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Rant: My telescope took a tumble at Joshua Tree and I almost cried
Last weekend I drove out to Joshua Tree to catch the Milky Way core, set up my 8 inch Dob on this rocky spot, and then a gust of wind came out of nowhere. The whole tube tipped over and the finder scope shattered on a boulder. I spent 20 minutes just sitting on the ground picking up glass shards with a flashlight, feeling dumb. The main mirror seemed fine after I checked it with a collimator, but I still packed up and drove home at 2 AM. Now I'm looking at replacement finder brackets and they cost like 45 bucks, which is annoying. Has anyone else had a scope fall over in the field and did you trust the optics after?
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vera_green6911d ago
Your whole tube tipped over" and now you're acting like the sky fell in. Honestly, that $45 bracket might be the best thing that happened to you. A scope that tips that easy was begging for a lesson, and the mirror checked out fine, so what's the actual problem? You packed up at 2 AM because of a broken finder, but a finder is just a cheap helper, not the heart of the gear. If the collimator says the optics are square, they're square, and the universe doesn't care about your bruised ego. Next time, lower the tripod and stake it down, or just admit the wind won and move on without the drama.
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burns.fiona11d ago
Isn't a broken finder scope just the universe charging you forty five bucks for a lesson in wind?
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