Hi All,
I observed Venus, Jupiter, and the crescent moon tonight right after sunset. I drove over to my parents house and set up my Pronto on a Tele Pod mount. My parents have a good view to the west, and the weather was ideal.
I enjoyed the view of the thin crescent moon at 18x with a 26mm TeleVue Plossl. The Crisium region was prominent, along with the chain of four giant craters that includes Petavius. I could see the bridge that crosses Petavius from its rim to center.
Venus was a featureless, gibbous disk at 69x with a 7mm Nagler. It bore a slight greenish tint from the scopes chromatic aberration.
Surprisingly, Jupiter looked pretty good. I could see the two main equatorial belts along with shading near both poles. Again, I used 69x. Even at 18x, I could discern the planet's disk in the evening twilight sky.
I also remembered that Spica was just below Venus, and I easily found it in the scope's wide field. It looked like a bright pinpoint of light.
I stayed out for a few minutes until the mosquitos became a nuisance. I quickly packed up and left.
The Pronto is easy to transport, assemble, and use. Along with the TelePod, it is ideal for quick views of the night sky. The scope's ease of use, robust construction, and crisp views sums up the TeleVue experience for me.
I observed Venus, Jupiter, and the crescent moon tonight right after sunset. I drove over to my parents house and set up my Pronto on a Tele Pod mount. My parents have a good view to the west, and the weather was ideal.
I enjoyed the view of the thin crescent moon at 18x with a 26mm TeleVue Plossl. The Crisium region was prominent, along with the chain of four giant craters that includes Petavius. I could see the bridge that crosses Petavius from its rim to center.
Venus was a featureless, gibbous disk at 69x with a 7mm Nagler. It bore a slight greenish tint from the scopes chromatic aberration.
Surprisingly, Jupiter looked pretty good. I could see the two main equatorial belts along with shading near both poles. Again, I used 69x. Even at 18x, I could discern the planet's disk in the evening twilight sky.
I also remembered that Spica was just below Venus, and I easily found it in the scope's wide field. It looked like a bright pinpoint of light.
I stayed out for a few minutes until the mosquitos became a nuisance. I quickly packed up and left.
The Pronto is easy to transport, assemble, and use. Along with the TelePod, it is ideal for quick views of the night sky. The scope's ease of use, robust construction, and crisp views sums up the TeleVue experience for me.
Michael Aaron McNeely
TeleVue Forum Moderator
Astromart.com
