As it turned out I attended this year's Northeast Astronomy and Telescope Show (http://www.rocklandastronomy.com/neaf.htm) on Saturday, May 17th, and not Sunday. Thus, I was not able to hear Stephen O'Meara's talk but I did get a chance to talk to him at the S & T booth. I told him how much I had enjoyed _Seeing in the Dark_ by Timothy Ferris (Stephen was one of the amateur astronomers profiled in the book) and asked him for his impressions of the night when he was the first human being to see Comet Halley through an eyepiece during its 1986 apparition. (Stephen recovered the comet visually in 1985.)
My friend Tony Donnangelo and I got rolling before 5:00 a.m. and arrived at the Rockland Community College Field House in Suffern, New York just before 8:00 a.m. When Tony and I finally got our turn at the Tele Vue sales table we both bought 3-6mm Nagler zooms. Tony also bought a 7mm type 6 and an 8mm Ploessl. I upgraded my 2" diagonal with the purchase of an Everbrite mirror. After spending lots of money we spent some time talking with Uncle Al Nagler and admiring the new Tele Vue products: the NP-127 apochromat, the 41mm Panoptic, the 20mm Nagler type 5, and the additions to the Nagler type 6 line (2.5, 3.5, and 11mm).
Tony and I also spent some time at the Pentax booth looking at the new Pentax XW and XO offerings. The XL line apparently is going to be phased out by the even more costly XW line, which consists of seven 70 degree AFOV oculars ranging from 3.5mm to 40mm. The 30 and 40mm XW eyepieces are very expensive, each costing $549. The 44 degree AFOV 2.5 (6 lens elements in 3 groups) and 5mm XO (5 lens elements in 3 groups) oculars are similarly very salty. I believe the price was $320. The eye relief was paltry but the rather unusual long and flat barrel top allowed me to put my eye very close to the eye lens of each of them.
The 30mm 1rpd 80 degree AFOV eyepiece that has caused some controversy on sci.astro.amateur of late was rather interesting. I found John Hopper's version of the tale rather englightening.
My friend Tony Donnangelo and I got rolling before 5:00 a.m. and arrived at the Rockland Community College Field House in Suffern, New York just before 8:00 a.m. When Tony and I finally got our turn at the Tele Vue sales table we both bought 3-6mm Nagler zooms. Tony also bought a 7mm type 6 and an 8mm Ploessl. I upgraded my 2" diagonal with the purchase of an Everbrite mirror. After spending lots of money we spent some time talking with Uncle Al Nagler and admiring the new Tele Vue products: the NP-127 apochromat, the 41mm Panoptic, the 20mm Nagler type 5, and the additions to the Nagler type 6 line (2.5, 3.5, and 11mm).
Tony and I also spent some time at the Pentax booth looking at the new Pentax XW and XO offerings. The XL line apparently is going to be phased out by the even more costly XW line, which consists of seven 70 degree AFOV oculars ranging from 3.5mm to 40mm. The 30 and 40mm XW eyepieces are very expensive, each costing $549. The 44 degree AFOV 2.5 (6 lens elements in 3 groups) and 5mm XO (5 lens elements in 3 groups) oculars are similarly very salty. I believe the price was $320. The eye relief was paltry but the rather unusual long and flat barrel top allowed me to put my eye very close to the eye lens of each of them.
The 30mm 1rpd 80 degree AFOV eyepiece that has caused some controversy on sci.astro.amateur of late was rather interesting. I found John Hopper's version of the tale rather englightening.
Chance favors the prepared mind.
De gustibus non est disputandum.
