Saturday, April 26, 2025, 8:00pm
Galaxy Quest Observatory
84 Vancycle Road, Lincolnville, ME 04849
Get accurate driving directions at the link above! After driving half a mile on Vancycle Road, the pavement will change to gravel. Immediately turn left at the sign for Donkey Universe Farm. Park near the barn. On foot, turn left after the barn to find the observatory out in the field.
Double-check your Google Map directions when driving to Galaxy Quest. The old Vancycle Road was once one road stretching between two towns, but is now two separate roads, one in each town that no longer connect. You MUST approach Galaxy Quest from the east in order to find it, from Belfast Road / Route 52. On your computer or phone screen, you will be driving from the right toward the left when approaching Galaxy Quest.
We admit it: The long-term forecasts for this weekend are sub-hopeful, but perhaps there is some chance for clear skies.
Refractor shootout! We’ll be pitting Jacob’s f/5.2 660mm TeleVue NP-127 against Jon’s f/10 6″ 1524mm Jaegers. These very different refractors represent the best of their respective eras. The TeleVue’s objective is best-in-class of modern telescopes, a fine choice for astrophotography. For visual observing, it will be hard or impossible to find fault with it. The Jaegers is an antique, classic achromat, yet with sharp views and startling contrast. For visual use, how much is really gained with sophisticated, modern optics? We guarantee that neither will disappoint, and look forward to seeing how they compare.
We’ll also all be able to try a little magic that allows small telescopes to see faint objects. Jacob has been experimenting with coupling a military-grade night vision system to small, lightweight telescopes. It electronically amplifies the light, in real time, right at the eyepiece. It’s not quite the same view as one would see in a larger telescope, yet with a Hydrogen-Alpha filter, faint nebulae really pop! We will test the system on the Veil and North American nebulae, which will be ideally placed above Galaxy Quest.
