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LBN 576 - The Garlic Nebula

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Posts Made By: Alan French

April 2, 2007 07:51 PM Forum: Refractors

Short Tube APO vs Achro

Posted By Alan French
I had a UO 80 here for a while (an 80mm f/6.something achromat) and used it on the night sky and for daytime viewing. For low power viewing during the day it was fun. For higher powers - which I often use to look at birds - the secondary color was very obvious and very annoying. I wasn't fond of the purplish fringe along edges at all.

I am much happier with a somewhat larger apochromat, and I think such instruments are the best choice for daytime use.

Clear skies, Alan

April 20, 2007 04:16 PM Forum: Birding Optics and Photos

Is this a Coopers or a Sharpshen?

Posted By Alan French
Based on the rounded tail, I'd say Cooper's. A nice shot, BTW.

Clear skies, Alan

April 22, 2007 02:52 PM Forum: Birding Optics and Photos

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Posted By Alan French
The vast majority of the warblers frequenting the open areas at WSP are Palm Warblers. They generally bob their tail up and down, but of course a still photo won't show that behavior. IMHO, both photos show Palm Warblers.

I look forward to their arrival up here in the northern regions. They'll be in breeding plumage and easy to identify.

Clear skies, Alan

May 23, 2007 02:21 AM Forum: Birding Optics and Photos

American Redstart

Posted By Alan French
Yes, they are, and you did very well. One of my favorites.

Clear skies, Alan

May 24, 2007 09:20 PM Forum: Astro Binoculars

Nikon 20x120's

Posted By Alan French
I've never had the pleasure of seeing a pair. The best astro-binocular I ever saw was a pair of 25x150 Fujinons with right angle eyepieces that a friend brought to Stellafane one year. Alas, they don't make them now, and I guess only a few were made. The big problem with the Nikons and current Fujinons is the straight through viewing, which makes looking high in the sky difficult.

It's too bad no one makes a really nice pair of large right angle binoculars for astronomy. Of course, there is always the binoviewer option, which probably makes more sense (but isn't quite the same).

Clear skies, Alan

June 20, 2007 02:02 PM Forum: TeleVue

UFOs in my TV-85?

Posted By Alan French
Alas, we were having thunderstorms here last night, and so had no chance to see the ISS and Atlantis close together. We have a nice ISS pass here tonight, but I believe Atlantis will no longer be close by.

I did look at the pair on Monday night though my Stowaway. The solar arrays are certainly easy to see.

Clear skies, Alan

June 28, 2007 02:53 PM Forum: N.A.S.A.

ISS & Shuttle image - from the ground!

Posted By Alan French
K. Michael Malolepszy said:

An unbelievable image - by an amateur from the ground
- of the ISS & space shuttle Atlantis at

http://media.skytonight.com/images/Dantowitz_ISS_shuttle_full.jpg

Article at

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/community/skyblog/home/8223297.html

Wow! That certainly seems to set a new standard for images of the ISS.

Clear skies, Alan

June 29, 2007 08:01 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Fujinon's BIG binoculars

Posted By Alan French
Ron Hranac said:

Has anyone had a chance to look through Fujinon's 150mm binoculars? I'm curious how the image quality is, especially in the 45-degree ED versions. Apparent pros are Fujinon's reputation, the aperture (150mm), and likely the optical quality. Cons are size, weight, cost. 8O

These truly big binoculars seem to be as rare as hens' teeth. I've yet to see them at a local star party.

Ron
Equipment Forum co-moderator

Ron,

These are probably even rarer, but a friend of ours brought a pair of the 25x150 Fujinon right angle binoculars to Stellafane one year. I think it was 1985, because one of our targets was Comet Giacobini-Zinner. We also looked at M-31 with them, and I thought they were quite impressive. I swore I'd buy a pair if I ever won the lottery! Unfortunately, they no longer make the right angle version - otherwise we might have a pair even though I never did win the lottery. smile

Clear skies, Alan

July 7, 2007 01:32 AM Forum: Astro-Physics

If your gonna have a dilema....

Posted By Alan French
A dilemma is when you get offered two AP scopes at the same time - and can't afford to buy both. wink

Or maybe when the CFO has other designs on your "scope fund" when the call comes in.

Clear skies, Alan

July 9, 2007 05:53 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Re: how come we never see these on the 'mart

Posted By Alan French
Ivan Gastaldo said:

Greg, I could be wrong, but this seems to be OTA & Mount, and not just the OTA... (researched this combo on other sites)
It also "sports" an FS-102 and an 11x70 as finders... 8)

Let's hope so, but a nice TEC 200 would still make a lot more sense.

Clear skies, Alan

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