John, Thanks for your message. I was glad to hear that there are some great people out there willing to share their instruments. I share your sentiments. I few years ago, someone brought some telescopes to my daughter's school and held a star party. I went with me daughter, and I think I enjoyed it more than she did. There were 4 or 5 telescopes out that night. I recall seeing Jupiter and its moons, and some galaxy. Whoever was presenting used some techical terms, which sounded foreign to me, but the impression on my mind to see such wonder has stayed with me. I don't even know who brought the telescopes that night, but whoever you are, a big Thank You. The other thing that stayed with me was the construction of the telescopes. I was expecting some heavy equiment, like the ones I have have seen in universities and photos, instead I saw carton tubes setting on top a wooden boxes. Looked like something built in a garage, but hey, they worked! Anyway, some years have passed but last year I found out about the dobsonian telescopes, which resembled the ones I saw years earlier. I started to read about them and found a cheap 4.5" last year that I bought myself for my birthday. It certainly isn't the greatest, but it has been a learning experience. I have cheked some books from the library and browsed the web for info. Recently I learned about John's class, so I'll be building my own in the weeks to come. I hope John and his wife will be patient enough for me. --- JOHN K LUNDWALL <KNIGHTJL7@msn.com> wrote:
Hey Jim
This is John Lundwall. (BYW my last name is spelled "Lundwall"). I just wanted to thank you for, well, frankly, many things:
1. How great you were to show me your scopes and equipment, and how willing you were to share them with me. 2. How patient you were in showing me different sky objects, where and how to look. 3. Letting your laser pointer out so that Mike and Lisa could show me many of the constellations and different stars. 4. Your great report of the evening I even enjoyed. 5. The great cd rom you gave me; I am just now getting into it.
I am on the email list of UVAA and that is how I get your emails. Unfortunately, I don't have anyone else's email addresses so I can't really thank Mike and Bob and Tom for their willingness to show me their stuff and look through their scopes. I am a newbee and I feel kind of bad showing up and using other people's equipment without contributing anything I have. I fear that is the way it is for a while until I get my scope built (end of summer) and even then I am going to be utterly dependent, I am realizing, on everyone else's knowledge of the sky, as in fact I haven't any idea where to locate the eskimo nebula, or any of the "m" objects that you guys seem to zip right to. I hope I can contribute in other ways until I am up to speed.
I also am going to ask you for more of your generosity and see if you know the other's emails so I can also thank them. If you could email them to me or forward this note to them. I really appreciated how friendly everyone was. It has made me all the more excited to go star watching and really get into this hobby.
I have decided that I need the following: A. A telescope--making a 10" dobson. B. A laser thingy just like Jim's. C. A pair of binoc's just like Tom's. D. An infared camera just like Bob's. E. An astronomer's torture chair just like Mike's.
I have also decided to cut the cost of these items (I.e. not buying scrapbooking supplies in kind) by showing my lovely wife how all of these items can be used for scrapbooking. I have told her that she can rubber stamp on my telescope all she wants, she can use the laser thingy to burn nice floral images into her background papers, she can use the binoc's to steal a peak through a neighbor's window to see what they are scrapbooking, she can use the infared camera to take really cool night time pictures to scrapbook, and she can use the torture chair for our own private, scrapbooking sessions. Not to mention the toll painting possibilities. Hopefully she'll bite.
I love your idea of showing up early for some training lessons and just to gather. I am in. While I cannot tell anyone, yet, how to callimnate their scopes, or where to locate M105-3bc-wherethehellisiteskimopie; or really any other thing dealing with the actual physics of astronomy, I would be happy to talk about some of the things I do know in some future session--I.e. the mythology and esoteric cosmology of some ancient cultures and at times, what this may mean for modern culture. This is a field that very few people may not be interested in, though I have been fascinated by the subject for several years. For example, not many people really know that the image of the Creator God has changed through time. In very ancient times, the creator God was symbolized by the bull or cow, and images of the bull dominate Egypt and Sumeria. This image slowly changed into that of the ram or lamb, and it was the Hebrews that represented the Creator God as the Paschal Lamb or sacrificial lamb or lamb of God, complete with it's shepherd imagery. Even this changed over time so that by the time one Jesus Christ was born the image of this Savior was turned into a fish, and even today we see the name "Jesus" circumscribed by a fish on the backs of many cars driving on the highway. Why this allegorical evolution? Because in fact the motif of the Creator God has ALWAYS been represented by the equinox sun rising in the zodiacal constellation housing it in spring. Taurus in ancient times held the spring equinox sun, but due to the precession of the equinoxes, this constellation phased out and Aires, the Ram or Lamb replaced it, and in turn this precessed out to Pisces the Fish.
Well, you get the sort of thing that I know a little bit about. I would be happy to discuss such things if there are any takers.
In anycase, hope to see you soon. Next time I will dress warm and will stay up past 3 am if that is what is required.
Your new friend John Lundwall ----- Original Message ----- From: Jim Gibson<mailto:jimgibson00@yahoo.com> To: UVAA List<mailto:uvaa@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2004 9:32 AM Subject: [UVAA] Workshop
You know what I think would be fun is some evening before dark meet out at the Pit 'n Pole or the Gravel Pit and have a workshop while the sun is still up. I was thinking of doing something like this in connection with UVAA. Since UVAA doesn't have regular meetings and I get all the meetings I need at SLAS it would be kind of nice to see everybodys face in the light and people can demonstrate some aspect of astronomy that works for them; just basic stuff. You know, bring your Subway sandwiches and munch while for a while, nothing really formal.
The problem with suggesting such a thing usually means the suggestor gets the job, and I dont mind as long as it doesnt become a regular job. It would probably fizzle after a while, after the willing in the group had their chance, but what the hey.
There seems to be a lot of new blood in Utah Valley and Old Timers like Rich Tenney could teach us a lot (he he he). Actually everybody ought to have something that works for them and could demonstrate it. We ought to be able to show how collimation basics are really done with and with out a laser pointer. We ought to spend some time (after the sun goes down) just pointing out constellations. We ought to show what sky chats work well, what interesting objects are in current constellations, what comets are around, asteroids, telescope building, binoculars, all kinds of fun things.
I am thinking that it would have to be on an off weekend when SLAS wasnt having a Star Party and the moon didnt come up till after 10 or 11 or something. Or when the moon goes down at 2AM we could meet at 2:30 AM uhhh. What? No taker on that one.
Just throwing this out to everyone on the list to see if there is any interest. This could beat the heck out of a meeting. Even Rob on Maui could come, or better yet, Rob could through down some futons and we will visit him.
Jim
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