I just noticed Slooh in one of the ads. I was wondering what ever happened with that whole deal? Did anyone try it out extensively?

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Hwæt! We Gardena in geardagum,
þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.

Didn't Jigsaw?

I still have a guest account that I check in on every so often. They have not yet set up the solo mission capability, so I haven't been able to evaluate that.

I did look at it, but it wasn't something I wanted to pay money for.

I know I am resurrecting a thread but I was just cleaning out my old bookmarks when i went back to slooh and see that they have a 7-night free trial up. So many months later how did it go, anyone know?

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WWGD (What Would GLP Do)

Inspected by #13

Magic. I was just thinking of digging this post up, I see a slooh add here occasionally and wondered how it all worked out too.

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Hwæt! We Gardena in geardagum,
þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.

Same here. I'm not sure if it was ever really resolved.

*rimshot*

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"I'm making wheatloaf. It's like meatloaf, only with wheat"
"Isn't that just...bread?"

Haha. I'm funnier than I think sometimes.

They had a huge ad in the latest Astronomy magazine, so I used my "newsstand customer" ID to log in to astronomy.com, and visited Slooh, as indicated was possible, but apparently he still has it set up so you can only go on "missions" starting at 9 p.m. Eastern time, which I suppose is when it's dark enough in the Canary Islands to see stars, but it's still kind of like you have to make an appointment with yourself to remember to sit down and view. And at 9 p.m. Eastern time I am usually doing other things.

And, the "missions" still only run from 5 to 15 minutes--I still don't "get" why someone would sit here for long minutes waiting for a remote telescopic image to form, when they can go outside and look at the stars directly.

The only use I can think of for it would be if you wanted to eyeball celestial objects that your own personal telescope didn't have the magnification to pick up. But it would still be like you were just looking at an APOD, and I don't see where the fun is in that. Or why you should pay a membership fee for that.

Slooh is now using the upcoming lunar eclipse as a selling point. This ad appeared in the lower margin of the BABB:



I like the idea of "cloud insurance". Any way that could be made generally available for amateur astronomers?

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I have not seen much talk about SLOOH on the board. I was wondering if anyone was still interested in a continued conversation about SLOOH and what it brings to the average person?

I have been a user of SLOOH for almost a year now. I have spent many hours on the telescopes and would be interested in continuing this discussion about what the average user might get out of SLOOH.com


Keep Looking Up.

jamesd_wallace2

Welcome to the BABB, jamesd_wallace2! We too would like to hear about it--please share some of your experiences.

SLOOH has expanded its services since it came online. The now have a chat room, users group, and Internet Radio programs. There are people from over 50 contries that are members. It is really becoming a community. Users like me are trying to start doing some real science work with the scopes, but for the most part it is a real educational tool.

There are teenagers and we even have a user in his 80's, all learning from sharing with other astronomers.

We have big names in the popular astronomy community, on the Radio programs. Here is a link to the program schedule:
http://www.slooh.com/radio.html

Keep Looking Up


jamesd_wallace2

Ode to Slooh:

Betelgeuse is red, and Rigel blue.
Astronomy is great and wonderous too!
Comets, stars and nebula we view.
Every night online with the great awesome Slooh!!


Slooh is great! check it out we have 50 different mission every night, don't listen to jughead, I mean jigsaw he is an idiot!

You're probably going to want to edit that. Please read the FAQ.

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"I'm making wheatloaf. It's like meatloaf, only with wheat"
"Isn't that just...bread?"

What is the best way to discribe SLOOH? It is a tool. For what? For many things: Education, entertainment, science, social interaction, and enjoyment.

Education: Beware, if you use SLOOH you will want to learn more. More about Astronomy.

Entertainment: Watch a good movie tonight? Instead, watch the stars. Be awed by the sights and sounds of the scopes. Or listening to the Radio with many interesting speakers.

Science: Join in the hunt for Super Nova, or asteroids. Track the movements of the storms on Jupiter, or the shadows on the Moon.

Social interaction: Join in the conversation with other SLOOH users in the chat room or post to the SLOOH users group.

Enjoy: I enjoy every aspect of SLOOH. The interface brings you into the skies for a ride. The sounds of the scopes moving in thier remote houses in the Canary Islands.

There are so many things about SLOOH that can not be discribed but only experienced.


Keep Looking Up.


jamesd_wallace2

Michael Paolucci answered a thread last year.

A Thousand Pardons: I do not work for SLOOH, but I have been with SLOOH for a while. If you have questions about the pointing I might be able to answer them. There was bug in the software that did not display the actual pointing of RA/Dec. I have not tested it recently (due to upgrades) and I know that the software is continuing to be upgraded.

The pointing issues (not centered images) is being fixed as I type this. SLOOH has personnel at the scopes doing hardware upgrades. I believe the scopes will be completely upgraded by the end of January.

Keep Looking Up.



jamesd_wallace2

Hmmm - I had assumed you work for SLOOH, as you have referred to them as "we".

Lianachan, I am sorry about the confusion. That is why I normally state that I do not work for SLOOH. As a Slooher, I tend to think of SLOOH as my own. From what I have seen, many of the users feel the same way. Take for instance Nyx. He obviously had strong feelings about SLOOH and he is a subsriber just like me.

Many of us would like to see our user numbers grow for the express purpose of expanding the capabilities of SLOOH. We often talk about what SLOOH could do with scopes scattered thoughout the globe. 24/7 starry nights. SLOOH has plans to install more domes in the near future, but needs more customers to expand.

If you have questions about SLOOH I can try to answer them. I would like to continue the dialog that has just begun to start.


Keep Looking Up.

jamesd_wallace2

Yup - it's easy enough to refer to a community you belong to as "we". Sorry if my post came across as accusing you of working for SLOOH - that wasn't my intention, it was a "thanks for clearing it up" kind of thing (just phrased clumsily).

I'm sure others may ask you, but I have no questions about SLOOH. I'm afraid I am not at all interested in them for a few reasons - not least of which is the way the poster here of that name conducted himself in another thread. Extremely poor PR, and attitude - he may have alienated some potential customers by his posting here. Hardly what he had in mind, I'm sure. Also, I agree with Jigsaw that it's not really worth paying $50 for something that is not - at the moment - substantially better than simply looking at APOD.

Oh yes - I'm in the UK, so I lose the "benefit" of being able to look at the stars on SLOOH while it is daytime for me.

Here is an example of a typical schedule for SLOOH's nightly missions. I don't want to make my posts long so I will explain more about it in another post. Schedule for 20 Jan 05. All times are UTC/GMT.

7:20 Moon
7:25 Moon
7:30 Moon
7:35 Helix Nebula
7:45 Silver Coin
7:55 Charybdis
8:05 Pinwheel Galaxy
8:15 ET Cluster
8:25 Cetus A
8:35 Bow-Tie Nebula
8:45 Little Dumbbell Nebula
8:55 Double Cluster
9:05 Globular Cluster M79
9:15 Starfish Cluster
9:25 Caldwell 5
9:35 Velvet Cluster
9:45 Swarm
9:55 NGC 2477
10:05 Eskimo Nebula
10:15 Charoline's Cluster
10:25 Intergalactic Wanderer
10:35 Beehive Cluser
10:45 Caldwell 7
10:55 Spiral Galaxy M81
11:05 Owl Nebula
11:15 Spiral Galaxy M109
11:25 Ghost of Jupiter
11:35 Mechain's Galaxy
11:45 Pinwheel Galaxy
11:55 ET Cluster
12:05 Flocculent Spiral Galaxy
12:15 Spiral Galaxy M94
12:25 Edge-on Spiral Galaxy
12:35 Caldwell 36
12:45 Giant Elliptical Galaxy
12:55 Elliptical Galaxy M89
1:05 Antennae Galaxies
1:15 Black-eye Galaxy
1:25 Sunflower Galaxy
1:35 Face-on Spiral Galaxy
1:45 Caldwell 5
1:55 Moon
2:00 Comet Machholz
2:10 Velvet Cluster
2:20 NGC 2477
2:30 Intergalactic Wanderer
2:40 Ancient Open Cluster
2:50 Beehive Cluster
3:00 Spiral Galaxy M96
3:10 Elliptical Galaxy M105
3:20 Silver Needle
3:30 Centaurus A
3:40 Sprial Galaxy M81
3:50 Eight-Burst Nebula
4:00 Omega Centari
4:10 Flocculent Spiral Galaxy
4:20 Spiral Galaxy M94
4:30 Lenticular Galaxy M84
4:40 Elliptical Galaxy M89
4:50 Elliptical Galaxy M59
5:00 Elliptical Galaxy M59
5:10 Rich Globular Cluster
5:20 Snowball
5:30 Whirlpool Galaxy
5:40 Rho Ophiuchi Region
5:50 Mirror Ball
6:00 Face-on Spiral Galaxy
6:10 Ancient Open Cluster
6:20 Sombrero Galaxy
6:30 Ring Nebula
6:40 Whale Galaxy
6:50 Northern Jewel Box


Keep Looking Up.

jamesd_wallace2

How about a screen shot of the comet, tonight? Middle mag. view. With a screen shot of the parameters as well. Sorta like this.

A Thousand Pardons: Wow, that is an old screenshot. The mission interface has changed since then. I don't have permission to post an image like that on the web. The Mission Interface (MI) and images are owned by SLOOH.com.

I have seen Comet Machhotz many times with SLOOH but tonight will be different. There has been an upgrade to the Beta dome (the one running missions tonight), and if the weather is good tonight will be the second night for viewing with the upgrades.

I believe the mission is going to be on the Astonomy.com Login tonight. If you have a subscription to Astronomy Magazine (or a current copy from the News stand) you will be able to see that mission tonight.

Time for work. I'll get some more info about the schedule in the board later tonight.



Keep Looking Up.

jamesd_wallace2

As you my have noticed some of the items listed on the schedule are not exactly the IAU approved names for astronomical names. The names are Common names or I guess more accurately "informal" names, because Slooh may not designed to be used by astronomers first. It is designed to make astronomers. One of the great things about Slooh is the way it continues to grab your curiosity. You may go there for the pictures first but the education will creeps up on you.

Don't get me wrong now. I love APOD, it has great information and they gather the best pictures from astronomy programs around the world. If you want to watch it happen then Slooh is the place to go. You can see the picture build. Not every one is the same, and we even share our pictures to admire who has been able to collect the best images. You can see the image on APOD but do you get to see the many hours it took to get those pictures? I get to watch Slooh in action.


Keep Looking Up.

jamesd_wallace2

How did the mission go? Did you get to watch? I wasn't available at the mission time. (I was off doing other Slooh stuff.)

We had a great night last night. The Beta dome was wonderful. We were even able to identify a galaxy near M59, that is at 17th Magnitude. All in all Slooh is continuing to improve its quality.


Keep Looking Up.

jamesd_wallace2

LOL. No, that was a request. Sorry.

I no longer have an active account, I was hoping someone would capture that for us. You don't need to post it to the public, somewhere private would be fine.

See, now, this is what I don't "get"--why sit there for long minutes, waiting for an image of, say, M31 to form, when I can go outside and look at it immediately?

You make sitting there waiting for the image to form sound like a privilege; IMO it's not.

I don't want to spend hours processing images in order to get an APOD, I don't care about the hours it took to do that--that's why I go to their website, so they can give me the already-processed pix.

And, how do people who are looking through the same telescope at the same object during the same time frame end up with "different" pictures that can be "compared"?

I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, however.

A Thousand Pardons,

I am sorry that you were unable to view the mission. If you are a subscriber to Astronomy Magazine or have a current issue from the news stand you can view one mission a night for free.

I don't feel it is proper to post an image of the copyright material even if it is in a private place (of which I do not have one). Slooh has made the missions at 9:00pm available for Astronomy Magazine users, so I am sure if you check that out you will catch Comet Machholz some time within the next month.


Keep Looking Up.

jamesd_wallace2