OpticsBlog – Thoughts and reviews of binoculars, telescopes, scopes, sights, and much more - birdwatching, astronomy, target shooting - pretty much anything related to optics, nature, and life!

After living in the Chicago suburbs for nearly three years, I am nearly convinced that the earliest humans to inhabit this area placed a curse on the night sky. Every time the calendar says "new moon", the sky says "rain". I'm not sure if those early folks had astronomers of the distant future in mind, but it happens often enough to make me suspicious. This week is a case in point - rain, rain and more rain. In most locations, it begins to rain as soon as you bring home a new telescope. Around here, it begins to rain if you even think about a new telescope. (I hate to think what might happen if I try to buy a solar telescope.)

Don't get me wrong. I've come to appreciate all the wonderful things Chicago has to offer and, yes, I will admit that many of my notions of what to expect before I arrived were just plain wrong. Folks around here have done a wonderful job of preserving natural areas and for that I will be ever grateful. Despite all the traffic and congestion, I can be alone in the woods or prairie with all my birds and flowers in less than 15 minutes. Just wish I could get everyone to turn off the lights on those few nights when the sky is clear and the stars shine in all their glory (okay, the few bright ones that get through).

In the meantime, I have begun to take a few pics of early flowers along the bike trail. Got this one with my little Pentax Optio A, which continues to please me with its color saturation. As you can see from the pic, the Blue Violets don't mind the clouds and rain. Guess that's why it is the Illinois state flower.

Meade has been advertising their new Meade MySky quite a bit of late in their bid to compete with the Celestron Skyscout. For those who new to this technology, both units are basically handheld, computerized star maps and planetariums. Just point at an object in the night sky, and both the SkyScout and MySky will tell you what it is in an instant. The sky has never been easier to learn.

The MySky carries this new technology a step or two beyond the groundbreaking Celestron Sky Scout. Instead of just identifying an object, the Meade MySky will show you sky maps and even videos while you point at the object and, if that isn't enough, Sandy Wood, the familiar voice of StarDate (a syndicated daily radio astronomy program) even gives you audio descriptions.

One of the most interesting new features is the My Sky capability to interface directly with the Meade Autostar equipped telescopes and add a GPS function. What this means is not only quicker alignment, but more accurate tracking as well.

As Celestron and Meade have been traditional competitors for so long, I have no doubt Celestron is planning the next counter-attack, but for now, the Meade My Sky looks to be the latest edition in this new technology.

Been thinking of building a mount for astronomy that will handle a good 10x70 or 12x80 giant binocular. Maybe I should say I'm thinking of "assembling" a mount, since "build it yourself" is not a phrase my friends would ever associate with me. When it comes to hand tools like saws and hammers, "dangerous" is a word they are more likely to use.

Of course, I could just buy one of the many good specialized astronomy binocular mounts on the market, such as a parallelogram mount or a mirror mount, but I really want something I can also use for other applications if the occasion demands. For instance, I might want to mount an APO refractor or the same giant binocular on a mount and use it for a long range daytime observation instrument.

My thoughts have been turning to the Bogen 3039 Super Pro head. That should handle just about anything I can lift, even a big 25x100 like the Apogee 25x100 Astrovue. For legs, I'll probably go a bit more conventional and stay with the Bogen 3011BN leg set, which should do just fine, considering I plan to be sitting at a chair, so height and consequently stability should be adequate.

Of course, I may still need a boyfriend to carry it all.

Last week was pretty much a blur for me. Due to a nasty virus, I missed several days of work, but at least I didn't miss any nice spring weather - the wind blew in snow and cold all week. Had it been more typical April weather, I might have been drawn outdoors instead of resting as per my doctor's orders.

Now that I'm back in the saddle (bicycle saddle, that is), my thoughts have been turning the usual stuff: astronomy, birding, photography, and so on. Last night I managed to get a 15 mile ride on my road bike before the sunset and was delighted to see more bird activity along the bike trail. Thanks to my Nikon 5x15HG monocular, I was able to stop now and then and enjoy some of the new arrivals. The little monocular is the ideal optic to carry on the road bike, since every ounce counts on a lightweight performance bike.

When I'm on the mountain bike, though, touring the Forest Preserve trails, I can carry more thanks to my rear rack and pannier. At the very least, I carry one of my compact binoculars, such as my Nikon Premier LX 10x25 binocular or my Leica Ultravid 8x20BL binocular. When I am more expedition minded, I strap my Nikon 848 tripod to rear rack and sling my cased Kowa 663 spotting scope over my shoulder (next to my heart where it belongs). Then it's all day on the marsh or woods and then back home on the trail. Not bad for a day's work - no gas burned, lots of fresh air and sunshine, not to mention a mountain of peace and contentment. Life is good.

Guess where I'll be this weekend?

This week, we seem to be celebrating January in April in my area, so the prospect of getting the bicycle out for a long run seems doubtful. Back to putting the bike on the trainer and watching the TV as a I ride. It's not as much fun as feeling warm breezes in my face as I ride, but watching some tanned guys on TV run down the beach isn't bad, either. It does make spinning my wheels a bit easier to take.

So what else does an optics nut do for optical fun when she is trapped indoors? Quite a bit, actually. There are always pictures to edit from my Pentax Optio A10 camera in my photo library. Never seem to be caught up there. And, then, I have a table with three microscopes just waiting for something to look at. A quick trip to the garden or lawn for some soil or twigs, rocks, whatever and I'm in business. The big stuff goes under my LOMO SF100 stereo microscope. The tiny stuff goes under my LOMO BMH4-BF compound microscope. On the other hand, if I'm not feeling so ambitious, I just open the drapes, sip hot coffee and watch shivering Robins pecking at the lawn for a frozen morsel or observe the squirrels feast on the black oil sunflower seeds I spread on the lawn for them and the birds.

There's always next weekend.

I bought a high quality photographic loupe a few weeks ago in the Pentax 5.5x Loupe. Not that I need one for it's designated purpose of examining negatives (I don't have a film camera, anymore). Rather, I bought it to do a little close-up digiscoping. It's large lens diameter (49mm), generous eye-relief and quality optics makes it ideal for this work and with its clear, transparent stand, it transmits enough light to the specimen for a photo.

What specimen, you say? I've doing spiders and insects, mostly, but also small flower parts and rock specimens. I just trap the specimen under the loupe, hold my Pentax Optio camera over the top and fire away. With the 5.5x on the loupe and 3x optical on the camera, I get some nice pics, since both lenses are of good quality. When I am done, I just lift the loupe and my subject goes on its merry way.

The Pentax 5.5, 60051 also makes a nice text reader or toy for general fun. On my coffee table, it also makes a good conversation piece - especially when I find a spider.

With all the rain over the weekend and expected cold weather this week, our area seems to be doing its best to fight off spring. Still, Earth Mother will not be denied. I have already seen the signs. Trees are budding out and showing the first signs of green.

The birds know it is spring, too. I rode my bike past a Canada Goose and it surprised me by showing aggressive behavior - sure sign of a nest nearby. In fact, it flew up and head slapped me with its wings. Good thing I had my bike helmet on or it might have stung. Guess I need to stay out of that parking lot.

I've also been hearing Sandhill Cranes migrating overhead for weeks, now, and once in awhile I've spotted them in my Nikon 8x32 Superior SE binocular. Lots of new ducks visible in my Kowa 663 spotting scope, too, now that my marsh has thawed. When the sun returns, I plan to carry both on my bicycle and pedal to the marsh. It will be an all day trip, but can't think of a better way to spend a day, unless it would be the same trip with someone special.