Astronomy

Many of my interest in astronomy have paralleled my interest in other areas over the years - electronics, photography, metal work and programming. To that end, many of the things that will be discussed here will deal with those areas.

As mentioned in the Observatory page, my main goal at this point is to get an observatory built that I am capable of operating entirely from the comfort of my bonus room. I realize that some may view this as a conflict of interests (how can you enjoy just looking at the stars from inside!?) - bottom line - skies are clearest in the winter, a lot of good objects are visible in the winter, winter is cold and I hate being cold. Plus there is a lot of challenges in this project, all involving my areas of interest. A recent thread on the Meade Advanced Users Group mail list covered this topic in great detail, with a lot of suggestions and ideas.

After the remotely usable observatory is done, I plan to try to become proficient in the use of my CB245 CCD camera. I would also like to try my hand at imaging the Sun, although I may put that on hold until after retirement, only another 10-12 years away - I guess the Sun will wait that long.

I enjoy sharing ideas and methods. Please feel free to contact me for any details on things I have done. Drawings, schematics and source code will always be free.

David

Please address general comments to web@dv-fansler.com