Would I take my expensive glass to a public session? ….no no no. I have a little 80mm f/11 Vixen mounted on a CG5 that is my (actually my daughter’s) star party scope. It serves two purposes. It is inexpensive, easily replaceable and it looks like the stuff kids are likely to get as a gift.
Case in point, last Friday the local astro-club had a public session. While I’m not a member due to lack of time, I decided to gather my two little ones, their scope and join them for the evening. What a great time we had. There were all kinds of EXPENSIVE scopes, and my little Vixen. Guess who had the longest line? Saturn at 125x was just perfect and the fact we had a “kid-friendly” set-up (including my 4 and 3 year old) drew more people than expected. Many parents thanked me over and over again for taking the time for accommodating their kids.
Guys relax, buy a cheapy 80mm short tube for the public session.
You can read a story the local paper ran on the outing here:
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/4922187.htm
Best,
Angel
Case in point, last Friday the local astro-club had a public session. While I’m not a member due to lack of time, I decided to gather my two little ones, their scope and join them for the evening. What a great time we had. There were all kinds of EXPENSIVE scopes, and my little Vixen. Guess who had the longest line? Saturn at 125x was just perfect and the fact we had a “kid-friendly” set-up (including my 4 and 3 year old) drew more people than expected. Many parents thanked me over and over again for taking the time for accommodating their kids.
Guys relax, buy a cheapy 80mm short tube for the public session.
You can read a story the local paper ran on the outing here:
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/4922187.htm
Best,
Angel
