Quote:
Originally Posted by taxman
.......Spent a lot of time kneeling on wet grass - so I think the next purchase has to be an adjustable observing chair, closely followed by a Baader 8-24 zoom (is it really as good as people are saying it is?), with 50 degrees AFOV at 24mm and 68 nearly everywhere else.
...... I did get some dew on the mirror unfortunately, so I probably should clean this also.
........ The 6mm GSO was pretty much useless, maybe a burgess 5mm would work better (any advice there?)
.......the burgess 5mm planetary
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Great fun, wasn't it!
A few quick thoughts:-
Yes, I think an 8-24mm zoom is a good addition. There are various makes, from budget to top end. Have a look around at the reviews and put a wanted ad up and see what you get secondhand.
Dew on the mirror - the primary? Just leave it to evaporate during the daytime - make sure the scope is uncapped for a few hours during the day after observing to completely dry out - but watch the cat doesn't move in, spiders, birds etc!
5mm eyepiece. Recommend that you look for a Vixen LV. I saw a 5mm for sale in the classifieds recently. I have a 6mm and an 8mm and love them. Secondhand around $100-120 - well worth it. 8mm is always useful. 6mm only in better seeing conditions. Not sure if the 5mm will be usable most of the time.
Chair. Start with an old gaslift office chair if you get it for free - remove the arms and the back. Not the best on muddy uneven ground, but I push the whels through the mud. Brilliant if you can set up on a large cement pad (around 2.5mx2.5m for an 8" dob). Of course, if the cement is really hot, you'll get thermals rising in the first hours which might cause some seeing problems. There are other designs - search this site and check the Projects & Articles link at the left.
Wet knees - that's a problem - how low to the horizon are you trying to observe? Remember that anything less than about 30 deg elevation and the air column you have to look through becomes considerable - hence seeing worsens.
Keep reporting how it is going!
