Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 63

The Porta II mount features fine-motion controls
for both altitude and azimuth. The OTA attaches
quickly via a well-made dovetail system.

combination is so lightweight (19.4 pounds combined)
that setting it up for a night under the stars is a breeze.
Lining up the finder was a snap thanks to its springloaded bracket. With the tripod legs fully retracted, the
eyepiece is at a comfortable height for seated viewing.
Aiming the scope is intuitive and straightforward. I
simply grabbed the back end of the scope and moved it
to where I wanted to look. The mount has fi ne-motion
controls on both axes, so precisely centering a target and
tracking were both easy. You can adjust the tension of
both motions with a supplied Allen key, neatly hidden
under a rubber cover on the mount. That's a nice touch
- you never have to worry about not having the right
tool with you. You can also loosen the tube ring clamps
to rotate the OTA to a more convenient focuser position,
and fine-tune the tube's balance.
The winter constellations were still high in the evening sky when I began my evaluation, so I chased down
a few favorite double stars. First up was Castor, with
its magnitude 1.9 and 3.0 components separated by 4.2
arcseconds. In the 6.3mm eyepiece, splitting the duo was
no trouble at all. Next, something more challenging -
Rigel. Even though the component stars are farther apart
(9.4 arcseconds), Rigel is a much trickier double because
of the brightness difference between its 0.3-magnitude

primary and 6.8-magnitude secondary. I was able to
fish the companion star out from the glare of its bright
host without too much trouble. On another night, the
crescent Moon beckoned. I swept up and down the
terminator and saw all kinds of fine detail sharply presented. More impressive was the scope's ability to render
low-contrast lunar features, including the domes Arago
Alpha and Beta, in Mare Tranquillitatis.

Tucked away under a rubber cover are two Allen keys. The small
one is for adjusting the tensions of the altitude and azimuth
motions, while the larger key fits the screws that allow reorienting the mount's dovetail plate.

Sk yandTelescope.com October 2015

63



http://www.SkyandTelescope.com

Sky and Telescope - October 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky and Telescope - October 2015

Contents
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - Cover1
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - Cover2
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 1
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - Contents
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 3
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - A
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - B
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 4
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 5
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 6
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 7
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 8
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 9
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 10
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 11
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 12
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 13
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 14
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 15
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Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 17
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 18
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 19
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 20
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 21
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 22
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 23
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 24
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 25
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 26
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 27
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 28
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 29
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 30
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 31
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 32
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 33
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 34
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 35
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 36
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 37
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 38
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 39
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 40
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 41
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 42
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 43
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Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 45
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 46
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 47
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 48
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 49
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 50
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 51
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Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 53
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Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 55
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 56
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 57
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 58
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Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 60
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 61
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 62
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 63
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 64
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 65
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 66
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Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 68
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 69
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 70
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 71
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Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 73
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Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 79
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Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 81
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Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - 84
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - Cover3
Sky and Telescope - October 2015 - Cover4
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