Petri Kehusmaa Astroblog

Not being able to image any deep sky objectes due heavy clouds, I decided to customize my old light box to fit my new RC scope. Here is master flat frame taken with RC10C and STL-11000M.

Finally, after loooong wait my new scope arrived. It’s a 10″ Ritchey-Chretien manufactured by Deep Sky Instruments with serial number 5.

The box arrived in pretty good condition considering its long voyage from Atlanta, Georgia (USA) to Hyvinkää Finland. It was taped and banded.

Opening the box revealed the scope which was suspended by custom formed styrofoam. On top is a printed invoice from DSI. Seeing the scope in perfect condition was a big relieve.

Rear plate is anodized with three fans and I/O port for controller. There are also two handles to ease up carrying the scope. Excellent machining! Stainless steel parts used throughout.

The difference between 8″ Meade SCT and 10″ RC10C is huge!

After few tries I was able to lift the scope on top of my AP900GTO. What a beautiful combination! Luckily my counterweights were just enough to balance the system.

The focuser is robust and it’s moving the 5″ secondary easily and smoothly. Primary mirror looks clean!

Last year my astroblog had more than 32 000 visits which is new record! I thank you all and will continue to update my blog with new discoveries and images. I’m also going to upgrade my current telescope with a new one pretty soon. I hope that I can write more about it within couple of weeks from now.

I wish you all clear skies!

Petri Kehusmaa