Space Forum / Amateur Astronomy / November 2005

I accidently saw a gamma ray burst while observing the stars yesterday
and now hove trouble with my vision.
Will I become blind because of seeing a gamma ray burst???

Would the physical laws that we have determined on earth apply everywhere
else in the universe?
Just as sound changes speed when it enters a different medium, could light
somehow be manipulated as it travels through space and cause stellar objects

From reading this newsgroup I understand that .avu format seems to be the
conventional file format for digital imaging.  I usually associate that
format with motion pictures.  Why is that the format used for
time exposures through a telescope ?  I undertstand that .jpg wouldn't

I have enjoyed following astronomy for a looonngg time and have spent
the last post Y2k looking at the night sky through my telescope.  I
think I am now ready to move to a starter scope.  Before I start, I want
one that is portable (in a 2002 Corolla) and has GoTo capability.

I'm talking with a local Boy Scout leader about counselling
the Astronomy merit badge.  Reading their book on the topic,
I was surprised to find that the Scouts teach not to use a
telescope for solar observing, because filters aren't safe

I could not find exactly what I was after on FAQs mentioned on this
group or a quick google search, so apologies if this is an often
answered question.
I have a soon-to-be 8 years old nephew who is interested in astronomy

Had a really clear night here in western Washington two night ago and
had great (though cold at 24F) seeing for this area.
I tried using the Celestron LPR filter for the first time with film
photography.  Just tried taking pictures of fairly dense areas of

Not much when on this past weekend. On Thursday I went to the corner and had
a few kids stop by, but within 2 hours I had to give up, clouds had moved
in.
Friday/Saturday had 65+MPH winds.

I was wondering why I rarely see amateur off-axis scopes.  Looking at
them diagramatically, they seem quite simple.  The huge advantage of no
central obstruction is very attractive so why isn't everyone using
them?  There must be a big downside that I am missing.

does anyone know anything about these dobs seem to be at a good price o
telescopes.co
--
hansolo

How and where to get results from Gravity Probe B mission ?
There are very few things on http://einstein.stanford.edu/ and their links.
Where can we find in depth papers ?
Thierry

I want to make my own focal reducer for my 11" SCT. Can anyone tell me
how to figure
the actual focal reduction based on the f.l. of the achromat lens?
There are several

I've not yet seen a FAQ for this group, and it's been far more than a
month since I've been reading this group, so I have to ask, is there s
website that hosts the FAQ ?
And surely the subject of what to wear when observing in cold weather has

This may seem absurd, but I can't tell from the pictures.  Is the Losmandy
GM8 greatly superior to the Orion SkyView Pro or the newer CG-5?  I have two
SVPs and a CG-5 and they are adequate mounts. The SVPs are a bit shakey with
a 5" refractor (and UP)...I'd like to sell them all ...

I want to get some decent wide angle atrso images (Milky Way etc). I
was hoping to use the stacking technique. A friend uses Registax but
says that it only stacks using one point of reference. For the entire
image to match up surely you need at least two points of reference?