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Here is a list of my stuff. As you can see,
There can be quite a bit of stuff for this hobby!
Observatory:
|
Item
|
Comments |
| Whispering Pines Observatory |
The observatory is finally built and in full operation.
You can see it here. |
Telescopes:
| Type |
Manufacturer |
Comments |
| 10" f/10 Schmidt-Cassegrain |
Meade |
My main scope. I love it! The LX200 is the
only way to go if you are serious about the hobby! |
| 4.5" f8 Newtonian Reflector |
Celestron |
My first real scope. Judy bought
it for me as a gift when I graduated from college. |
| Orion Short Tube 80mm |
Orion |
I have this mounted on top of the LX-200 as a guide scope. |
| 60mm Refractor |
Focal |
The proverbial dime store (K-Mart) scope. Bought long ago when
I was really ignorant about scopes! |
Imagers:
| Model |
Manufacturer |
CCD Chip |
Comments |
| ST-8XME
non-ABG |
Santa Barbara Instruments Group |
KAF-1603ME |
I upgraded the ST-7E to the ST-8XME. What an
improvement! |
| ST-5C |
Santa Barbara Instruments Group |
TI-255 |
Good for planetary shots.
Does not work well for deep sky with my scope. Deep sky requires a lot of
mosaics due to small field of view |
Optics:
| Focus |
Type |
Size |
Manufacturer |
Comments |
| 12mm |
Plossl |
1.25" |
Orion |
Illuminated reticule |
| IFocus |
For SBIG ST-5C CCD camera |
1.25" |
Software
Bisque |
Focusing eyepiece. Focuses
where the CCD chip should be. |
| IFocus |
For SBIG ST-7/8 CCD camerac |
1.25" |
Software
Bisque |
Focusing eyepiece. Focuses
where the CCD chip should be. |
| 7.5mm |
Ultima |
1.25" |
Celestron |
|
| 18mm |
Ultima |
1.25" |
Celestron |
|
| 26mm |
Super Plossl |
1.25" |
Meade |
|
| 35mm |
Ultima |
1.25" |
Celestron |
|
| 2x |
Ultima Barlow |
1.25" |
Celestron |
|
| f3.3 |
Focal Reducer |
1.25" |
Meade |
Used to change the speed of the
scope. Helps with the CCD's field of view. |
| f6.3 |
Focal Reducer |
1.25" |
Meade |
Used to change the speed of the
scope. Helps with the CCD's field of view. |
Filters:
| Type |
Manufacturer |
Color |
| 2ea. 28.5mm |
Orion |
Polarizer |
| Moon Filter |
Orion |
|
| LPR mdl:94126A |
Celestron |
Anti-light pollution |
| No. 15 |
Orion |
Yellow |
| No. 58 |
Orion |
Green |
| No. 80A |
Orion |
Blue |
| No. 11 |
Orion |
Yellow-Green |
| No. 47 |
Orion |
Violet |
| No. 82A |
Orion |
Light Blue |
| No, 21 |
Orion |
Orange |
Other Components:
| Item |
Manufacturer |
Comments |
| Optec TCF-S Focuser |
Optec |
This is a high precision focuser. It automatically
compensates for the temperature of the telescope. It is really cool and
works great!! |
| Kendricks Dew Heater |
Kendricks |
Keeps the corrector plate warm to combat the dew and frost. |
| Flip-Mirror System |
Meade |
Model 647 This is a big bugger. Haven't put it
to use yet. |
| Light box |
Tom built |
Used the design on Al Kelly's
home page with some small modifications. |
| Dovetail System |
Losmandy |
Finally put that old 60mm refractor to work! |
| Counter weights |
Losmandy |
Got to balance the whole mess now otherwise it won't track
right! |
| Quick Focus |
Kendricks |
Full aperture cover with two hole to aid in focusing.
Very handy tool! |
| 33AmpHr Power Pack |
Kendricks |
Now I don't even need a power outlet. This battery
allows me to run the scope, camera, and notebook all night long!
Freedom from the power cord has been achieved! |
| EZ Finder |
Orion |
Reflex red dot finder scope similar to a Telrad. Makes
it very easy to find where you are in the sky. Have two of these,
one for each real scope. |
| Telrad |
Telrad |
|
Computers:
| Name |
Specifications |
Comments |
| Gateway Solo Notebook |
Pentium III, 1.06 GHz, 1 gig memory |
I have two of these! I use one for imaging and one for
the scope. |
| Homebuilt |
AMD Athelon
2.0 GHz, 512meg
|
To control everything during the
winter when I wimp out. It is also my $2000 Nintendo (I do like
games)! |
| Magellan Blazer 12 |
Handheld GPS |
GPS Unit. The LX200 needs to know where it is when in
the field. |
Software:
|
Application
|
Vendor |
Comments |
| The Sky 6 Pro |
Software
Bisque |
Planetarium software. Drives the scope with point-n-click ease.
Just started using The Sky. |
| CCDSoft v5 |
Software
Bisque |
Camera control and
image processing software. Just upgraded to version 5. A significant improvement over previous versions |
| Sky Map Pro 7.0 |
Sky Map Software |
Planetarium
software. Drives the scope with point-n-click ease. Just
upgraded to version 7.0. Have been using SkyMap since version 3.5. |
| Real Sky |
Astronomical Society of the Pacific |
Provides real pictures of
the sky as backgrounds in Sky Map Pro. Comes in two sets.
Northern is 8 CDs and southern is 10 CDs. Excellent reference
material. |
| CCDOps v5 |
Santa Barbara Instruments Group |
Complete camera control
software provided by SBIG with the ST-5C and ST-7E. |
| AIP4WIN v2.0 |
Willmann-Bell |
This is an exceptional image processing
package. It comes bundled with an outstanding book that will tell you
everything you want to know about CCD imaging. This is a must own for
any CCD'er |
| MaxImDL/CCD |
Diffraction Limited |
Camera control and image processing
software. Just received so I'm not to familiar with it yet. |
| Moon Phase |
Locutus Codeware |
Neat little program that runs in the system tray
and graphically displays the phase of the moon. |
| Millennium Star Atlas Chart
Finder
|
TomWare |
I wrote this program
to help me find charts in the Millennium Star Atlas. You can
download it here. It's
freeware! |
| XEPHEM |
ClearSky Institute |
Planetarium program for Linux. I have
successfully controlled the LX200 with this program. |
| Linux for Astronomy Volumes 5&6 |
The Random Factory |
A bunch of Linux based astronomy programs |
Reference Materials:
| Title |
Author(s) |
Publisher |
Millennium Star Atlas
|
Sinnott & Perryman |
Sky Publishing/ESA |
| Night Watch |
Terence Dickinson |
Firefly Books |
| Burnham's Celestial Handbook, Vol 1, 2, & 3 |
Robert Burnham, Jr. |
Dover Publications, Inc. |
| Seasonal Star Charts |
Hubbard Scientific Company |
Hubbard Scientific Company |
| Peterson Stars and Planets Field Guide |
Jay M. Pasachoff & Donald H. Menzel |
Houghton Mifflin Co. |
| The Handbook of Astronomical Image Processing |
Richard Berry & James Burnell |
Willmann-Bell, Inc. |
| The Art and Science of CCD Astronomy |
David Ratledge (Ed.) |
Springer |
| A Practical Guide to CCD Astronomy |
Patrick Martinez & Alain Klotz |
Cambridge University Press |
| Choosing and Using a CCD Camera |
Richard Berry |
Willmann-Bell, Inc. |
| Astronomical Image Processing |
Richard Berry |
Willmann-Bell, Inc. |
| Math for Amateur Astronomers |
James H. Fox |
Astronomical League |
| A Dictionary of Astronomy |
Ian Ridpath |
Oxford University Press |
| Astronomy Today, 3rd Ed |
Chaisson & McMillan |
Prentice Hall |
Other Stuff:
|
Item
|
Comments |
| Kendricks Observatory Tent |
This tent has a zip out
roof. It is my observatory on the go! |
| 1999 Ford Explorer XLT |
To haul all this stuff
around. The Ford Probe GT just couldn't carry it all! |
| 3 acres of land in the mountains |
It is amazing what lengths we will go to just to get dark skies!! |
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