"Small" Telescopes?????

[pilot87178d]

I live in the Mojave Desert.

In my backyard, 2 miles from the Las Vegas "strip", my major tool is a 6" refractor.  In the dark desert, nothing beats a big Dob.

In heavy light-pollution, a 4" just won't do the job on galaxies.  It's okay for clusters, but simply doesn't gather enought light to reward one on dimmer targets.

SDC11282.JPG

Thx for the comments....did Red Rocks and Valley of Fire a couple of weeks ago.  Moon was a killer, but did the best we could with what we brought......did get me psyched to jump from the binos......in my case, desert is 2X per year, so will tote the new refractor out there end of the year.

Amazing set-up you have....will need to learn my way into a rig like that.....sort of the lke my golf clubs - when I can out hit the Titlest irons, I'll jump over to the Pings!!!!

Thx,

Marc

[pilot87178d]

If you want something that is portable and can be carried onto an aircraft you need a small ED Doublet Frac. I have seen a number of Messier objects in a 66mm Refractor which can also give good views of the Moon and major planets. Here is an example from Scope City - http://www.scopecity.com/detail.cfm?ProductID=8802&pn=Astronomy%20Technologies%20Astro-Tech%20AT72ED%2072mm%20f/6%20ED%20doublet%20refractor%20Telescope%20OTA,%20white%20tube+Astro-Tech+AT72WH&sc=&tc=

Ok it is not going to be as good as a 4" Frac or a 6" Newt or a very large Dob but it will give you an improvement over the Binos. Yes Binos are great for Star Clusters and you can see many of the brighter DSOs but you are limited by magnification but a good ED Doublet can go to 140-160x quite easily.

At the end of the day it depends what you want to carry around. If you are happy to carry a larger scope and a reasonable mount then a 4" or 6" Frac is great. I used a F5 6" Newtonian for many years and saw most of the Messier list through it.

Wow....so about the time you were writing this, I was on the road to the local 'scope dealer....purchased a Astrotech AT72ED Scope!  Eyes wide when I returned home.  Good news is your note reinforces the confidence of the selection, however.....used it on Friday night for just a brief period before thunderstorms chased us off the field, however, got some great views of Jupiter....did decide a better mount was needed, so back to the store for the mount.  Thanks so much for your comments.......weather here is due to improve by Weds for just a day, so here's hoping the evening sky is open once again.

Marc

[pilot87178d]

Give those binoculars a chance! The following link is interesting- https://www.astroleague.org/al/obsclubs/binomess/binomess.html

Cheers,

Steve

Steve-

Thx for the comment...indeed, ain't turning loose the Celestron 25x100's, mounted on either a tripod or a monopod, each with a ball-head.  Definately within reach at each observing session, and used.  Can't beat the portability.  Yucatan beckons in October, and these will be in my backpack as we hit the airport.  Psyched about the prospect of clean skies, and very, very little light pollution.

Marc 

[pilot87178d]

This works for me .......

There is something so pleasing in the simplicity of your set-up.....all the right tools, packaged in manner that is easy to deploy........exactly what I am attempting.  I do like the idea of the catalogue case.....have one in the closet.  Will be perfect for the airport!

Thx,

Marc