One Double Two Telescopes

[Sunshine]

Tonight I decided to take out my only two telescopes (most here have many)  for looking at fuzzies and doubles. Going from scope to scope was a lot of fun and made me feel like I was carrying out some sort of scientific experiment which called for the use of a lab coat while out there in my back yard. 🤣  A lab coat will be my next Amazon purchase, my neighbors will think I’ve lost it which is fine with me. My 4” refractor was for the doubles and my 8” dob for those fuzzies, it was a good time. At one point I had the crazy idea of pointing both telescopes at the same target, Al Fawaris (Delta Cygni) a variable triple 165ly away with about five times our suns diameter. Delta Cygni can be challenging as they are tight with drastic differences in size and magnitude between primary and components.  Seeing was good and because I have limited eyepieces I wa swapping them around in order to find similar magnification in both scopes considering the 400mm difference in FL between the two. 
 

Let me say that my observation is mine alone giving the countless  variables to consider when comparing instruments, I cannot speak for those with finer mirrors/lenses and varying bortle skies. What I did find after observing this double for a good while was that my 8” dob will be my scope of choice for fuzzies and my 4” refractor will continue to be my choice for doubles, no questions or doubts here. One can speak of the importance of aperture but my dob simply could not present this double with the clinical precision of my 4” refractor. When examining through my dob the image was indeed brighter as I expected, but not nearly as clean, I found it was affected by seeing more and I spent more time finding focus which i could never be satisfied with, I found. Splitting them with my dob was more of a challenge as the individual stars were fuzzier, spikier, or troubled if you will, finding the gap was harder but I could see it indeed but just not as easy. 
 

When moving to my refractor I was a bit shocked, actually, here was the image of a double I had been searching for in my dob. Two wonderful pinpoints set against a sky which was visibly darker than the dob and with an unmistakable gap between them, they were not as bright as they appeared in my dob but they certainly compensated with their laser like outlines and seemingly steadier appearance. After this comparison I stopped aiming the two at the same targets, I shouldn’t have set them against each other in an unfair match for my amusement. They each have their strengths. This is not to say I won’t ever point my dob at a double again because at lower powers it does present stars brightly and with wonderful diffraction spikes but when it comes to higher powers and those tight doubles my refractor remains a scalpel. I will no doubt continue putting them against each other in pointless competition but that’s part of the fun. 

Edited August 12, 2022 by Sunshine

[RobertI]

Nice report. 👍 Having two scopes definitely adds an extra dimension to the night’s observing. I sometimes have my refractor and C8 side by side on the same mount. As you say each has its strengths and it’s nice to have options, and is fun to compare, the frac is great for doubles and wide field,  the C8 brilliant on globs and fainter DSOs. Having said that, most of the time of the time these days I just use the frac as it’s so quick and simple. 

[wookie1965]

Great report those 4" refractors do pull their weight.

Edited August 12, 2022 by wookie1965

[Sunshine]

9 minutes ago, wookie1965 said:

Great report those $2 refractors do pull their weight.

Yes! they’re on sale now, two for $3 😂

[wookie1965]

43 minutes ago, Sunshine said:

Yes! they’re on sale now, two for $3 😂

Edited lol had caps lock on duh 😆

[Sunshine]

4 hours ago, RobertI said:

most of the time of the time these days I just use the frac as it’s so quick and simple. 

Interesting point as I find it even easier to carry and set up my 8” dob than my 4” refractor. With its conveniently placed handles the dobs two parts can be carried each with one hand and they’re relatively light when compared to my vixen mount/tripod. The well balanced handles on the dob make it a breeze to carry.

[RobertI]

6 hours ago, Sunshine said:

Interesting point as I find it even easier to carry and set up my 8” dob than my 4” refractor. With its conveniently placed handles the dobs two parts can be carried each with one hand and they’re relatively light when compared to my vixen mount/tripod. The well balanced handles on the dob make it a breeze to carry.

Interesting point, I've never had a dob larger than table top, so never really experienced that convenience. I'd probably have an 8" dob if I didn't already have the C8.  I do have a 12" dob on my "one day" list though.   You're right about the tripod and mount - the Skytee is heavy and a pain to move, although I recently bought an AZ4 with 1.75" tripod - much much lighter. 

[josefk]

Nice description @Sunshine  I’m in the process of considering the same two scope approach and what you describe you observe is exactly what I would like to see. Nice. 👍🏼

[Sunshine]

6 hours ago, josefk said:

Nice description @Sunshine  I’m in the process of considering the same two scope approach and what you describe you observe is exactly what I would like to see. Nice. 👍🏼

I’m realizing that from a grab and go point of view a 4” refractor and an 8” dob make a great combo, one for those fuzzies and one for more precision type observations like doubles.