Telescope Reviews: Aloha...

Hi folks,

I was sent to Honolulu on a business trip and decided to stay for a few extra days (now stretching into a week

) on Maui - I know, I know you all feel sorry for me.

Last night was actually the first clear night that wasn't too breezy or wet to enjoy a bit of observing (actually, there were a few others, but consumption of adult beverages let the evenings slip away into blissful tropical sleep).

On these trips I normally take my Obie 15x70s and a monopod. But this time I tried something different - I brought my Celestron 10x50 Nobles, a new WO Zenithstar II 80mm APO on a borrowed Miller video tripod and a few useful eyepieces. It's a bit of a nuisance traveling with the extra gear, but the Nobles get stashed in a suitcase (wrapped in clothes) that gets checked, the tripod I wrap in a bit of foam and put in a slightly oversize tripod bag (from my larger Amvona AT6907) and check as luggage, and the APO has it's own traveling case that I'm able to carry on even the island hopper flights - it's actually about 3" longer than real carry-on limits but it's thinner and narrower so they let me get away with it.

I focused on the southern sky using up a rare opportunity to see Scorpius, Sagittarius and Scutum a bit higher in the sky (and in darker skies) than I get from my home in Virginia. I take turns scouting and admiring with the Nobles and really observing with the APO.

Starting at the head of the Scorpian, I just briefly admire the color of Antares and scout out M19 and M62 - both are easy and I know it's going to be a good night. I take my time with M4, using the APO to bring out the detail. Sweeping down from M4 and Antares to the beautiful open clusters at IC4628 and NGC6231, I accidently "discover" NGC6124. This has become a habit of mine - look around the areas of the targets I know to find targets I don't know and then look them up later. Another open cluster that I'll hopefully remember for next time.

I hop over to M7 and it's gorgeous and sparkling against the dark sky - one of the largest and prettiest open clusters in the area. I sweep up from there and "bump into" M8 and M20 nicely framed in the 10x50s. It's clear that the whole area is filled with other targets of interest and just the continuous cloud of stars and gas and dust that comprise our view of the core of the Milky Way. I look at both of these in the APO using a 17mm Nagler and they are mysterious and inviting - just mesmerizing as I continue to stare and see ever more detail. These are old friends - I visit with them every chance I get.

With the Nobles again, I "back up" a bit and find the globular M22 and switch to the APO again, this time with a 7mm Nagler. In these dark skies, the glob comes alive with individual stars surrounding a visible, bright, "grainy" core.

Back to the Nobles again, going straight "up" from the line connecting M8 and M20 brings me to M23. Hang a hard "left" and there's M24, framed beautifully in the 5 degree FOV of the Nobles. I pause and drop a 42mm GSO into the APO, but the view through the Nobles, even freehand, is more inviting somehow. A brief pause at M25, but I'm anxious to move on - I know where I'm headed next.

Up from M24, I barely pause at M18 before coming to rest on the Swan (M17) and the Eagle (M16) barely squeezing both into the FOV of the Nobles. I just rest here admiring the view, the density of the star clouds connecting and surrounding these objects and enjoy a rare glimpse of the milky way as it was meant to be seen. The APO provides some really detailed views (using a 17mm and a UHC filter) of both the Swan and the Eagle, teasing out the extended nebulas of each. But I switch back and forth between the Nobles and the APO, admiring and observing, discovering and exploring. I "hang" in this area for the better part of an hour, revisiting each of my targets, singly and in groups, embedding the impressions and the relationships in my brain with images that will (hopefully) last a lifetime.

When the clouds roll in, I pack everything up quickly and head back to the hotel. I'm satisfied, even smug, with my "take" for this evening.

Yes, it's a nuisance traveling with all that gear, especially when it's in conjunction with business (and all the paraphenalia that adds to traveling) but I'm lucky in that my business takes me to lots of dark skies. I have to admit, that I rarely run into fellow observers on these trips and I've never met anyone else who travels with observing gear. But it's hard to believe I'm alone in this "quirky" behavior. How 'bout it - anyone else out there sneak their gear into their bags (business or otherwise) when the chance for observing is just a maybe? What do you all travel with?

- Art

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2006 "Bagging on a Budget" Award for Excellence in Binocular Astronomy
Garrett 25x100 IF, Oberwerk 15x70, Celestron Noble 10x50, Meade 10x50 and 8x42 Travelviews
William Optics Zenithstar II 80mm APO
Teleport 10" - an incredible all-in-one Planetary/DSO/"Grab and Go"