First light with 6" AP
By Mike J. Shade

Well, I just came in from looking through the new 6" f/7 AP refractor that arrived today. For those who might not be aware, this is a brand new AP, not the 10+ year old model I have been using. Conditions tonight were not the best for testing a new telescope: it has been cloudy most of the day and chilly, even for Boulder Creek (it's 34 now). So, there is quite a bit of moisture in the air, with some ground fog in lower places. As a result transparency is not the best. Furthermore, to compound problems, this cold air mass over us is quite unstable. To sum up: the seeing sucked! Anything over 100X or so was useless.

However, I did spend about 1.5 hours poking around. I did not detect any false color around anything, images were as clear as the seeing would allow and a few times they were very steady and clear (perhaps twice, lasting for perhaps 5 seconds). I did notice that this telescope is heavier than it looks. I am used to the older 6" and my 4" Vixen. The new AP and the Vixen are about the same length, of course the AP is heavier. One thing I do miss and that is a handle at the back of the rear cell/focuser. The older AP had one and it was quite handy. I found myself wondering where to grasp this thing to move it around.

Although this was not a formal test, I would say that given the conditions (and the fact that I am using rings that are not the right ones for this OTA), this telescope did just fine. I hope that the much awaited high pressure builds in next week (when the correct rings arrive), and we get some good seeing.