Despite the clouds tonight I managed to watch the ISS pass over just now, it was so bright that I could easily see it through the thin clouds to my West. Jupiter was beaming away to the South but clouds are rolling in, pity that I didn't take my monocular out to see the ISS, might have seen the shuttle.
Another pass is due tomorrow night so will hopefully catch the shuttle then!
later
Mitch
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Mitch,
ReplyDeleteI enjoy your postings. I encountered them when looking for examples of folks who had a Meade ETX-80 -- a telescope I was considering last spring and now own. I was looking for a small, relatively light (grab-and-go) telescope that I could take along on camping trips. So far I've used it only from our back deck, but with great success.
Like you, I am exploring the skies again after a number of years away from Astronomy. My rekindled interest is motivated by moving to Boise, Idaho and the remarkable skies of the high desert of the Northwest US.
I too looked at the *very bright* ISS passing overhead several nights ago -- also naked eye. I agree that having some magnification would have almost certainly revealed the shuttle.
Good luck taking your class! I hope you continue to contribute to your blog.
Best Regards,
Jeff
Hi Jeff,
ReplyDeleteSounds like your skies are much better than mine!
I was disappointed with the Meade and decided that I needed to spend more to get the quality that I wanted.
Interestingly though after I bought the Skywatcher I decided to try the Skywatcher EP's with the Meade, guess what? The view was tons better with the new eyepieces!
I would have liked to have kept the Meade and would have thrown their EP's but I didn't have the room to keep 2 scopes.
There's a moral here I think, if you're disappointed with the quality take it back because you may well have a dud!
My problem was that I bought the Meade mail order rather than from a proper Astro shop. The guy at the shop where I bought the Skywatcher was surprised that I'd been disappointed with the Meade.
Anyway I passed the Astronomy class and once I've got some house remodelling done I plan to do some more.
cheers
Mitch
Mitch,
ReplyDeleteRemodeling... me too. To paraphrase our former president: I feel your pain!
Your comments about the eyepieces on the ETX-80 are interesting. I have a very nice pair of eyepieces I purchased a number of years ago. I quickly abandoned the eyepieces that came with the ETX-80 after trying my older eyepieces. A striking improvement.
I've spent the last several weeks exploring some of the summer-time Messier objects. The ETX-80 does justice to M31, for example.
I eventually hope to rescue some of my remodeling money to get a modest digital imager. It would be fun to add time exposure to some of the things I observe.
Enjoy your fall skies. You have a six hour advantage -- let me know if the universe ends! :-)
Hello Mitch!
ReplyDeleteI found your site and really loved it. Would you like us to be link partners? My website is astronomy-page.com
Hi Clement,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like the blog, I hope to get around to some observing again soon!
I've added a link to your site, nice one btw.
cheers
Mitch
I've added yours too on the Links Page
ReplyDeleteThanks, clear skies,
Clement