[ngcles]

Hi Glenn & All,

I can 100% relate to what you and the others have posted Glenn.

The LMC is wonderful in any aperture but the level of wonder really takes-off when you move into the 16" + range and have a truly dark sky. Most northern hemisphere observers have absolutely no idea about what they are missing out on. There is more detail to be seen in the Large Cloud with 10x50 binoculars than a 20" will show in Andromeda.

One of my favourite pass-times at this time of year with the 18", is to centre on a part of the LMC, insert the 20mm TII Nagler at x111 (44 arc-min true-field) with or without (depending on mood and what you want to see best) a Lumicon UHC filter. Then hit the circular search button on the Servo-Cat.

The 'scope slews slowly in ever-increasing outward circles, about 1/2 a field wider each time around the origin point out to a circle about 2 1/2 degrees wide.

Mouth-watering. It is interesting to watch and listen to others taking this "trip" -- and the oohs and ahhs. The extensive clusters around the Tarantula (NGC 2070) are best of all, though the western-end of the cloud is very good too.


Best,

Les D