My first Magazine Sky & Telescope - 02.2019 | Page 75

u Pierre has designed an easy and inexpensive two-inch plywood version of his two-speed helical Crayford focuser. and that worked like a charm. Mel reports that the focuser works beautifully on his new scope. An interesting detail: The coma corrector intrudes into the light path by an inch or so. That allowed Mel to use a smaller secondary mirror, which provides less overall obstruction than if he had moved the coma corrector farther out. One of Mel’s big observing inter- ests is tracing out the delicate web of galactic cirrus, the gas and dust within our galaxy that’s illuminated not by any single star but by the combined glow of the entire Milky Way Galaxy. He wrote about it in our April 2017 issue, and he continues to search out new patches of galactic cirrus whenever he can. This new scope is great for that. With its wide fi eld and large aperture, faint nebulosity really stands out nicely. Mel reports that the Ring Nebula (M57) also sports color when viewed directly on. I had the pleasure of viewing through this innovative optical masterpiece, and I can confi rm that it is a joy to use. With the Veil Nebula nearly straight overhead, I was guid- ing the scope with the ease of a ball-mounted scope and enjoying the sharp-focused view from a 25-inch aperture mirror, seeing details I’d never seen before — all with both my feet fl at on the ground. Now that’s what I call a multiple breakthrough. For more information about this telescope and many of Mel’s other designs, visit Mel’s website at bbastrodesigns.com . Visit Pierre Lemay’s website at telescopelemay.com if you’d like to learn more about the focuser, includ- ing plans for a plywood 2-inch version seen above that can be built for about $15 in parts with little more than hand tools and a drill press. ■ Contributing Editor JERRY OLTION is easily impressed . . . with innovations as impressive as these! p Mel barely hunches down to look in the eyepiece of the scope near zenith. SHARE YOUR INNOVATION º Do you have a telescope or observing accessory that S&T readers would enjoy knowing about? Email your projects to Jerry Oltion at [email protected]. p The secondary mirror is supported using solid wire and only requires minor adjustment after each setup. sk yandtele scope.com • FE B RUA RY 2 019 73