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Yeah, right. *smirk*
Well, yesterday after that post didn't go quite the way I expected. You see, I decided that -- since I had the extra funds to do so -- I would purchase a couple of eyepieces that fit in that fine reflector telescope that![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
userzero loaned me indefinitely. I'm not worried if he should ask for it back, since these eyepieces will fit in most of the good quality telescopes.
< NERD > The eyepieces are 1.25 inches wide, which is larger than the crappy department store variety (0.965"), but not as large as some of the bigger scopes. Those can take eyepiece TWO INCHES in diameter. (Think drinking glass, folks.) < / NERD >
Anyway, I decided that I would do this right, since my gut reaction was a pair of eyepieces for about $75. (No, that's not too expensive. I've seen some that are $245 EACH.) Well, I wanted the most my buying dollar could bring me.
So, I began assembling an Excel spreadsheet that calculated the magnification I would get with each eyepiece, as well as through a 2x or 3x Barlow lens. That link explains it in detail, but the short of it is this: It "tricks" your scope into thinking it's twice as long, or even three times as long, as it really is, so you get more magnification out of the same eyepieces.
I had just added True Field to the sheet, and was eyeing "Exit Pupil" when Charles called. I was supposed to go over to their house. After all, they asked me (rather belatedly, but not too much so) to house-sit (really, dog-sit) this weekend, because of a camping trip they were going on. This time, though, they bought me food.*
I came home, finished up the sheet, and whittled the list down. I should have been sleeping, but I refused. I was so close, I didn't get the eyepieces ordered and in bed until 1230am. I settled on Orion's "Shorty" 2x Barlow lens, and a 12.5mm and 7.5mm "Power Pair" of Sirius Plossls (with an apparent field of 52°). I'm gonna be happy. The 7.5 with the Barlow will get me 119x with a true field of .44° and an exit pupil of .88mm. And that's only a little over halfway to the maximum power this scope can manage. (It's an Astroscan reflector, with an aperture of 105mm, a focal length of 445mm, and an f/ratio of 4.2.)
Lemme tell you, morning came too early this morning.
We were supposed to get a tour of the store by the Memphis-area Vice President, but guess what? No, go on, guess. No? Well, the VP never showed up. I knew it. Work wasn't that bad, aside from the stress pre-cancellation. I came home, packed up my stuff, and came right over. :) I then talked to Scott for several hours. During the conversation, I checked out the PDF of d20 Future. Lemme say this much about that book: I am almost 100% certain that I'm going to buy it, and, unless I'm careful, I'll wind up with d20 Modern as well, just so I can play the future games. (Remember my talk of Time Patrol d20? The basic premise is in d20 Future already!)
Now, I'm beat, and I've been at this post for too long. My bed's made, the shower's done, and there's no food to clean up. G'night, y'all. There will be a quiz on the astronomical terms. :)
* - I don't wanna hear a thing about my buying eyepieces and them getting me food.**
** - The last two times I've watched their dogs, I spent about $150 on groceries for myself for the duration of about 10 days. Both times, I was told that they'd get me food. Remember, I'm not getting paid to house-sit.***
*** - So it sounds petty no matter what. I know it's not, so bite me!
Well, yesterday after that post didn't go quite the way I expected. You see, I decided that -- since I had the extra funds to do so -- I would purchase a couple of eyepieces that fit in that fine reflector telescope that
userzero loaned me indefinitely. I'm not worried if he should ask for it back, since these eyepieces will fit in most of the good quality telescopes. < NERD > The eyepieces are 1.25 inches wide, which is larger than the crappy department store variety (0.965"), but not as large as some of the bigger scopes. Those can take eyepiece TWO INCHES in diameter. (Think drinking glass, folks.) < / NERD >
Anyway, I decided that I would do this right, since my gut reaction was a pair of eyepieces for about $75. (No, that's not too expensive. I've seen some that are $245 EACH.) Well, I wanted the most my buying dollar could bring me.
So, I began assembling an Excel spreadsheet that calculated the magnification I would get with each eyepiece, as well as through a 2x or 3x Barlow lens. That link explains it in detail, but the short of it is this: It "tricks" your scope into thinking it's twice as long, or even three times as long, as it really is, so you get more magnification out of the same eyepieces.
I had just added True Field to the sheet, and was eyeing "Exit Pupil" when Charles called. I was supposed to go over to their house. After all, they asked me (rather belatedly, but not too much so) to house-sit (really, dog-sit) this weekend, because of a camping trip they were going on. This time, though, they bought me food.*
I came home, finished up the sheet, and whittled the list down. I should have been sleeping, but I refused. I was so close, I didn't get the eyepieces ordered and in bed until 1230am. I settled on Orion's "Shorty" 2x Barlow lens, and a 12.5mm and 7.5mm "Power Pair" of Sirius Plossls (with an apparent field of 52°). I'm gonna be happy. The 7.5 with the Barlow will get me 119x with a true field of .44° and an exit pupil of .88mm. And that's only a little over halfway to the maximum power this scope can manage. (It's an Astroscan reflector, with an aperture of 105mm, a focal length of 445mm, and an f/ratio of 4.2.)
Lemme tell you, morning came too early this morning.
We were supposed to get a tour of the store by the Memphis-area Vice President, but guess what? No, go on, guess. No? Well, the VP never showed up. I knew it. Work wasn't that bad, aside from the stress pre-cancellation. I came home, packed up my stuff, and came right over. :) I then talked to Scott for several hours. During the conversation, I checked out the PDF of d20 Future. Lemme say this much about that book: I am almost 100% certain that I'm going to buy it, and, unless I'm careful, I'll wind up with d20 Modern as well, just so I can play the future games. (Remember my talk of Time Patrol d20? The basic premise is in d20 Future already!)
Now, I'm beat, and I've been at this post for too long. My bed's made, the shower's done, and there's no food to clean up. G'night, y'all. There will be a quiz on the astronomical terms. :)
* - I don't wanna hear a thing about my buying eyepieces and them getting me food.**
** - The last two times I've watched their dogs, I spent about $150 on groceries for myself for the duration of about 10 days. Both times, I was told that they'd get me food. Remember, I'm not getting paid to house-sit.***
*** - So it sounds petty no matter what. I know it's not, so bite me!
