Scott Hogsten

John Kelley:

Gee, Larry's last question ("Do you still get that giddy feeling?") sort of reminds me of the old Righteous Brother's song about having lost that "loving feeling". Must be time for a new scope!

My best view through a telescope? Probably the Veil through Roger's Obsession. A close second, subjectively speaking, was my first view of Jupiter through a little 4" reflector when I was about 13. That was such a kick that I hauled my poor parents out of their sleep at about 5 in the morning to see it. (I was up to deliver the Sunday morning paper.) That they didn't take away my 25 cent per week allowance is amazing. Its been compounding ever since and I can now almost afford to buy a Nagler 31mm.

John

Tim Lester:

OK here goes,

My viewing experience covers many years of on and off the hobby. Like a few of us that have had the opportunity to view through the various club members scopes with many times being memorable, it is hard not to include the Veil Nebula through Rodger's 20" in Carter Co. ( I agree with John ). However the best view has been in my light polluted yard with the club's 10" dob. One very calm night I was able to view Mars with a blue look to much of the planet. I changed eyepieces to make sure that it wasn't caused by an eyepiece and it was still visible no matter which one I used. I have seen a few photo's that show pretty much what I saw that night and it looks like mars is covered with water. I don't know what causes this effect but it must be sort of, kind of, rare ( notice the very technical terminology). I could still see features but about 75 percent of the planet was blue.

That giddy feeling?
Yes I still get that funny feeling in the pit of my stomach, but not as often as in my youth. Maybe my memory is changing the actual event, but when I was a kid growing up on a farm in the middle of nowhere in West Virginia, the sky was dark!! Now, remember this is the 50's but with my grandpa's binoculars I could see forever, I thought. After an evening of viewing and not really knowing much of what I saw, it was impossible to sleep. Back then I didn't have a star map. The only thing that I had was what was in the encyclopedia, and no one around to help with my confusion. These last few years, I have been in search of skies like in my youth so I could experience that giddy feeling again, but I fear that is impossible. So, I will have to be content with that less giddy feeling when I find that faint fuzzy that is so many light years away. Hopefully, there will be someone less experienced to show those views so they can experience that same feeling and possibly get hooked on the hobby and have memories like mine. I agree with other club members that the best sound is from a child when they see that one memorable view.

That old faint fuzzy finder,
Tim L

Rodger Blake

Best views:

The Dumbbell nebula thru a 28" single arm dob at the Grand Canyon Star party. WoW! The detail that can be seen thru a 28" from 7000' thru dry, magnitude 7 (?+) sky is almost unbelievable. It's almost enough to give you aperture fever. It looked like a football with a tilted ring around it. And bright, yes it was bright. Unreal. June '01

The Veil. Perhaps my best view was from Seneca Rocks (near Spruce Knob - summer '01 - ) I had a cloth over my head, a 22 Nagler in the focuser, it was at the zenith and I traced my way through its many tendrils over and over and over. Much structure was seen. Like an intricate web of glowing spider web suspended among the stars. The Veil has always been a source of wonder since I first glimpsed it through the 10 back in the summer of of '00. I think that it is interesting to look back at my old observing reports to see what I had noticed each time I viewed it. My first "spectacular" view came at the Balckwater Falls Star party in 9/'00 . We used Jeff's 2" OIII filter with the 23mm and 40mm Konigs and had excellent views of the Veil and the North American Nebula. In fact the best views I've ever had of the NA neb was at the BWSP of '00 looking thru the 10" f5.6.

Galaxies. I'll never forget looking at M81 and M82 tru the 20" in 12/00 . I'd never seen a galaxy look so big and bright. They just seemed to glow - brighter then ever before or since. Just hanging in the eyepiece - floating in space. That night I'd find a new object and just start to laugh! Giddy? Yes I was! I'm sure that Jeff thought I was nuts.

Planets - Some of the best views of Jupiter and Saturn that I've ever had were on this night. I'd cleaned all my EP and tuned up the 10" in anticipation of attending my first star party. I took the 10" out and tuned up the tracking on the platform when I realized (its about 2-3am ok) that Jupiter and Saturn were "up". I moved my set up to the driveway and looked at 200x. The seeing was better then I'd ever seen so I thought what the heck, I'll drop the 7mm Nagler into the 2x shorty barlow and see what happens - Jupiter and Saturn at 400x with a well tracking mount. Amazing, Stupendous, words escape me. Jupiter with its detailed cloud belts is very fine, but what can compare to Saturn with good seeing? Subtle detail can be teased out. And it doesn't look real. It can't be. How can such a thing exist? Yet there it is looking like it is painted on to the eyepiece. Giddy? Yes. Cold? Affermative. That is what ended the reverie.

Ah, but with the 20" ... first I must say that (well at least prior to Don's cutting my truss poles) I have not had enough "in travel" to focus my 2x barlow so my EP collection limits me to about 360x (less then with the 10!), yet when aided by Jeff's EP collection I can exceed 400x (Jeff's 6mm Radian gives me 423x). I don't know why, but when using the 20", Jupiter and Saturn seem "bigger" in the EP then in the 10" at the same power. I think that it is because they appear brighter - about 4x brighter baby (... oh oh I'm getting giddy just thinking about it). we had a lot of good seeing this past year ('01). We were blessed by moments of good seeing and the views of the GRS and cloud bands on Jupiter were amazing when the sky steadied. Saturn? Well I quote my notes: "We saw one band on the planet and the rings and their division was [were, sic] well seen. Other texture was hinted at in the rings and on the planet's surface. Detail was also seen in the inner ring system. ". (I think that the last part should say "within the ring system".) Yes aperture wins. It wins, it wins, it wins ... at least when the sky steadies. Refractors, "ha" ... well we had some nice views thru Jeff's scope too. (Don, new project - fans to blow air acorss the surface of the primary to "disrupt the boundry layer" now all I) need is time!)

Color? Yes color in Jupiter and Saturn is nice (though subtle on Saturn), but what grabs your attention and shakes it (ok, giddy again) is color in a nebula I was at my in-laws, observing by my self out on the drive way with the 20" (the Phillistines were inside where it was - I must add - significantly warmer) and low and behold the Orion nebula was Green!!! It glowed like an amorphous blob of Neon - brighter centrally, fadeing peripherally . Amazing. Stupendous. Incredible. Unbelievable. I've seen a little green once since out at Carter Caves with I think Tim and Don - but nothing like I saw that night. I had to keep a firm grip on the ladder - it just didn't seem real.

Nebula: the Swan from Seneca Rocks. Orion when its green. (both see above 4 links)

Well that's all that I can think of that really grab me. Which was the best? How do you choose? What was the question?

/rodger