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Rob,<BR>
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What a well written and touching e-mail. I want to personally thank you and the entire membership of the LVAS for allowing me to be a part.<BR>
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You are so right...we need diversity, different skills and opinions. The LVAS has been a tremendous help to me also, as you have allowed me to share my platform. Thank you all. <BR>
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I am currently working on an article in the hopes that Sky and Telescope will be interested. I have sent an e-mail (this morning) to my mentor, astronomy professor, and good friend...his name is Tom English. I want him to co-author this "article" with me. It would be important to me, for he and I to do this together. We have spent many hours in my backyard observing faint objects, at the observatory, and yes sometimes disagreeing on many things. A difference of opinion is often a "wonderful" thing as all involved can possibly learn something. I normally am the one to learn.<BR>
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The subject: "The Virgo Diamond". I have already received an image of this object from one of our readers from South Carolina. I must get his permission to use this image before I can forward to you. This was my surprise announcement that I eluted to a couple of days ago. This may be the only modern day "amateur image" of this object in the world today. I can hardly wait for you to see it. It clearly shows the fifth star, and the nebulosity that I saw was only scattered light from my telescope optics.<BR>
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Rob, I must now ask you and the LVAS if I can have your permission to prominently list the LVAS and our correspondence in this article? If we had not started our observing project all my data would still be in my archives file. Thank you LVAS all again. I am hoping that the "diamond" will become one of the most viewed "imaged" and "sketched" objects of the future. <BR>
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Astrophysics at its best...possibly five gravitationally bound stars. <BR>
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Rob, please let me know if I have your permission. <BR>
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Best regard to my friends of the LVAS....Roger Ivester<BR>
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I want The LVAS to be <BR><BR> <BR><FONT face=Verdana size=4></FONT> <BR> <BR><FONT face=Verdana><EM><STRONG> I</STRONG> can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how he could look up into the heavens and say there is no God. Abraham Lincoln</EM></FONT><BR><BR><BR><BR> <BR>> Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2009 20:30:12 -0700<BR>> From: scopegeek@gmail.com<BR>> To: lvas@lvlug.org<BR>> Subject: Re: [Lvas] My Rant<BR>> <BR>> LVAS Discussion Group Members,<BR>> <BR>> I'm going to jump in on this one. <BR>> <BR>> First of all, Fred; I have the utmost respect for astronomers like you <BR>> and Roger. I know it's taken years and maybe even decades for you to <BR>> develop the observing skills you now have. I can appreciate the details <BR>> you include in your observation notes, because I struggled the first <BR>> time I tried to put on paper the things I was seeing in the eyepiece. <BR>> Thank you for sharing your experience with us.<BR>> <BR>> Second; I hope I haven't (but I'm afraid I have) contributed to you <BR>> feeling isolated. My exuberance over my Mallincam experience has <BR>> probably added to your feeling of isolation. I consider video-assisted <BR>> observing a cross between visual observing and astro-photography. <BR>> Because of the various treatments I've had for cancer, my eyesight isn't <BR>> what it used to be and my ability to discern detail in faint fuzzies is <BR>> continually diminishing. I don't have the patience for true CCD <BR>> imaging. I won't spend hours to capture one image like <BR>> astro-photographers do. But I'm thrilled by the fact that I can see <BR>> galaxies and dark nebula with my Mallincam that I would never be able to <BR>> see otherwise. <BR>> <BR>> As for our observing project, I have used yours and Roger's descriptions <BR>> of the Crab Nebula to further enhance my video-assisted viewing of this <BR>> object and hope to do the same with the future objects we jointly <BR>> study. Without them I would not have known to look for an "S" shaped <BR>> pattern. I think what we have in this group effort is exactly what this <BR>> hobby needs - a cross-fertilization of techniques and skills beneficial <BR>> to all that participate.<BR>> <BR>> I'm sorry that any have been offended by the recent exchange of emails <BR>> and I hope that no further retaliatory exchanges occur. Our joint <BR>> observing project is too valuable to all of us to have it tainted by <BR>> some less than careful choices of words.<BR>> <BR>> Your friend and fellow observer (although video-assisted),<BR>> <BR>> Rob Lambert<BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> Fred Rayworth wrote:<BR>> ><BR>> > All,<BR>> ><BR>> > <BR>> ><BR>> > I guess I upset a few people. That wasn't really my intent, but it <BR>> > came out that way, and kind of snobbish to boot. However, I don't take <BR>> > back anything I said as I am stating facts as I've seen them in the <BR>> > field, at meetings, and NOT just here in Las Vegas.....<BR>> ><BR>> > <BR>> ><BR>> > The only thing that makes you a serious hobbyist, is your dedication <BR>> > to astronomy, whether with a camera or an eyepiece, or both. It isn't <BR>> > defined by which model so and so you have, which eyepiece, or which <BR>> > discipline. I certainly didn't want to imply otherwise. At times, I <BR>> > just feel kind of isolated, as do many other observers I know. <BR>> ><BR>> > <BR>> ><BR>> > For any of you astro-imagers out there that don't hate me for life, <BR>> > I'd love to see an image of those 9 galaxies in Markarian's Chain that <BR>> > I did such a crummy drawing of. That would be a hoot.<BR>> ><BR>> > <BR>> ><BR>> > <BR>> ><BR>> > <BR>> ><BR>> > <BR>> ><BR>> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR>> > HotmailŪ is up to 70% faster. Now good news travels really fast. Find <BR>> > out more. <BR>> > <http://windowslive.com/online/hotmail?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_HM_70faster_032009> <BR>> ><BR>> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR>> ><BR>> > _______________________________________________<BR>> > Sent via the Lvas mailing list Lvas@lvlug.org<BR>> > Set options or unsubscribe at http://lvlug.org/mailman/listinfo/lvas<BR>> > The LVAS discussion list is hosted courtesy of LasVegas.Net<BR>> > <BR>> <BR><br /><hr />Quick access to your favorite MSN content and Windows Live with Internet Explorer 8. <a href='http://ie8.msn.com/microsoft/internet-explorer-8/en-us/ie8.aspx?ocid=B037MSN55C0701A' target='_new'>Download FREE now!</a></body>
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