Refractor RationalePosted By Michael McIsaac |
Hi Tom:
I used to live in a coastal area in Alaska that had similar seeing problems to yours. I was pleasantly surprised when I acquired an old Vixen 80mm F15 refractor on Ebay. The tube is scratched up and ugly and the focuser isn't the best I've ever used but the depth of focus resulting from the long focal length solved most of my seeing problems.
Nights that the Gas Giants were boiling in my C-9.25 were no problem with the old refractor. Image scale is much smaller and images are somewhat dark but the sharpness, contrast, and detail are there. The mountains of the Moon really stand out in near-3-D even w/o a binoviewer. Hmmm, maybe Fraunhoeffer had something there...
Now I live in the mountains of SE Idaho where the air is clear and usually quite steady. Moving is a lot more expensive than a new scope so now you have justification! A 3" or 4" F15 would be no problem for your GM-8.
Clear skies!
Mike McIsaac
Inkom, ID
I used to live in a coastal area in Alaska that had similar seeing problems to yours. I was pleasantly surprised when I acquired an old Vixen 80mm F15 refractor on Ebay. The tube is scratched up and ugly and the focuser isn't the best I've ever used but the depth of focus resulting from the long focal length solved most of my seeing problems.
Nights that the Gas Giants were boiling in my C-9.25 were no problem with the old refractor. Image scale is much smaller and images are somewhat dark but the sharpness, contrast, and detail are there. The mountains of the Moon really stand out in near-3-D even w/o a binoviewer. Hmmm, maybe Fraunhoeffer had something there...
Now I live in the mountains of SE Idaho where the air is clear and usually quite steady. Moving is a lot more expensive than a new scope so now you have justification! A 3" or 4" F15 would be no problem for your GM-8.
Clear skies!
Mike McIsaac
Inkom, ID
