[Lvas] FW: Virgo Cluster Identification

[roger ivester]

One of my local observing partners sent me this image of the Rosette taken at the WSP last month with an 80 ED refractor. Very impressive for an 80mm scope.

 

Many years ago Steve and I worked on our Messier certificates together. 

 

Steve is an electronics engineer but doubles as a mechanical engineer and can absolutely build anything for a telescope. He has taken many Meade SC scopes and completely rebuild the focuser systems to take out all the "slop". 

 

He has many scopes including Takahashi's, Astro-Physics, Meade, both large and small, an AP 1200 mount and the list is endless. He mostly observes with 80 or 100 ED and Fluorite refractors...working on deep-sky objects. I find this pretty interesting. 

 

I know that Fred Rayworth hates small scopes but they really have their place. I like them and I am not a planetary observer. Fred shares the same opinion as John Dobson. I am sure most of you have met and probably have observed with Dobson.

 

Back in June of 1996 he visited this area for a few weeks and stayed at several of my friends homes. I/we got to know him quite well during this period. He didn't believe in anything less than a 16-inch scope. 

 

I know that you may find it hard to believe but I have had better "visual" images of faint galaxies with my 4-inch Vixen refractor than an 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain. Why? The better tube baffling, less scattered light, and a "velvet black" background...allowing for superb contrast. It does depend on the galaxy surface brightness and overall concentration of the nucleus and the halo.  

 

With the 4-inch "some" galaxies would have much sharper edges and much better resolve of faint details. If the galaxy was "very" faint...12th magnitude or fainter the galaxy would be invisible in the 4-inch but would show up nicely in the 8-inch.   

 

Has anyone in the LVAS had this experience? Small refractor versus the larger but more complicated 8-inch SC? 

 

Roger

 



Subject: RE: [Lvas] Virgo Cluster Identification
Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 08:18:00 -0400
From: Steve.Davis at fascontrols.com
To: drivester at hotmail.com










Roger,
I posted this to the Yahoo page but you may not have seen it. Heres an image of the Rosette taken at the WSP last month, Just goes to show what a little 80mm scope can do.
 
Have you ever noticed that there are just some scopes that will never go away:
80 & 100 mm refractors, both the 6-inch f/8 & 8-inch f/6 reflectors, and the 8” SCT… classic workhorses..
 
Steve Davis
 
 
 

 
 
 






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