USER OBSERVATIONS Last updated: 19 August 2003

Subject:	etx-125 the moon & mars at 460x
Sent:	Monday, August 18, 2003 06:18:43
From:	hfink1@nyc.rr.com (Howard Fink)
New York, August 15, 3:30am.  The city is still dark, and has been
without power for nearly 12 hours.  I look out my bedroom window, and
see the moon and mars.  It's now or never, and I get up and set up my
etx-125 on the windowsill.  All the books say don't use a telescope out
a window, but conditions are perfect:  the temperature is identical
indoors and out, and no fans or air conditioners blowing hot air around.
My finder scope is broken, so I tried to sweep to find mars with a 26mm
eyepiece.  I couldn't find it!  I could barely find the moon!  So, I
took out the eyepiece, and looked straight at the mirror, until I
spotted something bright, and put the 26mm back in to catch mars in the
field.  Then I centered mars, and started a power run-up:  12.5mm, 9mm,
and finally a 4mm japanese orthoscopic eyepiece I'd never used before.
Mars was spectacular.  Both icecaps were visible, and dark and light
areas.  It was the first time I could see detail on the planet, and I
used the manual control to keep it in view.  After about a half-hour,
mars was about to be eclipsed by a building, so I turned to the moon,
and had the greatest views ever.

Howard Fink

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