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PoKev
journeyman
Reged: 12/29/07
Posts: 9
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Clear night, at last. First off I want to thank everyone here at CN for the helpful insight not only in my other post, but in many others. 
I bundled up (it was about 11 degrees here in St. Louis) and following Kenn's suggestion on setting up the 125, I used the 2 star alignment with Rigel and Capella. Once these two were centered and synced I decided on taking the tour.
Since I could easily see Mars I wondered if this would be early in the tour. Sure enough first up the choice was Mars. I hit goto and watched the ETX 125 do its thing. At the beep I tentatively looked through the EP........and what do you know, sitting there just off center is Mars.  I'm stoked. I run in the house and get my 10 year old daughter for her first look at the red gem. The look on her face, mirroring mine, made my day. I swapped EP from the 26mm super Plossl to the 12mm and got an even closer look. Being 10, my daughter didn't want to linger long in one spot so we continued on the tour.
Next up was Sirius. Hit the goto and once again slightly off center there was Sirius. My daughter took to calling it Sirius Black from Harry Potter fame. Then there was the Orion Nebula (M42 I believe), what a sight. Being a true newbie this was my first view of a Nebula in anything other than a picture. In a word......incredible. 
We also took in Betelgeuse, the Pleiades (surprised at how spread the stars are even in the 26mm EP), Aldebaran, and Castor.
With the neighbors yard lights and and the general lights of the city I couldn't see the Andromeda Galaxy or NGC 1023. Hopefully as my eyes get more used to looking at the skies and deep space I'll be able to pick out more. Deneb was lower to the Northwest and a corner of our house along with a few trees obstructed the view. Time for a chain saw.  
All in all it was a great first attempt with what appears to be a very good telescope, especially for an amateur. And if it increases my daughter's interest in further study then so much the better.
Here's to more clear skies and starry nights.......peace.
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Have fun, clear skies always......peace
Kevin
ETX 125PE UHTC
497 AutoStar w/884 tripod
Edited by PoKev (01/03/08 11:14 AM)
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radsdad
super member
Reged: 11/05/06
Posts: 116
Loc: Southern California
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Congrats! Sounds like you had an awesome night!
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Meade ETX-125AT UHTC and ETX-60AT
Zhumell 20x80 Supergiant Binoculars
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Rainbow
professor emeritus
Reged: 08/27/04
Posts: 662
Loc: Norfolk, UK
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Exellent!
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Meade ETX 90 UHTC, 497 Autostar, 884 tripod, right angle finder.
CALIBRATE MOTORS and TRAIN DRIVES!
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PoKev
journeyman
Reged: 12/29/07
Posts: 9
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One other thing. I was pleasantly surprised by the finder scope. As flexible as it is I wasn't expecting much and from all accounts here, it probably won't be long before it's bumped out of alignment. But, til then I'll enjoy it while looking into how to best mount a different model.
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Have fun, clear skies always......peace
Kevin
ETX 125PE UHTC
497 AutoStar w/884 tripod
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Tombstone Sky
One-Eyed Jack
Reged: 12/18/06
Posts: 1708
Loc: Tombstone Arizona
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Excellent job. Yes, your eyes and brain train themselves through experience. One task is to teach yourself to use averted vision in the eyepiece. Anyway, you're off the a terrific start!
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MJ "Morg" Staley
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M5 Dark-Site Observatory
Meade 12" f/10 LX90GPS "River"
WO 2" Dielectric Diagonal
Meade SP 5000 full set, 24mm Meade 5000 UWA,
BO/TMB Planetary 8, 9mm, Nagler 13mmT6
Meade 505/USB/ASU/SNP6
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StarWars
Postmaster
Reged: 11/26/03
Posts: 13794
Loc: CyberSpace
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well done...
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Sony Digital Media player..
MX 460 earbuds
Celestron 2x Barlow Lens
Orion Collimation Eyepiece
Rigel Quick Finder
Assorted Bino's 
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radsdad
super member
Reged: 11/05/06
Posts: 116
Loc: Southern California
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I've had good results with my finder scope as well. You might try tilting it away from the eyepiece a bit so that you have more room, especially with short eyepieces.
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Meade ETX-125AT UHTC and ETX-60AT
Zhumell 20x80 Supergiant Binoculars
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DNTash
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 09/02/07
Posts: 762
Loc: India
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Congrats PoKev -- great report. I always like to read reports where family or friends are included. Sirius Black...my daughter will like that one, too!
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AT 72
TMB 92
Orion 120ST
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PoKev
journeyman
Reged: 12/29/07
Posts: 9
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Hopefully the skies will clear soon. Every night has been covered in clouds and my duaghter's getting restless. Guess I've created a 10 year old monster  , and we're unfortunately looking at another cloudy possibly rainy night tonight. 
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Have fun, clear skies always......peace
Kevin
ETX 125PE UHTC
497 AutoStar w/884 tripod
Edited by PoKev (01/05/08 01:54 PM)
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