Re: [APML]: Chuck Vaughn's Prints in S&T

[Steve Bell <sb635@delphi.com>]

Brad Wallis wrote:
> 
>.....
> I'd revise that listing ....
>    1)  good seeing and good guiding ( or GREAT for both is better )
>    2)  great seeing and great guiding
>    3)  great seeing and great guiding
>    4) good optics
>    5)  dark sky is nice
> 
> and in 1,2,and 3 .. you need a scope that does not flex a bit !!! and a guidescope
> that is an equal of the main scope .. and no flexure anywhere !!!
> 
> Brad Wallis


I'm mildly surprised that you placed dark sky 5th. Although, with today's great light 
pollution filters, I 
understand why. And you placed good optics 4th. I hate to bring it up, but Jack 
Schmidling (no, I'm not afraid 
to mention his name) alluded to optics not really being a *big*  driver on what you get 
on a negative. I have a 
vested interest in this, because I'm seriously thinking of buying a new 16" f/4.5 
Newtonian primary (from 
Galaxy or Nova), and I would hate to think that if I spend ~$1600 on such a beast, I 
would *not* be improving 
my images. I'm beginning to feel that my 16" primary is only "just so" - quite acceptable 
for me to learn what 
to do - but not the best, perhaps only average.

I agree that seeing and good guiding are the key. Even here in Denver, *sometimes* during 
the summer (never the 
winter) the stars twinkle only a bit more than the planets (always noticeably, though). 
This indicates a stable 
atmosphere, ie, good seeing. One of these days, I'm going to try some lunar and planetary 
shots during such 
summer nights. I know that saying I have summer-time good seeing is opposite to what I've 
said in the past 
about big cities generally having crappy seeing, and believe me, in the winter that's 
pretty true about Denver, 
but as I've also said in the past, not all big cities may be equal when it comes to deep 
sky astrophotography.

And what can I say about good guiding. We all fight that battle.

-- 
Clear skies,
Steve Bell
sb635@delphi.com
http://people.delphi.com/sb635 - Astrophoto page