2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class
Session B1 held on 2010-Oct-23

Bonus Session 1

This was our first bonus session of the year. As is typical, it had lighter attendance, but that means less crowds and more attention from instructors. Plenty of good things happening today.

Zhenya Finishes Up!

The big news from the McGregor Observatory was that Zhenya finished up his 6-inch mirror. He stuck with it and got great results, and we know he is proud of his accomplishment. Good job!

2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session B1 held on 2010-Oct-23 Zhenya Finishes Up! Zhenya has his mirror cleanup up and ready for testing after a figuring session. Instructor Jay works on polishing a mirror he is making on the right.	2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session B1 held on 2010-Oct-23 Zhenya Finishes Up! Zhenya and Jay adjust the mirror stand to the right length for testing Zhenya's mirror.	2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session B1 held on 2010-Oct-23 Zhenya Finishes Up! With a Ronchi grating installed, Jay aligns the tester before inserting the Ross Null lens (lying on its side) into the optical path.
2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session B1 held on 2010-Oct-23 Zhenya Finishes Up! Not a great picture, but you can see the straight lines over about half the mirror surface indicating a perfect figure under the Ross Null Test.	2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session B1 held on 2010-Oct-23 Zhenya Finishes Up! Zhenya proudly holds his completed mirror with Jay at his side.	2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session B1 held on 2010-Oct-23 Zhenya Finishes Up! Sometimes Jay gets a bit carried away when students compete mirrors. Zhenya's face is approaching the color of his shirt!

Mirror Class at the McGregor Observatory

Besides Zhenya's mirror completion, here is what else happened at the McGregor.

2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session B1 held on 2010-Oct-23 Mirror Class at the McGregor Observatory This mirror was being hot pressed under a heat lamp.	2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session B1 held on 2010-Oct-23 Mirror Class at the McGregor Observatory Jay polished out his 8-inch mirror in between helping students.	2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session B1 held on 2010-Oct-23 Mirror Class at the McGregor Observatory You should keep notes on your figuring and testing progress. This notebook has been stained with polishing compound.
2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session B1 held on 2010-Oct-23 Mirror Class at the McGregor Observatory This lap needs trimming in a bad way: the channels are closing up and the edge needs beveling.	2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session B1 held on 2010-Oct-23 Mirror Class at the McGregor Observatory The channels have been opened up nicely, but the edge still needs to be beveled.	2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session B1 held on 2010-Oct-23 Mirror Class at the McGregor Observatory David brought his scope along for help with alignment.

Mirror Class at the Bunkhouse

Grinding was going on at the bunkhouse, as well as some work on making refractor achromat tooling which we don't have photos of.

2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session B1 held on 2010-Oct-23 Mirror Class at the Bunkhouse Amy's grinding area is organized and ready to go.	2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session B1 held on 2010-Oct-23 Mirror Class at the Bunkhouse Amy and Steve look at instructor Rick (center), who is getting ready to check for pits on their mirror.	2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session B1 held on 2010-Oct-23 Mirror Class at the Bunkhouse Using a bright light and magnifying glass, this 8-inch mirror is being checked for big pits. If none are found, then it's time to move on to the next grit.
2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session B1 held on 2010-Oct-23 Mirror Class at the Bunkhouse Michael takes a break from grinding and enjoys an apple.	2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session B1 held on 2010-Oct-23 Mirror Class at the Bunkhouse Orla helps Caleb (who is seated on the table) do some grinding on her mirror.	2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session B1 held on 2010-Oct-23 Mirror Class at the Bunkhouse Orla has just cleaned her mirror and tool after several wets of grinding.
2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session B1 held on 2010-Oct-23 Mirror Class at the Bunkhouse Erin glances up while grinding an 8-inch mirror.	2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session B1 held on 2010-Oct-23 Mirror Class at the Bunkhouse Carl instructs Erin while Orla & Caleb work in the rear.	2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session B1 held on 2010-Oct-23 Mirror Class at the Bunkhouse Dave is just starting to hog out an 8-inch mirror using the chordal stroke.

Fall Scenery

Foliage is starting to fade and drop, but there are still pretty views to be had at Stellafane

2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session B1 held on 2010-Oct-23 Fall Scenery Moonset on the Clubhouse Road.

2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session B1 held on 2010-Oct-23 Fall Scenery Autumn on Jordan Road.

2010-11 Stellafane Mirror Class Session B1 held on 2010-Oct-23 Fall Scenery Autumn at Stellafane East.