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Solar Eclipse tomorrow

Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 5:32 pm
by bugwubber
Solar eclipse is going to be visible in our area tomorrow so I'm taking the solar telescope I made out to a nearby wildlife refuge to watch.

If you are looking for a interesting project, I highly recommend dropping by Bruce Hegerberg's website http://www.sunguntelescope.com/MAIN.html and checking out his instructions on making a rear projection screen for telescopes.

I adapted his Sun Of A Gun design to work with a 1 foot long telescope by making the bucket the alt bearing.

Here's my prototype-
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And final build-
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I suppose it cost about $100 including the cost of the telescope and rear projection screen.

Here's a quick video of the me aiming it using one hand.

[youtube][/youtube]

Re: Solar Eclipse tomorrow

Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 8:28 pm
by U.S. Water Rockets
bugwubber wrote:Solar eclipse is going to be visible in our area tomorrow so I'm taking the solar telescope I made out to a nearby wildlife refuge to watch.

If you are looking for a interesting project, I highly recommend dropping by Bruce Hegerberg's website http://www.sunguntelescope.com/MAIN.html and checking out his instructions on making a rear projection screen for telescopes.

I adapted his Sun Of A Gun design to work with a 1 foot long telescope by making the bucket the alt bearing.

Here's my prototype-
DSC05929.JPG
And final build-
DSC06322.JPG
I suppose it cost about $100 including the cost of the telescope and rear projection screen.

Here's a quick video of the me aiming it using one hand.

[youtube][/youtube]

Wow, that's really well done! You always add al the cool details like the name on the side and everything to really finish your projects off. It looks like the design is very effective as well. Good luck with the weather for the eclipse! Hope you have no clouds!

Re: Solar Eclipse tomorrow

Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 10:53 pm
by bugwubber
U.S. Water Rockets wrote:
Wow, that's really well done! You always add al the cool details like the name on the side and everything to really finish your projects off. It looks like the design is very effective as well. Good luck with the weather for the eclipse! Hope you have no clouds!
Thanks! The name and the design were a play on The Cat In The Hat and the big red wood box.

It was a beautiful day!
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Re: Solar Eclipse tomorrow

Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 9:04 pm
by Water Rocket Expert
I had know clue the solar eclipse was going on. My dad and me were biking and some random lady rolled down her window and told me that looking at the sun would hurt my eyes. I had know clue why she told me until the next day.

I almost told that lady to CP: !

Re: Solar Eclipse tomorrow

Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 10:06 pm
by U.S. Water Rockets1
Water Rocket Expert wrote:I had know clue the solar eclipse was going on. My dad and me were biking and some random lady rolled down her window and told me that looking at the sun would hurt my eyes. I had know clue why she told me until the next day.

I almost told that lady to CP: !
So was the eclipse going on right at the time that she said that and you didn't even know it? It was really just a partial eclipse so it probably didn't get very dark.

Re: Solar Eclipse tomorrow

Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 2:05 pm
by Water Rocket Expert
It was not going on yet! I managed to see it through sun glasses though I new it was unsafe.

Re: Solar Eclipse tomorrow

Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 6:03 pm
by bugwubber
Water Rocket Expert wrote:It was not going on yet! I managed to see it through sun glasses though I new it was unsafe.
Yeah it's a quite a bit safer as the sun gets down to the horizon but indirect is still safest.

For my 8" telescope, I have a piece of Baader Astro Solar film on a lens cover. Only need a 3" circle. This website offers small pieces of the solar film- http://www.dracoproductions.net Otherwise you can buy a full A4 sheet for about $40. Definitely worth it.

This site is really cool...
http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/So ... eMaps.html

Re: Solar Eclipse tomorrow

Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2014 10:04 pm
by U.S. Water Rockets1
bugwubber wrote:
Water Rocket Expert wrote:It was not going on yet! I managed to see it through sun glasses though I new it was unsafe.
Yeah it's a quite a bit safer as the sun gets down to the horizon but indirect is still safest.

For my 8" telescope, I have a piece of Baader Astro Solar film on a lens cover. Only need a 3" circle. This website offers small pieces of the solar film- http://www.dracoproductions.net Otherwise you can buy a full A4 sheet for about $40. Definitely worth it.

This site is really cool...
http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/So ... eMaps.html

Thanks for the link. As if we don't have enough projects going on at the moment. What else do you have cooking over there?

Re: Solar Eclipse tomorrow

Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2014 9:21 pm
by bugwubber
U.S. Water Rockets1 wrote: Thanks for the link. As if we don't have enough projects going on at the moment. What else do you have cooking over there?
You're welcome! :-)
As for my projects list, finishing out my basement is taking a big chunk of my time right now. Our Scout Den will be making pyro rockets this year so I'll need a launcher of course :-D. Toying with the idea of making inserts that fit into the water rocket launch tubes. With snow coming, Snow Miser will be coming back out of storage. Probably won't get a decent run until the lakes freeze over though. Longer term, we are preparing for the 2017 total eclipse. That will require a trip for us to see and as luck would have it, the Tetons are right next to the totality path.

Oh and one more thing-
This summer, I collected a bunch of wide mouth bottles. They being converted into rocket components. I'm predicting these will make great snow rockets.