Posts Made By: Daryl Crowley

All indications are that we saw the Soyuz re-entry on Saturday night. An unexpected binocular target. You can read the details in the thread post in the Observing forum.

Daryl

Every notice how it get's real quiet on the Forum every time we get around the full Moon?

Of course we are having some clear nights here in Michigan now that the Moon is out, that way there will be lots of clouds to go around next week when we return to dark skies.

Daryl

At 10:30 I could see the Moon through some patch clouds.

Within a few minutes clouds formed a thick opaque layer covering the east/southeast. It was clear to the southwest, west, north, and northeast. The layer of clouds over the Moon was thick enough that they would not even transmit any of the red light from the Moon. I never saw a bit of it nor could you see any sign that it was happening. A Michigan once again comes through in its persistent joy of blocking EVERY celestial event that comes along. If you’re a stargazer stay the hell away from Michigan. However if you love the water and the outdoors it's a great state.

Daryl

I find M109 to be one of the hardest Messier objects. It is very difficult and requires the best of nights with my 5" Mak telescope.

Can any of you see it with binos? If so what aperture and power are you using to see it? I cannot get even a hint with my 15x70s. Just wondering if any other 15x70s can or how about those 25x100s?

(M109 - Galaxy just off the lower corner of the Big Dipper)

Daryl

There is a lot of talk about tecnical specifications and coatings and all sorts of terms that I barely understand, some I confess I do not understand at all.

What is the real difference between binoculars? I read an article in either Astronomy or Sky and Telescope, where a supposedly "expert" on binocular viewing stated that he saw very little difference in many of the aspects I see dicussed here as far as actually viewing goes. I'm not sure my 52 year old eyes could detect the difference in a lot binos.

I would particularly like to hear comments on seeing. Such as "this galaxy was brighter in this bino vs this bino", or "these binos brought out more stars in a given cluster than this one did."

I understand the delight in the technical aspects of any sport. I certainly do when I am up to speed on a subject. (Don't get me going on quantum mechanics and particle physics.) But don't forget us "ignorant guys". I'm looking to get some bigger binos in the near future but I just want to know which ones will give me good view of the sky at a fair price. Don't forget to include some comments occasionally on what you can see. I know what light transmission is all about but how do the darn things work on stars?

I think after I'm into about my 4th pair of binos I will get the hang of all the technical aspects. Thanks ;-)

Daryl

Are any of you able to see any of the nebulosity around the North American nebula WITHOUT a nebula filter? If so, what aperture and eyepieces are you using? (I think my little scope is not picking up enough light.)

Daryl

Does anyone make a 9x50 straight thru finder? I can find 9x50 in a 45 degree or straight 9x50 inverted, but can't seem to find both straight and correct image in 9x50.

Anybody seen one? Thanks.

Daryl

What enchancments have you found for steadying tripods?

How do the new rubber coasters work?
Does anyone suspend weights from the tripod for steadiness?

I have a nice EQ tripod that is rated for scopes much larger than mine but I still feel there is room for improvement. What tricks do you have?

Daryl

FYI

I just finished reading "Parallax: The Race to Measure the Cosmos" by Alan W. Hirshfeld (2001). This is a really great read on the history of effort to measure distances to stars. Absolutely fascinating. The brilliance and ingenuity of the various players over a 2,000 year time span is mind boggling. These were astronomers with a vengeance. These guys were hard-core observers! Do yourself a favor and check it out. I found it hard to put down.

I had not noticed this forum before and I thought,hey cool, but where are the posts about astrophysics? It seems more like an equipment forum. I assume there is some catch about the hypen astro-physics versus astrophysics?

Daryl