[AZ-Observing] Re: Old objects with new eyes, and mini scope review...
- From: "Thad Robosson" <starstarcracker@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2002 07:52:57 -0700
Hello All,
Well, after realizing that I was lacking an observing companion, my wife
stepped up to the plate and hit a home run with me by volunteering to hit
the desert pavement with me so I could take out the new toy for an "ooh and
ahh!" session. I managed to hurry her "getting ready" enough to make it out
to Flatiron just after the sun had set, so I had just enough time to
assemble the new 15" Discovery truss tube and collimate it to satisfaction.
Many thanks to those who suggested a couple of trial assembly runs at home
to weed out the bugs, and to whoever highly suggested the purchase of some
astroturf.
The big issue with the evening was of course, the moon. Not a first quarter
yet, but still very obvious, and certainly detracting from optimal viewing.
None the less, it was my first "dark light" target with this 'scope.
Was I ever pleased! I can't say that I am "surprised", but caught off gaurd
anyway. The moon just took on a whole new dimension. Craters had a very
three dimensional look about them, and the maria were so much more than
flat, grey spots. The northern edge of one (I really need to throw my lunar
atlas in my astrobox...)
looked like it had been blasted with a shotgun. And the coloration floored
me! It was still just shades of grey, but there were so many more shades
than I have seen with the 8". I will need to aim at the moon again
sometime...
M 13 just kept getting better and better as twilight faded. All but the
background center stars were resolved, resembling a ball of salt grains.
The "arms" were very obvious, and NGC 6207 was present as well.
M 51 was the one who got me into this aperature fever mess. My view didn't
quite match the one I had through Chuck Aker's 17.5", but I saw enough to
know that a good night at Cherry Road should give up a tremendous amount of
detail. I was able to discern the spiral structure easily, and most of the
bridge was visible. Occasional knots in the arms popped into view.
M 104 This was the first time I've seen this through this large a scope,
and the first time I was able to make out the dark lane as a divider and
noted the fainter light opposite the "sombraro's dome". It was easy to make
it out as a round shape viewed from a nearly edge on angle.
Double Double was extremely easy picking. Lots of dark between all
components.
M 57, I've never viewed at 381x before, and it didn't dissapoint. First
impression when I got it in the FOV was how bright it was. The center was
obviously nebulous and lighter in color than outside, and the rings did have
some slight structure. A flash or two made me think I had caught the
central star, but given the moon and location, I'll assume that it was a
reflection from my ear to ear grin I was wearing at this point.
M 4 was very resolved, and had a squashed shape to it. Averted vision
gives the impression of "ripples", with one feature resembling a dark lane
to the northern edge about 3/4 the way out. Also noted is a line of 5 or 6
stars over the core pointing NNE.
NGC 6144 Faint, and not very well resolved, but easily notable. About 8
stars on a hazy background.
M 80 Small, but bright. Except for the core, it is resolved at 127x. Very
round, dense core. I get the impression of great distance when I look at
this one.
NGC 6302 Suddenly brighter core with 2 wings extended N/S. Guess the "bug"
is face on. 190x showed the N wing as having a bent tip.
M 7 region. M 7 is large and loose, the "butterfly" shape is notable. Also
noted in the area is NGC's 6453, 6416, and 6425. Djorgovski 1 is noted as
difficlut with averted vision, but not nearly as good as I witnessed with
the 8" at Eagle Eye.
Gamma Sgr region... Oh My God!! This is absolutely beautiful! Immediatley
obvious is NGC's 6528 and 6522. Both appear to be resolvable at higher
magnification, but the 35mm Panoptic is my choice for this area.
About 1/2 degree NNW is a slightly taper shaped dark lane that runs about
3/4 a degree in a WNW direction.
I can't seem to find a designation for this one, can anyone help with this
one? Moving North, 6520 and B86 are stunning! Seeing that group of stars
with a hole in the heavens is breathtaking! East of that I take in B299,
and follow it around like a celestial hedge maze. B90 stands out more
prominently than B299. B289 is fairly easy to stumble across, but B298
eludes me tonite.
Having not slept enough the prior week, I (my body) decide that in order to
make it home safely, it is time to pack it up.
My impressions of the scope...I don't have the pleasure of running to many
scopes if this type, but I can say that this one is very smooth, and easy to
track objects at higher powers with no jerkiness. The assembly/
disassembly is easy to grasp and understand, and assembly and collimation is
easy with no tools necessary. (excepting a peep sight EP.) The images
"snap" into focus, and the JMI focuser is smooth as one would expect.
Discovery gives you drawstring bags for the truss poles and knobs so it's
easy to keep track of everything.
The mirror didn't seem to take too long to cool off, the seeing got fairly
good, and while I didn't push it much, I believe that 250~300x wouldn't have
been too much. I have to go back over it for the nitpicky details, but the
star test didn't show any problems I could detect. (no pinched optics,
astigmatism, etc.) Please note that I'm not an expert at this and will go
back for a more thorough look.
Conclusion...If you aren't afraid to do some very minor tweaking for the
initial set up, (secondary adjustment, install mirror cell, etc.) and are
looking for a good large scope for a reasonable amount ($2700) then I would
have a look at this 'scope.
Thad
Thad Robosson
Double star enthusiast
Member Saguaro Astronomy Club
ATM group chairman
Owner/operator Twin Points Observatory
33 27 N, 112 19 W
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
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