Ping: Bob Schmall: Re: Transit of Venus

[Tom Watson]

As you watched it - did you think about the song, 'There's a little black spot on the sun today...'?

Regards, Tom.

Thomas J.Watson - Cabinetmaker (ret.) tjwatson1ATcomcastDOTnet (real email)

[Bob Schmall]

Here's an excellent shot of the transit:

digital astro group has been loaded with images today. And yeah, Tom--I get woodier (Obww) from a total solar or lunar eclipse, or even an annular solar, than the transit. Will I someday be able to tell my great-grandkids that I was there for the Great Transit of '04? Who cares?

Last night I drug out the 4" refractor and saw all 4 of Jupiter's Galilean moons, 2 as definite circles rather than points of light, along with the shadow of one (Callisto?) on the edge of the planet. And as always I had the feeling that the show was just for me, that no one else on Earth was watching.

Bob

[George]

We had a lot of cloud in Montreal but I did manage to catch this one with my pine tubed newt.

Anderson

Wood shavings and mirrors

[Bob Schmall]

Nice shot, George. Why not submit it to Astronomy magazine here in the States or to the Canadian astronomy magazine (the name escapes me)? And a nice drive-by Obww with the pine tube. What size is it? The telescope, I mean.

Bob

[Bob Schmall]

[George]

Hi Bob

I figure APOD and all of the magazines were saturated with transit shots even bofore my films came back from the developer. Just what I have seen posted by APML list members is incredible. The scope is a little 5" f/8 newt with a purchased mirror. The 6" f/5.4 that I ground and polished is going in a cherry tube with a maple bodied focuser and purpleheart alt bearings.

George