From: rickbria22 <rickbria22@...>
To: OccultNEUS <[email protected]>
Date: Saturday, 15 June 2024 11:29 AM EDT
Subject: [OccultNEUS] Astrid ?$?
Hi,
I plan on buying two Astrids, at least, so I will be able to do multi cords.?
I have no problem with the cost. I like the fact that I am making a small contribution to science, and quite frankly, I like the thrill of the hunt.
I think Mark should be paid anything he feels is proper to recoup the cost and effort he has invested to Bring Astrid to production. If he¡¯s making money on the product, great. He deserves it.
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I think IOTA may be missing the boat here. $700 is not exactly an incentive to start in the field of occultations. It¡¯s not just the cost of the equipment, it is also the cost of effort, both data acquisition, and then in learning data processing and reporting of the result.?
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I do astrophotography. It is part of my job at my school. When I take a picture of a deep sky object, I know that object on another level then before I took the picture. I know it¡¯s chemical make up and all sorts of details about that object I did not know before. But I pick and choose the software required to take that image. I don¡¯t like learning new software and new astrophotography processes. It¡¯s a real pain when new software comes out and completely up ends my established procedure. I also do EXO planets, spectroscopy, variable, stars, and more I¡¯m probably forgetting. All take time and have specific software learning curves.?
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In my view, IOTA should subsidize Astrids. There are many possibilities. A simple one time subsidy or a partial refund after a few occultations reports have been submitted. Whatever form it takes, I think the cost should be half or lower than what is proposed. $299 sounds like a good number. Remember that occultations are not just competing for astronomy funds, it also competes for dark cloudless skies, not to mention time. In our meetings, there are already reports of groups buying $1300 GPS cameras and not using them. Probably because of the complexity of that camera, or whatever.
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To me, Astrid holds the promise of making asteroid occultations somewhat simpler. That makes it more attractive to a wider audience and our best hope for attracting new members. Astrids and perhaps a low cost IOTA GPS flasher maybe the beginning of a new IOTA era.
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If anyone in our group is in a position to float the idea of IOTA subsidizing Astrids, I strongly recommend they do so.?
Rick Bria?
Steve C