ATM : Double star test results: flex mirror / cooling fan

[Gil McFarlane <gilboastro@yahoo.com>]

One side project of mine is to mess around with a
little 6" f8 dobsonian that has a very simply flexed
spherical mirror (bolt glued onto the back - no foam,
no disc, just file the head of the bolt flat and glue
it on).  I recently had a nice steady night and
experimented with flexing and relaxing the mirror to
see changes in resolution.  I admit that I have little
in the way of comparison, and so would appreciate
feedback from more experienced users.

Separation:  2.4 seconds.  Unflexed - indication that
it is a double but no separation.  Flexed - clear
separation - wide split.  Cooling fan (16 cfm) - no
difference.

Separation:  1.5 seconds.  Unflexed - fat star. 
Flexed - moments of "amoeba mitosis" - never any total
separation.  Cooling fan - no difference.

- Gil
"The mind is a funny thing"


__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now.
http://mailplus.yahoo.com