I had given up on this telescope. It was for a few reasons, that included taking it down and putting it up every time, and aligning the mount. The mount is…rubbish. It wobbles, not very stable. It wobbles in at least two places, and that is just not good at all.
After all that, my assistant tells me that the tube and the mirror are basically sound, and with a proper mount, the 5.5-inch reflector should provide perfectly acceptable service. I had the option of buying a brand-new Dobsonian telescope for around £400 for an 8inch scope or buying a new mount for the one that I have.
To be honest, to refit my scope is going to cost me in excess of £300. Why would I even consider paying that amount of money when, for not much more, I can buy a brand new one?
There is one issue: I do want to have a play with an instrument similar to what I am considering. How can I do that? I may have a way; next Monday may partially answer that.
Regardless of what happens about the scope, the next important question is: what can I see, and what can I do?
My assistant wanted me to get out into the garden with a device that measures inclination and a compass so that I know what direction I am looking in. Well, between me and the sky are a fair bit of plant growth and a number of houses. In which direction can I see the lowest part of the sky? This was the purpose. I said How about if I do a panoramic shot from East to West via south, give you the what three words, the height of the optics and the angle at which the sky is visible, would you be able to work it out? “Not a problem”, she replied (well, no, she didn’t actually say that, but it was close enough).
I did all of that, and she has provided me with a printout that tells me whether or not the moon will be visible in the part of the sky I can see, and in fairness, there is a period of about 10 days when it will not be visible. Well, if that is the case, then I can look at something else.
I’m going to try to make a point of getting out each evening that I can next month and just record what I can see of the moon. Let’s see how it goes. I’m going to talk all this through with the Stargazing Group next Monday and see what they say.
