Posts Made By: Ed York

I've been doing some research and have read all the cool stuff that some eye pieces do and I am thoroughly confused. It seems that TV is the most popular high end.

2 Questions:

** Of these the Naglers and Radians seem to be "The Cat's Meow". What's the difference?

** At some point going wider(where eye relief isn't as critical) do I switch over to the TV Plossl's to save cash, or do these EP's have some other allure then eye relief.

As backgound info - I have an 8" f5 reflector, usually plenty of light pollution, and like deep sky with the occasional planetary viewing.

Thanks,
Another Ed

I've noticed an underlying current in a lot of the equipment threads and it leaves me with one question.

Which came first, the big scope or the bad back?

Ed

I've searched like mad through the forums and people talk about one or the other and overall the descriptions are similar. But I cannot find a direct comparison.

Has anyone done a comparison of the 32mm Orion Optiluxe to the 32mm UO Konig (2" for both)?

I have an 8" f5 relector on an EQ mount and am moving to 2" EP's for medium and low power DSO viewing.

Thanks,
Ed

Where's the best place to buy a bag of caps?

I've been upgrading my EP's and many do not come with caps. I'm just ready to buy a big mixed bag and worry about better things.

Ed York

I'm looking in my EP (14 UWA) at an open cluster (M48 to be exact) and something that looks like a star - close to pin point, seemed in focus - moves across my FOV in about 2 seconds The color was yellow/orange. It was about 10:00 PM. I've seen this a few times in different parts of the sky and different times. I even followed it once with my scope.

What was it? Satellite? Asteroid? Little Green Men?


Thanks,
Ed York

What is the best use that you have found for a department store telescope?

We all seem to love to hate them. Let's hear reasons to love to love them!

Ed York

I have an 8" f5 reflector. If I want to do a few nights of dedicated planetary viewing (visual only), do I add a refractor to my collection?

If add the refractor? What size? What f ratio? What do I get for this? Only constraints - (1) Must work on Sky View Pro mount (2) Relatively cheap

Thanks,
Ed York

I've read the flamers about the different ground transportations and have never been through the experience, until now. I bought a Nagler 9mm T6 from a fellow Astromarter. It arrived today and the box was completely crushed in on one side. 8O The first thing I did was take a couple of pictures. Then I opened the box. The televue box had the corner crushed in only a small bit. I opened that box and inspected the EP. WHEW!!!!! It was OK. Luckily our fellow Astromarters have hear the stories and pack carefully. You can't be too careful.

Thanks for all the warnings and thanks to the guys that listen to them!

Ed York

Last Saturday night I was out in dark skies and had probably my best viewing night. I'm in the process of chasing the Messier list, so my view list typically comes directly from here with some intermittent sky surfing. My backyard is just over a mile from downtown Houston, so I have been able to check off only the brighter objects and I am now up to 63.

On Satuday, I viewed 42 Messier objects with 28 being new for me. A good bunch of these are faint fuzzies that I would never have hope of getting in or close to Houston. Below are the 28 new ones that I added. The other 14 are 13, 51, 101, 63, 94, 106, 53, 64, 87, 104, 92, M3, M5, M81.

Messier Constellation Magn Type Viewing Notes
M108 Ursa Major 10.1 Galaxy Faint
M109 Ursa Major 9.8 Galaxy Faint
M 85 Coma Berenices 9.2 Galaxy Faint
M 88 Coma Berenices 9.5 Galaxy Faint
M 91 Coma Berenices 10.2 Galaxy Faint
M 98 Coma Berenices 10.1 Galaxy Faint
M 99 Coma Berenices 9.8 Galaxy Faint
M100 Coma Berenices 9.4 Galaxy Faint
M 49 Virgo 8.4 Galaxy Faint, Realm of Galaxies, a bunch of puffy spots. Up to 4 in a view
M 58 Virgo 9.8 Galaxy Faint, Realm of Galaxies, a bunch of puffy spots. Up to 4 in a view
M 59 Virgo 9.8 Galaxy Faint, Realm of Galaxies, a bunch of puffy spots. Up to 4 in a view
M 60 Virgo 8.8 Galaxy Faint, Realm of Galaxies, a bunch of puffy spots. Up to 4 in a view
M 61 Virgo 9.7 Galaxy Faint, Realm of Galaxies, a bunch of puffy spots. Up to 4 in a view
M 84 Virgo 9.3 Galaxy Faint, Realm of Galaxies, a bunch of puffy spots. Up to 4 in a view
M 86 Virgo 9.2 Galaxy Faint, Realm of Galaxies, a bunch of puffy spots. Up to 4 in a view
M 89 Virgo 9.8 Galaxy Faint, Realm of Galaxies, a bunch of puffy spots. Up to 4 in a view
M 90 Virgo 9.5 Galaxy Faint, Realm of Galaxies, a bunch of puffy spots. Up to 4 in a view
M 9 Ophiuchus 7.9 Globular Cluster Nice, Faint, smaller then Herc
M 10 Ophiuchus 6.6 Globular Cluster Nice, smaller then Herc
M 12 Ophiuchus 6.6 Globular Cluster Nice, smaller then Herc
M 14 Ophiuchus 7.6 Globular Cluster Nice, Faint, smaller then Herc
M 19 Ophiuchus 7.2 Globular Cluster Nice, Faint, smaller then Herc
M107 Ophiuchus 8.1 Globular Cluster Faint Globular Cluster
M 29 Cygnus 6.6 Open Cluster Crowded sky in Milky Way - after not seeing MW for a 2 seasons
M 39 Cygnus 4.6 Open Cluster Crowded sky in Milky Way - after not seeing MW for a 2 seasons
M 56 Lyra 8.3 Globular Cluster Small Glob
M 57 Lyra 9.0 Planetary Nebula Very Cool. A little odd, faint. Did not see the central star
M 27 Vulpecula 8.1 Planetary Nebula Good size like a thick smudge - light gray, very visible.

Probably my favorites of the night were M81/82, M53, M51, M56, M27. It was also nice to see the Milky Way. I didn't chase anything in Scorpio because it hit a gap in the trees as I was breaking down, but it jumped off the sky.

EY

I am trying to build a good list of viewing locations/events around Houston (2-1/2 hour drive or less). This can include Star Parties (official or unofficial) or just dark public access locations.

For my fellow SE Texas Astromarters, what places would you like to share? What magnitude can you see with the eye at that location? I'll be happy to circulate the list once it is compiled.

Ed York