Orions Nebula. Tasco 17TR - Celestron Nexstar 8i

[Aussie Dave]

45 minutes of visual early this morining which started at 3am. Orion was high enough  in the sky so I grabbed the ol Tasco 17TR 80mm frac with 25mm EP and ventured outside. Without a finderscope it took a minute to find Orions nebula. I could see the main central cloud around it but no more, stars were clearish but could be better. I tried the 15mm EP. The image was bigger but not as clear and stars losing their sharpness.

Time for the Celestron Nexstar 8i and Celestron E-lux 25mm. This was the first time I've used the 8i and WOW, what a difference it made. I didn't have the battery hooked up as I only wanted to see Orion tonight and I'm glad I stayed up. It didn't disappoint, there it was in all it's glory. Could I even say that the sky had a little more contrast than the Saxon Mak203. I'm not sure why but I think I could see more stars about, fainter stars than the Saxon. I also tried an unbranded LE25mm EP before calling it a night and it performed just as good as the E-lux.

It was a brief and rewarding viewing session.

[laudropb]

Nice report. Thanks for posting.