Posts Made By: robert jann

Would this be a more productive way to decide what to get?Some optics obviously are inferior. But every telescope I look through at star parties looks absolutely wonderful to me compared to my ETX60, and I honestly can't tell the difference in looking at a globular cluster with a 20" reflector or a super nice Takahashi refractor, they all look crisp to me.

So with my limited budget, the danger is I'll buy something too cheaply made. Takahashi is out of the question, as is a 20" reflector. I have lots of clear skies because I live in the dark sparsely populated mountains of NC at 3000 feet. I can drive to spectacular viewing at 4000 feet in 15 minutes.

Can you experienced astronomers tell me NOT to buy certain brands of scope? I'm thinking of getting a reflector because it's cheaper and I'm not going to get into astrophotography.

Bob

I want to buy a 2" eyepiece for my scope (first time for that for me). I don't really see anyone saying whether their eyepieces are 2" in the classifieds. Does one assume they are 1.25" unless otherwise stated?
Second question:
THis is for a 10-inch dob. Since a 2" gives a wider field of view, would you buy a more powerful 2" eyepiece, like a 9mm or 11mm, if you can only afford one 2" eyepiece right now???
Thanks.
Bob

In the Deep Sky forum, folks were discussing how great the "OIII" filter is. I tried to look that up at Anacortes and couldn't find it.

So, a beginner's question: What is it, and what words do you use to search for it?

Thanks

Bob under clouds

I took my new 10" dob out to a nice mountain hilltop last night and saw wonderful things. It was chilly -- upper 30s -- and very damp. When I quit, the tube was wet, the telrad was wet. As always, I put the scope in an Orion carry bag and put it up in the basement when I got back home a half mile away. I got it out and set it up again tonight in the same place, but this time the primary mirror was half covered with dewdrops. The dew went away after the scope cooled down.

Questions:
1. The dew left spots on the mirror, I assume where dust used to be. I don't want to clean it every time I use it and ruin the mirror. So how bad is that? The scope seemed fine after the dew went away. I enjoyed an hour of Orion's nebula at 133x and the moon at 300x.

2. What am I doing wrong? Is it the bag? I was pleased with the bag because after several such trips in the back of the pickup, the collimation is still fine. I'm thinking the scope is dripping water on itself right now inside the bag, though. I left it outside tonight hoping the cold mountain air would keep it from condensing.

Thanks for any advice.

Under dark, wet skies.
Bob

My heart is actually pounding. I am currently looking at the moon in a blue sky before sunset. I didn't know I could do that, but the view through my new lens is just unreal. The moon is just bright enough through my 10" Orion and I don't suffer from the glare. My new lens captures the whole moon, but what has my heart pounding is the clarity. I have never seen it so beautiful. I'm a beginner, so maybe this is old hat to most of you. I hadn't much interst in the moon because of a lifetime of seeing moon pictures. Seeing it this way for myself is different.
For an experiment, I switched to my 4mm (300x)lens. The craters were still sharp, but I had to move the scope because I could only see a small portion.
I am really pleased with the optics in my used scope, and with the new Anacortes lens. Now I can't wait for tonight's dark sky because there are some deep sky objects I believe I will see for the first time with that 2" light collector!
Thanks to this site (the eyepiece forum) for suggesting that lens as a good addition.

As a beginner, I am disappointed in the exasperatingly long thread that turned into a religious rant about global warming, evolution and the age of the universe. Delete it or move it, please.

BOb

Check this out if you haven't seen it before:

http://haydenplanetarium.org/hp/vo/ava/index.html

As a beginner, I find it very helpful to know what kind of equipment you are using, both telescope and camera. Your last picture is sharper than the others. Do you know why? Thanks.

Thanks for this thread. it was helpful. I will be using a pickup truck with a camper shell, so space is no issue. Now i'm thinking at least 10" and maybe a 12" if i can find a really good price on one.

Bob

I've never been to San Diego, but I can't imagine that it isn't light polluted. What an amazing long exposure without such pollution ruining it. How is that possible? Is the smaller scope actually an advantage for that?