Telescope Reviews: First light 1.1 15X70 Skymasters

Well, got'em out again last night. Initially I mounted on my handy-dandy camera tripod, and went to play. First thing I noticed was: this tripod makes my eq-2 mount on the ol' spaceprobe 130 seem STEADY!!! Seriously! So, off come the skymasters. So I hand held them and was amazed. Firstly I looked at the sword of Orion. My God!! Not to steal a much abused line, but here goes:"My God it's full of stars!!" I have never seen such views with a pair of binos before!! M42 was very visible, and I could definitely see the nebulosity. Then I looked over the belt of Orion and was similarly amazed. Stars everywhere!! So I went bfo hunting (bright fuzzy objects). Firstly, I looked for and found the double cluster. Looked like several clusters of diamonds scattered on black velvet. then I went over and looked at M31. I will state categorically state that I have never seen M31 in a telescope like I saw it last night. Then for giggles, I looked at Saturn. It had ears!!!(I know they're rings, but I don't think 15X is enough to resolve them.) Then I went to M41, and said "wow". Looked at M45(easier to spell than Pleiades you know), and the Hyades. Again, "wow" Then I explored the area of Cassiopea, Perseus, Auriga drooling down my front at the clarity, and richness of the views. Well, I am starting to run dry here, so will close soon. However, I see nights that I will leave the 'scopes inside, and just use these instead. Clear Dark Skies!!

WW

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Pete
6" Apogee/LXD55 - "The Beast"
Starhopper 6" Dob - "Shiva"
Spaceprobe 130 EQ - "Spacey"
Bushnell Fatboy
The Abomination
Sun Pak Pro 7500 Platinum Edition
10X25 Bushnell Camo Roofies
7X35 Tasco Classic Plastic (good views though)
7X42 Tasco Rare Bird
10X50 Nikon Actions (Type 7)
15X70 Skymasters - "DroolMeisters"
One ratty old IBM 600E LapTop