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Post a Picture of your CAT...

Started by LivingNDixie , Mar 13 2006 05:15 PM

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916 replies to this topic

#26 paulg

Lift Off

Posts: 22
Joined: 29 Feb 2004

Posted 14 March 2006 - 09:55 PM

In case I mess this up, here's a link to my equipment page:

http://tinyurl.com/gdb53

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#27 Rusty

ISS

Posts: 22,761
Joined: 06 Aug 2003

Posted 14 March 2006 - 10:01 PM

Here's my first CAT (C5 S/N #724), bought in the early '80s - I still have it!:

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#28 Mr. Mac

Vostok 1

Posts: 146
Joined: 26 Sep 2005

Posted 14 March 2006 - 10:52 PM

and my two cents

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#29 Mr. Mac

Vostok 1

Posts: 146
Joined: 26 Sep 2005

Posted 14 March 2006 - 10:53 PM

...........

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#30 Dean

Fly Me to the Moon

Posts: 5,454
Joined: 31 Dec 2004

Posted 14 March 2006 - 11:27 PM

My other cat.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

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#31 ezrider23

Apollo

Posts: 1,190
Joined: 21 Aug 2004

Posted 15 March 2006 - 02:36 AM

My pride and joy, Sputnik :rainbow:

...

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#32 Paul Hyndman

Apollo

Posts: 1,226
Joined: 13 Jul 2004

Posted 15 March 2006 - 06:58 AM

My "baby" for the past seven years (MN86 Intes Micro Mak-Newt)...

Posted Image

And, a peek at one of the views (please use this link, as image is a tad over the size guidlines... thanks!)

http://www.astro-nut...jup-03feb28.jpg

Image taken with a Canon D60 SLR via a stacked pair of TeleVue Powermates (2x and 4x) on the 8" Mak-Newt.

Paul

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#33 Jason B

Proud father of 5!!

Posts: 7,256
Joined: 21 Jun 2004

Posted 15 March 2006 - 07:02 AM

Paul,
Simply put, that is one of the best pics of Jupiter I have EVER seen. Outstanding!
Jason

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#34 Benjamin B

Apollo

Posts: 1,215
Joined: 21 Jun 2004

Posted 15 March 2006 - 08:59 AM

Paul, I have been on your site several times, great to see that you are on CN forums. I´am thinking of buying me self a great Mak, how is the MN86 on DSO? I have a C11. Have you compared your Mak with bigger scopes? And if yes, how dose the great Mak compares to bigger aperture?

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#35 bierbelly

Voyager 1

Posts: 11,579
Joined: 23 Jan 2004

Posted 15 March 2006 - 09:59 AM

For visual use, you just can't get away from the laws of physics. More aperture, more seen.

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#36 strgzrSulli

Mariner 2

Posts: 211
Joined: 04 Mar 2006

Posted 15 March 2006 - 12:10 PM

Time to show em!

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#37 Paul Hyndman

Apollo

Posts: 1,226
Joined: 13 Jul 2004

Posted 15 March 2006 - 12:58 PM

I´am thinking of buying me self a great Mak, how is the MN86 on DSO? I have a C11. Have you compared your Mak with bigger scopes? And if yes, how dose the great Mak compares to bigger aperture?

As Bierbelly notes, the laws of physics prevail!

I enjoy the MN immensely for is its ability to deliver spectacular performance across the board. It is as well suited providing low-power star-field sweeps as it is when being pushed to "crazy-high" levels (when conditions allow).

Of course there are no "magic scopes", but this thing certainly comes close. Plonking in a 31mm T5 "Temi-Nagler" for a slow cruise through the summer Milky Way still makes my toes tingle... crisp pin-point stars across the entire FOV, with no visible (to me) signs of distortion.

This was to be an "interim scope", to quench my needs while awaiting delivery of a 6" AP. The AP finally arrived last summer (after a 6 year wait, transforming in the process from an AP155 to become an AP160), but the MN86 remains in my astro-arsenal... it's THAT good!

Many of these (mine included), are optimized for visual usage: small secondaries dictating the focal plane be located relatively close to the tube. Hence, you may find that the stock designs are not the most imaging-friendly instruments. Nevertheless PowerMates, barlows, or other relay lenses can be used to tease the images out far enough for capture (though the f/ratio may be bumped up in the process).

Oh yeah... heres a deep-sky digicam shot (M13) taken with a digicam and 2X PowerMate. Not anything compared to what a dedicated astro-CCD might produce, but no slouch either (please use link, as image is a bit over the size guidelines... thanks!):

http://www.astro-nut...m13-03may19.jpg

Paul

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#38 bierbelly

Voyager 1

Posts: 11,579
Joined: 23 Jan 2004

Posted 15 March 2006 - 04:12 PM

Here's a better pic of my 8" Vega, as presently configured. I knew I had it somewhere.

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#39 Mert

Fly Me to the Moon

Posts: 6,894
Joined: 31 Aug 2005

Posted 15 March 2006 - 05:06 PM

Post deleted by Jason B

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#40 Doug

Mariner 2

Posts: 299
Joined: 08 May 2003

Posted 15 March 2006 - 07:00 PM

My CG-14

Celestron CG-14
Celestron C6-R
TV102 / TV76
SolarMax 60 / BF-30
Losmandy G11

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#41 mcoren

Apollo

Posts: 1,434
Joined: 11 Jan 2006

Posted 15 March 2006 - 08:34 PM

Dave, your Celestron 10 pic brought back memories! My university had one of similar vintage in our roof-top observatory in downtown Philadelphia that I had access to for a time in the late 1980's. Didn't have the crayford focuser, mind you. I think they replaced it with a 16" LX200 a few years back.

OK, so here's my contribution. I don't own this scope any more, but it will relieve the monotony of blue and grey SCTs. This is a late-1970's vintage Dynamax 8. I got it in 1981 and hung on to it until I got sick of it about 2 years ago (actually, my wife got sick of hearing me complain about it). At one time it was an OK optical performer (as far as Dynamaxes went), but early on I removed the corrector to clean off the accumulated dust and film on the inside and never thought to mark its orietnation!
:tonofbricks:

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#42 PeeinIan

Sputnik

Posts: 48
Joined: 03 Mar 2006

Posted 15 March 2006 - 10:07 PM

My CAT & Dog see how nice they get along

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#43 Clive Gibbons

Mostly Harmless

Posts: 16,724
Joined: 26 May 2005

Posted 16 March 2006 - 10:33 AM

Dave, your Celestron 10 pic brought back memories! My university had one of similar vintage in our roof-top observatory in downtown Philadelphia that I had access to for a time in the late 1980's. Didn't have the crayford focuser, mind you. I think they replaced it with a 16" LX200 a few years back.

OK, so here's my contribution. I don't own this scope any more, but it will relieve the monotony of blue and grey SCTs. This is a late-1970's vintage Dynamax 8. I got it in 1981 and hung on to it until I got sick of it about 2 years ago (actually, my wife got sick of hearing me complain about it). At one time it was an OK optical performer (as far as Dynamaxes went), but early on I removed the corrector to clean off the accumulated dust and film on the inside and never thought to mark its orietnation!

I always liked the look of those ol' Dynamaxes.
Very classy styling... :ubetcha:

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#44 davidmcgo

Gemini

Posts: 3,332
Joined: 09 Oct 2004

Posted 17 March 2006 - 08:34 PM

Interestingly, the first observatory I ever went to as a kid was a rooftop dome at Drew University in New Jersey that had a C10 in it. It was a real thrill finally getting this one and getting the same view of the first quarter Moon through it that I remembered from 25 years ago! That scope had the tall blue pier and wedge, I'm improvising with an old C8 wedge on a Meade tripod until I find an old style stand.

Dave

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#45 wilash

Fairy Godmother

Posts: 5,746
Joined: 30 Sep 2003

Posted 17 March 2006 - 10:19 PM

Another Mak - Intes M503 (old model)

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#46 Patrik Iver

Apollo

Posts: 1,036
Joined: 29 Jul 2003

Posted 19 March 2006 - 06:53 AM

In the dark last Thursday... The view of Saturn was absolutely wonderful, just about the best I've ever seen. But then I've thought that quite often...

The scope is a C-9.25 on a GP-DX.