Posts Made By: Michael Frias

I have a pair of 60mm filters, that came from the Isle of Man. I am wondering if these can be stacked?

I am the brother of Thomas Back, and I am very sorry to have to inform
the group that Thomas passed away last Thursday, the 13th. As many of
you know, he was very ill for a long time, yet his passing was sudden
and unexpected. We take comfort in knowing that he is in a more
peaceful place.

Thomas is also survived by his mother, Olga, and his father, Lester.
We are all extremely proud of Tom's accomplishments and stature in the
fields of astronomy and optics. We will miss him very much, and we
know that he will also be missed by his many friends, fans, and
customers, including the members of this group.

Sincerely,
Charles Back
cdback@...

A friend of mine has had some equipment stolen from a trailer on his property where we view. The property is located in Herald,CA. The equipment consists of a Losmandy GM8 mount head, a box of EP's (Meade, Televue) and some Takahashi accessories (diagonal, filters, etc...). If anyone hears anything I know you all will let us know. I will keep you informed if we hear anything.

MaximDL, ImagesPlus, etc,,, they are just names to me. Which one of these should I use for imaging and camera control?

I asked a question and this is the answer I was given. Can someone please shed some light on how to read this.

I asked a question and this is the answer I was given. Can someone please shed some light on how to read this.

Anybody??

I took out my new refractor on Friday night, I added the diagonal and plopped in my EP, but there isn't enough out travel in the focuser for the OTA to come into focus. Is it reasonable for a refractor to need an extension in order for it to come to focus? It seems odd that any manufacturer would design a scope that does this. Is there any productive reason why a scope would do this?

A couple of buddies and myself have a little routine that we think really helps. I honestly think it adds as much as 10 degrees of warmth, if not more. First we lay down some plastic tarps, the 6' x 8' ones you get from the hardware store. Then we add a layer of movers blankets. This really helps hold down the plastic tarps and keeps the ground a little softer & warmer, versus standing on the bare ground. We then stand up some of our screens that one of my buddies designed and made, these are 6' x 8' PVC walls that have 6' x 8' plastic tarps attached to them. This acts as a screen from intruding lights and drastically cuts down any breezes that may be around. We've made about 10 or 12 of these screens so we are able to make a good size enclosure around us if the need arises, depending on how many of us are viewing that evening. Then if the cold warrants it we fire up the propane heater(s) to give us that little bit of warmth that can take us from viewing for a couple of hours to viewing till the sun takes us home. During the normal viewing session, 5 -7 hours, we do not notice any frozen fingers and or toes that are normally associated with winter viewing sessions. But once the walls come down and we start to tear down our equipment the frozen fingers and toes have come as quickly as 10 - 15 minutes. And of course proper attire, lots of layers, is a necessity.

When purchasing filters ( OIII, UHC, etc...) for a C-11 scope what is the best route as far as size. Should one buy the 1 1/4", 2", or visual back mount? What are the advantages/disadvantages of each model?