Sponsored Content




Intermarkets' Privacy Policy
Support


Donate to Ace of Spades HQ!



Recent Entries
Absent Friends
Bandersnatch 2024
GnuBreed 2024
Captain Hate 2023
moon_over_vermont 2023
westminsterdogshow 2023
Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022
Dave In Texas 2022
Jesse in D.C. 2022
OregonMuse 2022
redc1c4 2021
Tami 2021
Chavez the Hugo 2020
Ibguy 2020
Rickl 2019
Joffen 2014
AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published. Contact OrangeEnt for info:
maildrop62 at proton dot me
Cutting The Cord And Email Security
Moron Meet-Ups

NoVaMoMe 2024: 06/08/2024
Arlington, VA
Details to follow


Texas MoMe 2024: 10/18/2024-10/19/2024 Corsicana,TX
Contact Ben Had for info





















« Open/Political Thread | Main | Non-Elbow Open Thread [OregonMuse] »
October 20, 2013

Spaced Out Challenge: The Sky's The Limit

[We Politely Request That All Off-Topic or Political Comments Be Directed to the Thread Directly Below This One, Which Will Serve Officially as the Current "Active Conversation" Thread for All Discussions Not Related To This Topic.

-- Sincerely, the Fascist MGMT]

70inch002_zpsffcc6b80.jpg

photo by Chuck Hards

Welcome again to the Spaced-Out Challenge. Whether you have a question about a scope, a new astronomical discovery you want to expand on, or just want to kick back and enjoy the cosmos above, come one come all on our weekly journey through space and time.


The monstrous creation you see above is the work of amateur Mike Clements. His creation has shattered the previous record for an amateur telescope (Jimi Lowrey's 48" beast Barbarella) by almost two feet with a seventy-inch primary mirror. Even more impressive is the story behind it:

Clements began began building a steel structure to house the mirror in 2012. He did it without formal training in telescope construction or welding and without any blueprints.

"He's got nothing on paper," said Clements' friend, Steve Dodds. "He did make a model out of popsicle sticks."

Clements finished the telescope and in late September, he said he put a reflective coating on the mirror with a weed sprayer.

"It was grass roots from beginning to the end," he said.

If you are imagining the view through such a colossal scope, Clements intends to take his 900 pound, school bus-sized "go-to" scope across the country, so keep a look out for a four story steel tube at your local star party.

With a full moon out, focusing on any deep space object seems a bit silly. So this week's discussion isn't going to focus on any target in the sky, but rather what drives us to appreciate the wonders above.

I'm blown away by Clements' creation, mostly with his dedication and ingenuity. Since he didn't have professional counterweights, he has attached a series of barbells off the frame. Nine hollow tubes make quick work of guiding the scope to the general area he or any other observer wants to focus on. Folding the optics with an additional mirror drops the observer's position from nearly four stories off the ground to just twenty feet. I mean, the guy used friggin' Popsicle sticks to design it.

Part of his obsession I'm sure came from wanting to have the biggest, and he's got that without any competition in sight, but I know that unyielding yearning that really drove him. The call of the stars has been with us since we were shivering in caves. Observing them was vital to all of our earliest societies. Without the sun, moon, and stars, we would have had no effective large-scale agriculture. No agriculture, no civilization. No civilization, no us in any conceivable modern sense.

Beyond the "cornerstone of civilization" element, there's something deeper behind our modern sense of awe at the universe that lay up and outwards. We are a part of something so mind-blowingly vast, so frighteningly violent yet simultaneously beautiful (see the Crab or Veil Nebula), so chaotic yet organized (see the Andromeda and Sombrero Galaxies), so incredibly foreign yet so near (see the moon), we often feel overwhelmed. Dwarfed. Insignificant.

But we are Creation made conscious. We're made of the same stuff that we eyeball, image, or peak through our scopes and binoculars at, with the very significant differences of awareness, observation, appreciation, and sense of connection. The sky is something we can all enjoy, for our own reasons. So for followers of the Spaced Out Challenge, what do you get out of looking up?

****
Again, with Christmas and Comet ISON both around the corner, it's never been a better time to get a telescope. The Beginner's Buyer's Guide can be found in the master index of all Spaced-Out Challenge threads here, but of course you can always inquire about binoculars, telescopes, and all the rest in the comments. As always, if you have astrophotography, product recommendations, or astronomy news you'd like to see on a future Spaced-Out Challenge, email me at theonandonlyfinn (at) gmail.com. Until next week, clear skies and keep looking up!

digg this
posted by CAC at 06:37 PM

| Access Comments




Recent Comments
weft cut-loop[/i][/b] [/s]: "[]i[Some statins cause both short term and long te ..."

torabora : "Pro-choice Democrat marylin lands gives anti-abort ..."

Ciampino - Was I going upstair when called?s or downstairs: "426 Posted by: Braenyard at March 28, 2024 01:09 ..."

Braenyard: "I'm overtime, y'all have a good evening. ..."

RickZ: "[i]Didn't think Kennedy would pick someone that nu ..."

mikeski: "[i]Pete Buttgiggity to sport a smug look on his fa ..."

mikeski: "[i]The original Siamese Twins, the Bunker twins, w ..."

Ciampino - Tabasco to the fartclam: "515 And some national fake day, a Tranny Day of W ..."

Puddleglum, cheer up for the worst is yet to come: "[i]509 Ramadan lights will be on display in centra ..."

raimondo: " Pro-choice Democrat marylin lands gives anti-abor ..."

Braenyard: "Didn't think Kennedy would pick someone that nuts. ..."

Ciampino - Another communist?: "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. VP pick Nicole Shanahan help ..."

Recent Entries
Search


Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Top Top Tens
Greatest Hitjobs

The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon
A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates
Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny
More Margaret Cho Abuse
Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny
Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman
Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format
John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia
World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading
Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree
Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears
Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed"
Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility
Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips
They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan
Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq
Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town
When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool
What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means
Wonkette's Stand-Up Act
Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour
Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider
My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty
Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA
An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear
The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report!
Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet
The House of Love: Paul Krugman
A Michael Moore Mystery (TM)
The Dowd-O-Matic!
Liberal Consistency and Other Myths
Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias
John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate
"Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long)
The Donkey ("The Raven" parody)
Powered by
Movable Type 2.64