The Telescopes of Hartwell Observatory
Hartwell Observatory started out in the late '80's when I got the Meade 60mm refractor as a gift for viewing Halley's Comet. It was never offically called Hartwell Observatory until the late 90's when I purchased the Celestron C8 as the first permanent scope. Although by that time I had already added the Orion XT8 dobsonian to bring the total telescope count up to three - The 60mm refracter, the 8" dobsonian, and now the 8" schmidt-cassegrain.
The observatory currently houses seven telescopes and two pairs of binoculars. You can read up on each scope (starting from left to right) either by clicking on the scope's link at the left of the page to jump straight to the scope or simply scroll down the list. Currently I don't plan on adding anymore but at some point I would like to add a solar scope but they're still out of my price range.
Happy stargazing! - Eric Hartwell
Orion SkyQuest XT8 -- 8" Dobsonian Reflector
After spending all of college working at Standeford Observatory at Minnesota State University, Mankato (formerly Mankato State University) I was spoiled on the dobsonians so after graduation I purchased the XT8.
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Meade Model 291 -- 60mm Refractor
This is my first telescope. Purchased at the time Halley's Comet passed by in 1986. I used this scope up through college. I first saw M31 (the Andromeda Galaxy) with this scope. Since I don't care much for German equatorial mounts this scope doesn't get a lot of use any more. Some day I might learn to like using EQ mounts and start using the scope again...
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CELESTRON NexStar 5SE -- 130mm Schmidt-Cassegrain
The NexStar 5SE was an impulse spluge. I didn't really need it since I already had the XT8, the C8, and the DS-2130 GOTO scope but I needed something that could track for astrophotography. It was too good of a deal as it was on sale and Celestron was offering free shipping.
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CELESTRON CPC800 -- 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain
The CPC800 is now the current main scope of the observatory collection. The NexStar 5SE just wasn't able to do everything I wanted to do with astrophotography. It just didn't have the strength to hold my camera and still track objects.
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CELESTRON UpClose 10x50 Binoculars
Another clearance sale buy. It came with a green laser pointer and a red led flashlight.
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Meade TeleStar DS-2130 -- 130mm Reflector
The DS-2130 was a birthday gift purchased through Orion's scratch and dent sale. You can see one of the dents at the lower end in the picture. It's my first GOTO scope that runs the Autostar 494. The one drawback is that it uses the 0.965" eyepieces. At some point I might upgrade the focuser to take 1.25" eyepieces. But that might be some winter time project.
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CELESTRON Super C8+ Powerstar 4 -- 8" Schmidt Cassegrain
The C8+ was the main scope at the observatory until I upgraded to the CPC800. I purchased it off E-Bay with the money my grandmother left me when she passed away. I can't get a dec motor for it so it's of no use for astrophotography but is still a fine scope.
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CELESTRON Travel Scope 70 -- 70mm Refractor
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CELESTRON SkyMaster 20-100x70 Zoom Binoculars
Yet another clearance sale buy.
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