July 2001 Newsletter

Stockton Astronomical Society

Valley Skies

Valley Skies - July 2001 Issue

The Telescope Nut
by Jeff Baldwin

Ladders

We climb tall ladders in the middle of the night without much thought of the impact we might suffer if we fall off them. I'm now pretty sure I know what it's like to hit the ground after a fall off a tall ladder. Here's a quick explanation before I get to the meat of the article.

I was cutting branches off a tree beside my house when the branch broke off and landed on the roof. I lifted the branch off the roof to throw it to the ground. The branch and I together weighed about 450 pounds - too much for the ground under the foot of the ladder. The ladder went north, I went south. My torso was about 11 feet up when I left the ladder, and my right ribs impacted a 5-gallon bucket filled with hard concrete. Two ribs broke (thought it was either a broken back or a pierced lung at the time), and now I'm disabled for the summer. I got off easy. I could be spending the next couple of years staring at the ceiling of a hospital room. I'm OK, or at least will be.

Now, if I had been up the same ladder at Peddler Hill, in cold weather, high altitude, in the dark, possibly alone, I would have been in even more extreme danger. One night at Leavitt Lake the wind knocked my ladder over and clipped Glenda's head. We were four hours from any help. It could have been fatal if it had been a more devastating impact.

If you have a large telescope that requires a ladder to enable the observer to reach the eyepiece, it should be a good quality ladder to start with. Beyond that, make sure the ground you are setting your telescope on is good, firm, level ground without softball-sized rocks around. You can clean up the area, before dark, to clear away objects that can topple your ladder. If the feet of the ladder are thin and the ground is somewhat soft, you risk the feet digging into the ground and launching you into the dark abyss. You can attach wood boards to the feet so they can't dig into the ground. Some astronomers attach wheels to their ladder legs so they can move them easily, and the wheels double as dig-in protection.

Another problem with ladders is the placement of the steps. Ever been on a ladder and the step is a little too low or a little too high to be comfortable at the eyepiece, or the next step is digging into your shin? Bummer. Some astronomers add steps between the original steps to facilitate the most comfortable observing position, as well as provide a bit of safety.

Those little step stools that we take to star parties are great, but we ought to be aware of the liability. A 2 foot fall can really mess up a kid, which in turn could really mess up your (our) bankroll. I'm not thinking of the financial problems first-the kid's health is more important-but in this litigious state we live in, the kid probably won't be hurt, but the parent will sue as if the kid were hurt.

One night in Manteca, Jeff Draper was at a school start party when one of the parents bent over to look through the telescope and stuck his eye on a bolt instead of an eyepiece. This is a scary problem. When we think about it, we really put ourselves at risk with the liability conditions we're dancing around. If we have good ladders and stools, watch our clients carefully, have a hand ready to steady people, and keep our equipment maintained and safe, we reduce the probability of accidents.

What the heck does this have to do with ATM?

Large telescope building includes ladders, trailers, and even the possibility of observatories. Big Dude is going to have a 144" focal length. Observing any object high in the sky will put the eyepiece way off the ground. Twelve feet of nose-bleeding altitude requires a careful and deliberate ladder design. The ladder is a very important item in the telescope design. Without it, we only look at the blurry horizon.

We used to joke "If you're gonna fall, fall away from the telescope" so the mirror wouldn't get marred. Always good for a chuckle.

So, there you are at the top of a 12 foot ladder in the dark. You're at 7000 feet and you're a little dizzy anyway. You look in the scope, then up in the sky, then you look around - and your head starts spinning. Spatial disorientation! Hang on tight...this is when the fall could happen.

A big Dob like this 36" f/5 requires a serious ladder to get up to the eyepiece...and serious planning to be safe doing it!
Photo: Bob Wooley, Astronomical Adventures, Arizona:
(www.astronomicaladventures.com)

Falling in daylight was terrible. Falling in the dark from a tall ladder onto rocky ground, not knowing when you're going to hit or on what, and hours from a hospital . . . yuck!

I'm not trying to scare people out of climbing the ladder and enjoying the sky. I am trying to keep anybody else from going through what I'm going through right now with broken ribs. My injuries ought to have been far worse than they were. I'm lucky.

Nobody plans to have an accident. But planning and careful preparation can help prevent an accident that could have serious consequences.

Be careful out there. And remember, it's not the fall, it's the sudden stop at the bottom!

Clear Skies!...Jeff Baldwin
For more information on Telescope Making jump to the ATM page.