Hello Friend,

           Yes, it's Sunday, and I have a confession to make.

Now normally one would trot off to church Sunday morning, if one was so inclined, and head straight to the confessional.

    But I am not so inclined to do that, so I'm simply gonna to have to confess right here to you about a cardinal "sin"
that I have committed a few times this Winter.

    Now, the reason it's a sin is that I have told many folks over the years, NOT to do this.

But the other day, I was talking to a customer on the phone, his name is Tim, and we were talking about observing
as he had just upgraded recently to a "new" telescope. ( He had actually purchased one of our pre-owned 8|" SCT telescopes).

   Tim was quite excited about telling me that he had observed Jupiter, and Orion and a few other objects.

   And as I am talking to Tim, I realize he is actually observing from inside the house, and through his windows.

So we had a discussion about how that is not the best thing to do, if you want the best possible images through your telescope.

You can get away with it at low to moderate powers, but at higher magnifications it's tricky.

                 And here's why:

Window glass is not optically flat, and will distort images.  If you try to observe through a double pane glass door, this will
cause a lot more distortion.  Observe at an angle; even worse.

And now the confession, Friend:  This Winter,  yours truly was observing night sky objects through my bedroom and living room
windows. It was so bloody cold outside, that I took to using my trusty and portable  4" refractor to Stargaze through the windows of my home.

I did obtain some satisfactory views, at low to midrange magnifications.

   So there I've said it. Got it off my chest. I've committed an optical sin.   Telescopes are not really designed to be used
this way,  and I still don't recommend it, however they can and will work under some conditions.  

Clear Skies,

Ray "Optically flat" Khan

PS  Tim got an excellent deal on buying a pre-owned telescope, and trading in his existing equipment.  If you want to save
      a few bucks, then consider one of our pre-owned instruments. Each instrument is carefully assessed by our technician
      when traded in,  for both mechanical and optical worthiness. Our technician, knows exactly what to look for.