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Posts Made By: Bennett Burbank

September 15, 2005 09:53 PM Forum: Beginning Astronomy?

Picking the right second scope

Posted By Bennett Burbank

Thanks for reading. I am new, having just bought a 4.5" Newt EQ (Celestron 114 Firstscope - I love it for the money, but am getting greedy). I want decent views of Saturn and Jupiter, primarily, and want to know if I would be better served (optically) with an 8" Dob as opposed to an inexpensive 4" refractor (Celestron C-4R).

Given that aperture is king, this is probably a dumb question, but my curiosity remains.

September 26, 2005 01:12 AM Forum: Eyepieces

Orion Epic ED-2 vs. Tak LE

Posted By Bennett Burbank

Does anyone have experience with the Orion ED series - specifically, how do they compare with Tak LE's?

October 15, 2005 03:37 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Driving Miss Dob

Posted By Bennett Burbank

I have an Orion XT8, and I'm sick of hand-chasing planets, but I don't have the money for a Dob Driver set-up that would cost three times as much as the telescope cost! Any suggestions? Can the base be tilted so as to match the ecliptic, with some sort of cheap motor driving the altitude, or am I being silly and ignorant? I would appreciate any input.

October 20, 2005 01:56 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Equatorial platforms

Posted By Bennett Burbank

I have an Orion XT8; I have posted previously sharing my frustration over hand-chasing. It seems that my only solution is to either buy or build an EQ platform. The cheapest I see on Astromart is $500 (Brian Reed). It is tempting to try and build one, since there are several websites that have delineated the procedure. It still seems to be very challenging and probably beyond my ability, but paying twice what what the scope cost to purchase one also seems silly. I'd like to know what experience others have had with such platforms, including the construction of them.

October 29, 2005 09:23 PM Forum: After Dark

Mars dust storm!

Posted By Bennett Burbank

Just glanced at CNN.com, and they announced that there is a huge dust storm that is visible on Mars. The storm apparently is not visible from Europe.

More eye-candy! What timing . . .


October 30, 2005 08:05 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Mars filter

Posted By Bennett Burbank

Please help me - I'm trying my best to get a good view of Mars, but I think I need a good filter. The standard Meade filters I bought aren't cutting it. Thank you!

Orion XT 8
Burgess Planetary 6 mm
Tak LE 7.5
Meade UWA 4000 8.8mm/14mm
Televue 2x Barlow

November 2, 2005 04:05 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Johnsonian platforms

Posted By Bennett Burbank

Does anyone have any experience with and/or opinions on the type V platforms?

Thank you!

Bennett

December 1, 2005 05:54 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

Question from a newbie

Posted By Bennett Burbank

Is it possible to get decent photos from a fairly inexpensive 8" Orion Dob that sits on a fairly inexpensive (Brian Reed) equatorial platform, using a fairly inexpensive (Orion Starshoot) CCD imager?

Thank you!

Bennett

December 20, 2005 01:12 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

8" vs 10"

Posted By Bennett Burbank

In a Meade LX200, which will give me the better view, 8" with UHTC or 10" without it?


December 22, 2005 04:05 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

Orion Starshoot

Posted By Bennett Burbank

Does anyone have any opinions on this relatively new product from Orion? I am looking for an inexpensive color imager.