Subject:
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Amatuer Astronomy and LEGO
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Mon, 10 Dec 2001 18:31:44 GMT
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Viewed:
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657 times
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Amtauer astronomy has recieved a boost over the years from robotic systems
as much as Lego. Computerized robotic scopes, referred to as "GOTO scopes"
by one manufacturer, that find stars in the sky and track thier movments can
be had for as liitle $150 US (Much more fun to build your own from lego
though). So has any one tried to create a "GOTO" scope using Lego and the
RCX? I have only seen one post here on the topic, Here is a brief excerpt
from that post it describes the set up very well:
"The trick would be getting the gear ratio and timing right. You need to
step the rotation speed down to 1 rotation every 24 hours, to equate to
the sidereal motion. If you've seen an equatorial mount for a
telescope, that's what you're looking for.
Basically, you elevate a platform to the angle of your latitude, and
point the axis at the north star. The motor turns that axis once every
24 hours. If the "telescope" is pointed at the north star, it just
rotates in place still looking in the same direction but rolling over.
Then you add a turntable to the platform. As you turn the scope on this
platform, you increase the 'declination' of the telescope. Now when the
motor turns, it points the telescope around in a circle around the north
(or south) guide star."
Any one tried anything like this?
Regards,
JL
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