Equipment

I thought it might be nice to post the astro-equipment I use. It is a bit like looking at the pictures in the wallet of a proud grandparent. I don't want to rush it, so I will go one at a time. Today, the oldest of the bunch. It is a Celestron C8 - known as the orange tube classic C8. The "8" refers to the diameter of the telescope tube. It is eight inches around. Celestron began manufacturing this particular telescope in 1970. It became an influential scope because of several factors not the least of which was affordability and ability. It could be purchased for a reasonable price, was fairly portable, was large enough in diameter to allow the user to view a lot, and was of good quality. The style of scope is SCT. That acronym stands for Schmidt-Cassegrain. It has a couple of mirrors in it and a "correcting plate" which acts like a lens on the front. The design makes the telescope fairly compact especially considering the diameter.

I have been looking for one for a long time. Thankfully, a gentleman had one that he wanted to sell. He was advertising on the web and I assumed we would need to make some shipping arrangements - never fun when you are considering shipping fairly fragile equipment across the U.S. It was so exciting to discover he was only two hours from where I live and that he would be more than willing to drive half-way to meet. Rather than purchase the scope and accessories out right, we were able to do some trading. And, he was a wonderful Christian man with whom I had a most blessed couple of hours visiting. It always amazes me where I meet believers.

The scope is the newest to me and it is taking me a while to get use to it. The last time I had it out was Halloween. Usually, I don't like going out that evening. Not because of fear of what I don't see but fear of what I do! It was a beautiful evening, however, and after our "Hallelujah Party" at church I went out for almost 2 hours. The moon was out and, while not full, was plenty bright. I was able to see some beautiful sights - including M-13 in Hercules and the Double-Double star system in Lyra. The Andromeda Galaxy was washed out by the moon light. Jupiter was dancing in the southern sky.

I plan to do a "public showing" at the church soon. Be sure and join us!