Something New has been Added!

My Beloved "Monster" Meade AR-6

Don't get me wrong, I love refractor telescopes! Since the time my grandfather gave me a 3-inch "spyglass" (actually, the best telescope I owned for a long time), to my 6-inch refractor "dream scope," I've only owned lens-type telescopes,

Thing is, my long-tube Meade 6-inch refracting scope is a monster: I love the contrast of the images it presents and it simply requires no maintenance. But setting it up and using it are difficult. For one thing, it's heavy, and hoisting it up to the top of its mount and securing it there is tricky. I haven't dropped it. Yet. Aligning the scope to known stars and even looking through the telescope at objects high in the sky are neck-aching tasks: as the lens points evermore skyward, the eyepiece lowers closer to the ground!

So, for some time, I've been considering a reflector. Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescopes (SCT) are probably the most popular configuration in serious amateur astronomy. But they are big, and they are heavy, and their "corrector plate" outer lenses are subject to significant dew issues. A Cassegrain telescope seemed to be the answer.

Oh boy! Something great arrived this morning. Annie's excited, too, can't you tell?

Right after Christmas 2018, in an act of blind optimism (optimistic our skies would eventually offer some cloudless nights) I ordered up my first reflector. It arrived today, January 2, 2019. I have high hopes!

Vixen VC200L - So Pretty

The highly-respected company Vixen Optics of Japan is the maker of my new 8-inch OTA. Cassegrain design does not include a corrector plate -- it's open at the skyward end of the optical tube which reduces weight and the dew-collection issue. The whole thing weighs in at 12 pounds!

I'll attach this scope on the big Meade's go-to mount and see how it goes.

Tomorrow night is predicted to be mostly clear of clouds; first light?