The site has been cleared, I think I dug out 70+ stumps with the backhoe, 700 feet of electric cable buried, and almost 4,000 lbs of concrete dry mix poured for footers and the telescope pier. The deck is starting to go up and hopefully the 8″ Exploradome will be in place before the new year. After two years it’s hard to believe that I’m starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel!
A couple months ago I was playing around with a green laser, typically used by amateur astronomers to point out celestial objects to others, and decided to photograph it in use to see how it would show in a photograph. Honestly, this wasn’t high on my list of things to do but I was clouded out so thought I’d have some fun. This is a typical untracked exposure length of 15 seconds at f/4 with a 40mm focal length. I aimed the green laser at Rigel and tried to hold it steady for the duration of the 15 second exposure. So, this is worst case scenario for the laser being continuously on and pointed at a single object for the duration of the exposure. That’s not to belittle the impact that green lasers have on us imagers; a quick pass through our image might not be obvious in the final image but lingering on an object for a while might be the difference between a good 20 minute exposure and one that’s going in the trash. I’ve been lucky enough that I haven’t had an image that was obviously ruined by a laser but then again it’s hard to tell; I’ve had bad glare that may have resulted from errant green lasers playing over my equipment….
Site clearing is now well underway with a backhoe rental. Most of the site is now cleared and a new, more drive-able, road is in place to get to the site. Lots of clean up and grading to do but we’re getting there.
