Posts Made By: Robert Derouin

Bob Derouin with 6"f/12 AstroPhysics apo super planetary refractor in Johnston,RI

...awesome photo,awesome scope!!No wonder you are smilimg!!!!!Clear Skies!!

I currently own a 6"f/12 AstroPhysics SuperPlanetary refractor.It was bought used and has great optics!!(proof in unforgettable views of Saturn!)It has a sturdy homemade equatorial mount with a Byers drive unit.It has a 6ft. tall hardwood tripod.Nicely crafted. In other words....IT'S MY DREAM SCOPE!!!!It does however take nearly 30 minutes to set up and break down,and this keeps me from using it often.Too much hassle!My 5"Mak-Cass is getting all the work and views of Mars this summer.That one's quick and easy to set up!I can't afford a backyard observatory at this point,and we're not certain how much longer we'll be able to stay in our nice home with a 1-acre backyard with no trees interfering with any part of the sky!! If we move,it'll be into a condo where no observatory of any kind can be built,then I'll still have to find something smaller.However,bigger that my 5".So,my question is...does it make sense to sell the dreamscope refractor and try to buy something smaller and fit on the concrete pier made for an old 8"SCT(that I no longer own!) or keep it and suffer the long set up times and tough it out with the 6" refractor????

Mars taken with my 6" f/12 Super Planetary apo refractor.I used a Nikon Coolpix 885 at 3x camera optical zoom and a 9mm Nagler for about 208x.Seeing was fair. Solis Lacus is visible just off center.Taken from Johnston,RI around 11:15pm on the night of Aug.24,2003.

I would greatly appreciate it if anyone out there can give me any user's information or experiences on the pros and cons regarding these new plossls from Orion!?! I realize they may not be as good as TeleVues,but they're also not as pricey!!!Thanks for sharing!!

Does anyone have any old copies of the AstroPhysics catalogs advertising the AstroPhysics SuperPlanetary 6" f/12 refractor?? Am looking for any/all technical info on them I can.I bought mine used from someone,and never had any specs to refer to! Thanks to all!

Hi all!, I own TeleVue 13mm and 9mm Nagler eyepieces.Yes, both are 2"0.d. I purchased them from Orion Telescopes back in the mid-90's.I really don't know what "Type" they are because nowhere on the boxes or eyepiece does it say!?!Can anyone out there help me? They both have removable rubber eyecups...which I do remove when using my Scopetronix Digi-T adapters.

...shot with a Nikon Coolpix 4300 in Macro mode 1/15 sec @f/2.8 by Bob Derouin,Johnston,RI

I'm surprised this guy didn't turn around and 'bite'me!!!Taken with a Nikon Coolpix 4300 digital camera.(1/500 sec @f2.8) from Johnston,RI

This guy seems to wanna pick a fight...it stood at attention when I got close!!!!