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Byron Davies

M-52, NGC-7635, SH2-157, SH2-158, SH2-159, SH2-161, NGC-7510

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Posts Made By: Darryl Simmons

October 27, 2008 03:28 PM Forum: Beginning Astronomy?

APO Scopes

Posted By Darryl Simmons
I am thinking about purchasing an APO scope. This will be my first "serious" retractor. My current scope is a mish-mash dob made from an old Mead 10" starfinder OTA. I have thought about a SCT, but they seem to be a compromise. So I think I will eventually settle on a good retractor of modest size for the planets and the moon (and doubles although I've never got into these much) and a good dob. I've noticed most APO are in the medum or short focal length. Why? Vixen makes an F9 APO, is there a disadvantage to this?

Thanks!

Darryl

February 2, 2009 06:49 PM Forum: Beginning Astronomy?

Magnitude

Posted By Darryl Simmons
What is the lowest (highest?) magnitude that can be seen by the naked eye? A co-worked stated that "apart from Andromeda, everything we can see naked-eye is a part of our own galaxy".

Darryl

March 2, 2009 05:08 PM Forum: Beginning Astronomy?

Lulin and Mars?

Posted By Darryl Simmons
Does anybody know how close comet Lulin came to Mars? The JPL applet (http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2007+N3&orb=1) makes it look much closer than to Earth.

Thanks!

Darryl

October 13, 2009 07:36 PM Forum: Beginning Astronomy?

Autostar Slewing

Posted By Darryl Simmons
Last night I wanted to show some friends Jupiter. Since there were clouds in the area, I simply pressed "enter" after the scope had slewed to the alignment star (I could not see the star through the clouds). Once the clouds cleared I selected "Goto Jupiter". After slewing, Jupiter was in the FOV but at the very bottom edge. No problem, I thought, and used the slew keys to center the planet. No sooner had I let go of the slew keys then did the scope reset to the previous position, with Jupiter at the very edge of the FOV. Is there a way I can slew the scope to where I want it after alignment, and get it to stay there and not keep returning to it's previous position?

Darryl

December 27, 2011 02:49 AM Forum: Beginning Astronomy?

field reduction factor

Posted By Darryl Simmons
What is the "field reduction factor"?

It was used (on a webpage) to compute the effective FL of a telescope/DSLR combo. Such as "the telescope's FL is 540mm so with the 40d's "field reduction factor" the effective FL is 848mm.

Thanks!
Darryl

January 7, 2012 02:42 AM Forum: Beginning Astronomy?

Software ?s

Posted By Darryl Simmons
Just bought a (new to me) 40d. I guess i need something other than iPhoto to process the pictures I plan to take. Photoshop seems to be the one that most people use, but it's very expensive, and all the various options are very confusing. I found a local seller that has a used copy of CS2 for a C-note. Is this appropriate? Is there issues buying used photoshop software I should be aware of?

Sorry for the long post. TIA for any answers!

September 6, 2007 08:22 PM Forum: Beginning Astronomy?

Alternative mount for 10" Orion Dob

Posted By Darryl Simmons
I bought some dob mount parts from:
http://www.handsonoptics.com/pts_antares.html

Darryl

October 20, 2009 01:10 PM Forum: Beginning Astronomy?

What am I supposed to see......

Posted By Darryl Simmons
I see the two equatorial bands, and slight darkening at the poles on my 10" dob. I can barely make out the red spot, if I am sure that it is facing me that night.

I usually don't go beyond 150x when viewing Jupiter. The view is just better between 100x and 150x. Enjoy the moons, sometimes over the course of an hour or two you can watch one disappear or reappear from behind the planet.

Darryl

February 25, 2016 07:26 PM Forum: Beginning Astronomy?

Need help with getting sharp pictures of moon

Posted By Darryl Simmons
It's not unusual for a Newtonian 'scope to not have enough back-focus to use with a camera. If you have a 2x teleconverter, try using that. This is what I have to do to get my reflectors to come into focus when using a camera, either the neximage or a DSLR.

December 19, 2016 04:21 PM Forum: Beginning Astronomy?

New telescope.

Posted By Darryl Simmons
Choose one or two constellations each month to learn. This is a "naked eye" assignment. Every time you walk outside at night, look up and "find your friends." Right now, Andromeda and Cassiopeia are good ones, because you can see the Andromeda galaxy with your 4.5" scope. Also check out M52 and M103 in Cassiopeia. Use your widest eyepiece for these. If you want to spend some money, consider a 25mm plossl eyepiece.
Do some daylight testing on your quick finder pointing and make sure it is well aligned. Just use an object several hundred yards away and make sure your finder and your scope are pointing exactly at the same spot. This will save a lot of night time frustration!

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