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RE: Anyone know about Telescopes? - 12/31/2007 10:26:14 AM

Kumasan2

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quote:

ORIGINAL: sub4hire
Even as a teenager in astrology class

I'm assuming you meant astronomy class.
Astonomy. Astronomy. Astronomy.
Astrology is... different. Very different.

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RE: Anyone know about Telescopes? - 12/31/2007 10:41:28 AM

sub4hire

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Yep, you are correct. Astronomy went hand in hand with physics back then for me.
Never been much into astrology.

Sorry for the typo.

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RE: Anyone know about Telescopes? - 12/31/2007 10:45:25 AM

Griswold

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quote:

ORIGINAL: popeye1250

I've been getting more and more interested in Astronomy over the last few years and I'm thinking about getting a telescope.
I've seen them in stores, all different kinds but I don't know anything about them.
My Tufts U. scientist buddy says they have ones that are computer controlled and once programmed will go to whatever star or planet you want.
Anyone in here have any good info?

Yes, I do. I've studied this item rather extensively.

Okay, here we go:

One end makes things really really small....

The other end makes things really really big.

(Hope this was of some help).

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RE: Anyone know about Telescopes? - 12/31/2007 7:54:07 PM

Kumasan2

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quote:

ORIGINAL: sub4hire

Yep, you are correct. Astronomy went hand in hand with physics back then for me.
Never been much into astrology.

Sorry for the typo.

I figured it was a typo. I will rarely, if ever, assume to correct another's grammar and spelling (and intent) on forums, since I make enough errors on my own but the astrology/astronomy is a pet peeve for me. I taught astronomy for a long time and even students who had been in the class for the entire semester still would call it astrology class.

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RE: Anyone know about Telescopes? - 12/31/2007 8:03:55 PM

EvilGenie

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$400-600 is a good range to begin with. I paid about that for mine though I am able to see things far better from Morocco than I could when I lived in the US due to lighting and other things. I am looking into a programmable one for when living in Spain. I have used them and starrynights is a great program! Still, Haley's comet looked like a bit of fog in the sky and someone told me that was what I was seeing. My answer was ''no shit, that's THE comet??'' There is a lot to see out there and telescopy is a great hobby IMO.

Good luck with it and let us know what you get!

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RE: Anyone know about Telescopes? - 12/31/2007 8:06:08 PM

Aneirin

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I got Mars on video a while back when it was at it's closest to earth, a big pinky brown orb that filled the frame,and I could distinguish the polar ice cap.This was with a dv video camera on a tripod.Surprising how fast that thing moved, I was continuously panning the camera.Still a good shot with a consumer camera set on 200 x digital zoom.Pixelated, but it was surprising to me and interesting!

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RE: Anyone know about Telescopes? - 12/31/2007 8:42:58 PM

bipolarber

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Popeye, it really depends on what you are interested in: If you are looking at mostly planetary observations, I'd go with something in a high quality refractor. Although brighter objects like the moon will give you that damned blue corona, they are truly great for observations of Venus, Mars, Jupiter and even Saturn.

If you are thinking of doing some serious deep sky stuff, then by all means look into reflectors. They have the highest magnification factor for the money, but that are a bit of a problem to store. Because they are larger, they also have smoother movement on their motors. They're also easier to adapt DV taps to.

Personally, I use a Schmidt-Cassigrain compound optics type. It came with a simple two axis motorized mount, and is ridiculously easy to transport and store. They are a bit more expensive, but they are great for the kind of work I do (asteroid hunting) I got mine from e-bay, so I paid about half of what the thing would have cost had I gone retail. You might also check out "American Science and Surplus" (Google it) They have some wonderful scopes at slashed prices. Several friends have gone though them, and they have nothing but praise for them.

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RE: Anyone know about Telescopes? - 12/31/2007 11:36:05 PM

Kumasan2

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quote:

ORIGINAL: EvilGenie
Still, Haley's comet looked like a bit of fog in the sky and someone told me that was what I was seeing.

Halley put interest in astronomy back 100 years. Our club had made a huge deal about it, advertising all over, and it was such a flop. We had hundreds of people who looked at a dim smudge and said, "I waited in line for this?"

Now Hale-Bopp and Hyukatake, those were comets that were amazing! More than made up for Halley, even if they were 10 years too late. Those brought hundreds more to the observatory and everyone went away happy and a little awed.

Good times.

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RE: Anyone know about Telescopes? - 1/1/2008 12:09:01 AM

Muttling

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Think of this in the SAME way you think of kink.......

Talk to the local astronomy buffs, learn from them and play with THEIR toys. Then buy a high end telescope with high end lense that can be updated with all kinds of other features. A nicely upgradable one will cost $1000 to $2000 dollars brand new (much cheaper used). The upgrades will ultimately push you to around $5k if you go all out and all brand new. That said, you can get a hell of a nice set up for $2K if you purchase wisely.

As for software, buy it NOW and buy top end. You can spend about $200 and get a sweeeeeeeeeet software package that will link up with a telescope as well as accepting updates from NASA. Don't skimp on software, go top end and make SURE it is compatible with downloads from NASA. Even if it doesn't link up with your scope, it will tell you where and what to look for..........as well as WHEN. Again...talk to the astronomy club and go with their advice. There are several wonderful packages out there, the one that most of the club members use is the one that will be easiest for you to get help with.

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RE: Anyone know about Telescopes? - 1/1/2008 12:15:36 AM

Muttling

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Kumasan2

quote:

ORIGINAL: EvilGenie
Still, Haley's comet looked like a bit of fog in the sky and someone told me that was what I was seeing.

Halley put interest in astronomy back 100 years. Our club had made a huge deal about it, advertising all over, and it was such a flop. We had hundreds of people who looked at a dim smudge and said, "I waited in line for this?"

Now Hale-Bopp and Hyukatake, those were comets that were amazing! More than made up for Halley, even if they were 10 years too late. Those brought hundreds more to the observatory and everyone went away happy and a little awed.

Good times.

I'm rather into star gazing and I have TWO primary concerns. The first is getting a great set of lenses that will give me a crisp picture and the second is getting something that will help me point them in the right direction. There is a number of other niceties, but they all suck hind tit to good lenses and good targeting.

P.S. - I am sure that Kumasan knows this but I will point out that magnification and crispness (e.g. resolution) are not the same thing. Don't sacrafice a good crisp picture for better magnification.

< Message edited by Muttling -- 1/1/2008 12:18:27 AM >

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RE: Anyone know about Telescopes? - 1/1/2008 8:40:08 AM

verysweet

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My first telescope was a 4" refractor. This was purchased about 10 years after I studied the sky at length with a planosphere and binoculars. To me, making your choice about a scope should come after you have at least a little knowledge about what you're looking at and where to find it.

Now I own 4, none of which have computer controls or magellan systems. I prefer the hunt with my big azz light bucket.

Several of my life-long astro buds have SCTs and Dobs that are computer controlled. Meade and Orion both make excellent and economical equipment, but Meade has crappy customer service---imho.

Figures my first post on this site would be about astronomy.

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RE: Anyone know about Telescopes? - 1/1/2008 8:45:47 AM

verysweet

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FYI:

For those who do observe more than casually and have the equipment to find it, there is a magnitude 5-6 comet visible tonight and tomorrow.....Comet 8P/Tuttle.

Here's a link to a finder chart: www.spaceweather.com

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