[Chaos-l] The New Scope Arrives... (and now the clouds...)

[mdlemon at lemons-bend.com]

Quoting Matt Lochansky <matted27 at gmail.com>:

> I only had a little while of observing time both evenings...  One
> thing that really impressed me was the amount of "earthshine" I was
> able to see on the moon Tuesday night (which even 4 days past new moon
> was too bright for the 10" scope!).  Using the big scope is going to
> take some practice...
>
> I think my biggest frustration has been aiming the scope.  I always
> aim too high and even left/right aiming is difficult.  I'm used to a
> considerably smaller finderscope and a considerably smaller tube.
> Even hitting bright stars could take me a minute or two to find and
> require me to lay on the ground looking up the tube to aim it in the
> right vicinity... Any tips on that?  The difficulty aiming will take
> some practice as starhopping is completely different than before,
> especially with the bigger finder.

Get a Telrad. Just do it. I have a 10" dob very similar to yours and  
you will just have to get used to having to bend over or kneel to aim  
the sucker.

If you need to observe the moon you will require a moon filter.  
Otherwise even a quarter moon will destroy your night vision. Heck, I  
see spots even with a moon filter it is that bright.

MDL