Seventy

Some Thoughts on Aging and Petroglyphs

Last Sunday I turned 70 years old.

My son, Joe, called the day before and suggested we go for a hike together, which was an excellent idea. No better way to celebrate any milestone of holiday than going for a walk out into the desert.

Joyce’s ankle is healing. Although she can’t walk on it, she has a scooter and a wheeled walker enabling her to get around without any assistance. So no problem for me to take off from home for a day. Continue reading Seventy

Telescope Buying Guide For Campers (Part 6)

A “red-dot” finder scope is mounted on the top of the telescope towards the rear.

 

Finder Scopes

The higher the magnification a telescope has the more difficult it is to locate objects in the sky.

To overcome this, a finder scope is often mounted on the telescope to make it easier to locate objects. A finder scope has low magnification and a field of view much wider than a telescope. Finder scopes make it easier to locate objects, and are useful when aligning the scope to the night sky and are especially useful with computerized “go-to” telescopes.

What follows is a brief explanation of finder scopes and what I use. Continue reading Telescope Buying Guide For Campers (Part 6)

Telescope Buying Guide For Campers (Part 5)

Eyepieces

Most telescopes come with one inexpensive eyepiece. One of the first purchases a new telescope owner will make is a selection of eyepieces. Online astronomy forums have hundreds upon hundreds of pages debating what eyepieces are the best. Some amateur astronomers have invested more money in their eyepieces than they paid for their telescope!

Time to discuss eyepiece basics. Continue reading Telescope Buying Guide For Campers (Part 5)