[CMAS] Success in Caribou Maine!

Wed Apr 2 18:47:11 EDT 2025

Truss tube would be nice. Light weight, easy to disassemble and transport.
Can use cloth as a shroud around the truss tube. I'm for it. But am not
much of a builder.

On Wed, Apr 2, 2025, 6:26 PM Colin Caissie <cscmachinedesign at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Oh I've got teflon blocks, sheet and rod.
>
> I'd say that the club should submit ideas by researching dobs on the
> internet and propose ideas...  I just gave the basics, re: focal length and
> mirror size...I had Berry's book on dobs but sold it.
>
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 2, 2025 at 6:06 PM Linwood Arsenault <satillite1965 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Do you have any Teflon pieces
>> Do we have who is real good with wood like a cabinet maker
>> Maybe you are all I could do is cut square pieces and screw them to an
>> aluminum frame.
>> I think hobby lobby may have something we could use for deck bearings and
>> lowes I've seen large wooden disc.
>> We'll get some ideas going soon.
>>
>> On Wed, Apr 2, 2025, 5:28 PM Colin Caissie <cscmachinedesign at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> I'm thinking that we could make it a truss tube thing with all the
>>> titanium tubing we still have.
>>> It's f/4.8 or 70.8" focal length...about an inch shorter than the Brower
>>> mirror.  1.5" thick good Pyrex, 4" secondary is a bit oversized, but
>>> standard.
>>>
>>> I also think building a Poncet Equatorial platform would be great.  We
>>> have some DC motors...like 1 RPM that would be perfect.
>>>
>>> I have some fancy Mahogany plywood from the Hodgdon shipyard....scrap
>>> from the $50 million yacht
>>> The mirror box could be welded up aluminum, and the base too.  I've got
>>> a half ton of aluminum....
>>> We've got it all.  It would make it to star parties if we make it smart
>>> and light....which we will....better than the old tub we used to lug around.
>>>
>>> Got any good designs?
>>>
>>> On Wed, Apr 2, 2025 at 11:04 AM Linwood Arsenault <
>>> satillite1965 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Colin whenever I get straightened oround over here with everything
>>>> brass scope, chicken coop, spring clean up, surgery if I get one. I would
>>>> like to help with the new 16" portable dob that mirror looks awesome I
>>>> think like the Brower 16" great job
>>>>
>>>> On Sun, Mar 30, 2025, 8:26 AM Colin Caissie <cscmachinedesign at gmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> It'a big clockwork.  Solar-lunar eclipse pairs are the law.  14 days
>>>>> after/prior.
>>>>> My mind is back in Mexico 2024...climbing volcanoes, lying in a
>>>>> Durango orchard during totality.
>>>>>
>>>>> c
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Sat, Mar 29, 2025 at 11:51 PM Joshua Zukerman <hawk82 at gmail.com>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Well done. I wondered if anyone from the club or associated clubs
>>>>>> drove up to Caribou to check it out. How fun to think almost a year after
>>>>>> the total eclipse that the partial came. And the Lunar eclipse (which we
>>>>>> were clouded out for) a couple weeks ago.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Sat, Mar 29, 2025, 11:29 PM Dwight M. Lanpher CMAS <
>>>>>> groupcmas at lanpherassociates.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Hello All,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Northern Maine came through again with this year’s partial solar
>>>>>>> eclipse. A special feature of this year’s partial was the “Devils Horns”.
>>>>>>> At the eastern U.S. border, the coincidental timing of sunrise, results
>>>>>>> with moon midway crossing the sun forming a crescent at the bottom of the
>>>>>>> sun. At the moment that the sun rises above the horizon, the two points of
>>>>>>> the crescent peak above the horizon forming the “Devil’s Horns”. That was
>>>>>>> something that I wanted to see.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I was planning to observe the eclipse from the eastern shore of Mt.
>>>>>>> Desert Island on a section of the Park Loop Road called Ocean Drive. That
>>>>>>> should have provided a perfect eastern horizon. Unfortunately, like almost
>>>>>>> all other areas in New England, clouds were going to obscure the eclipse.
>>>>>>> However, Caribou in far Northern Maine was predicted to have clear skies
>>>>>>> (see attached) and 85% obscuration of the sun. After a little research
>>>>>>> online with Google Maps and Street View, I found a location on a farm in
>>>>>>> Limestone with an open horizon to the east. So Terri-Ann Anderson and I
>>>>>>> made a last minute decision and drove the 200+ miles to Caribou last night.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> We got up at 5 AM and proceeded out to 12 Sawyer Road
>>>>>>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/12+Sawyer+Road?entry=gmail&source=g>
>>>>>>> in Limestone, ME. We arrived at 5:45 and it was 15°F with a light breeze of
>>>>>>> 5 to 10 MPH.  Shortly after our arrival, a farmer drove in and Terri-Ann
>>>>>>> explained that we were there to observe the eclipse, to which he gave
>>>>>>> permission to continue our strange mission in the dark and cold.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Based solely on a predicted corrected compass bearing and a
>>>>>>> correlation with general lightening of the horizon we picked two spots
>>>>>>> separated by a couple hundred feet. While there was a grove of trees
>>>>>>> slightly to the northeast, I was thinking that at least one of us should
>>>>>>> get a good view.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Terri-Ann was operating her Vaonis Hestia which adds 25X
>>>>>>> magnification to an iPhone 12. She had successfully used it to get a number
>>>>>>> of excellent photos at last year’s Total Solar Eclipse 50 miles further
>>>>>>> south in Houlton, ME (see attached.)  Evening on April 6, 2024, that day
>>>>>>> was a  balmy 55°. During her initial setup in Limestone, her phone
>>>>>>> malfunctioned due to the cold and she had to return to the car to thaw it
>>>>>>> out… the iPhone had balked at the 15°F temperature.  I had brought my
>>>>>>> Stellina that had served me well at last year’s Total Solar Eclipse in
>>>>>>> Houlton.  I had also brought a couple of chemical Hand Warmer packs that I
>>>>>>> used to keep my iPhone from freezing.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The problem was this: we only had a compass reading to determine the
>>>>>>> location where the sun would rise. I aimed my Stellina at that location as
>>>>>>> best I could and waited for the sun to start to clear the horizon.
>>>>>>> Predicted Sunrise was between 6:15 and 6:17 from a couple different
>>>>>>> sources. The first rays of the sun appeared at 6:21. It appeared that the
>>>>>>> open potato field (see attached) that we were looking across had a slight
>>>>>>> upward slope that raised the horizon and had delayed the arrival of
>>>>>>> sunrise. Clearly, this was late in the eclipse and the moon had mostly
>>>>>>> crossed the sun at that time, effectively tilting the crescent so that only
>>>>>>> one horn was above the horizon. With the intensity of the sun being limited
>>>>>>> to only a few arc minutes squared of area, this seemingly increased
>>>>>>> the glare of the sun. I was impressed with the apparent brilliance of the
>>>>>>> tiny exposed beam.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Of course, my pre-aiming of Stellina was off  and I quickly tried to
>>>>>>> realign the scope’s azimuth and then used *Singularity’s* solar
>>>>>>> initialization routine to attempt tracking of the sun. Stellina failed to
>>>>>>> acquire the sun. It was likely my fault, either by not accurately leveling
>>>>>>> the scope; but most likely incorrectly adjusting the azimuth alignment. The
>>>>>>> normal method is to align the scope with the sun by letting the two slits
>>>>>>> in the main body of the instrument between the yoke and OTA cast a shadow
>>>>>>> on the ground with the two slits of light showing. Since this was dawn, the
>>>>>>> shadow was directed horizontally and not on the ground.  I should have
>>>>>>> brough a piece of white cardboard to hold up behind Stellina. Just trying
>>>>>>> to position the scope visually was not close enough. To be honest, with
>>>>>>> everything happening exactly at dawn, I didn’t really give this much chance
>>>>>>> of being a success; but, I figured there was a 0% chance of success if I
>>>>>>> didn’t at least try.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Meanwhile, Terri-Ann got her iPhone thawed out and was giving Hestia
>>>>>>> another go. Since Hestia is designed to be manually tracked, it was a much
>>>>>>> better choice for this eclipse. She was able to save the day with some
>>>>>>> pictures after her phone was thawed, a little after sunrise (see attached).
>>>>>>> You’ll please excuse the focus, under the best of conditions, getting
>>>>>>> Hestia focused is a challenge. At 15°F and with a slight wind of 5 to 10
>>>>>>> MPH I’m amazed that she able to adjust it at all.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The skies were perfectly clear this morning. So we did get to view
>>>>>>> the eclipse visually with eclipse glasses and got a few pictures, so I’m
>>>>>>> going to call the trip a success.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> ---Dwight
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> -- Celebrating the starlit skies of Maine & New England --
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Dwight M. Lanpher, *Club Liaison*
>>>>>>> P.O. Box 472, 1 Summit Road
>>>>>>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/1+Summit+Road+Northeast+Harbor,+ME+04662?entry=gmail&source=g>
>>>>>>> Northeast Harbor, ME 04662
>>>>>>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/1+Summit+Road+Northeast+Harbor,+ME+04662?entry=gmail&source=g>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Member:  Dark Sky Maine
>>>>>>> DarkSky International (formerly: International Dark Sky Association)
>>>>>>> Illuminating Engineering Society, Member Emeritus
>>>>>>> Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Life Member
>>>>>>> Member:  AAS, ASNNE, ATMoB, BSIA, CMAS, DEAA, GAAC, NHAS, NSAAC,
>>>>>>> PVSG, SMA, TVS
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> "Good friends are like stars. Although you may not see them you know
>>>>>>> they're always there." -Christy Evans
>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>> CMAS mailing list
>>>>>>> CMAS at maineastro.com
>>>>>>> http://maineastro.com/mailman/listinfo/cmas_maineastro.com
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> CMAS mailing list
>>>>>> CMAS at maineastro.com
>>>>>> http://maineastro.com/mailman/listinfo/cmas_maineastro.com
>>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> CMAS mailing list
>>>>> CMAS at maineastro.com
>>>>> http://maineastro.com/mailman/listinfo/cmas_maineastro.com
>>>>>
>>>>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://maineastro.com/pipermail/cmas_maineastro.com/attachments/20250402/d81c39d6/attachment-0001.html>