[Chaos-l] new finder

[Michael Hrivnak]

Tonight was my first time out with my new GSO 8x50 RACI finder.  I
initially purchased a 6x30 Orion RACI on the advice of a young guy
working at Big Bang.  However, tonight revealed a world of difference
between the two!

Finding is now MUCH easier.  My views through the new finder match the
pictures in "Turn Left at Orion", whereas before it was a stretch to
reconcile the two.  I tried both finders mounted on the scope
side-by-side for comparison, and the level of detail was dramatically
higher on the 8x50.

All of the piddly clusters and such in Cassiopeia have given me trouble
in the past, but finding them was a breeze tonight.  I was also amazed
to clearly see the Dumbbell nebula through the finder!

In case any of you have an undersized finder on a reasonably sized scope
(mine is an 8" Dob), I highly suggest trying one of these out.  This
8x50 RACI finder from GSO cost $55 including shipping, which I think is
about what I paid for the 6x30.

As for the observing, it was another very clear night.  I was quite
literally all over the map.  Incidentally, I think I found a typo in
"Turn Left at Orion".  I was confused to see on page 170, in the
finderscope view, a star labeled "CBS 511".  Having never seen that
prefix, and not being familiar with other star catalogs, it took me
about 15 minutes of google searches to finally reveal that it should
read "BSC", which stands for "Bright Star Catalog".

I'm planning to go out again tomorrow night.  It should be very clear,
with no Lunar interruptions until very late.

Clear Skies,
Michael

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