Heading for the mountain.

Well, I am heading out for Mt. Pinos for the evening. I hope to try out a new EP and a aperture mask that I made after reading the Cloudy Nights article on its use. It is basically a "Easy Focus" aperture mask. The guy made some big claims of contrast and better views, so I decided what the heck and made one. It is for my f/4.9 15" DOB. I will post after I try it and let you know my opinions.

I am also trying out my new cooling fan system to see if it works better than just letting it sit there.

I also made a complete cover for my scope out of aluminumized material to keep it safe from sun and the elements. I used a material that blocks UV and is waterproof. Only cost a few dollars in materials and a little sewing time.

I am hoping for good views of Mars and all the other objects tonight. Clear Sky Clock is predicting good conditions, so here I go.

Dark skies to all tonight.
Floyd

It will be interesting to see how that mask works. I'm far from an optics expert, but it would seem to me that if you make 4 off axis holes you would then have the contrast killing effect of one HUGE central obstruction between the holes. The good thing is that its easy and cheap to try one out, I look forward to your report.