by mikelwilson on September 8, 2010
Ok, so if you’re planning a trip to the US or you *might* be planning a trip to the US, it’s worth speculatively applying for your US Visa Waiver now while it’s still free: http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1990.html
It’s either the systems analyst or the schoolboy in me, but I find this statement amusing when it is applied to a three year old:
“For third-parties submitting the application on behalf of the applicant, I hereby certify that I have read to the individual whose name appears on this application (applicant) all the questions and statements on this application. I further certify that the applicant certifies that he or she has read, or has had read to him or her, all the questions and statements on this application, understands all the questions and statements on this application, and waives any rights to review or appeal of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer’s determination as to his or her admissibility, or to contest, other than on the basis of an application for asylum, any removal action arising from an application for admission under the Visa Waiver Program. The answers and information furnished in this application are true and correct to the best of the applicant’s knowledge and belief”
I’ll try to slip in the conditions of the US Visa Waiver Program in story-time tonight, just after Bob the Builder and The Wiggles on TV.
Anyone who has completed a US entry form on an inbound flight will know these statements which basically ask if you’re a Nazi, a war criminal or a terrorist and this begs the question; did the recent underpants bomber tick those declarations? (I presume he was too busy setting himself on fire that he neglected to fill out the form). I checked the box in the spirit of the form, but clearly a three year old doesn’t understand all the questions and statements on the application and cannot certify if the statements are true or not… And yes, the form needs to be completed by (or sensibly on behalf of) infants.
by mikelwilson on September 7, 2010
I still haven’t managed to get my planetary imaging webcam setup working yet. But in preparation for the Kelling Heath Star Party this weekend I have managed to procure myself a Canon EOS 1000D digital SLR camera. I saved over 50% on the list price by getting a refurbished/returned model and to be honest it’s probably not going to have a good life out in the cold attached to a telescope so I didn’t want to spend a fortune on a new camera, especially after getting a new mount, telescope, coma reducer (a field flattener to make stars look pinpoint sharp), light pollution filter, rings to connect it all together, and so on 
To say I am impressed with the quality of the Canon 1000D is an understatement. After coming from a line of premium compact travel zoom cameras, this Canon digital SLR with it’s large, sensitive sensor and quality optics is capable of capturing some amazing images. Considering that I’ve never used an SLR camera before, I’m quite happy with the results of this evening’s test photographs.
The reason why astronomers like digital SLR cameras and specialist CCD cameras is that by using these cameras in prime focus (screwed directly onto the telescope tube), the telescope optics become the lens and the sensitive sensor of the camera is able to pick up and accumulate the photons of light much better than our eyes can.
Our eyes have evolved over millions of years and one of the problems inherent in our line of evolution is that our optical wiring runs in front of our retina (the sensor part of our eyes). It’s a shame the architecture of our eyes sucks so much; squid and octopus don’t have the same “design fault” in their eyes that ours do! We also have an array of rods and cones which respond to photons of light and send the corresponding signals to the brain. This light sensitive patch of cells in our eyes is incredibly fragile and does not respond well to low levels of light such as the few dribs and drabs of photons that have travelled through the cold of space for millions of years before hitting them. And for the objects you can see visually through a telescope, you’re unlikely to see much colour (other than the colour of some individual stars) and not likely to resolve much detail of the deeper space objects such as distant galaxies and nebulae.
This is where a camera comes in. A camera is able to absorb all the light from an extended period of time and form a combined picture. Many of these pictures stacked together can form an image. And it is such images that are my goal, since I can then share the view from the eyepiece with my family and friends and you 
Hopefully I’ll have something interesting to report in time!
