I don't know about y'all, but I got outside tonight....

I made a run at my globular list, generated from SkyTools. I really like
that software. I put the 12" just outside the sliding glass door off my den
and was able to go in and out all night. From that position I can see from
the zenith down to the bottom of the Sagittarius Teapot.

Man, am I happy with myself!! I bagged Palomar 8!! Higher up between Cap
and Aql I failed to find Palomar 11 and by the time I got around to looking
at M30, I was simply getting too tired and didn't try for Palomar 12.
However, for the first time, I saw all of the "bottom" globs in Sagittarius
in one session, including the NGC's to mag 10. I simply can't get that low
but a few times a year, and early September is one of them. M55 was a
wonderful surprise, being larger than I remembered. Seems almost as large in
area as M22, but not as bright.

M30 is an interesting glob with strings of stars making straight lines
protruding out of the core, like legs on a bug. O'Meara's drawing has it
almost right, but he's far too much into a nebulous appearance, compared to
the stars I was seeing due to the larger aperture. Just look at his picture
on page 109 (Messier book of course) and where he has fingers coming out of
the nebulous patch, picture strings of stars nearly evenly spaced, and fill
in the core with stars as well. Pretty neat looking.

Too bad he didn't do that book with a 12" scope. :-)

The list: NGC 6652, 6624, 6522, 6528, 6558, 6638, 6642, 6712; M54, 70, 22,
28, 55, 9, 19, 75, and 30. That's only a small dent in the list, which
contains 67 globs, three of which are Palomar.

Anyway, I could have stayed out their all night, but sleep beckons.

Did I mention that I really like SkyTools?

See ya 'round,
Stephen

On Mon, 6 Sep 2004 23:53:45 -0400, Stephen Paul wrote:

I made a run at my globular list, generated from SkyTools. I really like
that software. I put the 12" just outside the sliding glass door off my den
and was able to go in and out all night. From that position I can see from
the zenith down to the bottom of the Sagittarius Teapot.

Man, am I happy with myself!! I bagged Palomar 8!! Higher up between Cap
and Aql I failed to find Palomar 11 and by the time I got around to looking
at M30, I was simply getting too tired and didn't try for Palomar 12.
However, for the first time, I saw all of the "bottom" globs in Sagittarius
in one session, including the NGC's to mag 10. I simply can't get that low
but a few times a year, and early September is one of them. M55 was a
wonderful surprise, being larger than I remembered. Seems almost as large in
area as M22, but not as bright.

M30 is an interesting glob with strings of stars making straight lines
protruding out of the core, like legs on a bug. O'Meara's drawing has it
almost right, but he's far too much into a nebulous appearance, compared to
the stars I was seeing due to the larger aperture. Just look at his picture
on page 109 (Messier book of course) and where he has fingers coming out of
the nebulous patch, picture strings of stars nearly evenly spaced, and fill
in the core with stars as well. Pretty neat looking.

Too bad he didn't do that book with a 12" scope. :-)

The list: NGC 6652, 6624, 6522, 6528, 6558, 6638, 6642, 6712; M54, 70, 22,
28, 55, 9, 19, 75, and 30. That's only a small dent in the list, which
contains 67 globs, three of which are Palomar.

Anyway, I could have stayed out their all night, but sleep beckons.

Did I mention that I really like SkyTools?




Hi Stephen,

I set up the scope at a good location in my yard early this morning as I
planned to observe the supernova in NGC2403 around 9:00 p.m. but, as usual,
when I plan that far ahead so do the clouds. They rolled in around 1:00
p.m. and never really let up. I threw in the towel and brought in the
scope shortly after dark. Oh well, CSC says tomorrow night should be
great.

I enjoyed your report and congratulations on Palomar 8.


Martin

"Stephen Paul" wrote in message
...
I made a run at my globular list, generated from SkyTools. I really like
that software. I put the 12" just outside the sliding glass door off my
den..

Remind me again which 12" you bought? What do you think of it?

Ed T.

"Edward" wrote in message
link.net...

"Stephen Paul" wrote in message
...
I made a run at my globular list, generated from SkyTools. I really like
that software. I put the 12" just outside the sliding glass door off my
den..

Remind me again which 12" you bought? What do you think of it?

Ed T.


Meade 12.5" F4.8 Starfinder Dobsonian.
http://www.meade.com/catalog/starfin...tarfinder.html

Like all the inexpensive Dobs I've used or owned, it needs some TLC to make
it mechanically better, but optically there is nothing bad to say about it
once equilibrated and collimated. In fact, I think historically there has
not been a bad word said about the 12.5" optics.

Made in America, priced under $850. Needs a replacement focuser pretty much
out of the box. Begs for a replacement mirror cell to allow better cooling,
and eventually to maintain proper figure of the primary. After trying the
$99 Orion (Japan) 2" "All Metal" focuser, I eventually (months later)
decided that I really don't like rack and pinions and installed a (used on
A-Mart for $125) Moonlight CR1 Crayford focuser. A week later I replaced the
particle board mirror cell with the $48 University Optics cell. After
replacing the mirror cell, I had to add 7.5 lbs to retain balance (borrowed
from my Losmandy counterweight set for my C8). At some point, I will make
taller side boards on the base, and move the altitude bearings up toward the
focuser. The OTA (without weights) now weighs about 50 lbs.

I've had and regularly used the scope with the 2" metal R&P since March, but
having made the above mods in the past two weeks, it has really become a
different scope, operating at a whole new level of goodness.

It had been reported that Meade was no longer making them, but I still see
them listed on the Astronomics web site, as drop shipped for an additional
$79. So the total cost to make it as good as, or better than the current
Asian scopes with a Crayford is about $1100. A small premium to pay to keep
some of your fellow Americans (Meade, Moonlight and UO) employed and
contributing to, rather than unemployed and drawing from your tax dollars.

Stephen Paul