Great Red Spot?

Hi Group....

Does anyone know if Starry Night Enthusiast accurately displays the times
for the GRS? When I zoom in on the planet, the moons are always properly
positioned and the planet rotates but I am not sure I am looking an accurate
model. It showed the GRS passing in view from about 9:30-11:30 Friday night
with it being pretty much centered at about 10:30 PST. Is that correct? If
not, is there somewhere that data is posted?

I was up to about 200x with my MK-67 and couldn't see it....can anyone
recommend power (more than 200x?) or a filter I should try. I'm using
Orthos and have the full set from 25 to 4mm. Seeing only permitted me great
clairity down to the 12.5mm ---touch and go at 9mm which was 200x on the
MK-67.

Have tried on several occasions and have yet to KNOW I've seen it.

Doink

Doink wrote:

I was up to about 200x with my MK-67 and couldn't see it....can anyone
recommend power (more than 200x?) or a filter I should try. I'm using
Orthos and have the full set from 25 to 4mm. Seeing only permitted me great
clairity down to the 12.5mm ---touch and go at 9mm which was 200x on the
MK-67.

200x should be enough, I'd have thought. Filter-wise, I've had some luck
with a type 80A blue filter - it improves the contrast quite nicely.

What are your thoughts on the MK-67 - I'm quite taken with the idea of
getting one as a travel scope. Jay Reynolds Freeman seems quite taken
with his and seems to think that the optics are far better than most
other 'scopes of that size.

Jim
--
Find me at http://www.ursaminorbeta.co.uk AIM/iChatAV: JCAndrew2
Lost: Stack Pointer. Small reward offered if found.

Jim wrote:
What are your thoughts on the MK-67 - I'm quite taken with the idea of
getting one as a travel scope. Jay Reynolds Freeman seems quite taken
with his and seems to think that the optics are far better than most
other 'scopes of that size.

Where is Jay posting these days, if you don't mind my asking?

Brian Tung
The Astronomy Corner at http://astro.isi.edu/
Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/c5plus/
The PleiadAtlas Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/pleiadatlas/
My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://astro.isi.edu/reference/faq.txt

Brian Tung wrote:

Jim wrote:
What are your thoughts on the MK-67 - I'm quite taken with the idea of
getting one as a travel scope. Jay Reynolds Freeman seems quite taken
with his and seems to think that the optics are far better than most
other 'scopes of that size.

Where is Jay posting these days, if you don't mind my asking?

I was going off the articles at astro.geekjoy.com, which are a few years
old now. I sort of got the impression that he was 'off' astronomy now
and persuing another hobby, but I could be wrong. I hope I'm wrong, as I
really like his writing style. I downloaded the yearly reports and carry
them on my Sony Clie - always fun to read if I have a few spare minutes
:-)

Jim
--
Find me at http://www.ursaminorbeta.co.uk AIM/iChatAV: JCAndrew2
Lost: Stack Pointer. Small reward offered if found.

Hi Jim...

I found S&T GRS calculator and the timing was right on...just hard to see.
Will try the filter you suggested on the 9th....

I LOVE the MK-67 except the focuser is somewhat crappy. I've gotten used to
it and have had to do a lot of tuning of it and now it works great. Problem
is you cannot replace the focuser because they attach in a weird way. So,
if it gets messed up, you're either going to have to live with it or pay a
fortune to replace it---and get into custom machining. I bought mine from a
guy on Astromart---I think he's crooked---who didn't disclose that he had
really wanked on the focuser so it had a pop in the middle of the travel.
This pop caused the imaged to jump and all hell to break loose. BUT, the
optics are supreme---TACK sharp. I think superior to a refractor. It blows
away every APO I've had along side....

I would HIGHLY recommend buying new from Mike Palermiti at ITE---He'sreally
helped me get mine straightened out...so much so that I am considering going
BIG now. Maybe the 9".

The scope holds collimation very well. No adjustments after a year. None.

Doink
"Jim" wrote in message
...
Doink wrote:

I was up to about 200x with my MK-67 and couldn't see it....can anyone
recommend power (more than 200x?) or a filter I should try. I'm using
Orthos and have the full set from 25 to 4mm. Seeing only permitted me
great
clairity down to the 12.5mm ---touch and go at 9mm which was 200x on the
MK-67.

200x should be enough, I'd have thought. Filter-wise, I've had some luck
with a type 80A blue filter - it improves the contrast quite nicely.

What are your thoughts on the MK-67 - I'm quite taken with the idea of
getting one as a travel scope. Jay Reynolds Freeman seems quite taken
with his and seems to think that the optics are far better than most
other 'scopes of that size.

Jim
--
Find me at http://www.ursaminorbeta.co.uk AIM/iChatAV: JCAndrew2
Lost: Stack Pointer. Small reward offered if found.

Doink wrote:
Does anyone know if Starry Night Enthusiast accurately displays the times
for the GRS? When I zoom in on the planet, the moons are always properly
positioned and the planet rotates but I am not sure I am looking an accurate
model. It showed the GRS passing in view from about 9:30-11:30 Friday night
with it being pretty much centered at about 10:30 PST. Is that correct? If
not, is there somewhere that data is posted?

Look he

http://skyandtelescope.com/observing...icle_107_1.asp
http://skyandtelescope.com/printable...rticle_110.asp

The latter is a printable version of the former, with all the transit
times for 2005. They are given in GMT; to find the corresponding local
times, subtract four hours to get EDT, five hours to get CDT, six hours
to get MDT, and seven hours to get PDT.

By the way, my own source does indeed show the GRS transit as taking
place around 10:30 PDT (not PST, although I'm guessing that was a typo?).

I was up to about 200x with my MK-67 and couldn't see it....can anyone
recommend power (more than 200x?) or a filter I should try. I'm using
Orthos and have the full set from 25 to 4mm. Seeing only permitted me great
clairity down to the 12.5mm ---touch and go at 9mm which was 200x on the
MK-67.

You might try a Wratten 80A (light blue); it's the standard Jupiter
filter. But the GRS is pretty bland these days. It's really only
readily discernible if you've seen it before. Take a look at the photo
of Jupiter in the articles above. Squint at it until the two equatorial
belts are as indistinct as you see them in the telescope. See how faint
the GRS is? That's what you're looking for in the scope. It's pretty
subtle.

I'd also start at a lower power--maybe about 100x. If seeing is not so
hot, that might make the GRS somewhat easier to see.

Brian Tung
The Astronomy Corner at http://astro.isi.edu/
Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/c5plus/
The PleiadAtlas Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/pleiadatlas/
My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://astro.isi.edu/reference/faq.txt

Doink wrote:

I would HIGHLY recommend buying new from Mike Palermiti at ITE---He'sreally
helped me get mine straightened out...so much so that I am considering going
BIG now. Maybe the 9".

I'm in the uk, so it would ideally have to be a uk dealer. Money is a
problem at the moment, so it's not going to be any time soon, sadly.
Plus they're not exactly cheap 'scopes.

I wonder how they stack up against the OMC range from Orion UK? The 140
is a good 'scope by all accounts, although you'd lose 10mm. I don't want
to think abut the OMC200 or OMC300..!

Back to the GRS - I find that using my Europa 250 the seeing generally
only permits 200-250x before image breakdown starts to become
significant. The best results I get are using a 25mm or 20mm plossl
(unbranded but quite well made) together with a Televue x5 - it gives a
lovely image of either 240x or 300x. The blue filter (Celestron) helps
somewhat. They're quite cheap to buy so they're a safe "doesn't matter
if it doesn't work" type of purchase.

Jim
--
Find me at http://www.ursaminorbeta.co.uk AIM/iChatAV: JCAndrew2
Lost: Stack Pointer. Small reward offered if found.

"Jim" wrote in message

I'm in the uk, so it would ideally have to be a uk dealer. Money is a
problem at the moment, so it's not going to be any time soon, sadly.
Plus they're not exactly cheap 'scopes.

UK? If you have the good fortune of finding a Ylena 150 for a bargain
price, go for it. The MK-67 is a great scope but the Ylena is a step up.
Not sure how prices compare over there though.

Ed T.

Ed T wrote:

"Jim" wrote in message

I'm in the uk, so it would ideally have to be a uk dealer. Money is a
problem at the moment, so it's not going to be any time soon, sadly.
Plus they're not exactly cheap 'scopes.

UK? If you have the good fortune of finding a Ylena 150 for a bargain
price, go for it. The MK-67 is a great scope but the Ylena is a step up.
Not sure how prices compare over there though.

Thanks for that. A quick furtle on the 'Net reveals they're about £950
over here (double for dollars(ish)) for the OTA+case, which puts it in
the 'oooh, interesting' class. I have three 'scopes currently: an 80mm
Sky Watcher achro, a 150mm Sky Watcher achro, and an f4.8 Orion
Optics(uk) Europa 250. I'd be looking to replace the 150 for something
of similar size but longer focal ratio, and the Intes/Ylena meet this
criteria.

Jim
--
Find me at http://www.ursaminorbeta.co.uk AIM/iChatAV: JCAndrew2
Lost: Stack Pointer. Small reward offered if found.

Hi

Take at look at these, they do exactly what you want.


JupSat95 is freeware,
http://indigo.ie/~gnugent/JupSat95/

JupSatPRO is payware.
http://www.nightskyobserver.com/JupSatPro/

Very easy and simple programs that work well !!!





























Allan


--
Only A Gentleman Can Insult Me And A True Gentleman Never Will