Observing Notesfrom the Tuckahoe IrregularsI set up on my deck last night, and for a little over an hour it was dark. I recently mounted my little Orion 80mm on an eq mount and a wooden tripod. Last night was the first time I have used an eq mount and although I did all the pre use figuring, it did not actually come together until I went out and aligned my mount and found my first target. I viewed comet linear 2002 t2 and m-81,82. I also fooled with saturn a little. By this time it was bitter cold and the moon was washing out from the se. It was very satisfying to actually search out and find these targets. I learned the basics with a goto scope and although I cover quite a bit of ground with the goto I might actually enjoy my finds now because of the labor spent finding them. Mike Onancock |