First Light with Little Red, and a First Observation of M94

Last night was lovely. I received a new (used) scope in the mail this last week: a bright red (anodized) AT66ED (f/6). It's a small scope, but it's a real performer! I hung it on one side of the Giro III and the Orion 100mm f/6 achromat on the other. I put a 24mm eyepiece in Little Red for most of the night, for about 16x, and an 8mm Hyperion in the 100, for 75x.

Some clouds passed by around 11:40, and then the night was grand. I first stopped at M94. This was an item on my "yet-to-see" Messier list. But no more "yet." There it was in the 66's view, and much brighter in the 100. In fact, I believe I could see a dark marking on the galaxy in the 100. I'd be curious if others see that.

I also found M63 again, but it was dim. Mostly, it was a grand night for globulars: M13, M4, M56, M22 (the Great), M28 (surprisingly bright), M54, M70, M69. Contrasting these is an interesting enterprise. More stars were resolved in M28 than any other. M4 always seems a bit under-populated for such a bright object. I am always disappointed that I can resolve so few of M13's stars in these smaller scopes. M28 was so bright I spotted it easily in the 66. It is almost as bright as M22, but appears perhaps only 25% as large.

I also observed M57 and M27, and M8 and M21. Jupiter was up, with two Galilean satellites on each side of it, as if the planet were a judge trying a case, with the parties and their lawyers sitting before him. I also looked at Cor Caroli, Albireo, and Epsilon Lyrae.

What most impressed me during the session was Little Red's performance. One could easily come to prefer the APO above other scope designs. I could see most of these deep sky objects in Little Red: M13, M4, M56, M22, M28, M57 (a tiny little ring in a very wide field), M27, M8, M21, M94. I was surprised. Increasing the magnification did not dull performance at all, but enhanced it. Jupiter looked every bit as good in Little Red at 80x as in the 100 at 75x---perhaps a little better because the planet lacked the slight purple halo the achromat always shows. And Little Red split the components of Epsilon Lyrae cleanly at 80x, a better view than in the 100 at 75x. Of course, the 100 gave everything a much brighter view, and the objects I could not see in Little Red I could see clearly in the 100, but Little Red did what it is supposed to do: Show high-contrast, wide-field images, and when magnification is pushed a little higher, continue to show very fine detail per inch of aperture.