
AMAZING FULL MOON STAR PARTY!!
#1
Posted 30 June 2007 - 01:35 PM
The real celebrities of the evening were Pons' 6-inch Goto prototype refractor, built in 1954, and his larger custom-made refractor, based on Zeiss designs, that was made to hold a number of different objective lenses (more on this later).
But first, the little star of the show was Caveman's circa 1953 Nippon Kogaku 50mm refractor on its original mount. Its performance amazed everybody! It provided color-free, ultra-sharp views of Venus. It also provided comparatively better views of Jupiter than its larger brethren because it was less sensitive to seeing conditions. The "Little Scope that Could" is a definite keeper - I wish it were mine.
Here's a picture of the "Little Scope that Could" and its owner, Caveman (aka Clint Whitman), looking thru one of the two original tack-sharp eyepieces.
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#2
Posted 30 June 2007 - 01:41 PM
#3
Posted 30 June 2007 - 01:44 PM
Bigger is not always better.

It reminds me of my little Tasco white tube 60mm. Although, that's like comparing a AMC Pacer to a Shelby Cobra.

Regards and clear skies,
MikeG
- AndresEsteban likes this
#4
Posted 30 June 2007 - 01:55 PM
I'll let you in on a little secret. The objective lens presently installed in the Goto is actually a prototype 6-1/4 inch clear aperture Unitron lens. The Goto objective is carefully wrapped and stored elsewhere, but can be reinstalled at any time. Both objectives are superb examples of the opticians art.
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#5
Posted 30 June 2007 - 02:01 PM


Awesome scope. And a great story about how it was saved from the trash heap!
- george tatsis likes this
#7
Posted 30 June 2007 - 02:07 PM
What workmanship and quality.
It exudes an air of days gone by when real craftsmen took pride in their work.
Amazing.
#11
Posted 30 June 2007 - 02:34 PM
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#12
Posted 30 June 2007 - 02:40 PM



#13
Posted 30 June 2007 - 02:41 PM
-JWW:
#14
Posted 30 June 2007 - 02:42 PM
BTW Is it Jon or John? I've seen both spellings an equal number of times.
Keith
#15
Posted 30 June 2007 - 02:54 PM
Those scopes must weigh more than that!! That guy needs an observatory!
#16
Posted 30 June 2007 - 02:58 PM
#17
Posted 30 June 2007 - 03:32 PM
-JWW:
#18
Posted 30 June 2007 - 05:47 PM
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#19
Posted 30 June 2007 - 05:52 PM
OOOoooo....thats terrible!The 6-inch Goto clock drive is powered by a falling weight, just like a grandfather clock. The falling weight is regulated by a ball governor, seen here in the enclosed glass case. It can truly be said that this scope has balls!

#20
Posted 30 June 2007 - 07:00 PM
Same one?
Keith (I'd post a pic, but I'm having trouble figuriong out how to convert TIFFs to JPEGs)
#21
Posted 30 June 2007 - 07:12 PM
Open the image file in a program like Adobe PhotoShop or PaintShop and simply save the image as a .JPG
Should work?
#22
Posted 30 June 2007 - 07:43 PM
You know, I can't recall wether it's Jon or John. The next time I talk to him, I'll ask. Pons is age 66 (2 years older than me), and, unlike me, he works out daily at the gym and is very proud of his physique.
These next series of photos relate to his bigger refractor, which you can see in the following pictures. Every piece of it - except the optics - was built by a local precision machine shop to Pons' exacting specifications. You can imagine how expensive that must have been!
In this first photo, Caveman is on the right setting up his 50mm Nippon Kogagu and the Pon's big lawn cannon is to the rear. Which is the 'grab 'n' go?
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#23
Posted 30 June 2007 - 07:49 PM
For the star party, the refractor employed an 8-inch f/19 George Carroll apochromat (3 elements) objective. Absolutely superb. Too bad the seeing didn't allow it to perform to its full potential.
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#24
Posted 30 June 2007 - 07:53 PM
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