A morning romp with the Orion 6XT IntelliScope

Shortcuts for this entry: Finder issues and then there's the vertical stop Not Microsoft The Beehive Eskimo Saturn M35 M3 and M51 Scope facts just for the record Hey Scotty, Give me warp .3! Sorry sir, the best we can...

Rethinking and refining equipment choices

I’ve had enough experience with visitors at the observatory to now refine my equipment choices and develop a pattern for the sessions. First, I want to make sure each session at the Observatory involves some naked eye observing, some...

Buying your first scope

Note: This is a handout for a talk/demonstration given at the Westport Library November 17, 2005. As such,it is intended as supplementary notes - not a complete article. Six links to a good observing experience Most telescopes do an adequate...

Return of the GSOs

I bought the 10mm GSOs from Agena Astro Products for $72 for the pair. Manish Panjwani, who I assume owns the business, had been very helpful with his emails and agreed to take the eyepieces back, less the postage charge....

More GSOs, bad seeing, and . . .

Well – this morning wasn’t my best observing experience. But I did accomplish my main goal, which was to retest the 10mm GSO SuperViews in a scope with long focal length – the LX90 which is an F10. (Earlier test...

Success . . . and maturity!

It's been two and a half months since the 15-inch Obsession arrived, but last night it was all worth it. I had four hours of excellent observing despite 4.5 magnitude skies that were not nearly as steady as predicted. Why...

Of hawks, concrete, and the Driftway Observing Green

An observatory offers protection from the elements, convenience and a real sense of purpose. It also costs big bucks and with an Obsession 15 on order I wasn’t ready to take this major step to permanently house it, so I...

Laser, laser on the wall . . . mirror

What's that? The view down the tube of the 15-inch during a laser collimation exercise. They call it "collimation." I don't like the word. My tongue gets tangled with my gums when I try to say it.. But what...

Uh oh! My eyes aren't at the top of my head any more!

Why didn't some one tell me this! I mean, I've been following the discussion on the Obsession Users Group of the 12.5 vs the 15 (not to mention the 18, 20, and 25) and one of my reasons for getting...

Get the lead out - ehhhh . . . in

What weighs more - a pound of lead or a pound of sand? Ouch - ok - I'm retreating to the first grade - sorry ;-) What I mean to say, is what weighs more, a tube of fine beach...

Obsessed right out of the box!

It’s not like I’ve never owned a telescope before – well, yes it is. Let me try to explain. I’m not a newbie. More than 40 years ago I bought a 4-inch Dynascope. And that was followed by the now...