Posts Made By: Matthew Sherman

Paul,

A finder scope is a means to an end. Pay as much as you want, :S but all you are looking to do is use stars to get you from one point in the sky to another. I don't think there is such thing as a high-quality finder. 8O Most of the optics on these are made in Japan (or wherever) so they are all going similar in quality. Think about all the inexpensive binocular choices out there with fuzzy star images 60% of the way out from the center. :S

I think the best value going right now is the finders made by Orion (and Antares, I believe) with the X/Y alignment. It's really quick and easy to use. So much faster than six-point adjustments. The optics are on par with the others out there, and you don't have to worry about eyepieces. Once again, it's just a means to an end.

Matthew Sherman

I'm 29. Have been for 9 years now. I know I've wasted a lot of time and have taken this age for granted, but it's only recently that I've decided I'm ready to move on to 30.

I'll probably be 30 for a few years, then move on once more...

MS

I live in light polluted Chicagoland and I still very much enjoy hunting down DSO's by hand and making observations visually. Unfotunately, I have to travel quite a distance to get to less light polluted skies (notice how I didn't say dark). I have an 18" dob and I want to see more, so I am getting involved with video astronomy as a compromise between visual astronomy which I love and astrophotography, which have no patience for. I can wait 8 seconds or so for an amazing image to pop onto the screen. Close enough to "real time" for me. I'm really there and I'm really seeing fabulous details really quick! Now I can see a myriad of things I couldn't see before and I look forward to revisiting and critically examining the fainter NGC objects that all looked like smudges previously.

I really think this is where amateur astronomy is headed. Video astronomy and/or inexpensive CCD imaging right in your back yard under light polluted skies. Making the most of your situation.

After hearing about the new Televue 100 degree AFOV eyepiece, I fantasized about the possibility in the years ahead (say 30 years or less), of a combination of optical and CCD products that would provide an immersive 270 - 360 degree field of view. So you're not just looking through a porthole into space, but sticking your head through the porthole into space and looking all around. Of course, we'd all be standing out in the field with these 5 gallon bucket things on our head going Ooohh! Ahhh!

It could happen. Eventually....

Right now I am content re-exploring space with my little Stella cam.

MS

I get out as much as my family and schedule will allow. I'm a visual observer. If it's reasonably clear and the moon isn't too bright, chances are, I'm trying to work in an observing session. All things considered, I probably average 3 to 5 nights out per month of dark site observing with my club members where I'll stay out to 1:00 or 2:00 am. For the past few months, we been able to do at least one all-nighter per month. A summer observing session is 4 to 5 hours depending on temperature and other seasonal factors. Our club hosts public sessions and I try to get to at least one of them per month, sometimes I can do more.

MS

All four walls lowered, power applied, scope rotated up, dew shield installed.

I started reading this thread, got a handful of posts down and just wanted to scream! The notion that reviews on any one forum are better or more qualified than on another forum is just nonsense. How is one supposed to know who can be trusted on any public forum? And WHO HAS THE TIME to sort it all out? The Internets are full of opinions and that's all there is to it.

Everyone's opinion is just a piece of a larger puzzle. You read the opinions, think about them, discuss with your local piers, and try to make the best possible decision with the information you have. Sometimes things work out satisfactorily, other times not.

No one forum, person, or group of persons, is better, more knowledgable, or trusworthy than any another. Obviously, individuals can have more knowledge/experience than others, but one shouldn't form opinions or make decisions based on one source in any case.

Matthew Sherman

What a wonderful image! Such subtle whisps of detail. I love it.

Matthew Sherman

It's kinda fun watching them hype a new product.