Search results

By the way, I don't know if anyone here was able to observe the lunar occultation of Mars on December 7-8, but we had great weather for it here in Phoenix. It was one of the coolest astronomical events I've ever observed. With Mars basically at opposition, the planet was quite large in the...

Man, that remote observatory option is pretty cool, but IMO it doesn't hold a candle to actually standing outside under the night sky and looking through a telescope. Also, you are correct in your thinking that most anything on Amazon that's less than $500 will probably be more frustrating than...

It definitely dominates its region of the sky right now and will reach opposition on December 8th, so it's increasing in angular diameter with each passing day. It even makes nearby Adlebaran look pale in comparison. In the scope last night the eastern hemisphere was in view and surface details...

That's a pretty nice image, Greg!

Interesting.

It's in totality now and absolutely beautiful! Here's a not-very-good pic taken earlier in the eclipse through my 6" Maksutov using my iPhone 13 Pro Max...

Wow, I sort of abandoned this thread. Sorry about that! Is anyone else up observing the lunar eclipse this morning? We have mostly clear skies here in Phoenix. Jupiter is sinking in the west, although still a nice telescope target. Mars is high overhead and looks pretty amazing in the eyepiece...

Man, is it 2022 already? I'm already suffering from the "lack of planet blues." Saturn left us a while ago, and now Jupiter is so low in the west at sunset from my location it's unobservable for all intents and purposes. Too much atmosphere to look through. As I'm sure a lot of people did, I got...

Sounds like you have a nice little stable of scopes there, Scott. Flexibility is a good thing. I use my 4" refractor as my grab-and-go setup as well, and as you said it's convenient to be able to set it up so quickly and move it around if need be. When I'm observing from a dark site where wide...

Hi Sam - Newsletter?

A pic or two would be great!

Yep, eyepieces are the hidden money pit for visual observers. :) Sure, you can spend $1000-$6000 on a good scope/mount setup, but then you have to buy a stable of eyepieces to use with it. Depending on your needs and how much of a perfectionist you are, that cost can easily reach several...

That's a nice instrument, Bryan! I've never seen one in person, but have heard nothing but good things. David Levy lives a couple of hours south of me, near Vail, AZ. I imagine he's still hunting comets. :) I agree with you about the impact of the software that's available these days. I use the...

Wow, that's got to be a bit of a beast, Edwin! And yes, this time of year at high latitudes can be brutally cold for observing. I'm lucky enough to live where it's warm, relatively speaking, in the winter. Still, when the temps are dipping into the 30's at night it can be hard to get motivated...

This is my 1975 sand-cast C8, which I was lucky enough to find locally. It's in almost 100% brand-new condition, and I'm fortunate to have it. This is the telescope that really brought "serious" amateur astronomy to the masses. Its combination of 8" mirror, portable SCT design, low weight, and...

This is my workhorse, the C9.25" Edge, and one of the best telescopes optically that I've ever owned, and I've owned quite a few! The first pic is the scope on my CGX mount set up in my backyard observing spot, and the second is the same rig in the field at a dark site west of Phoenix that I go...

I've never really participated much in any After Hours Lounge threads but thought I'd start this and see where, if anywhere, it goes. I know that many of us here are geeks to some extent or another, and I mean that in the most positive sense, so I figured there would be at least a few forum...