Posts Made By: Rod Mollise

Mark Costello III said:

I was out last Saturday with my relatively new 5" achromatic refractor (achro), an Explore Scientific AR127. I took advantage of the moon rising late to observe and draw some deep sky objects. One of them was M35. I also went looking for nearby NGC 2158. I couldn't quite see it at 26X (Celestron Ultima 31mm) or 103X (Baader Hyperion 8mm). So noting that this complex was in nearly the best position it could be (close to zenith) and really wanting to see if I could see NGC2158, I went for 206X (inserting a TV barlows lens). Much to my surprise, it worked. I was able to see a grainy haze with individual stars winking in and out. I also tried this on Cluster NGC 2420 and found that the view was better at 206X than 103X. Ditto with NGC 2392 (the Eskimo Nebula).

I've had this experience before with M11 the Wild Duck Cluster. The question I have for y'all is this: From way back in the late 60s reading Edmund catalogs, I had always thought that deep sky objects (DSOs) should be viewed at low to mid power. Yet for a few of them, it appears that high power seems to work even to the point of making them "brighter." Is this correct, or should I stick to low or medium power for some DSOs.

Thanks for your response....


Mark Costello
Matthews, NC

Rod Kaufman said:

The first battlefield deployment of an anti-tank missile defense system became operational today when the IDF's Trophy unit detected and destroyed an incoming anti-tank missile.
Israel already has what might be described as the best tanks in the world and they probably out-perform the American Abrams M1 A2 main battle tank. But even the formidable Merkava (chariot) main battle tank has been vulnerable to the Russian Kornet which is likely the most lethal ant-tank weapon in the world. A Kornet missile scored a direct hit on a Merkava a few months ago in the Gaza and it managed to penetrate the hull and its classified armor. Fortunately, the Merkava represents a radical evolution in tank design in that it puts the engine and transmission in the front of the tank, ahead of its crew.

Tony Aguire said:

Has anyone here had an oportunity to use the Celestron Nexguide? Looking at that, or possibly the LVI2...

Lee Spain said:

I think we will win if the aliens get here after 2025:

http://gizmodo.com/#!351467/navy-rail-gun-test-destroys-everything-it-touches-at-5640-mph

Russ Carroll said:

Jesus clearly performed a miracle of turning water into wine. It is standard orthodox Christian theology that the same Holy Spirit that empowers us today is the exact same Holy Spirit that empowered Jesus.

If you believe this, which I do, would you teach a class on Viticulture claiming that all you need to do is put water into a cistern and pray?

Terry Wofford said:

Has anyone heard of the optical tube detaching (or unbonding) from the the back plate? I was beating my head against the wall trying to collimate the secondary when I noticed that the tube is pulled out by about 3/16" and can be pushed back by hand, but won't stay. It's just over a year old so the warranty is out and I refuse to send it back to Meade again. It is pulled out exactly opposite of the arm attachment. It appears there was too much tension on that side. I need to know if I can epoxy it back into place, or if I need to drill and tap it for screws so it won't move again. Or I can just lose my patience, beat it to a pile of rubble, and send it to Meade COD!

Thanks,
Terry W

Darian Rachal said:

Check out this interesting slideshow. It's criminal. http://www.marchandmeffre.com/detroit/index.html

Doug Matulis said:

Simple question, why would Obama as a candidate, president elect, and now president, why is he spending millions of dollars, over all this time period, to hide his school records and his official birth certificate? Other candidates and presidents have freely offered these records, the birth certificate being the constitutionally required document, why the millions of dollars?

Paulo martin said:

Hello,
Seeking advice on any azimuth mount with Goto and monitoring, type SW or SLT mount Celestron ED80 refractor or some similar ..
Greetings