Telescope

Stellarvue 80mm Achromatic Refractors

I own two achromatic Stellarvue telescopes, the 80/9D and the Nighthawk that I use for visual observation. Both have 80mm diameter doublet objective lenses, with the former having a focal length of 750mm (f/9.4) and the latter 480mm (f/6). I bought these telescopes as a complement to my first telescope, a Celestron 8 inch (f/5) reflector. The Celestron is a respectable moderate-aperture telescope suitable for observing rather dim and diffuse deep-sky objects, especially at dark sky sites or when you have plenty of time for set-up/tear-down and to let the temperature of the optical tube assembly reach equilibrium with the surroundings to achieve decent views.
By |2021-10-16T22:06:33-04:00August 5th, 2005|Reviews|0 Comments

Siebert 1.3X Optical Corrector

The Coronado Personal Solar Telescope (PST) is a wonderful way to look at the sun in Hydrogen-alpha, and has produced a legion of new "solar addicts" in the short time since its release. One of the limitations of this scope compared to Coronado's higher end products was its inability to come to focus with binoviewers, even with fairly significant Barlowing.
By |2021-10-16T22:06:45-04:00January 6th, 2005|Reviews|0 Comments

Orion XT10

started looking for a new telescope to replace an ancient 4 ¼ Newtonian with an equatorial mount. My eyes drifted to those numerous wonderful goto scopes. But then I thought about how often I would be doing any photography. I also needed a telescope that was readily portable, fairly easy on a bad back and fit in a typical size car.
By |2021-10-16T22:07:19-04:00October 3rd, 2004|Reviews|0 Comments

TeleVue NP-101

For the last several months I have been looking for a wide field telescope to complement my Starmaster. Since I’m still years out on the AP list, I decided on the NP-101 and placed an order through Anacortes. One week later the telescope, a Gibraltar mount and Star Beam was delivered.
By |2021-10-16T22:07:36-04:00October 3rd, 2004|Reviews|0 Comments

Ceravolo 5.7-inch f/6 Maksutov-Newtonian

The thought process that led to purchasing this scope started years ago at a lunch meeting of the Analemma society in Great Falls, where I was an invited speaker. Marty Cohen of Company 7 was talking about the steadily increasing demand for Astrophysics refractors, and the steadily lengthening wait lists.
By |2021-10-16T22:07:41-04:00October 3rd, 2004|Reviews|0 Comments

Skywatcher HDT Mount

Here with the tripod is fully extended, with the Synta 150 (6") f/8 refractor, properly balanced. The pivot point of the DEC axis with the tripod fully extended and pointed north is at 67.5" in height.
By |2021-10-16T22:07:47-04:00October 3rd, 2004|Reviews|0 Comments

Coronado SolarMax 60mm Hydrogen Alpha Filter

You can’t go to a star party these days without bumping into one of Coronado’s Hydrogen Alpha (Ha) Filters. All it takes is one look and your hooked. Seeing the solar chromosphere come alive in Ha light is thrilling. I have had the opportunity to look through and compare the 40mm, 60mm and 90mm versions as well as a stacked 40mm and a stacked 90mm. When it came time to purchase one, I bought the 60mm.
By |2021-10-16T22:07:54-04:00October 3rd, 2004|Reviews|0 Comments

Meade ETX-60AT

The Meade ETX-60AT digital, computerized, go-to, 60 mm telescope was recommended to me by a nameless, but respected, member of NOVAC, who said they were a lot of fun. However, my experience with it is that it is a pain in the neck that makes funny whirring noises in the dark and is much less useful than a decent pair of binoculars.
By |2021-10-16T22:07:59-04:00October 3rd, 2004|Reviews|0 Comments
Go to Top