New Scope Pictures

Check out the new scope pictures out here:

http://www.outerblogs.com/scope/index.html

New scope project

I was able to get the new scope out on the annual October trip with astrobuddies Frank and Mark. I discovered a few opportunities to tweak the design of both the mount and OTA.

The mount was wobbly as if it were mounted on the deck of a ship during bad seas. Here are some thoughts on why:

• PVC rather than steel construction
• tube not properly counter weighted (number 1 reason!)

Also, I have the distance from primary to secondary a little too short. When collimating the optics you can't completely see the edges of the primary mirror. I need to extend the tube to bring the focuser closer to the secondary.

The few good views of Jupiter were awesome. I was very pleased with the overal optics and can't wait to get things squared away with these minor mods.

BMAA site

I made the BMAA (BuxMont Astro Association) a free website to replace their old style but they don't seem interested. I just thought they'd like a jazzed up version (See here: http://www.outerblogs.com/bma2) but no one wrote back saying they'd take it.