high powers on the moon

ColHut (Colin) · #1 22-06-2010, 02:28 AM

Well sometimes you just get lucky. I wanted to test the idea that on bright targets like the moon, if the air was steady you could really push up the magnification.

The moon was just about at its zenith, the clouds were rolling in fast, so I grabbed my little 4.5" reflector, a 5mm TMB/BO and my X2 GSO Barlow. A quick polar alignment by compass and check of the finder scope and then in with the 5mm.

At X180 detail was fine and crisp with oodles of contrast although the image darkened appreciably as the clouds moved in. And there they stayed occasionally lightening somewhat. Well nothing to lose I put in the barlow as well and although contrast was low, features were still incredibly sharp aided by occasional lightening of the cloud. At x360 the craters on the moon's edge and terminator were superb. I shared the views with my son before heading in. Somehow I had jagged near perfect alignment (for 25 minutes the same part of the moon stayed in view), and the atmosphere was rock steady. Perhaps a Siebert 3.4mm modified ortho might be a good investment for my limited budget after all?

regards

astro744 · #2 22-06-2010, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ColHut

Perhaps a Siebert 3.4mm modified ortho might be a good investment for my limited budget after all?

Well I'd better not suggest a 3.7mm Ethos SX then which would give you 243x and 0.45deg. Nearly a full lunar disk with 110deg apparent field!

The Moon takes high powers very well. Keep pushing the limits!

ColHut (Colin) · #3 22-06-2010, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Well I'd better not suggest a 3.7mm Ethos SX then which would give you 243x and 0.45deg. Nearly a full lunar disk with 110deg apparent field!

You bad person. That is way too much money/temptation

regards

Waxing_Gibbous (Peter) · #4 23-06-2010, 02:53 PM

I did virtually the same thing last night, with virtually the same results.
Using a TSA 120 and a 200mm GSO Newt I tried both a TMB 7mm and Tak LE5. Superb seeing and transparency allowed some truly speccy views.
I was able to combine both EPs with a Celestron Ultima 2x barlow with no perceptible image breakdown (detail/contrast/sharpness) in the 120 and only minor dimming in the newt.
No doubt the cold, still air had a lot to do with it but it was great to see both scopes performing perfectly. It was also pretty good to get out again after so long under the clouds and I speant nearly 2 hours freezing my buns off.

ColHut (Colin) · #5 25-06-2010, 05:29 PM

Well here's hoping for a steady night tonight and a repetition of the same...