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Terry Wood

Jupiter (clearer) Nov 5th 2023 w/Mewlon 180c

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Started by [email protected], 08/02/2015 07:51PM
Posted 08/02/2015 07:51PM Opening Post
I was able to come by a Meade 2080 8" SCT OTA and a universal astronomics deluxe altazimuth mount on a Meade standard field tripod. It is an F/10 2000mm tube with a clean mirror. I set it up over the weekend at my parents on top of a mountain in central PA and viewed the full moon and Saturn very nicely with my Meade 5000 40mm (2") and Celestron Ultima lx (1.25") 8mm eyepieces. I think I am ready to dive into viewing something larger such as galaxies and nebulas. I have been using google sky and I have been becoming familiar with the sky, but I haven't read anything yet on viewing any deep sky objects. I wasn't sure how far I could reach into our own solar system with the above mentioned telescope. I saw people taking photos of Neptune and Uranus, but wasn't sure if that was really a capability with my setup. I do have a set of 1.25" eyepieces that are not wide view and are high powered. I also noticed that most eyepieces that I have been looking at are typically 1.25" for higher power. Eyepieces offering a large afov seem to be out of my budget at the moment. I think I have some research to do...
Posted 08/03/2015 12:24AM #1
Hi Matthew,

I have three similar Meade 8" f/10 SCT scopes. One is fork mounted and the other two have a dovetail that lets me mount either one on a GEM or a GPS IOPTRON MiniTower.

As far as objects you can see with such a scope, there are many: (1) The Ring Nebula (M-57) in Lyra is a great view in your scope. You may want to get a 24mm and a 14mm to fill in between your 40mm and your 8mm. The 8mm is near or past the upper limit of my sky most of the time. I have both 9mm and 10mm eyepieces that get used more than 8mm.

Another good object (also in Lyra) is the Double-Double which is near Vega. You should be able to resolve all four stars in good seeing with your 8mm eyepiece. Use the 40mm to get the Double-Double in the center of the 40mm and then pump up the power (2000mm/8mm = 250 power).

Mizar and its visual companion in the handle of the Big Dipper (middle star in the dipper's handle) should be able to be seen with the un-aided eye and then with the 40mm (50 power). Then put the bright star, Mizar, into the center of your 40mm eyepiece and look carefully for Mizar's small companion by swapping in the 8mm.

Toward the end of the week, you should get great views of craters on the moon's light-dark boundary (the terminus) with both the 40mm and the 8mm.

I have an 8-24mm Zoom made by Vixen which lets me adjust for the best view in a given night's sky and then (only if the sky permits) I swap in a 10mm, 9mm or 8mm whichever is best in the zoom.

If you wait for new moon and take your scope to a dark site, M-51, M-81, M82 and M-101 are all available in a scope like yours and mine.

Clear Skies,

Ed