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VdB 141 Ghost Nebula

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Posts Made By: James Benton

May 23, 2005 02:32 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Wooooooooaaaaaaaah!

Posted By James Benton
I dont think that little step stool is enough to reach the eyepiece. I could be wrong, some people can really stretch while on their tippy toes. grin

James

May 24, 2005 09:36 PM Forum: Meade

Focuser upgrade options

Posted By James Benton
Thanks Hugh, I have been looking at focusers, but Im really confused on which one with fit a 6 inch Newt.

I have seen the moonlight focusers, but not sure if I want to spend that much. Heck I paid under $200 for the Newt OTA

James

May 25, 2005 01:49 AM Forum: Insects - Flowers and Other Small Stuff - Photos

Eyed Elater click beetle

Posted By James Benton
Tim, is the same bug? I shot this a few months ago, it was about 2" long, but I dont recall seeing the "eyes" on its back

http://www.nightshooter.com/D60/Animals/bugs/slides/IMG_5143_bug.html

James

July 2, 2005 05:39 AM Forum: Wildlife Photography

Dragon fly

Posted By James Benton
its not too bad, the focus is a little off. I can see the focus area is the wing closest to you (us) in the photo.

you really need to use and f16 to f20 or so to get more area in focus, but you will need a lot of light so you avoid slow shutter speeds. sometimes you can get away with using f8 to f10

macro work can be tough at first, but once you figure it out its very cool

I have the Sigma 105mm 2.8 Macro and it does a great job

also you can get a set of Kenko extension tubes for about $129 or less. the tubes go between the camera body and the lens and allow you to get much closer to your subject. but you really need to use f20 to f32 when using the tubes in some situations.

James

July 8, 2005 06:01 PM Forum: Meade

Re: Meade Sky Assurance Deal

Posted By James Benton
Meade is trying to make money. My scope goes out of warranty Next month. They have been calling me since may to get me to sign up for it. I told them I just baught a house and I cant afford the sky assurance now. He told me I could waint until the end of the year if I wanted to. Not sure if he was supposed to tell me that or he was just pulling my chain

James

July 29, 2005 08:46 PM Forum: After Dark

cool applet

Posted By James Benton
neat, I have had one in orbit for a few minutes now. But I had about 75 crash

James

August 5, 2005 12:48 PM Forum: Insects - Flowers and Other Small Stuff - Photos

Cicada Killer Wasp

Posted By James Benton
I saw my first one last year. I tried to get a better shot but I was too busy watching him carry the cicada

http://www.nightshooter.com/D60/Animals/bugs/slides/IMG_4749.html

James

August 24, 2005 04:40 AM Forum: Meade

Fixing my rotated Secondary mirror

Posted By James Benton
I dont think the rotation of the secondary will matter. I know you need to get the corector back into an indexed position.

you will just need to do a star test, read up here for some SCT collmination tips. These three links should give you every thing you need to get your scope collimated

http://www.sctscopes.net/SCT_Tips/Maintenance/Collimation/collimation.html

http://home.att.net/~starastronomy/Astrophotos/Articles/SCT-Collimation/sct-collimation.html

http://www.wodaski.com/wodaski/collimation_cass.htm

James

October 4, 2005 03:11 AM Forum: Digital SLR AstroPhotography

A double Iridium flare.

Posted By James Benton
very nice, what day was this and what location. I had a chance at a double flare a few weeks ago, but missed the 2nd one.

Mine was Iridium 32 on Date: 9/8/05 9:11 PM CST from Houston TX. it was like a -8 at a distance to flare center of 0.68 km

here is my shot
http://www.nightshooter.com/D60/Astrophotography/Wide%20Field/slides/IMG_3383_ir32.html

James

November 15, 2005 05:33 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Celestron telescope

Posted By James Benton
looks like the 9.25 inch SCT. I dont now alot about celestron scopes (im a meade guy) but there should be some markings or identification plate on the telescope.

James

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