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Customer Comments - SVR80ED RAPTOR
Tonight in SW Florida conditions were somewhat ok so I spent about 3.5 hours in my driveway with my SVR80ED. I spent quite a bit of time viewing open clusters M50, M46, M47, M48, and M44. I then decided to swing the scope around to the NE and and was able to split Izar at 112x magnification, although it was not a steady view as conditions started to get foggy. M3 Globular cluster took some time but with patience I fond it. I spent quite a bit of time trying to find M51 Whirlpool Galaxy but for the life of me could not locate it. My Starry Night software calls it the gem of galaxies with a small scope and even binoculars but I just could not find it. It was only supposed to be about 3 degrees NW of the last star on the handle of the big dipper. I can locate M81 and M82 but cannot find M51...any suggestions? Do the skies need to be really good?
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Shelly, Vic -
Just a quick note to let you know that the Raptor is on its M1 mount (atop a Manifrotto tripod), with the finder aligned, ready for the clouds to part ... "First Light" was reading the illuminated clock on Boston's Custom House, something like 8 miles from where I set the scope. This is one of the most beautiful hand made things I've ever seen! The near invisibility of the objective suggest that you've used fabulous coatings, which is a huge deal. Can't wait to observe the Moon with this beauty.
Thanks, too, for the binoculars. Terrific value. They all seem to be in alignment and will be a wonderful asset for my stargazing and birding classes.
Finally, let me thank you for the great and personal service
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"Raptor 80ED first light !... The 80ED was installed on a Bogen 3126 Fluid Head which has been modified so the telescope CG is located on the tilt axis. I love the fact that the Raptor is small and so lightweight - I bet the entire telescope and telescope (?mount) weighs in at under 9 pounds. Finally, I have that grab&go out into the backyard scope I've always wanted!"
Having looked at a very similar rig, and knowing that my aluminum Bogen 055XB with an equivalent head weighs about 7.3 lbs., I would suspect that the rig weight cited above may be a bit, hmmm, helium-inflated. My estimate would be more in the range of 14 to 15 lbs. But, who knows, maybe Vic DID put helium into the OTA!
I figure that my O55XB with DwarfStar and SV70ED, including, say, a Nalger 7, or the 3-6 Nagler zoom, would be about 12.5 lbs., with a substitution of the more easily balanced SVR80ED just about the same.
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Well I got about and hour and a half in before the clouds decided to pay a visit. I have really been trying to find the pair of galaxies M81 and M82 and tonight I finally found them. I did not realize that they would even be fainter than some globular clusters I found a few weeks ago. I was able to make out how M82 is called the Cigar Galaxy by it's elongated shape and how M81 is a face on galaxy, they both made a nice pair in the same FOV at 18x and at 43x. I tried splitting the double Izar but was unable to even at 165x. The conditions were not great tonight and I could not get a clean focus at this magnification. I then hunted down two globular clusters, M13 and M92. Both clusters looked best at 80x and obviously no stars were resolved but you could see how much brighter the core was in each. I swung the scope over to Mars for a quick peak and at 112x I was just barely able to make out the polar ice cap, again conditions were not favorable and I was getting a lot of purplish-redish fringing on the planet tonight. Overall it was an enjoyable evening while it lasted, plus a couple cold beers always taste better when scoping!
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According to the January 2010 Astronomy Magazine tonight was a good night to view the moon and some particular targets on it. I got out about 8:15pm and aimed my SVR80ED at it with a TMB 3.2mm Planetary Eyepiece. One of the targets was Dorsa Smirnov in the Sea of Tranquility. The shadows cast on this area really brought out the ridges and it was a beautiful sight. I also spent some time looking at some nice craters like Posidonius and the trio of Theophilus, Cyrillus and Catharina (never knew the names of any of this until tonight). I then replaced the TMB with a Hyperion 13mm and viewed the moon at just 43x. I was able to view the entire moon in the FOV and still see the targets I was observing earlier. The weather conditions have been nice but the upper atmosphere is still turbulent, Mars has been disappointing the last few nights just trying to get in focus. I am hoping the skies calm down so I can give Mars a better shot while it is still bright this month.
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