The Maple Leaf Lounge

[MurphyCooper]

I can see that you're very committed to it. That is awesome. I've seen too many people via the club that I'm in who get frustrated with their telescope and leave the hobby.

The two most common things we see in the hobby, while some people like family members do mean well, end up gifting cheap inadequate scopes with wobbly mounts, usually with marketing focusing on power, and those are the kind of scopes that end up frustrating the most. The other issue we often see are newcomers coming into the hobby and buying expensive advanced computer-controlled scopes right off the bat, without learning the sky before hand, and needing help to set up their scopes because they haven't ended up learning the basics enough to set them up. Seriously, I've lost count how many times I've heard people needing help getting their scopes polar aligned.

One option most don't even realize they have is to make their own telescope. I belong to a telescope making club that has been around since the 1920's. They got into telescope making back then because the cost of commercial telescopes were prohibitively expensive, and it meant most people would have to mortage their houses, and most in town were working at a metalworks factory. They ground their own mirrors, held classes, and eventually their club was formed as it was found there was quite a bit of interest in keeping it going. The club recently celebrated its 100th year, and still puts on its yearly convention where people come from all over to display telescopes they've built. It's a craft that is highly rewarding, as you essentially make your own primary mirror and the scope itself entirely to the specifications you want. And by the end of the project, you have yourself a scope that you can view the stars and planets with that you've built yourself. There is something very grounding about that.

I don't consider myself tall, and most commercial scopes I find too tall, and I always have issues looking through eyepieces as a result. When it came time to building a scope of my own, I built it to my own specifications, as something that would be sitting closer to the ground, but also something perfectly usable for taller people as well.

I have been into the hobby for probably 15 years now, if not more. I am not avid or super knowledgable with it. For me, it mostly a solitary thing. Getting out at night to look at the planets and stars is an enjoyable thing to do. I would much rather be doing that then sitting behind a computer screen.

Now that the weather is cleared up a bit. Maybe tomorrow I'll get some good pictures of the Sun and share them here.

One thing I don't like about Refractor scopes is how they mirror the image you are looking at, but the best part is - no maintenance. With the reflector scopes, you have to clean the mirrors. I never did with the reflector scopes I did since I was afraid of breaking or damaging them somehow, so I never took them apart.

 

[Owain Taggart]

I have been into the hobby for probably 15 years now, if not more. I am not avid or super knowledgable with it. For me, it mostly a solitary thing. Getting out at night to look at the planets and stars is an enjoyable thing to do. I would much rather be doing that then sitting behind a computer screen.

Sometimes that's the best thing, just to be out there alone, although the weather's been quite terrible lately over here and haven't managed to do much observing.

Yeah, unfortunately with reflectors they do need to get cleaned, and sometimes even resurfaced depending on the storing conditions.

 

[Timewalker]

I also own the Astronomy Magazine Pluto Globe, as well as the Sky and Telescope Mercury globe. Both 12 inch. I have owned the Callisto, Titan, Io, Venus and Enceladus globes in the past but I sold those when downsizing my collection 2 years ago.

Now those are things I'd have liked to have. After all, you never know when the TARDIS might turn up and you find yourself on another planet without a map!

Seriously, I'm into maps and used to have a globe in my living room. One of my typing clients thought it was the coolest thing. He said he'd seen that sort of thing in TV shows, but didn't know people did that in real life.

One option most don't even realize they have is to make their own telescope.

I took a science option in junior high. The teacher gave us a list of sciences we could pick from, and I chose astronomy. The teacher tried talking me out of it because most of the class wanted to do biology. I figured nope, I'd already deliberately taken a failing grade one quarter because we were expected to make an insect collection - had to kill them ourselves and mount them on pins. I had no intention of dissecting anything.

So it turned out there were four of us who took astronomy and the teacher gave us a kit to build a telescope and let us use the workroom behind the lab. He'd check on us once each class to make sure we were making progress, and went with us when we were done, to try it out. Unfortunately, that class was for county kids, and they were bussed in. So none of us had the chance to try it out when it was actually dark. But at least it worked well enough on various other objects. Of course one of the kids was dumb enough to look at the Sun with it.

The rest of the term, we wrote a paper. I don't even remember what I wrote about that time.

 

[MurphyCooper]

Sometimes that's the best thing, just to be out there alone, although the weather's been quite terrible lately over here and haven't managed to do much observing.

Yeah, unfortunately with reflectors they do need to get cleaned, and sometimes even resurfaced depending on the storing conditions.

The weather has been terrible here too. This winter was rather harsh. Though last years was far worse. At least now, the snow has melted, and there is a temporary warming period for a bit. Now it is mud season. Doesn't help because there is a lot of work that needs to be done outside, such as cleaning up from recent logging on the property. Had some fairly dangerous trees removed from the property and there is a huge mess.

Now those are things I'd have liked to have. After all, you never know when the TARDIS might turn up and you find yourself on another planet without a map!

Seriously, I'm into maps and used to have a globe in my living room. One of my typing clients thought it was the coolest thing. He said he'd seen that sort of thing in TV shows, but didn't know people did that in real life.

I used to collect globes. I had 3 vintage Earth globes at one point of various sizes. I sold them when I downsized, but they were really nice ones. I had a 16 inch Floor Globe that I bought online, it came all the way over from California to the East Coast. Then when I sold it, the buyer was in Spain and it took a month to get there.

 

[Owain Taggart]

The weather has been terrible here too. This winter was rather harsh. Though last years was far worse. At least now, the snow has melted, and there is a temporary warming period for a bit. Now it is mud season. Doesn't help because there is a lot of work that needs to be done outside, such as cleaning up from recent logging on the property. Had some fairly dangerous trees removed from the property and there is a huge mess.

It's been the harshest on record here in the last several years. We kind of got our winter back and had some of the most snow in more than a decade. Unlike previous years, we never really got a warming trend, but instead we'd get several big snow storms in a row where it never got a chance to melt, leading to mass accumulations of snow. Our snowbanks have been some of the largest we've seen in more than a decade, which caused some issues for plowing, garbage pickup and recycling. Only now we're getting some relief. But Pothole season begins!

 

[MurphyCooper]

It's been the harshest on record here in the last several years. We kind of got our winter back and had some of the most snow in more than a decade. Unlike previous years, we never really got a warming trend, but instead we'd get several big snow storms in a row where it never got a chance to melt, leading to mass accumulations of snow. Our snowbanks have been some of the largest we've seen in more than a decade, which caused some issues for plowing, garbage pickup and recycling. Only now we're getting some relief. But Pothole season begins!

Winter is nice for the first month or so, but after that, it drags on. Dark days and being inside all the time isn't that great of a thing for mental health.

I was able to take a picture of the Sun and Stars today. I do need a new Solar Filter that shows the proper white color of the sun. Jupiter can be seen as the brightest "Star" below as well.

 

[Owain Taggart]

That is awesome. Thanks for sharing! I think you managed to capture a few sun spots in your first image.

And yeah, darkess is not great for mental health. Imagine living in the northern regions such as Alaska or the High Arctic.

 

[MurphyCooper]

That is awesome. Thanks for sharing! I think you managed to capture a few sun spots in your first image.

And yeah, darkess is not great for mental health. Imagine living in the northern regions such as Alaska or the High Arctic.

Yeah, there are a few sunspots. It was windy so I couldn't hold my phone without it shaking, which is why it looks fuzzy.

I hope to be able to upgrade to a newer phone this year so I can take better photos.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Do you have a good tripod that you can use with your phone? I would highly recommend it when it comes to taking astrophotos with it. You would need to get an adapter if you don't already have one, but they are fairly cheap. The tripod I'd say is just as important as the device itself.

I actually just got a new phone recently myself: A Pixel 9a. The camera supposedly has a timelapse astrophography mode, though I haven't tried it yet.

 

[MurphyCooper]

Do you have a good tripod that you can use with your phone? I would highly recommend it when it comes to taking astrophotos with it. You would need to get an adapter if you don't already have one, but they are fairly cheap. The tripod I'd say is just as important as the device itself.

I actually just got a new phone recently myself: A Pixel 9a. The camera supposedly has a timelapse astrophography mode, though I haven't tried it yet.

I don't have a phone tripod, but that's a good idea.

I have an Iphone 16e. I have my eye on the 17 Pro Max or Iphone Air.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

The Toronto Zoo is having a vote to name a baby giraffe and one of the options is Nyota.

Toronto Zoo | #babylongneck needs a name - Vote Now

www.torontozoo.com

 

[Owain Taggart]

I don't have a phone tripod, but that's a good idea.

I have an Iphone 16e. I have my eye on the 17 Pro Max or Iphone Air.

Doesn't even really need to be a phone tripod in particular, but any tripod with an adapter like the one I've mentioned. And if you want to get even more particular, there are ways of unlocking a phone's camera to do more. Phone cameras tend to be loaded with automatic functions that don't allow much for finer control. I've actually seen the guy in the video do a presentation on this several years ago. We tried it out with my Sister's iphone and it worked great.

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[MurphyCooper]

Doesn't even really need to be a phone tripod in particular, but any tripod with an adapter like the one I've mentioned. And if you want to get even more particular, there are ways of unlocking a phone's camera to do more. Phone cameras tend to be loaded with automatic functions that don't allow much for finer control. I've actually seen the guy in the video do a presentation on this several years ago. We tried it out with my Sister's iphone and it worked great.

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My question with that is, if I am to upgrade to a new Iphone in the future - which camera to put over the lens of the telescope, since it has 3 of them. Though my current 16e has only one. With the type of Telescope shown there, it looks more stable then mine would be.

In the past I had vibration pads for the Telescopes. I don't remember what happened to them, or where they went, but they never seemed to work in reducing vibrations when using the telescope.

 

[Owain Taggart]

My question with that is, if I am to upgrade to a new Iphone in the future - which camera to put over the lens of the telescope, since it has 3 of them. Though my current 16e has only one. With the type of Telescope shown there, it looks more stable then mine would be.

Typically it would be your regular lens, though try them out and see which one works best. A phone these days usually has one regular and one widefield.

In the past I had vibration pads for the Telescopes. I don't remember what happened to them, or where they went, but they never seemed to work in reducing vibrations when using the telescope.

So, where do you typically end up viewing? If vibration is such an issue, then maybe the tripod is the issue. If you have a good solid tripod from the get-go, there shouldn't be a vibration issue. Unless you're viewing from a place high up that gets lots of wind.

 

[Timewalker]

So, this latest brainwave of the feds, to extend Canadian citizenship to any American who can prove Canadian ancestry...

Yikes. I get the reasons why, but if we had immigration problems before, this could dwarf those, depending on how many participate in this. And what we don't want is for any MAGAts to slip in.

 

[Avro Arrow]

And what we don't want is for any MAGAts to slip in

I can’t imagine that any of the MAGA faithful would actually want to live in our so-called “authoritarian socialist regime”. These are the people that seem to think Carney, like Trudeau before him, is some kind of tyrannical dictator because we have * checks notes * gun control laws and laws against hate speech.

Then again, to be fair, some of them don’t seem to think it through. When a Republican wins the presidency, and half the Democrats claim “I’m moving to Canada!”, you can sort of see how the desire makes sense. When a Democrat wins, and half the Republicans claim “I’m moving to Canada!”… it’s like, have you met Canada? If you’re somehow that upset over Obama, you’re probably not going to be happy here,

 

[MurphyCooper]

Typically it would be your regular lens, though try them out and see which one works best. A phone these days usually has one regular and one widefield.

So, where do you typically end up viewing? If vibration is such an issue, then maybe the tripod is the issue. If you have a good solid tripod from the get-go, there shouldn't be a vibration issue. Unless you're viewing from a place high up that gets lots of wind.

Where I live gets a ton of wind, unfortunately. Yesterday it was really bad. It seems that the only good months of the year here are April-October. The winter here is just brutal.

So, this latest brainwave of the feds, to extend Canadian citizenship to any American who can prove Canadian ancestry...

I may or may not be able to qualify for that, depending on how far back it goes for ancestry. One of my ancestors was a loyalist in the Revolutionary War. After his service in the war, he was awarded a plot of land in Southern Ontario.

I can’t imagine that any of the MAGA faithful would actually want to live in our so-called “authoritarian socialist regime”. These are the people that seem to think Carney, like Trudeau before him, is some kind of tyrannical dictator because we have * checks notes * gun control laws and laws against hate speech.

Then again, to be fair, some of them don’t seem to think it through. When a Republican wins the presidency, and half the Democrats claim “I’m moving to Canada!”, you can sort of see how the desire makes sense. When a Democrat wins, and half the Republicans claim “I’m moving to Canada!”… it’s like, have you met Canada? If you’re somehow that upset over Obama, you’re probably not going to be happy here,

Whenever the opposing party wins an election, the defeated party always makes these kinds of statements for the first few weeks, and then it dies down. A lot of people say things, but not many actually do them. American politics is always "the current thing" for a few weeks and then everyone forgets about it. American politics is generally entirely emotion based, with very few of us thinking about anything pragmatically. Most of the time I ignore it and take my time to form my own conclusions on things. When you are an Independent in mindset, to one person you may be called a "Republican" and to another you may called a "Democrat". I'm neither, and do my best not to fall into line with either party's thinking.

In my opinion I don't think I would want to live in Canada due to its much higher cost of living compared to the US (Gas, Taxes, Housing, etc). I have always wanted to visit, but haven't gotten around to that yet.

 

[Ovation]

In my opinion I don't think I would want to live in Canada due to its much higher cost of living compared to the US (Gas, Taxes, Housing, etc).

That’s something of an incomplete comparison. Periodically, comparative studies are conducted and, broadly, arrive at the same conclusion. For people who have an annual revenue of up to 60,000$ US (adjusted for exchange rates) in 2018 (the most recent one I’ve used in class), people in Canada were significantly better off. Almost all of it has to do with universal healthcare and other social services.

When annual revenue exceeds 150,000$ US, then the financial benefits of living in the US start becoming quite apparent (again in 2018 dollars). From 60-150K$, it’s globally roughly equivalent, though with significant regional variations.

 

[MurphyCooper]

That’s something of an incomplete comparison. Periodically, comparative studies are conducted and, broadly, arrive at the same conclusion. For people who have an annual revenue of up to 60,000$ US (adjusted for exchange rates) in 2018 (the most recent one I’ve used in class), people in Canada were significantly better off. Almost all of it has to do with universal healthcare and other social services.

When annual revenue exceeds 150,000$ US, then the financial benefits of living in the US start becoming quite apparent (again in 2018 dollars). From 60-150K$, it’s globally roughly equivalent, though with significant regional variations.

True, there are always exceptions - healthcare is a massive issue in the US. I've bore the brunt of that several times, unfortunately.

 

[Set Harth]

I can’t imagine that any of the MAGA faithful would actually want to live in our so-called “authoritarian socialist regime”. These are the people that seem to think Carney, like Trudeau before him, is some kind of tyrannical dictator because we have * checks notes * gun control laws and laws against hate speech.

Then again, to be fair, some of them don’t seem to think it through. When a Republican wins the presidency, and half the Democrats claim “I’m moving to Canada!”, you can sort of see how the desire makes sense. When a Democrat wins, and half the Republicans claim “I’m moving to Canada!”… it’s like, have you met Canada? If you’re somehow that upset over Obama, you’re probably not going to be happy here,

there's also the weather to consider...