Affiliation
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)
Tue, 03/10/2015 - 14:00
Hi Folks,
I have recently piggybacked my 66mm refractor onto my 6" reflector so that I can cover both binocular and telescopic variables with one set-up. However, I'm finding the image it provides is a bit too bright for many of the stars I would like to observe. I suppose I could stop the aperture down, but I was wondering if those standard 50mm right-angled, correct image finder scopes which are readily available are optically good enough to use for observing variables? If they are, I could save some weight! Is anyone else using their finderscopes for this purpose?
Clear skies,
Mick
Hi Mick,
I used a 10x50 right angle finder for bright VS observing when I owned a Meade, and it was fine. I now use a 12x60 finder on my scope and that works good too. Go for it!
I'm a big Hawkwind fan too :-)
Gary
Thanks for the info Gary. I have an old "Orion" brand RACI finder in the loft, so I'll dust it down, maybe remove the crosshairs and see how it goes.
Yes I'm a huge HW fan! Saw them on Saturday in London :) !
Thanks again,
Mick
Me too! I used to know David Hardy, who did a lot of their album covers/backdrops. Lived not too far from me. Still have my old Space Ritual double album. How about other similar bands? Pink Floyd - anyone who can compose a track called "Astronomy Domine" has to be worth something! And there's a dutch rock band (we're quite Dutch here in East Anglia...) called T Tauri. Honestly!
Excellent Michael - I'm friends with David on FB, but I haven't actually met him. He has just completed an updated version of the back cover of HW's "Hall of the Mountain Grill" album - the one of a planet in located within a globular cluster!
T Tauri? I must check them out!!
Just returning to the subject of using the findersope - I used a 9 x 50 RACI last night and found, as Gary suggested, that it worked very well. The view is obviously much steadier than hand-held binoculars and I was able to find a few variable fields at the fainter end of my usual binocular range.
Clear Skies,
Mick
I 'find' my finder a valuable tool. Could not observe many objects without it.
alan
A good finder is an absolute gem. I find that I can reach a touch fainter with my finder than bins of a comparable size, simply because it is so steady. Wouldn't be without mine.
Haven't seen David H for many years. He used to live in Birmingham - about 15 miles from me on the South of the city. I wonder if he still does? He also gave a couple of talks to my astro club.
Showing my age here, but my first 'live' experience of Hawkwind was the Space Ritual tour in 1972 I think it was. Birmingham Odeon. Wonderful lighting by 'Liquid Len' - ah, those were the days.
Gary
And Stacia. Big girl.
(ahem...) finders are VS tools in themselves. I remember following R Vir to about 10.5 with a 10*50 finder. Current finder is similar and is good for 7-10m stars as well.