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Eastern Veil Nebula

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Posts Made By: Louis Marchesi

August 26, 2006 03:44 PM Forum: Star Parties

A Word from the Black Forest Star Party

Posted By Louis Marchesi
Sorry to hear that Dave. I decided against coming despite a loaded and ready-to-go vehicle. The forecast looked too dismal.

I take it that it did not clear after the storms rolled through?

September 3, 2006 04:09 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Meade 6" SCT?

Posted By Louis Marchesi
Joel Munoz said:
Hi!

Does anyone know if Meade is planning to come up with a 6" SCT to match Celestron's C6? Would be great if they did. grin

Thanks,
Joel

Hi Joel,

I don't know the answer to that, but I'm curious: if Meade didn't have plans to sell its version of the C6, why wouldn't I buy the Celestron?

September 19, 2006 02:20 AM Forum: Beginning Astronomy?

Barlowed magnification and 150mm reflectors

Posted By Louis Marchesi
A 3.5mm EP will provide 257x. While technically not beyond the "rule of thumb" for a 6-inch scope, the atmosphere is the ultimate limiting factor for magnification used on a given night.

However, I am concerned that you have barely been able to see the two main bands on Jupiter. The bands should be visible at much lower magnification than the 225x.

Have you properly collimated your optics and allowed the scope to cool down before viewing?

Use your lowest power eyepiece first; if Jupiter is not well-defined at lower power it won't get sharper by increasing the magnification.

To answer your question: some prefer un-Barlowed views while others prefer the larger field lens of a Barlowed eyepiece. On an object as bright as Jupiter the loss of light using a Barlow should not be significant.

October 6, 2006 12:30 AM Forum: Beginning Astronomy?

which

Posted By Louis Marchesi
antony baker said:

meade 12 or 14", or tak toa 130 or 150?? which would you chose.

TOA 150.

But then I'm probably in the minority in that choice.
Are you asking because you're trying to decide among them? What are you wanting to get out of an instrument ... deep sky, planets/lunar, astrophotography?

October 7, 2006 11:54 PM Forum: Star Parties

Cherry springs in Nov.

Posted By Louis Marchesi
ROBERT MOORE said:

Hi All; My self and 3 or 4 others were thinking of going up to Cherry Springs for the new moon in Nov. any one been there at that time of the year? how cold will it get? any snow? I'm one of the first on the list to rent the new Observatories they were putting in so that should make it nice if there done by then.

Any info would be great

Bob

Hi Bob,

I "grew up" in a locality about one hour away (Lock Haven). I would not expect snow, but looking at the weather records for nearby Coudersport, here is what you can expect for the week of the New Moon (Nov 20):

Average highs range from the low 40's to the upper 30's. Lows are in the mid to low 20's. Record lows range from 13 to -1. Yikes.

I expect the temps at Cherry Springs could run a couple of degrees or so cooler than these figures for Coudersport. Heck, at one recent BFSP ago the temperature dropped to the upper 30's, and that was around the first week of September!

I you want to see all the brutally frigid details, follow this link:
http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KBFD/2006/11/7/MonthlyHistory.html#calendar


October 21, 2006 06:31 PM Forum: Deep Sky Observing

North America Nebula, hard to see?

Posted By Louis Marchesi
Joe Conway said:

We tried the North America Nebula the other night using a 9.25 f/10 SCT and various wide field eps up to 40mm. We noticed nebulosity in the region, but were unable to discern much, even with O111 or UHC filters. Seeing was very good and the veil nebula was beautiful.

My question is, how hard is it to see this North America nebula?

Sorry, originally called it North American, so edited

Joe,

I have not found it too difficult to see the NA, especially when using a UHC filter. You mention that seeing was good, but for this object transparency is paramount. That and a wide field of view.

I've seen the NA from my ~5.5 mag skies in my 6-inch scope with and without a UHC. With the UHC I was able to glimpse the Pelican with averted vision. But at 1200mm focal length and the EPs I was using I had a 2.2-degree FOV.

I ran some numbers for your setup (you did not mention whether you were using 2-inch EPs). But with a 2-inch EP your FOV is going to max out around 1 degree; 0.7 if you are using 1.25-inch EPs. The NA is approximately 2-degrees in apparent size. With a smaller FOV it would be harder, but not impossible (especially the brightest area near the "Gulf of Mexico").


October 22, 2006 03:51 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Changing the Illuminator battery?

Posted By Louis Marchesi
Bill Webster said:

Guys I have a 12mm guiding eyepiece with a wireless illuminator. I assume the battery is dead but I can not figure out how to change the battery. The eyepiece is by Appolo and the illuminator is marked star sky. I can unscrew the illuminator from the eyepiece but I do not know how to open it to change the battery.

Any ideas?
Thanks,
Bill W.

Bill,

I have a similar illuminator that came with my Orion reticle EP. See that seam about halfway between the switch and where the illuminator connects to the EP? On mine, that "seam" is threaded and the batteries are in there.


October 29, 2006 05:06 AM Forum: Off Topic Discussions

A Different Kind of Vision Correction

Posted By Louis Marchesi
Christine,

I'm glad to see you're getting such good results.

I am not a candidate for LASIK, but I did find something very intriguing as an alternative. It's called Visian ICL: http://www.visianinfo.com/

Looks like a contact lens placed underneath your natural lens. And it's reversible if need be.

They are awaiting FDA approval for a "toric" (for correcting astigmatism) version in 2007.

Unfortunately for me, I need to wait for the toric version, but my eye doctor will let me know if/when it's been approved.

Cost is similar to LASIK.


November 3, 2006 01:47 AM Forum: Astro-Physics

Astro-Physics Mounts

Posted By Louis Marchesi
William Green said:

Seems like I read someplace that Astro-Physics mounts may soon be available with little wait. Is that right or way off base?

Thank you.

Bill

Bill,

In my specific case, I added my name to the 1200 notification list on Aug 29. I was notified on Oct 12. Delivery is anticipated "in January." Overall, not a long wait ... certainly much less than in the past.


November 4, 2006 03:39 PM Forum: Deep Sky Observing

HEELLLPPP Stigs is gone

Posted By Louis Marchesi
Michael Koons said:

I always use Stig's sky calendar to check when to get up to see what planet. It went away. Does anyone have any idea what is going on or a nice alternative. Thank you!!
Mike

I'm not familiar with Stig's, but if you're looking for on-line applications, try:
http://skytonight.com/
or
http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx

Of course, there's always planetarium programs like TheSky, Starry Nights, Cartes du Ciel, etc ...


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