Posts Made By: gregg bernstein

I know this is a bit obscure, but does anyone know the UGC designation of the galaxy right near the star Electra, in M45, a bit east/southeast, perhaps? It appeared in an astrophoto in an Astronomy Magazine gallery in mid 2004, I believe. It is a tiny spec of a galaxy.

Thanx.

Gregg D. Bernstein
Augusta, Maine

Hi all:

I will be taking delivery perhaps in the summer of a 22" NightSky f/4.5. I know this is a bit early and over eager, but I was thinking of getting an eyepiece or two before the scope arrives. Maybe one now and one after I get it.

I have a 22mm Nagler T4. The scope's fl will be about 2500mm. I was thinking of getting a 14mm eyepiece to give me something in the area 180x, a power I should be able to use most of the time.

I was thinking of the Pentax 14mm XW, perhaps a Panoptic 15mm or a 13mm Nagler. I am partial to the 14mm size and have read very nice things about the Pentax line.

Anyone have experience with the Pentax or the new Meade UWA 14mm or the old Meade 14mm?

Any other comments are welcome.

Thanx in advance for your help and suggestions.

Gregg
Augusta, Maine

Hello all.

I will be taking delivery of a NightSky 22" hopefully some time this Summer. I learned when I had a Meade 12" LX200 that buying too many accessories is not a good idea. I am trying to get excited about the scope and get some fun stuff, but do not want to go overboard.

I was wondering what people thought of Skytools compared to Megastar or Guide. I am looking for a decent charting program, but will have Argo Navis/ServoCat, so I will not be star hopping; and, I thought the planner in Skytools looked kind of cool. Any suggestions?

I also am looking to get a nebula filter. As a first buy, would a UHC or OIII be better? One day I am sure I will get both, but thought I would just start out with one.

Also, just curious, anyone in the Northeast (I am in central Maine) with a large dobsonian, how high in magnification can you usually go, for planetary observing and small/faint deep sky stuff? I have a 22mm Nagler and was thinking of getting a 14mm or 13mm eyepiece and then eventually getting a higher power Radian for those really good nights. I know the scopes are different (as is the quality), but the Meade was a good scope and I found much above 200x on most nights kind of soft.

As well, I will have a Telrad, but with Argo Navis/ServoCat, do I really need a finderscope? I barely used the finderscope on the LX200 (just to center the alignment star). I thought I would get a finderscope, but nothing fancy (or large, to limit balance problems).

Any help or other suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Gregg
Augusta, Maine

I hope this is an approriate place to post this. I just received the Herald-Bobroff atlas from Lymax.com. I had read reviews on the atlas and purchased it. It is quite nice. I am writing, though, to let you all know what a great job Lymax did with getting it to me.

This may seem like a small point, but I ordered it from their web site, received it fairly quickly, it was shipped insured, in a shipping box, in which the atlas was double bubble wrapped and inside a large ziploc plastic container. I was sent a nice little laminated book mark and a laminated business card with brief optical formulas on the back. The packaging was excellent and the little gifts, while very minor, were a nice touch.

I guess with all the complaints, often deserved, about various retailers, it is nice to get exceptional service.

No connections to Lymax here, just thought I'd let you know what a nice job they did on an aspect of purchasing that may get overlooked.

Gregg
Augusta, Maine

Of those who have ordered custom made dobsonians or perhaps some of the premium refractors or mounts, what is reasonable in terms of how the wait time is managed? By this I mean, should the manufacturer be expected to send you an initial receipt for your deposit or update you ocassionally on the progress of your order? Just curious what others have experienced.

Thanx.

Gregg

Hello all.

I should be receiving my new 22" NightSky dobsonian within the next month or so and was wondering if you all could provide me with a list of Fall/Winter objects that would "test" the scope. I am not particualrly knowledgable about optics and it would be great if I had a list of objects against which I could test the new scope.

I live in central Maine so the skies are not great, but usually fairly dark. Assuming relatively steady (but not great) and fairly dark skies (but not black) what kind of objects would be good with which to test the scope? I will look at Jupiter when it comes back for low contrast detail, but what about some double stars and deep sky objects?

I will use the scope for general visual use: plantes, doubles, and deep sky.

Please assume Nagler or Pentax eyepieces.

Any assistance is appreciated.

Gregg

I know this question or issue comes more from my excited anticipation than a real need to know right away, but... I hope to take delivery soon of a 22” NightSky goto dobsonian (approx. 2500mm focal length).

I live in central Maine, so the skies can get fairly dark, but not super steady. I have a 26 Nagler and a 14 Meade UWA (Series 4000). I was thinking of getting a 10 Pentax XW, a 9 Nagler, or a 10 Radian. The 10 will give me about 250x and the 9 about 277x. I think these are the upper limits for most nights. I remember I could not go above 235x with my Meade 12” LX200 before the view became too soft (and the view already was a bit soft).

Does anyone in the Northeast have a large dobsonian with which they can regularly go above 250x? I will do general viewing of all objects (planets, deep sky, doubles).

Any recommendations as to which eyepiece to get?

Thanx so much.

Gregg

I just took delivery of my 22" Nightsky goto. I want to thank the many people who have answered my multitude of questions over the last year. A few people have been especially helpful and have provided excellent advice. I very much appreciate their help.

Of course, it is snowing today and the next few days are likely out, but I need the time to become familiar with the scope and work things out; so, perhaps its not so bad.

Gregg
Augusta, Maine

I know I should know this after having spent $10k plus on my new scope, but is there a way for me to test the optics for a turned edge or other flaws, beyond a ronchi test? Should I just stick with the out of focus star test and be happy with that? Any articles or links you could direct me to would be appreciated. I hope to use the scope for the first time tomorrow night and I really have little idea how to analyze the quality of the mirror beyond the star test.

Thanx so much for any help.
Gregg
Augusta, Maine

What do you all use to protect your secondary mirror? I have a flannel cotton bag that came with some sheets. Would that work or be abrasive in any way? What do you do if cotton fibers get on the secondary?

Thanx.

Gregg