Ultimate Webcam: Rent Time On A CCD Telescope

leighklotz writes "I saw an ad for this in Science News and visited the site: http://www.arnierosner.com offers CCD-based telescopes that you control, from his mountaintop in Arizona. $50 for an hour's tiem gets you started. Too bad I hadn't read this last week when Saturn's rings were at their peak." I bet this gives some entrepreneurial ideas ...

Comments

Other targets

[C.Maggard]

I would've paid that to see the Leonid shower; I was under cloud cover at the time. If he can set up a few more sites to have more guarantee of clear skies, then I can see this turning into a viable service for amateur astronomers.

Saturn's Rings

[Jade E. 2]

Too bad I hadn't read this last week when Saturn's rings were at their peak

It's okay, they took the pictures for you... http://www.arnierosner.com/ccd/wallpaper/saturn/ (Actually those are older, sometime before Oct. 11, but they're still sweet.)

Re:Saturn's Rings

[spaceyhackerlady]

Yep, those do look kinda familiar.

Saturn was at opposition last week, and thus as close as it can get to Earth. However, the view will be favourable until well in to the new year (it starts to deteriorate in April).

The rings will remain at about their maximum tilt for a couple of years yet. It's far from the all-or-nothing-one-night-in-a-lifetime spectacle the science news folks would have you believe. Try JPL's Solar System Simulator to see how slowly the rings change. Saturn's 29.5 year orbit, y'know.

I had an excellent view last night while testing a new telescope, and saw four moons while I was at it. I expect to see the rings well until 2007 or so.

...laura

Not so big

[zer0vector]

If the only telescopes he has are the ones in the picture there, its not much to write home about. The largest looked like about 8 inch aperture. I understand this is probably more aperture than alot of people have (I have a paltry 4.5), but then I always thought the fun of astrophotography was going out and spending all night up taking your own pictures. Braving the cold for 10 hours sure can be rewarding when you get your finished product.

Re:Not so big

[arnierosner]

Actually the larger instrument is a 12 inch reflecting scope with a focal length of 141 inches. The smaller widefield instrument is a 6 inch refractor. One of the finest ever built. It's focal length is 1050 MM's

He's in a great spot

[azpenguin]

I live about 40 miles east of this guy. The skies out here at night are amazing. I live in Tucson, which is the nearest big city, and which is also close to Kitt Peak, a renowned observatory. Due to the importance of Kitt Peak, Tucson has strict outdoor lighting ordinances. Lights have to face downward, certain types of lights are prohibited, etc. As a result you have pretty good star views even in the middle of the city. And it also means that his scopes don't suffer light pollution problems (40 miles may seem like a long way, but you can see the lights of Phoenix clouding the sky from 100 miles off) from any city lights. You get just a little out of town, and you get fantastic viewing. We also don't get clouded over very often.

Look an awful lot like Hubble's version

[jmichaelg]

The images you reference sure look an awful like this one taken by the Hubble. You too can flip one of them 180 degrees and put your name on it if you like.

Re:Can I get pictures of the "moon landing" sites?

[rebelcool]

Optical interferometry is about to hit the big time. This kind of resolution won't be too difficult to attain.

There might be other difficulties though with it... possibly the reflecting light of the moon in general swamping what little shading might come off a lander. Interferometry will give you the arc resolution you need, but not necessarily the luminous.