Re: [Leica] Leica lens turned into a telescope - can it be done?

["Richard W. Hemingway" <rheming@attglobal.net>]

Vick,

You can barely see the rings of Saturn with about a 40 power telescope,
although 150 or more would be better.  However,  what you can see is also
limited by the size of the objective.  To determine magnification divide
the focal length of the eyepiece (or effect focal length - if it also has a
positive or negative  'barlow' element) into the focal length of the
objective length.  It is surprising what you can see at low power however.
If you are going to try and photograph the planets, that is a defferent
story and depends on the image size you can put or project on film.  

I made my first telescope from a 3" single objective with a 48" focal
length that I obtained by trading my pet pair of pet white rats for it when
I was about 8 or 9 years old.  Made it out of stove pipe and put it on a
pipe stand set in concrete.  The first look at the moon (double boken and
all!!) just blew me away.  The M6 with Viso works quite well coupled to a
telescope.  

Dick Hemingway
Plano, TX