Anticipating a Report 😊

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John Donne United States of America
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Anticipating a Report 😊

#1

Post by John Donne »


Screenshot_20211026-170636_Astrospheric.jpg
Bonnie is clearing out her van for me as I type. I will load up the 10 inch Meade and the EQ6 and be on site before full darkness.

I wish me luck...😊
SCOPES :ES127 f7.5, SW100 f9 Evostar, ES80 F6, LXD75 8" f10 SCT, 2120 10" f10 SCT, ES152 f6.5.
MOUNTS: SW AZ/EQ5, MEADE LXD75, CELESTRON CG4, Farpoint Parallelogram.
BINOCULARS: CL 10X30, Pentax 8X43, 25X100 Oberwerks.
EP: Many.

"I am more than a sum of molecules.
I am more than a sum of memories or events.
I do not one day suddenly cease to be.
I am, before memory.
I am, before event.
I am"
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Thefatkitty Canada
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Re: Anticipating a Report 😊

#2

Post by Thefatkitty »


I wish you luck as well, kudo's to you both and hope it goes well! :D

All the best for a great night,
Mark

"The Hankmeister" Celestron 8SE, orange tube Vixen made C80, CG4 & AZ-EQ5 mounts.
Too much Towa glass/mirrors.

H/A - PST stage 2 mod with a Baader 90mm ERF on a Celestron XLT 102 (thanks Mike!)
Ca-K - W/O 61mm, Antares 1.6 barlow, Baader 3.8 OD and Ca-K filters with a ZWO ASI174mm.
W/L - C80-HD with Baader 5.0 & 3.8 Solar film, Solar Continuum 7.5nm and UV/IR filters with a Canon EOS 550D.

Oh yeah, and Solar Cycle 25 :D
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helicon United States of America
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Re: Anticipating a Report 😊

#3

Post by helicon »


Good luck....
-Michael
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
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Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
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#4

Post by John Donne »


Venus is beautiful on my drive up to Penfield. The ruby and sapphire layers of twilight are crystal clear with the visual texture of silk.

I'm not sure about my wife's Van. I hope the droning noise I am hearing in the front end is from the new tires that we recently put on.  I do not drive this vehicle very often.

I turn off route 74 to route 49 going North. Venus is behind me. Ahead of me are the wind generators. Hundreds and hundreds of windmills blinking their little red lights.

I will be North of them at Penfield. They will be out of view thankfully. Some of us complain about Elon Musk's satellites filling the night sky and obscuring the astrophrography efforts. These windmills do a similar sort of thing to the view over our prairie farmland. But as with the satelites, progress must go on.

I am almost there. 😊

Thank you all for the "good lucks".
SCOPES :ES127 f7.5, SW100 f9 Evostar, ES80 F6, LXD75 8" f10 SCT, 2120 10" f10 SCT, ES152 f6.5.
MOUNTS: SW AZ/EQ5, MEADE LXD75, CELESTRON CG4, Farpoint Parallelogram.
BINOCULARS: CL 10X30, Pentax 8X43, 25X100 Oberwerks.
EP: Many.

"I am more than a sum of molecules.
I am more than a sum of memories or events.
I do not one day suddenly cease to be.
I am, before memory.
I am, before event.
I am"
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Re: Anticipating a Report 😊

#5

Post by John Donne »


October 26-27, 2021
Penfield Illinois
40 06 N
87 46 W

1930-0100

Transparency average
Seeing average

Lots of cold humid air

Arrived on site after dark 7:30 after detours for flooded bridges.

Set up the EQ6 and made ready to align.
This is the second time I have used this mount. It has seen quite a bit of use and it squeals at times. It does not sound right. But I want to see if I can make it work.

I mounted the old 10 inch Meade. It has no fancy coatings or optics.
I also brought my SW 180 Mak and the 110 Eon just in case. I am glad I did. After the 10 inch and the 7 inch were not quit satisfactory I put the 110 on the mount and improved my views.

Everything I have listed was viewed with the 110 Eon.

M27 The Dumbell Nebula in Vulpecula revealed no color and barely resolved the hourglass shape.
M33 The Pinwheel Galaxy in Triangulum was a faint blob barely visible.
M57 The Ring Nebula was a bit more pleasing revealing the ring but no central star and no color that I have observed before.

Andromeda, M31, was its usual placid gray with very little reveal…mostly core. I could not identify M110 or M32.

The Double Clusters, NGC869 and NGC884 in Perseus were a relief to view. The star fields were sharp and full as I averted my vision.

M39 This open cluster in Cygnus filled out nicely as well with averted vision.

Almach is a double in Andromeda.
I do not remember viewing this double in the past. It was very fine with the 110 Eon and my 7mm Pentax EP revealing a sparkling orange primary with a shining but faded turquoise secondary. I stayed here a bit to enjoy the view.

M35 is another open cluster. This one is in Gemini.

Albereo through the 110 and the 7mm Pentax reveals gold and blue stars and competes with Almach for beauty.

The moon came over the trees in the NE at 11:20 but I was still able to view M15 successfully as a crisp cluster.

At this point I set the camera in the telescope hoping to catch some lunar textures. I shot a lot of very rapid fire exposures in an attempt to catch a lucky shot but I was not successful enough to satisfy so none are posted here.

On the way home at 1 AM Orion was a nice view in the dusty moonlight.

This was another outing with a lot of people.
While I was doing my alignment two busses pulled in from Olivet Nazarene University. Fifty kids and two instructors form the astronomy class at the college offloaded 20 six inch dobs.
20211026_201332.jpg
20211026_201341.jpg
They were nice folks but there was a lot of commotion.

That is my outing. Nothing very exciting...but getting out is exciting I guess. :-)

Even though it was cold and quite a bit more damp than I would have preferred I enjoyed the bits I could view.

Thank you for reading.
SCOPES :ES127 f7.5, SW100 f9 Evostar, ES80 F6, LXD75 8" f10 SCT, 2120 10" f10 SCT, ES152 f6.5.
MOUNTS: SW AZ/EQ5, MEADE LXD75, CELESTRON CG4, Farpoint Parallelogram.
BINOCULARS: CL 10X30, Pentax 8X43, 25X100 Oberwerks.
EP: Many.

"I am more than a sum of molecules.
I am more than a sum of memories or events.
I do not one day suddenly cease to be.
I am, before memory.
I am, before event.
I am"
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Re: Anticipating a Report 😊

#6

Post by pakarinen »


20 6-in Dobs? Ay, carumba!

I didn't map your coords, but I take it this is the Champaign County park dark sky site? A couple of people from my club have gone down there. NE of there up Rt 47 around Strawn seems spooky dark compared to home; no good places to observe though AFAIK.

Glad you had a good trip!
=============================================================================
I drink tea, I read books, I look at stars when I'm not cursing clouds. It's what I do.
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AT50, AT72EDII, ST80, ST102; Scopetech Zero, AZ-GTi, AZ Pronto; Innorel RT90C, Oberwerk 5000; Orion Giantview 15x70s, Vortex 8x42s, Navy surplus 7x50s, Nikon 10x50s
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Re: Anticipating a Report 😊

#7

Post by John Donne »


@pakarinen
Yes this is north of Penfield about 4 miles.
It is a good location.
SCOPES :ES127 f7.5, SW100 f9 Evostar, ES80 F6, LXD75 8" f10 SCT, 2120 10" f10 SCT, ES152 f6.5.
MOUNTS: SW AZ/EQ5, MEADE LXD75, CELESTRON CG4, Farpoint Parallelogram.
BINOCULARS: CL 10X30, Pentax 8X43, 25X100 Oberwerks.
EP: Many.

"I am more than a sum of molecules.
I am more than a sum of memories or events.
I do not one day suddenly cease to be.
I am, before memory.
I am, before event.
I am"
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Re: Anticipating a Report 😊

#8

Post by helicon »


Nice report Mark and congrats on the VROD win for the day!
-Michael
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
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Re: Anticipating a Report 😊

#9

Post by KingNothing13 »


Sounds like a good night Mark, even with the commotion - at least they were there for the same thing!

Congrats on the VROD.
-- Brett

Scope: Apertura AD10 with Nexus II with 8192/716000 Step Encoders
EPs: ES 82* 18mm, 11mm, 6.7mm; GSO 30mm
Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 Binoculars
List Counts: Messier: 75; Herschel 400: 30; Caldwell: 12; AL Carbon Star List: 16
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Re: Anticipating a Report 😊

#10

Post by John Donne »


helicon wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 2:24 pm Nice report Mark and congrats on the VROD win for the day!
Thank you Michael. 😊
SCOPES :ES127 f7.5, SW100 f9 Evostar, ES80 F6, LXD75 8" f10 SCT, 2120 10" f10 SCT, ES152 f6.5.
MOUNTS: SW AZ/EQ5, MEADE LXD75, CELESTRON CG4, Farpoint Parallelogram.
BINOCULARS: CL 10X30, Pentax 8X43, 25X100 Oberwerks.
EP: Many.

"I am more than a sum of molecules.
I am more than a sum of memories or events.
I do not one day suddenly cease to be.
I am, before memory.
I am, before event.
I am"
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#11

Post by Butterfly Maiden »


Congratulations Mark on receiving the TSS VROD award for an excellent report.
Vanessa

Nikon D82 Fieldscope with 30x/45x/56x angled eyepiece.
Olympus DPS-1 10x50 binoculars.
Leica 8x32BN binoculars.
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Re: Anticipating a Report 😊

#12

Post by John Baars »


Nice report. Good you had other telescopes with you as well.
It is not the first time other people invaded your observing site!
I suppose this was a noisy lot :D
How do all these people find you all the time in the dark?
Congratulations on your VROD!
Refractors in frequency of use : *SW Evostar 120ED F/7.5 (all round ), * Vixen 102ED F/9 (vintage), both on Vixen GPDX.
GrabnGo on Alt/AZ : *SW Startravel 102 F/5 refractor( widefield, Sun, push-to), *OMC140 Maksutov F/14.3 ( planets).
Most used Eyepieces: *Panoptic 24, *Morpheus 14, *Leica ASPH zoom, *Zeiss barlow, *Pentax XO5.
Commonly used bino's : *Jena 10X50 , * Canon 10X30 IS, *Swarovski Habicht 7X42, * Celestron 15X70, *Kasai 2.3X40
Rijswijk Public Observatory: * Astro-Physics Starfire 130 f/8, * 6 inch Newton, * C9.25, * Meade 14 inch LX600 ACF, *Lunt.
Amateur astronomer since 1970.
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Re: Anticipating a Report 😊

#13

Post by John Donne »


@John Baars

I believe what is happening John is that the dark site is becoming "known".

I enjoy having folks to share with...

This was the largest group from one place that I have ever seen out there. And yes it was a bit noisy and destracting but it was interesting to listen in as the students followed the teachers instructions.

There were a few who enjoyed looking through my kit at some of the Clusters.

They seemed to be unimpressed with Andromeda.
They were expecting something like the AP images seen in the textbooks. 😊

Unfortunately they left before I had the Double Cluster in view. I think they would have enjoyed that.

Thank you John.
SCOPES :ES127 f7.5, SW100 f9 Evostar, ES80 F6, LXD75 8" f10 SCT, 2120 10" f10 SCT, ES152 f6.5.
MOUNTS: SW AZ/EQ5, MEADE LXD75, CELESTRON CG4, Farpoint Parallelogram.
BINOCULARS: CL 10X30, Pentax 8X43, 25X100 Oberwerks.
EP: Many.

"I am more than a sum of molecules.
I am more than a sum of memories or events.
I do not one day suddenly cease to be.
I am, before memory.
I am, before event.
I am"
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Re: Anticipating a Report 😊

#14

Post by Bigzmey »


Nice session and report Mark and congrats on the VROD!

I wonder what targets have you tired with SCT and Mak, and what the views lacked compared to Eon? I know it is hard to beat sharpness and contrast of APO/ED fracs, but on some targets you have observe (the Ring in particular) larger aperture of 10" and 7" should provide advantage.
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
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#15

Post by Makuser »


Hi Mark. This is a superb observing report from you here. It was a most pleasurable read for me. And I recall this area well when I was on loan from the Chicago/Kankakee office to the Champaign/Urbana office doing service calls for several months to cover for an employee who was recovering from an automobile accident. It looks like you had a great time of it and I enjoyed the photos that you took of the college students at their astronomy gathering. Thanks for sharing great report with us Mark and congratulations on receiving the TSS VROD Award today.
Marshall
Sky-Watcher 90mm f/13.8 Maksutov-Cassegrain on motorized Multimount
Orion Astroview 120ST f/5 Refractor on EQ3 mount
Celestron Comet Catcher 140mm f/3.64 Schmidt-Newtonian on alt-az mount
Celestron Omni XLT150R f/5 Refractor on CG4 mount with dual axis drives.
Orion 180mm f/15 Maksutov-Cassegrain on CG5-GT Goto mount.
Orion XT12i 12" f/4.9 Dobsonian Intelliscope.
Kamakura 7x35 Binoculars and Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 Binoculars. ZWO ASI 120MC camera.
>)))))*>
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Re: Anticipating a Report 😊

#16

Post by John Donne »


Bigzmey wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:57 pm Nice session and report Mark and congrats on the VROD!

I wonder what targets have you tired with SCT and Mak, and what the views lacked compared to Eon? I know it is hard to beat sharpness and contrast of APO/ED fracs, but on some targets you have observe (the Ring in particular) larger aperture of 10" and 7" should provide advantage.
Issues with the EQ6,  and my general lack of experience with that mount caused me a lot of frustration on this outing.

I will need more outings and maybe a better skies to make a good comparison.

Maybe it is the sky that I am actually testing.
I believe the sky is the limit.

I have had the big SCT and the MAK out in fine, dry skies in 2018 and recall nice views of the Galaxies and Nebula so I know the big glass works well.

That being said I am leaning toward the conclusion that in general the average Illinois sky for my viewing is best worked with my refractors.

I used to visit my daughter in the high plains of western Nebraska. Those skies were more often very fine and dry. I wish I had them in Illinois.
Of course I was also at 4500 feet in Nebraska. 😊

Peace and clear skies to you Andrey.
SCOPES :ES127 f7.5, SW100 f9 Evostar, ES80 F6, LXD75 8" f10 SCT, 2120 10" f10 SCT, ES152 f6.5.
MOUNTS: SW AZ/EQ5, MEADE LXD75, CELESTRON CG4, Farpoint Parallelogram.
BINOCULARS: CL 10X30, Pentax 8X43, 25X100 Oberwerks.
EP: Many.

"I am more than a sum of molecules.
I am more than a sum of memories or events.
I do not one day suddenly cease to be.
I am, before memory.
I am, before event.
I am"
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Re: Anticipating a Report 😊

#17

Post by Bigzmey »


John Donne wrote: Thu Oct 28, 2021 2:54 pm
Bigzmey wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:57 pm Nice session and report Mark and congrats on the VROD!

I wonder what targets have you tired with SCT and Mak, and what the views lacked compared to Eon? I know it is hard to beat sharpness and contrast of APO/ED fracs, but on some targets you have observe (the Ring in particular) larger aperture of 10" and 7" should provide advantage.
Issues with the EQ6,  and my general lack of experience with that mount caused me a lot of frustration on this outing.

I will need more outings and maybe a better skies to make a good comparison.

Maybe it is the sky that I am actually testing.
I believe the sky is the limit.

I have had the big SCT and the MAK out in fine, dry skies in 2018 and recall nice views of the Galaxies and Nebula so I know the big glass works well.

That being said I am leaning toward the conclusion that in general the average Illinois sky for my viewing is best worked with my refractors.

I used to visit my daughter in the high plains of western Nebraska. Those skies were more often very fine and dry. I wish I had them in Illinois.
Of course I was also at 4500 feet in Nebraska. 😊

Peace and clear skies to you Andrey.
Can't go wrong with refractors. :D I know what you mean about EQ6. It took me a few sessions to figure out SW AZGti mount and now I am learning iOptron AZMP.
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
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Re: Anticipating a Report 😊

#18

Post by Makuser »


Hi Mark and Andrey. I have had a love for the Mak-Cass telescopes for many years and it started with my old film SLR days. I got fantastic telephoto images and I saw where many wild life photographers in the National Geographic and National Wildlife magazines were using them too. So I started my collection with these telescopes (90mm and 180mm) as they excel in lunar and planetary work as well as spitting doubles, but I have also become partial to my Orion 120mm short tube and Celestron 150mm short tube refractors. They are only Fraunhofer doublets but with their wide field views, high contrast, and good eye relief on the faint fuzzies, it is like having my own rfts (richest field telescopes) here. The Mak-Cass long focal length and the refractor short focal length make for a great one-two pair on observing sessions. :clap:
Marshall
Sky-Watcher 90mm f/13.8 Maksutov-Cassegrain on motorized Multimount
Orion Astroview 120ST f/5 Refractor on EQ3 mount
Celestron Comet Catcher 140mm f/3.64 Schmidt-Newtonian on alt-az mount
Celestron Omni XLT150R f/5 Refractor on CG4 mount with dual axis drives.
Orion 180mm f/15 Maksutov-Cassegrain on CG5-GT Goto mount.
Orion XT12i 12" f/4.9 Dobsonian Intelliscope.
Kamakura 7x35 Binoculars and Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 Binoculars. ZWO ASI 120MC camera.
>)))))*>
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Re: Anticipating a Report 😊

#19

Post by Bigzmey »


Makuser wrote: Thu Oct 28, 2021 6:16 pm Hi Mark and Andrey. I have had a love for the Mak-Cass telescopes for many years and it started with my old film SLR days. I got fantastic telephoto images and I saw where many wild life photographers in the National Geographic and National Wildlife magazines were using them too. So I started my collection with these telescopes (90mm and 180mm) as they excel in lunar and planetary work as well as spitting doubles, but I have also become partial to my Orion 120mm short tube and Celestron 150mm short tube refractors. They are only Fraunhofer doublets but with their wide field views, high contrast, and good eye relief on the faint fuzzies, it is like having my own rfts (richest field telescopes) here. The Mak-Cass long focal length and the refractor short focal length make for a great one-two pair on observing sessions. :clap:
You can say it again Marshall! I don't own any Maks at the moment ;), but I always deploy SCTs with refractors, they compliment each other nicely.
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
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Re: Anticipating a Report 😊

#20

Post by John Donne »


I will get there Andrey and Marshall... :-)
SCOPES :ES127 f7.5, SW100 f9 Evostar, ES80 F6, LXD75 8" f10 SCT, 2120 10" f10 SCT, ES152 f6.5.
MOUNTS: SW AZ/EQ5, MEADE LXD75, CELESTRON CG4, Farpoint Parallelogram.
BINOCULARS: CL 10X30, Pentax 8X43, 25X100 Oberwerks.
EP: Many.

"I am more than a sum of molecules.
I am more than a sum of memories or events.
I do not one day suddenly cease to be.
I am, before memory.
I am, before event.
I am"
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