Re: Refinishing 16-inch mirror

On Sun, 27 May 2007 14:41:17 -0600, JimC wrote:

I'm thinking of having my 16-inch (2-inch thick) f4.5 mirror refinished,
which I understand might improve its optical performance somewhat and
enhance its reflectivity. It has worked great for viewing the Messiers,
but it doesn't seem to handle higher powers very well regardless of
collimation.


What do you consider "higher powers" and what would you use them on? For
my 12.5 inch dobsonian (f4.5), I generally push it no further than a 6mm EP
and find that a 9mm EP generally delivers all the power necessary for the
objects I observe. I do have a 3.8mm Orion Ultrascopic which gets little
use at all. . .mostly for planetary observation when conditions are ideal.



--
Martin R. Howell
Worldwide Amateur Astronomers
Moderated sci.astro.amateur
www.theastropost.com/moderated_sci.astro.amateur
.