[AZ-Observing] Re: Saturday night on the back patio with the C11/CGE

Stan,

It would be my pleasure to let you take a look the next time we are out
together.  I must warn you, however, that binoviewing is an addictive (and
expensive) proposition.

I have Dwight to thank for my infection.

It is true that scopes with a large central obstruction like SCTs will have
reduced contrast compared to an unobstructed or less obstructed design.
However I think that many SCT owners fail to regularly check collimation,
which is critical to good performance. My OTA still needs tweaking, but it
is close enough to give pleasing views.

In short, there are parameters in play beyond the size of the CO that
contribute to the view at the eyepiece.

IMHO, two-eyed observing enhances the view to a large degree. It is MUCH
more relaxing, and I can simply see more detail on any type of object, even
dim stuff.  Yes, you lose a bit of limiting mag, but the trade-off is way
worth it to me.  BV-ing might even increase apparent contrast for me. 

The lunar views last night were as good as any I remember, including my
12.5" Zambuto Newt, which has an essentially perfect mirror and smaller CO. 

I have gone the SCT route as an experiment more than anything else.  I
bought the CGE for the Zambuto but the OTA is too big for the mount.  I am
too lazy to sell the CGE, so I decided to get a suitable OTA.  Hence the
C11, and a whole new "project".  I have had many nice views through Steve's
and David's C11s, so I already knew what to expect.

For me a major consideration is seated viewing, which the C11/CGE gives me.
Plus GEM tracking for any imaging I might do (I see a HyperStar and CCD in
my future).  And the ability to have wide-field and high-mag scopes riding
in tandem.  Nice.

Matt

-----Original Message-----
From: az-observing-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:az-observing-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Stan Gorodenski
Sent: Sunday, February 25, 2007 2:22 PM
To: az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [AZ-Observing] Re: Saturday night on the back patio with the
C11/CGE

Matt,
I would love to sometime see the moon through your scope. The reason is 
because I am not sure a SCT, or any catadiptric telescope, has good 
contrast when viewing the moon. I remember once years ago seeing the 
moon on the rooftop at ASU and the image did not at all compare to the 
one through my 12.5" D-K. It has very good contrast, and part of the 
reason is because I lined the baffle and focus tube with cloth felt, the 
kind that has numerous black hairs sticking up. I would appreciate 
anyone's opinion on contrast in a SCT, or any catadiptric, discounting 
the central obstruction, compared to other telescope designs.
Stan

Matt wrote:

>Luna - spectacular at 200x in spite of roiling atmospheric conditions.  The
>terminator was a blend of punchy black shadows and crazy-intense levels of
>surface detail. Two-eyed viewing totally rules here.
>
>  
>
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