Accessories Archives

Baader Hyperion 15mm and 8mm Oculars

As many of you may already know, I am not a fan of high-end eyepieces. I find that the supposed bang you get is not worth the

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Dark Sky Portable Panels

I recently acquired a Takahashi Mewlon 300. The open design of this scope makes it vulnerable to wind gust. I found I needed a way to block the constant Texas breeze. I spent some time trying to locate a solution with little luck. I finally stumbled on an ad at the back of Sky and Telescope for panels that block light. The design looked like it would make a good wind block.

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Sirius Optics Variable Filter System (VFS)

This is one nice little piece of equipment. It has a simple and elegant design. It is anodized aluminum with a flat black finish. This housing has 1.25" in-out barrels and can only be used with 1.25" eyepieces. It feels like it weighs about half a pound. There is also a really nice red engraved plate. Fortunately, it is a lot easier to use than it is to describe. As you can see in the photo, a portion of the filter protrudes from the housing. The filter's diameter is about 3". The wheel's edge that protrudes from the housing is numbered for use as a reference. The filter spins around using your finger at this location. Just rotate the wheel and watch the filter vary the renditions on a given object seen at the eyepiece. I simply rotated the filter wheel without regard to the numerical scale, as I was interested in all the possibilities that the VFS has. Since the wheel rotates so smoothly, it was easily to go back and forth while observing.

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Celestron SkyScout

The Celestron SkyScout was made for someone like me. I've always had an interest in the night sky, but never knew much about it or how to navigate it. The feeling has only grown since I've

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Celestron SkyScout

I expected something about the size of a monocular range finder but the unit is more the size of a pair of binoculars, (but lighter). The form fitting (slightly ill-formed) case is a good idea. It protects the LED screen and give some protection from dew and accidental drops. (Oops, my bad. The unit is actually photographed upside down)

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11 5/16 Inch Byers RA Drive Gear Set

As an old timer, my reaction was to turn the the most trusted name in telescope drives, Ed Byers. However, I had visited Byers shop in Barstow, CA about 10 years prior and he told me he was on the cusp of retirement, so I didn't know if I could

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Filter Performance Comparisons

The following is a summary report of visual observations of emission nebulae comparing the performance of various filters intended for such objects.

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Cover Your Astro Portable Observatory

This observatory is easily assembled and broken down, it provides a nice wind break and blocks stray light, it protects you for dew and with the optionally made top cover can help to seal off

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Jacobson Handcrafted Oak Tripod Legs

Jake makes his legs out of red oak. The long wood sections are thicker that the pieces in the TeleVue Panoramic legs or the Vixen legs I had. There are also several small pieces for added stability here and there.

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SCOPE SAVER TRAY/TABLE FOR LX200s

I frequently viewed ads in astronomy magazines for the ScopeSaver and always believed it to be a convenience item…a tray that would hold eyepieces, keypad and other items which are nice to have close by. An extravagant expenditure, I thought, to part with $100 for a simple accessory tray. I never made the association of the primary function of this accessory…not until I purchased my 10" LX200.

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Starlight Instruments Feather Touch Focuser

" To be focused, or not to be? That is the question." Thadeus Shakespeare (Williams brother and an amatuer astronomer)

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Astronomik LRGB Type IIc Filters

I have been using an Astronomik H-a filter for narrowband imaging in my Meade DSI-Pro cameras for over a year. I recently added

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DIY Hypertune DVD

As an amateur astronomer, I’m always looking for ideas and products to make my observing and imaging more enjoyable and productive and as the owner of a Meade LXD75 SN-8, I had been interested in the idea of "hypertuning" my mount ever since I came across a post about it on Cloudy Nights

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Orion/Synta Type Finder Mounting Shoe with 0.785" (20mm) Hole Spacing

I knew that Hardin was no longer making this particular scope but remembered that is was close as an Orion knockoff. I then found

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Bigha Jasper Laser Pointer

Laser pointer shootout

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Hirsch SCT Focal Reducer

I cannot tell the difference between the Hirsch SCT f/6.3 focal reducer and the more expensive Meade and Celestron versions. I bought the Hirsh used on CN for

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Zhummel See It All Filter Set

The first thing I looked at was Jupiter with my 2" 30 mm eye piece which provides 50X power. . First I looked at it with

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Telrad Finder

The aspect of zero magnification can serve multiple purposes. The first is that it can quickly get you in the general area of your

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TeleGizmo Telescope Cover

I originally bought this scope cover when i was hauling a 10” newtionian on a 1970's star-liner mount down the stairs from my room and out into my back yard each night when i came home for the weekends.

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Celestron Power Tank

The power tank is a must have accessory for any power-hunger set up. It has two cigarette-lighter 12v outputs, a 3v output, 6v output, and 9v output, a low power flashlight with a removable red cap, and an

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A Binoviewer Journey: Of Microscope Heads, Denkmeier and Tele Vue

…I saw detail that I have *never* seen before in a scope this small. This HAD to be due, at least in part, to the binoviewer.

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Atlas/Skywatcher EQ-6 Replacement Saddle

The Atlas/Skywatcher EQ-6 is well known as a heavy duty mount on a budget. However, it comes standard with a saddle that only accepts the vixen style dovetail. It you wanted to mount the 3" wide losmandy type dovetail, you were forced to buy

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Astrocrumb Filter Slide

With a slide, using a filter becomes second-nature, as effortless as focusing.

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Jasper APC Laser

The APC is a 'pen' style laser that is made from some type of metal (my guess is painted brass) and comes with a protective plastic case that has a separate compartment for the batters, for when the laser is not in use

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Battle of Handy Little Lights: Headband-equipped hands-free lights for the astronomer

While the emphasis in Cloudy Nights reviews is on observing gear, some little gadgets can make a large contribution to the ease and pleasure of using that gear.

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