Posts Made By: Daryl Crowley

I am not a religious believer, only in that I have never found anything that reached out and grabbed me, saying "This is the truth!". I am open to suggestions but I think of God as more of a scientist than a magician.

My point is this... Why does almost everyone align themselves on one side of the fence or the other.

One side says, "God created everything including man and there is a divine purpose."

The other side says: "The Universe is by chance and we are just a chance species of no particular significance."

I find few people who think like me.. (No jokes it's the story of my life ;-)

I fall in the middle ground. I can believe that the design of the atom, quantum effects, and strings are "contrived".

I don't think of God as a kindly old magician that gives a rats behind about me but... I do get the impression that a Universe that more and more appears to have popped out of nothing and is made at the subatomic level, of essentially nothing, is a pretty good trick. I can imagine a Universe set in motion as some great experiment. The deck is loaded so that life can start and evolve and someone(s) or something(s) may observe or measure what happens.

I think the truth is somewhere between the two extremes but few are willing to look at both sides. Many scientists refuse to lower themselves to think that there may be a higher power and I think organized religion is part of the problem since they often times refuse to consider something that jeopardizes their chance at eternity.

We are one of the lucky ones that have evolved to the point where we can and should ask all the questions even if there are no answers.

Why do people feel they should have eternal life? Why do you need a reward for living on this world? A chance at a few years of life on this lovely planet should be all the reward we could ever ask for.

Daryl

I got my first opportunity at Mars Saturday morning. Since I have had my telescope a couple years ago I've not had good view of Mars. I was going to be happy if I could just see some indication of the polar cap.

Wow was I impressed. The whole souther cap looked like Anartica, lit up and blazing in the sunlight. Dark areas too, but that poplar cap was a thrill to see. It greatly exceeded my expectations. Now I can settle down to looking for details but I will never forget that first look at alien ice!

Daryl

My daughters decided to take my Mak out to view the Sun the other day when I was not home. They managed to turn the focus knob out until it disengaged on the inside!

I was panicked! With Mars on the rise there would be no time to send it in and get it back before the peak of Mars. I saw Mars flashing before my eyes.

I took it apart. I was sick to see my scope in pieces. I finally got it back together and took it out for a test drive. It appears to be a sharp as ever. Whew!! I figured the collimation would be off at least. I finally went to bed at 1AM feeling tired but relieved.

I won’t miss Mars after all. I have been watching it some lately and it is spectacular. The polar cap is just fascinating and beautiful.

Daryl

I've been using the telescope as of late, mostly because of Mars so I haven't had the binoculars out for a few weeks.

Last night I stepped outside before I went to bed and spent less than 10 minutes viewing. I saw 6 globular clusters, 7 galaxies, and about 10 Messier OC, the Dumbbell Nebula, as well as few other goodies - In less than 10 Minutes! I could have done it in far less than that if I just been looking to nail them and move on.

Binoculars sure have some advantages over telescopes and they really are amazing astronomical tools when armed with a little knowledge of celestial geography. I am always amazed at what I can see. For any newbies out there, take the advice that everyone ignores. We all hear the binocular suggestion but we want a “real” telescope. We get the scope and then later we find out just how good binoculars are.

Daryl

You whiners are the fruitcakes. You take every word someone says and turn it around, out of context or in whatever other way you can twist it. You all sound like a bunch of new age hippies (I used to be a real hippie in the 60s so I can say that). Criticize how someone stands, how they pronounce words, accent, wrong colored shirt, doesn't use just the right words. Jeeze, I would hate to be under your microscope as I'm sure I do everything different that you do and that would make me a fruitcake - In your opinion.

GWB, if you listening - I give you the benefit of the doubt. Do your job and I don't care if you talk different than me or express yourself differently. I don't even care if your a not a great public speaker. I want more in a president than someone with a lot of fancy words and proper etiquette.

In this day and age, I bet a gay guy would be real popular, how about Christopher Lowell for president. I bet most you would really like that guy for president. He talks so pretty. Look at how popular the guy was the crapped on his wife in front of the whole world – he did it so eloquently.

OK gang, I know this is old question but if you got some ideas I would like them.

I have a 5 inch Mak and it seems like I have exhausted just about every target within reach of my scope. 100 of the Messier objects, a bunch NGC galaxis, globulars, PN, and a load of double stars.

My magnitude limit on galaxies is 9.5 - 10, I've never seen a 10.5 galaxy in my scope. Faint but dense clusters I really enjoy, such as NGC 7789.

If you have any favorite not-so-well-known gems to suggest, I'm all ears.

Thanks!

Daryl

The Jews didn't kill Jesus, the Romans did.

I do not believe myself that Jesus was the "son of God", but I don't think he was fictional. It seems pretty well documented that there was a man who fit the role. Sort of a historical TV evangelist. I find the Jewish faith interesting but they have some pretty "fictional" heroes too.

I would respond to the "Christ killer" crowd the same way I do to the native Americans that claim I stole their land. I didn't steal it, and nobody stole it from them. That involved people who lived a long time ago. It has nothing to do with the here and now.

Daryl

Thanks for the ideas guys. I have seen a lot of the things suggested and I do love to revisit objects, but I love that thrill of first light. You can only look at something the first time once. I have looked for a lot of glaxies in the 10.5 - 11 range and my little Mak just doesn't see them, and I'm pretty good at finding faint objects.

What is a good reference on the Astronomical League's Herschel 400? Where do I find it?

I expect to finish up the Messier list soon and I have found a number of the Caldwell objects but many are in the south and some are just beyond my scope. I also have several computer maps with objects to mag 13 and I am constantly seeking out those objects.

I think I need a new scope. (Yes!) It appears if I could find a mag 13 galaxy, I would never run out of objects.

Daryl

Silent Night - Cool concept! It would probably sell. They would do a show on Discovery Channel. You might be into some money here. Good Sci-Fi concept at least.

My feeling is life in the universe is common. (In total)

My feeling is intelligent life in the universe is abundant (In total)

My feeling is both of the above are separated on average by such great distances of space and time that contact is probably extremely rare.

I don't put a lot faith in the galaxy conquering civilizations harnessing the power of entire stars and black holes. Even for very long-lived life forms, interstellar travel is one hell of commitment, unless there really is workable ways around the speed of light restrictions. And while there may be, I don’t think it is just a given for a sufficiently advanced technology.

Daryl

Steve,

How big is your scope? I have a 5 inch Mak and I get limited value from an O-III filter because I pull in so little light to begin with that the filter really cuts into my already limited light supply. I does turn things green and it has sort mirror like finish.

It works well for me on bright objects but looking at things that are pushing the limits of my litte scope it reduces light to the point that I just don't get enough light despite the increased contrast.

My guess is that O-III filters probably work more efficiently on 8 inch or large scopes where you have some light gathering capacity to spare, but maybe you are already there.

Daryl