ackthpt's Journal: Astronomical Sightings

Bent the bank account to my will and bought a Meade ETX-125EC. It sat indoors for a month while clouds obscured pretty much everything. On Feb. 8, I dragged it down to the local pub and waited for the sun to set while tipping a couple pints. First sighting was Saturn, viewed more from a pole the rings were brilliant and visible around the planet. It looked like a big comic eye staring back. Pretty cool. Then Mars, a big orange spot, and Venus a bright blurry spot. Eventually Jupiter rose and I saw the four galillean moons and could make out 5 distinct bands, a real treat. Next came the moon and a look at craters and mare. All this time dozens of people came by and looked through the scope and were dazzled. It was a pretty fun outting and now I'm thinking where to go next. Obviously I need to go to a Star Party, but I'm interested in snapping some pics for my website, so a camera adapter is called for. They seem pricey for what you get. I'm still shopping around.

A good site for Astronomy and Meade ETX scopes is Weasner's Mighty ETX Site There are recent pictures posted, too. Neat stuff.