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Thursday, February 23, 2006

More astronomy with a spotting scope

What do you use when you want a quick peep at the stars and find that a binocular isn't enough and a telescope is just too much? Answer, a spotting scope.

Last night I got home late and had a full schedule of things to do, but the sky was clear (for a change) so I just had to take a peek. I picked up my spotting scope and headed for the patio. I turned the little Kowa 663 on Canis Major to spot of few open clusters. It took a while under the light polluted Chicago skies, but at last I spotted M41 below Sirius and zoomed in for a better look. At 60x, it was nicely framed and the stars resolved nicely. For comparison sake, I then tried to find M41 in my 8.5x44 swift. Very difficult. Doubt if would have seen it if I hadn't already lined it up in the spotting scope. Score one for the spotting scope.

I then turned the Kowa to Orion and hit the nebulae. Also excellent, so I zoomed up again and easily nailed the Trapezium. I then turned the little scope on Saturn and enjoyed a perfect miniature of the planet with the rings and ball sharply outlined. Okay, it wasn't large, but the Kowa at 60x did as good a job as any refractor I have used and that includes a Televue.

Score another one for the spotting scope.

Read Post | 5:49 PM

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