|
First light with my new 10" Meade LX200. Not just that but today was also my first solar observation ever. The skies have been totally overcast for
about a week now and today was the first time I could even try solar observing.
I used the 55 mm Tele Vue plossl first which allowed me to see the entire disk of the sun. Several small sunspots and one large sunspot were visible.
Boosting the magnification to 100x zoomed in on part of the sun and allowed closer scrutiny of the sunspots. I also was able to see the convective cells on the surface at 100x.
Around 8 or so neighbors stopped by to get their first views of sunspots. I threaded a yellow filter onto the eyepiece to give it a more familiar color.
I let the neighbors
know that they have a standing invitation to come over and look through the scope whenever I'm out using it. It will be fun to show them the Moon. I just wish Saturn and Jupiter were still in the evening sky.
I'm still waiting for a clear night to star test the scope and play around with the GOTO aspects. Fortunately, the weather people are saying that
tomorrow night will be "mostly clear". I sure hope they are right.
I'm working my way toward the Astronomical League's Messier club certification which requires all Messier objects to be found without using GOTO. You've
got to do it the old fashioned way by star-hopping. However, it will really be nice to be able to confirm that what I think I'm looking at is what I'm really looking at. The LX200 can
identify what object you are looking by just pushing a few buttons.
I sure hope the sky is clear tomorrow.
I should say a little bit about the scope. It is the 10" F./10 Meade LX200. I also purchased the Tele Vue Rich Field Kit which replaces the stock
1.25" diagonal with a 99% reflective 2" diagonal. It also includes the 55 mm Tele Vue plossl eyepiece which gives the largest field of view and the lowest power possible for the
scope. In addition, I have a Kendrick solar filter made with
Baader material for solar viewing and a dew shield to keep the corrector plate free from dew. I also bought a Meade superwedge to use the scope in equatorial mode but I haven't used it yet.
So far, I'm thrilled with the scope. I just need some clear skies now.
|
