Astronomy Technology Today

ASTRONOMYTECHNOLOGY TODAYYour Complete Guide to Astronomical EquipmentOZARK HILLS OBSERVATORY • STAR SHOOTER MOBILE OBSERVATORYBUILDING A FINDER/RICH-FIELD SCOPE • W0 ZENITHSTAR 110 TRIPLET APOTOMOSYPOWSKI50 Years ofViewing and Stillan EquipmentJunkieVolume 1 • Issue 3August 2007 $4.00 US

ContentsCover StoryTom Osypowski of Equatorial Platformsstands in front of a background image of M42that was taken by Tom with a 16-inch f/5SpicaEyes on a Dual-Axis Equatorial Platformfrom a 9 minute exposure on 1000 ASA film.It was hand guided with a separateguidescope.PAGEASTRONOMYTECHNOLOGY TODAYYour Complete Guide to Astronomical EquipmentOZARK HILLS OBSERVATORY • STAR SHOOTER MOBILE OBSERVATORYBUILDING A FINDER/RICHFIELD SCOPE • W/0 ZENITHSTAR 110 TRIPLET APOTOMOSYPOWSKI50 Years ofViewing and Stillan EquipmentJunkieVolume 1 • Issue 3August 2007 $4.00 USIndustry News11 Meade InstrumentsCoronado Line in FullProduction11 AstronomyRatings.comOffers New Approach toEquipment Reviews12 AstroShortsOnline Astronomy VideoCommunityEditor’s Note8 As Our Magazine EvolvesFeatures32 Testing the William OpticsZenithStar 110 Triplet APOTravel to the Netherlands to Takethe ZS110 for a Test DriveBy Jan Adelaar and Fred Hissink36 Meade Series 5000 ED80-mm APOA High Quality Instrument atan Affordable PriceBy David Snay41 Deep Sky AstrophotographyOn A BudgetPushing the Limits of the CommonDob with a Round Table Platformand a Meade DSI CameraBy Lionel Catalan, Ph.D.45 Building an 80-mmFinder/Rich-Field Telescope on aShoestring BudgetA Discount Coated Objective LensKit and a Dryer Vent Tube Make foran Interesting ScopeBy Erik WilcoxReader Profile66 Tom Whiting48 Star Shooter Mobile ObservatoryA Member of the “SpaceGeneration” Builds a TravelingObservatoryBy Merlin Raymond54 Ozark Hills ObservatoryIncorporating a Remote Observatoryin a New Home in MissouriBy Richard Harris61 Texas Star PartyA Good Time had by All – Despitethe RainBy Gary Parkerson12 Great Red Spot AstronomyProductsAdds Vixen and Zhumell Lines14 CelestronLaunches MySkyScout.com15 Jack’s Astro AccessoriesMallinCam U.S. Distributor16 OPTHosts Third Annual SCAE16 StellafaneAuction of Historic Tele VueGenesis & Nagler Eyepiece toBenefit Stellafane17 Sierra Stars ObservatoryOffers Astronomers NewImaging OpportunityAstronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY 5

Contributing WritersJan Adelaar lives in the Netherlands and works as an artist/graphic designer. He'shad a life long interest in astronomy and is an active member of the CoronaBorealis observatory where he lectures on astronomy. His main interest is imagingthe planets. Jan has been the coordinator of the Dutch Moon and Planet Groupfor 2 years.Dr. Lionel Catalan is a professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering atLakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. He rediscovered the joys ofobserving and imaging the night sky in 2006 and is a member of the Thunder BayCentre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.Richard Harris is the founder of many popular Astronomy Web sites includingscopetrader.com, lxd55.com, lxd75.com, lx200.net and missourisky.com. He’sbest known for his creation of the LXD55/LXD75 HyperTune process and is amember of the local Springfield, Missouri, Astronomical Society.ContentsNew Products18 Diffraction LimitedBoltwood Portable Cloud Sensor19 William OpticsIntroduces First Scope inRacing Optics Line19 Optec3-inch Optec IFWComing Soon20 JMIMore Product IntroductionsFred Hissink lives in the Netherlands and has been an observer and drawer formore than 30 years. Fred has made nearly 3,000 drawings, mostly of deepskyobjects. He likes to do personal surveys of lesser known planetary and emissionnebulae and experimenting with nebula filters and small RFT’s.Raymond Merlin grew up a product of the cold war and the new space race in asmall Northeastern Oregon town. He entered the Air Force right out of high schooland became an air traffic controller. He is now a self employed computer consultantwith a tendency to throw himself into whatever he does.David Snay is a retired software engineer living in central Massachusetts. He graduatedfrom Worcester Polytechnic Institute and has been an astronomer andastrophotographer for more than 10 years. David currently pursues fine art photography,specializing in traditional black/white images.20 Thousand Oaks OpticalAnnounces Its New R-GSolar Film21 CatseyeOffers New Tool Drawer22 LosmandyV Series DovetailPlates and AccessoriesErik Wilcox works for a natural foods distributor in South San Francisco,California, and is a long-time moderator on the popular astronomy forum, “CloudyNights”. He enjoys star parties and public outreach, and, in addition to amateurastronomy, he spends his time playing in a rock band.Subscribe Now!Special Introductory Subscription Rate$12 per year, $1 per issue - Offer ends Aug. 15th!www.astronomytechnologytoday.com23 HubbleOpticsLightweight Sandwich Mirrors6 Astronomy TECHNOLOGY TODAY