The DA and the Image Intensifier

by Clayton A. Feldman, MD


In his never-ending quest to make amateur astronomy simpler and more comfortable, the Dilettante Astronomer obtained a Collins I3 Image Intensifier, at great personal potential expense, and compared it to simple glass (or perhaps not so simple) in the 8" SCT he was attempting to alchemise into a C-14. The details of his failure are as follows:

At a reasonably dark sky site (Coe State Park) last night (Saturday, July 1), under reasonably good conditions (dark above, but "headlight" effect on the horizon from San Jose and Gilroy), the DA found that he actually preferred viewing through glass eyepieces under all conditions as compared with the Collins I3. The star images were sharper through glass and of course the colors were present on doubles. Although greater depth could be imaged with the I3 on open and globular clusters, the overall view was much less intense and transparent and the continuously roiling background was distracting (and obviously the DA is easily distracted). With galaxies, the core were more intense, but the arms less discernable. Planetary nebulae were brighter, but fuzzier in outline and diffuse nebulae were almost invisible to the DA's eye as compared to his usual eyepieces with filters. Desolate, the DA concluded he would just have to be as happy as the situation permitted with averted vision- or get a bigger scope!

Clay the DA, Operating with The Silver Bullet and FourEyes