M41 and M78

The weather was just right last night and there's probably only a month left of potential to see a clear sky down here.

It's supposed to be an easy find... but it's not really... I got to finally point my Telescope at M78 and saw it for the first time.

We spent about 15 minutes in our back yard and put everything away.

Cool!

You look for obscure Motorways with your telescope?

I have a cheap Chinese made 12" Dob branded Zhumell with 4 of Tele Vues nicest 2" eyepieces.

If I did it over again I'd buy a 10" because I think I'd use it more often. Some day I'll build a fancy dob.

We have been so busy with our house that I feel like I let this season slip away... and I think a slightly smaller scope would have encouraged me to break it out more often.

When I got the eyepieces I felt a bit foolish spending so much money but I figure I'll only be able to use my eyeballs for a limited time and I wanted to have, and share, the experience of seeing what's up there.


best regards,
mike

I had studied german mounts for a while when I was shopping and learned how to use a few that I borrowed. What I learned is that I was not willing to pay for a german mount that would satisfy my perception of good quality.

Dobsonians mounts interest me because almost all the budget goes into buying the mirror and eyepieces.

It takes a short while to learn to find stuff but it's fairly easy to keep on a target once you find it. 

I had hoped to take astro photos but I abandoned that idea in favor of simply having fun.

I agree that a pair of binoculars is the most fun way to see the sky.

The 12" mirror lets us see some of the dimmer stuff but it's a chore to store and bring out for use.

It's lot's of fun to share with people.

best regards,
mike

The way I looked at it... is that right now for the first time in the history of the world... a guy like me can own a 12" mirror and see stuff that has been there for a lot longer than I can imagine.

I don't spend money on a lot of things people do... so I went ahead and got a big mirror simply because it is possible.

Some folks are buying 36" mirrors these days. It's something that has never happened before at the citizen level.

Cool stuff.


best regards,
mike

If I stumbled across a cheap 10" I would pick it up.... but I think it would need one of those autodrives on it as well..... I think I've seen that the new scopes even find the object from coordinates that are entered by a computer....that would be my kind of scope because the higher the power the harder it is to zero in on those celestial objects.