about Aussie wide (?) but certainly in my state all Telstra towers have the steel nest. Sea Eagles nest in my "target/focus tower" in Spring. Beaut looking things. White underneath (wings and under-body) so fish can't see them hovering up on high, and grey mottled (top of body and wings) so they can cruise over water unseen to smaller birds up higher (who then get nabbed from underneath). I'm told by a photographer bloke who I met out at Lake Wyaralong setting up one afternoon that they use the fighter pilots "out of the Sun" technique. But interesting, both when pouncing on fish (and birds from up high attack altitude) ... but also from low over the water. He said, on spotting a small bird up high, they orientate themselves so the Suns reflection off the water is the right angle to create a blind spot for the higher up prey. So he reckons you'll see them drop suddenly down very close to the water to build up speed, then pull a tight G turn / upswing at the Sun reflection point and zoom up from under to snatch the small prey from the sky - which can't see it as the Sun is bouncing brightly off the water behind the Eagle. BTW the photos that photographer bloke took (no astro all nature) were just amazing. He hung around and was very interested in us astro bods out there. Wonder if he took it up? www.facebook.com/pg/Ben-Messina-Landscape-and-Nature-Photography-373958289352046/photos/?ref=page_internal
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Post by Dragon Man on May 7, 2018 13:00:29 GMT
When setting up outside the observatory I use a particular tree over 2 kilometres away (could be more, I've never measured it) and for aligning my finderscope to the main scope and rough focus when I am using the observatory I use a little wind turbine on a farm house about 4 kilometres away, but I don't have any photos of it. Another club member uses the same wind turbine when aligning his Huge Dob finderscope. I'll grab a pic of it next time if I remember.
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KennFromTX
Member
Posts: 29
home town/country: Pharr Texas
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Post by KennFromTX on May 7, 2018 23:56:56 GMT
I align my focuser on the top most red light out back/right.
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Post by howie1 on May 8, 2018 1:21:31 GMT
Looks like some very interesting work going on building/refurbishing the obs in the backyard Kenn!
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Post by Dragon Man on May 8, 2018 10:23:34 GMT
I align my focuser on the top most red light out back/right. Hey Kenn, can you read the part number of the filament in that light?
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KennFromTX
Member
Posts: 29
home town/country: Pharr Texas
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Post by KennFromTX on May 17, 2018 23:18:16 GMT
I align my focuser on the top most red light out back/right. Hey Kenn, can you read the part number of the filament in that light? Im sure i could with a 10mm eyepiece, Heeheehee
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