Posts Made By: Vincent Bert

Hi Ron, I have looked through a bunch of big guns and the small APO's that I have give relatively great views of DSO's due to the superior contrast of a doublet APO objective. Of course, you just have to train your eye to see the detail, but as you know, you wont see near as much as in a big dob. However, I have looked at planets through a 7" AP and 12" Starmaster, and although the AP is great, the SM is absolutely jaw dropping; feet on the ground, quick setup, more transportable than a 7" APO on a good mount. Of course, I will always have a small APO as I love the wide field and planetary views of a small, quick look scope. there is no substitute for exquisite optics whether it be reflector or refractor, large or small. Everyone probably needs at least 3 very different scopes to cover all the bases, but I for one will spend the extra cash on quality instead of quantity. That is my conclusion. Cheers, Vince

You should regularly have really good seeing in Fresno, maybe you are just in a bad spot, try moving around a bit. I know that here in San Diego on the same night one spot (no concrete or buildings around) will be horrendous and a spot just a mile away will be a Pickering 8 or better on a typical night, thats if that damned marine layer would just go away!

The widest part of the Lxd 55 mount is more than 1.8". I had Ken from Kens rings make a dovetail bar for my old orange tube C8, he milled it 1.8" and it fits with plenty of room. I hear the LXD 55 and Vixen GP/Celestron CG-5 are exactly the same, hope this helps, Vince.

New they are about 40 bucks, many outfits sell them, you could get one from ATWB (just click on the bird on the left hand side of this page) or numerous other astro gear outfits that are on the web. For me a Telrad is a must have accessory, it makes finding objects much easier than using a conventional finder. In fact i just use a Telrad for finding objects, but if you like to use a finderscope also, the telrad is great for pointing the scope, then look through the finderscope to nail down the object you are looking for.

My first one was a Criterion RV-6 purchased used for $150 in 1978 and to this day I am sorry I sold it. Seems like I could always use a good 6" F8 newt although in those days it seemed everyone had a 6" F8 before the prices came down on the SCT's Of course after a year I opted for the portability of the then pricey C8 (about $1200 bucks with wedge and tripod in 1978 dollars!!) I had to cut alot of lawns, shovel a bunch of driveways and beg most of the money from my dad to buy the C8. I really miss that old RV-6 And, dont even get me started about light pollution in 1978 vs. 2003, its sad.

Awesome! I enjoy your sketches more than the fantastic webcam or CCD images, as it more resembles what I see in the EP. Although I cant pull out even half of the amazing detail you see, simply outstanding.

A 4" apo does indeed put up some fine planetary views, but (IMHO) no matter how good the 4" optics are pushing it much over 200X you will notice image degradation on the planets. If you live in an area where the seeing rarely permits much over 200X, and, or you really have a limited amount of time to observe, a 4" apo would be a good choice, (easy to drag out on the porch and very short cool down time) You really have to decide whats right for you and your circumstances. Ron Bee who posts on these forums has done some nice objective planetary comparisons between a 4" apo and 8" dob. However, all said and done, on nights of rock solid seeing I feel that its hard to beat a large newt with exquisite optics. I'm no expert but I have had the opportunity to observe through quite a variety of scopes, 12.5 Zambuto, 16" Pegasus, TV and Tak 4" apo's, a 5.5" TEC apo, and a 7" AP, and on nights of good seeing, the quality big reflectors showed more detail on the planets. That said, I do enjoy the planetary views through my 4" Tak and I'm sure I will be happy with it for a long time to come. I know its not much help, but this has been my experience viewing planets.

Could that be the renound Syrtis Major "blue cloud?" I've read about it, but have not actually observed it.

Great sketches Paul! Who really cares if the canals are there are not, they look really cool! I always sketch what I see in the EP no matter what. Last week I did a couple of sketches at my observing site, walked over to show my buddy and his response was "Wow, that's doesnt look anything like what I saw!" Not really sure if that was a compliment or not, I handed him my glass of wine and said "here take a few sips of this, its good for your eyes" Your sketches are getting better by the day, keep up the good work!

Wes, this is not a drawing only forum. CCD film and webcam images, sketches, observing reports, questions, anything about the Solar System. this is a great forum with many knowledgeable folks. And, I havent seen a thread yet turn into a bickering contest, so its quite refreshing after reading some of the threads on the Equipment forum. Welcome!