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Lion Nebula SH2-132 - RC71

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Posts Made By: Ron Bee

November 5, 2003 06:38 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Monocentric eyepeices

Posted By Ron Bee
Hello there Inge,

I have the 5mm and 4mm and despite my great fondness for
my Radian eyepieces, I now use the SuperMono almost exclusively on the planets. However on the Moon, I still prefer the Radian's wide view, but will use the SuperMono to zero in on a crater or feature. Also, to see Jupiter
and all of the moons, I still prefer the Radian. I also prefer the wider view of the Radian on DSOs. All in all, I like the SuperMonos so much I got the 6mm from Thomas Back as well. I also like the SuperMono on my 8-inch f/6 Discovery PDHQ Dob. However because of the nudging mount, I rarely use the SuperMonos on it (until I get a EQ platform someday). Indeed its 30d AFOV seemed to help maintaining attention on the object, but I strongly recommend its use on a driven mount.

Please have a look some of the comparison here.
http://members.cox.net/ronby/Solar-System/index.htm

Ron B[ee]

November 9, 2003 05:12 AM Forum: Solar System Observing

Lunar Eclipse (11-08-03)

Posted By Ron Bee
Good heavens, Carlos. At first I thought the picture
was a photograph. But on closer examination, it was a sketch! Most incredible. I think this one needs to go to the Ripley Believe It or Not show! I have no idea how you could have done such a realistic sketch with such complex tones and colors.

Thanks for sharing it. I love and look forward to see all of your work.

Ron B[ee]

November 9, 2003 04:00 PM Forum: Solar System Observing

Lunar Eclipse from Belgium

Posted By Ron Bee
Say Nico, are you sure that wasn't an ultra-magnified shot of Mars with the South Polar Cap ;-)?

Just kidding, very, very nice eclipse shot indeed, Nico!

Ron B[ee]

November 9, 2003 04:02 PM Forum: Solar System Observing

Lunar Eclipse from NE Ohio

Posted By Ron Bee
Wow John, your TV-76 is letting me enjoy the view savorously!

Ron B[ee]

November 11, 2003 06:23 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

D & G Optics

Posted By Ron Bee
Here's the link to the company's web site.
http://www.dgoptical.com/
Barry (the owner?) is a very pleasant and helpful even if you don't own his product. For me, if he ever makes an APO, I'd be having a real close look!

Ron B[ee]

November 13, 2003 04:21 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Do dark skies REALLY matter?

Posted By Ron Bee
Having used my 4-incher under a dark skies (LM=6.8) and from my backyard of LM=5.5-6 and now a new backyard of LM=5 (at best :-(), I'd also like to add on top of what others are saying by saying that the DSOs look much better under dark skies, much more contrast. For instance, the Barnard Galaxy just popped right out at me under a dark skies and just wasn't visible under my LM=5.5-6 backyard.

Ron B[ee]

November 15, 2003 01:22 PM Forum: Chinese Optics Imports

1278 First light observing report

Posted By Ron Bee
That's a nice report, Joplin. And wow, that's a fine looking refractor.

Saturn and Mars (which is now very small and not very bright) won't give achromat a lot of trouble. Try Jupiter when it's much higher in the sky later and you should see the difference. Can't wait for Jupiter? Try Sirius - it's the toughest star in the northern sky!

Congratulation and enjoy your new refractor.

Ron B[ee]

November 17, 2003 08:03 PM Forum: Solar System Observing

What's going on in Hellas?

Posted By Ron Bee
Hello there Bruce,

Nicely taken image!

I believe it's perhaps frost as it's very bright with the #80A filter. I had got a very distinct white (without filter) view of Hellas (first time this apparition) just last night.
http://members.cox.net/ronby/Solar-System/Mars-111703-TV102.htm

Ron B[ee]


November 18, 2003 07:15 PM Forum: Refractors

OrionAW120ST vs Skywatcher120F/5 vsAPM102Trip.Ref.

Posted By Ron Bee
In my humble opinion, none of the scopes you mention are "best all around scopes". For best "all around achromat", I would look into something with longer focal ratio. Even with DSOs, you'll need high magnification for many of the GCs and PNs.

Ron B[ee]

November 26, 2003 12:56 AM Forum: Deep Sky Observing

Observing Log 11/21/03 - Part 2

Posted By Ron Bee
"Later in the evening, I used a buddy's 32mm to hit the Pleiades, always a beautiful sight. (Gotta get me one of these, too!) Used the same EP to good effect on M35, which is another of my favourite clusters. But I still couldn't locate NGC2158, its small companion."

Take heart my fella small scope user. Even Walter Scott Houston considered NGC 2158 difficult as he wrote this: "it is generally too difficult for apertures of less than 5 inches, and I have only one other report of it being seen in a 4-inch." I often enlist the service of the Sky Hound to assist in finding my ways, Darren, as I've seen NGC 2158 with my 4-inch TV-102 Light Cup. You'll notice it's a lot smaller than M35. Use low power, and after you've located
it with certainty, explode it at around 200x!
http://www.skyhound.com/sh/archive/jan/M_35.html

Good luck,
Ron B[ee]


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