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M20 Trifid Nebula in LRGBHa

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Posts Made By: Milton Wilcox

August 25, 2006 09:48 PM Forum: Refractors

What a difference a dark site makes

Posted By Milton Wilcox
Hi Nick,

Great OR and great job on Stephan's in your 127! Your description of Nevada Falls from G.P. in the glow of the Milky Way brought back many fond memories of times past, like climbing to the top of Yosemite Falls by moonlight.

Clear skies,
Milt

October 2, 2006 09:33 PM Forum: Refractors

NP-127is

Posted By Milton Wilcox
Bill,

I would go with the TEC140.

Good luck,
Milt

December 17, 2006 07:57 PM Forum: Refractors

Sigma orionis in a 100mm ed

Posted By Milton Wilcox
what is the lowest x that you've been able to see all 4 in a 4 inch refractor?

I can just split sigma Ori AB-C in my Kowa 32x82FL binocular. It is a very good binocular. grin

Clear skies,
Milt

April 9, 2007 12:58 AM Forum: Deep Sky Observing

DSO guide book recommendation

Posted By Milton Wilcox
Could you recommend an intermediate-to-high level DSO book guide?

Marcin, I highly recommend 'The Observer's Sky Atlas' by E. Karkoschka. It was recommended to me when I was transitioning from 'Star Watch' and it proved to be the perfect next step. From there I moved on to Uranometria but still keep my Karkoschka handy. grin

Good luck,
Milt

December 29, 2007 02:07 AM Forum: Refractors

Stellarvue M7 Mount

Posted By Milton Wilcox
Hi Steve,

The Stellarvue M7 is the first mount I have seen from Vic that looks competitive with Tom Peters' DiscMounts, which use a similar ball bearing construction. I own both a DM-4 (carries AP130) and DM-6 (carries TEC160). They are both wonderful mounts - smooth and extremely stable. That said, there are times that the adjustment locks on the M7 would be most welcome, such as when changing from a Plossl to a 41Pan. :S

Note that the -4 and -6 in the DiscMount numbers refer to the bearing surface diameters in inches, so the 4.5" azimuth diameter of the M7 is actually closer to the DM-4. However, neither DiscMount uses a counterweight, which limits their ultimate weight carrying capacity because heavy scopes skew the weight distribution on the azimuth bearing surface.

Good luck,
Milt


January 30, 2008 09:52 PM Forum: Deep Sky Observing

M35's other companion

Posted By Milton Wilcox
Thanks, Ron! I had seen 2158 and 2129 but somehow missed the IC in between. According to Archinal & Hynes in their book 'Star Clusters' there is also a possible separate cluster IC2156 about 8' north of IC2157. Both are shown in Uranometria.

Milt

February 3, 2008 10:00 PM Forum: Astro-Physics

A-P 140mm first light

Posted By Milton Wilcox
Ivan, Beautiful! I wish my eyes could see color like that.

Enjoy,
Milt

June 20, 2008 06:33 AM Forum: Refractors

NP 127

Posted By Milton Wilcox
Hi Jim,

I second Ed's recommendation. However, the DM-6 is quite heavy at 16.2 lbs. and therefore less portable than the smaller DM-4 at 5.2 lbs. I mount an AP130 on my DM-4 and believe it would also carry the NP127. Although not as rock solid as the DM-6, my DM-4 was stable enough to split Antares and Porrima last month at 375x.

Milt

September 3, 2008 04:26 AM Forum: Deep Sky Observing

stephan's and other faint fuzzies

Posted By Milton Wilcox
George Golitzin said:

I'm curious what's the smallest scope you've seen all five in.
George, I was able to separate the close pair at 200x in a Mewlon 250 in mag 6 skies.

Milt

November 13, 2008 07:15 PM Forum: Astro-Physics

AP refractor storage orientation

Posted By Milton Wilcox
Obviously, they are used in a vertical orientation so it isn't that.

Yes, but in use they are supported by the tube, not the ends. If nothing else, storing a scope on end will overly compress the foam in the case because the scope's entire weight will be concentrated in a small area. I always store mine horizontal for that reason.

Milt

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