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$850 WOW!!!! i just put the apeture cover on, and view through the
small apeture, its a lot cheaper That is not for filters, that amount is for my new 8" Newtonian reflector on an EQ mount with a couple of new eyepieces to exploit the telescope's capabilities. I only set out to spend about $450 on an 8" Dobsonian, but Orion is jerking around customers big time right now and it was either lay out the cash, or get no good scope for this apparition. I wanted it any way, so I will tighten the belt in other areas for a month or two... I will not spend one more dime for at least a year. I already have a moon filter, and that is all I will have for some time. I am happy Orion screwed up, I really like tracking objects with the EQ long-lat dials... I ordered a scope on Aug. 1st that Orion told me twice would ship on 8/16. On Aug. 12, I get a snail mail letter telling me I will have to wait for shipment until 9/30. At the same time, I have a new e-mail that tells me Skyquest Dobsonians will not be in until December 10th. I am so glad Orion's management keeps track of what their exclusive Dobsonian manufacturer is doing... "Uh, gee Orion, we really thought we'd make the delivery date until a few days before delivery was to be received by you, but it became clear in the past two or three days we will need a minimum of six more weeks, and perhaps sixteen weeks to complete our contracted work. Ooops. Sorry." If you cut off light from part of your aperture with a cover, are you not degrading the image quality by effectively lowering the functional size of your reflecting mirror, i.e. are you lowering your theoretical magnification maximum with that cover? I tend to think you are, but I could surely be incorrect. I am more than happy to let Mother Nature give me generalized medium thick cloud cover to dim Mars for two or three weeks, and then I can get back to the observing I was doing before in July. Of course, I am saying that now because Mother Nature was kind to me tonight... I easily could have not had such 'good' luck. For Mars, I want every magnification point the atmosphere will allow. I suppose I could block two inches on an 8 inch mirror without lowering capabilities beyond a point at which the aperture overtakes the atmosphere in limiting effective magnification, but I would still think quality would suffer. Clouds will do, we have plenty this year. I'll buy a filter for next time in late 2004 or early 2005. With your methods and size aperture (?), what magnifications can you use satisfactorily and how have your observations gone this year? - Livingston |
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On Sat, 30 Aug 2003 16:22:23 +0100, Jonathan Silverlight
wrote: In message , writes The next milestone for me will be June 08 2004, when Venus Will Transit the Solar Disk, although I am hoping to catch the ISS doing the same thing in late Sept There were some posts in alt.binaries.pictures.astro about a new program that can predict that. Are you using it? A transit of ISS across the Sun - or the Moon _ would be worth seeing! I subscribe to a mailing list that gives me all these details, plus I use the database at www.heavens-above.com But thanks for that anyway -- --- The two most abundant elements in the universe are Hydrogen and stupidity. Why is the ratio of Hydrogen to Stupidity less in usenet than anywhere else in the universe? |
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Carusus wrote:
It's bigger than it looks. Yeah, this is why it's so much more interesting to be an astronaut than an astronomer. Personally, I have trouble getting all excited over a tiny dot of light in a telescope. But I do have to admit that in recent times telescope images are getting a lot more exciting! (eg. Hubble photos of Mars) |
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