Alrighty then, prepare for pictures!
What a wonderful shave this morning! MacDuff's unscented Aspen Parkland is fantastic, a luscious, creamy lather that is slick and leaves my face feeling good. The brush is the newest addition to the brush drawer (thanks again Mike!) and was a joy to use with the Aspen Parkland. And completing whisker whacking duties were the Overlander and vintage Personna Platinum Chrome (Rite Aid branded)!
Yesterday, my telescope arrived (which means New England will have cloudy weather for a week or two now!). We may have a brief window this evening before midnight so I hope to be ready.
My first telescope is a 6" Newtonian reflector, with a focal length of 750mm. It attaches to an equatorial mount on a tripod, and together we completed 5 or 6 Astronomical League observing programs over a 6 year period.
The Tygon tubing has two hose clamps in each tube, which allowed me to make a homemade Wilcox ring set. The black metal rings hold the tube to the mount, and the Wilcox rings allow you to loosen the metal clamped rings in order to spin the tube without the tube sliding out of the mount! Why bother? Well, EQ mounted scopes get into crazy positions as you move the telescope around the sky, with the eyepiece in awkward positions. The Wilcox rings allow you to spin or turn the tube to get things in a better position for your to comfortably view through the eyepiece. For those interested, here is a video that at the 1 minute mark gets into the issues at the eyepiece with an EQ. And like the video states, for tracking an object across the sky, the EQ is the way to go. I bought a small motor that would move that axis at the same speed to hold an object stationary in view.
Here is the new scope, another Newtonian reflector, but mounted on a Dobson base (hence, these scopes get named dobsonian reflectors).
This scope has an 8" aperture and a focal length of 1200mm (almost 4 feet). This is what some refer to as light bucket, compared to the shorter reflectors and refractors. Lots of photons can enter this scope. I do find it amusing that some folks are now calling this a "starter" scope! Because 10" and 12" Dobs are a thing, and some are much bigger. But as I don't live in a super dark sky area, and I don't have an observatory on the property, and I can easily move this around, 8" is fine for me!
Here is a comparison photo, the old and the new.
The Dobson base allows you to spin the tube in a full circle (the azimuth for the sky) and you can swing fully upright (the altitude), all while keeping the eyepiece in one position, although the height or distance above the ground can change by a couple of feet. I use an adjustable height chair, and many use a drummer's "throne" or stool.
Here's to looking up more!