Posts Made By: Rick Wiseman

Has anyone observed this very dim globular cluster near M53 in Coma Berenices? I think I was right on its position last night using my 8" dob, at 80x and 120x, but I only saw a hint of light using averted imagination.

All,

Is it possible (or at all probable) to see the disks of Jupiter's moons in an 8" f6 Newtonian at 320x? I thought that was what I wa seeing last night at midnight local time. How many arc seconds wide are the moons' disks?

Checking Starry Night to identify the moons, this is what I observed: Leading was Callisto, second largest disk, dull color, second was Ganymede, easily the largest disk, still a dullish surface. Following the planet were Io and Europa, fairly close together, with smaller much brighter disks. There was a dim star between and a bit below Callisto and Ganymede.

The limb of Jupiter was very sharp, and many details were clear on its disk. I checked some nearby stars about the same brightness, they appeared much different, intense and twinkling with diffraction rings. Zeta Aquarii at 2 arc seconds was easy even at 80x. Seeing was obviously exceptional.

Rick Wiseman

Peter,

I think you have hit on a truth, there. "Don't make it a duty, make it a pleasure."

I have felt the pull of aperture fever, but was held back by finances and by being stingy with my time with my family.

Looking at 3 or 4 things for an hour or less, perhaps once a week or so, seems to be a good balance.

I "only" have a 90mm Meade Goto Refractor, and a little 4-1/2" f4 reflector - hand-held - but I am making my first time around the sky this year. I don't know how it will be when "the same old things rise again next spring." What is the H400 list?

Rick

James,

I put together a 4-1/2" reflector with approximately the same focal length back in the 1970s.

I use this mostly with a 25mm Kellner eyepiece that I bought at the time. You should be able to get a new Plössl eyepiece for between $25 - $35. Check at meridiantelescopes.com.

Like one of the above posts said, I hold the tube under my arm and scan around the sky. I see wonderful wide-field views of the Milky Way, open clusters and even bright nebula like the Great Orion nebula.

I also epoxied a little tapped plate to the tube which allows me to mount the scope on a photography tripod. With this and 12mm and 9mm Plössl eyepieces, I have viewed Saturn and Jupiter very nicely indeed.

I think you can make some great observations with your scope, at very little investment for an eyepiece. Best wishes and merry Christmas,

Rick Wiseman

Thanks, Jim for the heads up.

I got up around 1:00 and saw the conjunction out the window. Very pretty. Too late, too cold to go outside, enjoyed it awhile and went back to bed!

Rick

Wow, that's amazing, Larry.

Rick W

Douw,

Thanks for the comments about your observations.

I think the posts on this thread contain some grains of truth about aperture vs cost vs what one can see. I think a lot depends on the observer's skills, experience and practice. A person can get a lot of pleasure with a smaller scope or binoculars it that's all they can afford.

Rick W

All right, Dmitri. It sounds as if you had a wonderful time. I must find a dark sky site, too.

I enjoy the open clusters in the area of the Milky Way that you described through my 90mm refractor. I live a little further south of your location, so I am able to see the entire Canis Major and further south in Puppis to M41 and M93, etc.

How long was your observing session? What kind of scope did you use? Here the weather is normally much colder than Sweden, so I am chased in by the cold after perhaps one hour.

Rick Wiseman

Dan,

I love this idea, and I'm going to do this soon. Thanks,

Rick W

The "Quality" of a telescope, or car, or any other product for that matter, is solely a matter of perception by the consumer. Some customers (yo Floyd, Hal ) have a different perception of "Quality" than others (Donnie, Rick).

Floyd said, "You can not expect the same quality of optics and construction from a scope that cost a fraction of the other scope. This is not being realistic."

With all due respect, Floyd, here's where you may be wrong! Recall that the Japanese did just the same thing in the auto market in the 1970s and 80s. They were able to sell cars with better quality for a lower price than the American auto manufacturers. At least the Japanese cars were PERCEIVED to have better quality than the American cars. Echoes of this big marketing coup of the Japanese still resound in Jon Isaac's preference for Toyotas and Nissans.

Some sellers are able to convince many customers that a product fulfills their perceptions of quality "well enough", and "We sell for less" is their slogan. You know who I'm talking about.
You have to believe that Wal-Mart has discovered the key to what customers perceive as acceptable quality! (Heaven forbid, but that is the state of the consumer in America today.)

So the key seems to be the consumers¡¦ perception of quality. So which way will the telescope market go? It has already to Wal-Mart, in a way. Witness the "mass-produced" Chinese telescopes. But they are cheaper and better than anything I could buy in the 1970s.

My most optimistic hopes for the telescope market lie in
- First, improved production processes at the Chinese (or some currently unknown low-cost manufacturer). Variations in optics will essentially vanish.
- Second, in the potential for technological improvements in materials for optics and electronic imaging.

What is certain is, that if telescope consumers keep demanding it, some day in the not too distant future, you will see a light weight portable telescope with a huge aperture for $100. The holographically printed optics in this thing will "see" much better than the best current hand-figured mirrors. It would view a wide field and easily switch to high magnification. With all the needed filters built in. Maybe even adaptive optics to correct for poor seeing! What a dream! But isn't that the way that technology is going? Then Floyd, and Hal, and Donnie, and Rick and Rick (me!) will all be satisfied! Nah - our perceptions of quality will change.

Rick Wiseman