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Posts Made By: Judson Mitchell

March 9, 2007 08:57 PM Forum: AstroMart FAQ

New Old Member!!

Posted By Judson Mitchell
Changed my e-mail, gladly made my $12 contribution to Astromart and was confirmed in an Hour!!

Thanks Herb! Happy to be aboard!

March 16, 2007 02:47 PM Forum: Eyepieces

Speaking of 31 Naglers...

Posted By Judson Mitchell
You would have been able to contact Al anonymously to provide a new chrome barrel so that filters are once again usable. Now you have to get a friend to do it. But, you can still come to our star party as long as you bring the Nagler, and we won't laugh since most of us have similar, though not quite so elaborate incidents.

One that comes to mind is the crash of my 20X100 binos caused by the lack of triangulation between the tripod legs. One leg was accidentally kicked out (not mentioning by who) causing the whole assembly to rotate and crash to the tile floor in my sun room. So much for leaving the binos on the parallelogram set and ready to carry outside. Damage to the left eyepiece assembly and the alignment tube, plus the connection to the central pivot point. It is "almost" collimated now.

March 18, 2007 11:37 PM Forum: Beginning Astronomy?

Just how big are those Deep Sky Objects?

Posted By Judson Mitchell
Peter

It's always nice when someone gives us a new perspective on things. Thanks for the effort, it is well appreciated.

JUD

March 20, 2007 12:12 PM Forum: Eyepieces

What do you think?

Posted By Judson Mitchell
The biggest problem I have had stem from threads requiring prior knowledge as to what is going on. We tend to speak in generalities that only the knowledgeable can discern. Those who suffer and are left scratching their head are the newbies, or those who haven't dredged into past threads to gain understanding. It turns into something resembling a click or an "in group" and can appear elitist to the unaware. Obscuring names does not change the meaning or intent. It may be worth waiting a few days to learn the content of the letter, plus we may gain character by refraining from pure bashing by sticking to facts or observations. It really puts a burden on the moderator, however we may grow from it.

March 21, 2007 10:50 PM Forum: Deep Sky Observing

Messier Marathon - the Agony of the Realm

Posted By Judson Mitchell
I have been using printed charts from the Tasco Sky Watch program and I find them quite suitable. You can draw your own circles if you wish by scaling the chart. This has worked for me in the past. Last saturday I got the first 77 M objects before we cashed it in due to the requirement of a long drive home. Toughest were M74 and M110 which required bumping the tube to make them appear.

March 22, 2007 01:40 AM Forum: Telescope Making

Center spoting my mirror

Posted By Judson Mitchell
This is really for all responders. Has anyone used an oversized center spot? Seems in my chesshire there is a dark spot represented by the peep hole, and the mirror center spot is about the same size. With a red light at dark they tend to superimpose when in collimation. However, it would seem that the collimation would be more accurate if the center spot was of a large enough size so it would leave a illuminated concentric ring around the reflection of the "dark" hole from the chesshire peep. This would be somewhat similar to the Jim Fly collimator where the large reflective donut of the collimator is concentric outside the centerspot. We tend to not want to put something too big on the mirror, but the area is unused anyway "astronomically speaking".

April 3, 2007 10:55 PM Forum: After Dark

New Green Comet

Posted By Judson Mitchell
Has anyone found a tracking map overlain on a star chart to help find the comet on given nights?

April 4, 2007 10:10 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

10" Asian Dobs:Extinction Event?

Posted By Judson Mitchell
To those I know, the 10" choice was more of a cost issue that size. For me, the 12" was a no brainer, in fact my plans are to upsize. If Meade (lightbridge)can produce and provide a usable product, the 16" should be a good seller.

At 65, the 12" dob is still handled with ease. For moving distances a $26 hand cart; for moving in and out of van, a free modified firewood caddy.

April 10, 2007 04:06 PM Forum: Deep Sky Observing

Do any of these improve night vision?

Posted By Judson Mitchell
How about EPO and Ephedrine? Perhaps an increased oxygen flow will improve night vision. But you gotta be a biker to use(get) them.

April 20, 2007 04:07 PM Forum: Deep Sky Observing

April DSO Lists

Posted By Judson Mitchell
Well, this time Dave I had a head start having looked at all your listed Top 10 objects last week thursday. Some will be out of sight unless the right time and place materialize. But thanks for the post.

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