Posts Made By: Allison Mullally

I often see Intes OTAs only for sale, and wonder what would be a good mounting. I don't often see N8 mounts only for sale, but nonetheless have thought that with one of those adapter bars (ray's) you could mount something better than the n8 tube on that mount. Maybe it would be undermounting for a 7" intes? Maybe the n8 tube is just dandy as is. But I'm curious...what is the biggest and/or best thing you've seen mounted to a N8 modified with an adapter?

considering a 5" mak cass, but was wondering if that was a pointless aperture. i already have an 8" dob, but want sometimes to have goto and tracking maybe for experimenting with photography, and perhaps for planets and some brighter dsos.

about once a year i go to a really dark sky sight, and it would certainly be more portable than my 8" dob, but what could i nab with a 5" MC at a dark sky sight? with my dob one year, i was seeing galaxies everywhere, structure in m51 and all that. i know ap. wins, but is 5" pointless or could it still go deep or do galaxies only show up on an attached camera if you know what I mean?

Thanks.

is it just the 497 hand controller?

Thanks chris for the answer about etx earlier today, now for the same question but for Nexstar. Celestron says they sell it with and without GoTo...is it the same thing without the hand controller? Can I just add any nexstar hand controller to the Nexstar 60 and make my own 60GT?

thanks.
Ally

asuming otas are the same, is the upcoming gem mounting better than the single arm fork mount of the n8? better than the dual arm mount of the n8gps. okay, i don't need the gps, but that's the only model that comes with both arms of the fork. do you think the gem mount will be better than the n8 or worse in terms of stability? tracking? photography? in general what are the pros and cons?

thanks,
allison.

This is a subjective thing. Obviously bigger is better for serious DSO observing, but I am wondering what is the SMALLEST scopes that you would bother seeking out some DSOs with.

I find that scopes are all about compromise, period. I have an 8" dob. That's a good compromise between price (excellent), optics (good), ease of use (excellent), portability (excellent around the house, not great for travel), tracking (terrible / non existent), light gathering (good).

so now the three areas I lack most in the above are: portability, and tracking and to a lesser extent light gathering too. That indicates a small scope that tracks. Such as a Nexstar 4 or 5 (or 8) or ETX 125 (may as well throw in goto for fun and easy of use on the road I guess).

Well, I can only imagine re-running my analysis on such a scope: price (high compared to aperture), optics (cel & meade reportedly make great SCTs and MakCasses right?), tracking (yes! but not for photography unless you are on a wedge right?) and finally aperture*

*well, this is obviously down the drain at 4 or 5 inches not counting the relatively HUGE central obstruction. I then wondered how truly portable a Nexstar 8 or 8gps would be since that is what I would consider the minimum aperture for DSO fun. The nexstars are lighter than the meade 8" and above, so that's why I lean towards them. But if 4 or 5 inches can still be used to see structure in m51 at a DARK sight, then that may fit the bill better because of how portable they are.

I also like the idea of attaching a laser pointer to a goto scope in my back yard, switching it on after a goto slew and just fixing my bigger dob telrad circles on the green laser thereby TRANSFERING goto abilities to my dob or anybody else who happens to be set up with me so a small goto scope may be just the ticket, but my question (AT LAST) is this:

How LARGE a small goto scope should I get to even hope to see structure in some of the brighter messiers? is 4 or 5 enough, or is 8 truly the bare minimum?

Also, what do you guys think of my green laser plus cheap goto scope for use as an easy goto sky pointer for all the big dobs in the area idea?

Hi. I have an 8" dob and an 8" SCT. I store both in my detached unheated garage. It is not particularly well sealed or insulated as it is an old garage, so in other words, I believe that it is almost the same temperature in there as it would be outside. Well cooler during the day of course since it's all shade inside the garage.

So when people talk about these LONG cooling times for SCTs like 2 hours, or 30 minutes to one hour for a Newt. Does that even apply if you store them like I do? Or can I just roll em out and start observing?

I have a thin 2 " wide (on the short side) diagonal from the company that makes Orion's optics. It says 1/8 wave. I would normally consider that a contraversial claim when it comes to primaries being made for mass consumption, but I am told that for a diagonal, it is probably true becuase it's "just a flat mirror and it's a lot more challenging to do a curved surface correctly. anyone can polish a flat diagonal to a high degree of smoothness."

Is this true? I don't see hardly any discussion of "awesome secondaries" or "zambuto diagonals", it seems that none of the places that are famous for primaries even dabble in secondaries. So am I right in thinking that just about any opticial house is capable of making perfectly functional flat mirrors that aren't the 'weak link in the chain'?

Weahter in the Portland, OR area suddenly clear. I'd like to show a few party guests tonight a couple of things in the sky, but haven't been out in months so need a quick update: what 3 things are great to show off in the early evening (should be above 20 or 25* preferably).

Is mars still an exciting object visually?

When will Satrun be above 25* or should I say, when would it be best to put off first sight of it for most of these people...the higher the better to make it totally memorable.

M42 I guess rises slightly after?

What else is ummm, 'unsubtle' / high impact and/or high up right now?

Thanks!
Ally