Theatre Hipparchus

This little mount can produce images.

The Meade LXD55 mount has received an enormous amount of bad press due to the aluminum legs not supporting an oversized scope package. I think some of the criticism is on the mark. Knowing this already, I bought a used one on Astronomy Buy & Sell and for the small dollar amount involved, I must confess to being delighted with it.

Here is why:

• mount has been retrofitted with ash legs instead of aluminum. I have bolted some cross stabilizers into each leg.
• using only 8 pounds on top with the AT1010 80mm refractor.
• not having an encyclopedic knowledge of the sky, the GOTO just increases my enjoyment. I'm not going to do setting circles.
• pleased with the tracking visually.
• knowing that I can Maxpoint and Star 2000 this unit it is possible to do some short imaging.

With the LX200 slated to go onto a pier and permanent home base, it is nice to know I can actually lift and carry this unit to catch some of the incredible targets in Sagittarius during a road trip to a dark site. Lastly, we had some company visit who wanted a quick sky tour and the LXD55 was flawless when it counted the most. Goto's were right in the field of view.

M42 - Stellarvue 80mm AT1010 on the LXD55 mount. 40 mnutes  MX7C

Comments: This image needs more exposure time. A bit undersampled but I was able to pick up some of the dust and primordial gases. Colour and gradient need some work. I will use an IR filter for the next effort at this and other targets. Going forward: I haven't even trained or spent time aligning the LXD55. I was considering putting the mount head on the LX200 field tripod when the pier is finished. Overall my experience has been very positive.