Time to Buy

[Dean Johnson]

I got my pair of Celestron 15X70 Skymaster Binoculars from Duane. I love 'em! I've been able to attain both the Binocular Messier and Binocular Deep Sky certificates with them. And when I am defrosting or drying my Celestron G8 SCT in my van, the binocs fill the time quite nicely as there are so many objects to look at that only binoculars can show you.

If you astronomy fans ever get into tracking asteroids, binoculars are a must!

[Roger Southwick]

Amazon has Celestron SkyMaster 15x70's for $50.

Thanks for the tip -- I placed my order and got free shipping, even.  Heck of a deal.

[Dean Johnson]

Good for you, Roger! You won't be disappointed. When I went to get a tripod mount, I went to Best Buy. They had 3 mounts, the cheapest one was about $39, but was too flimsy, the most expensive was $80, but was overkill. The one in the middle was $50 and works great, simple, stable and easy to set up.

One thing I would really like in a future binocular mount would be to be able to point it comfortably and stably at the zenith. With the mount I've got right now, 60-70 degrees is max observing range for what I've got.

[sregener]

Is it time to buy yourself a Christmas present?

I have a complete copy of black background w/ white stars first edition of the Star Atlas 2000.0 that I'm looking to offload.  Make an offer.

[Jeff Newland]

Speaking of Christmas presents, I picked up a set of Burnham's Celestial Handbook, paperback.   They are in good condition.  I'm looking to sell them, highest bid, any bid?   
Added bonus, I got them cheap, whatever money I get for them I'll give to the club.   

Jeff

[Dean Johnson]

That is a very good offer. Burnham's Celestial Handbook is how I have learned so much about the night sky. (Along with over a thousand hours of observing which BCH helped me understand the sky.)

I would seriuosly recommend anyone that is interested in a comprehensive understanding of the night sky to go for this outstanding offer by Jeff.

When the cold cloudy winter nights set in, you can sit in a nice comfortable easy chair and peruse the BCH and be so much more prepared the next time you go out observing.

I know a little bit about the night sky, DON'T MISS JEFF'S OFFER!!!!!

[rabomgaars]

Jeff, I will take you up on the Burnhams.  B

[Roger Southwick]

The Celestron 15x70 binoculars arrived on Saturday, 4 days early -- yay for the US Postal Service and their Saturday delivery!  There were brief openings in the clouds that night so I checked out the Pleiades which were absolutely beautiful in such a large, bright viewfinder (compared to my old 8x21 binos).  The vertical alignment was off by quite a bit; but yay again, for the Internet this time -- some detailed instructions helped to fix the problem.   There's no way I would have found the adjustment set screws on my own, since they're underneath the glued-down rubberized weatherproofing.

Next thing will be a good tripod.  My big old photo tripod acts like a torsion spring with these large binoculars -- left right left right....

[Jeff Newland]

Jeff, I will take you up on the Burnhams.  B

Ok Rebecca.  Hopefully the weather will be good next Tuesday and I'll bring them to the meeting.  You can decide if you still want them.  I hope you decide to pay enough for them.     With you buying them, it'll make things easier.  As I mentioned, the money I get I'll donate to the club.  Since it will be you, you can take the money from your Rebecca pocket and put it into your RAC pocket.      

[Dean Johnson]

Hi Roger. Your old torsion springs sound like you got them from some old MARINE CORPS equiptment depot!

Two months before I got out of the Corps, one of my Sgt's asked me, "Johnson! You know what's wrong with the civilian world?" I told him that I didn't know. He then said, "They ain't got no 'left right left'!"

I just said, "You're absolutely right Sarge!", and thanked the Good Lord I only had two more months on active duty left.

But God Bless those boys. I hope some of the three copies of the Peterson Field Guides to the Stars and Planets that I've given out are helping some of my young Marine Corps brothers help pass the time overseas.

[rabomgaars]

Can someone give me the website that sold the Galileo telescopes for $15?  Thanks.  B

[Luka]

https://www.galileoscope.org/gs/

Better order quickly though, they're raising prices on January 11. Right now its $20. It seems that went up on August 10th.

[Jeff Newland]

Hi B,  here is the official Galileoscope site associated with IYA 2009.

https://www.galileoscope.org/gs/

That has the price at $20, $15 if you buy 100 or more, so not sure if there is another site at the $15 price.  Also, price goes up on January 11, 2010 to $30/$24 from the $20/$15.

Oh, looks like Luka posted, too.  So, guess this is the right price, prices also went up earlier.

[rabomgaars]

Wow, I thought they would be trying to get rid of them......guess not, huh.  Thanks.  B

[Randy H]

If anyone has any loose change, Orion Telescopes recently posted their new dobsonian offerings...

http://www.telescope.com/control/telescopes/reflector-telescopes

Goodness.