Telescopes.....
07 August 2009, 08:00 PM
#4
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I knew nothing about them and spent around £140 and it was complete rubbish. I woud have been better off using a decent pair of binoculars.
I think you have to spend a few bob say £500 plus to get something worthwhile. But I'd love to be proven wrong!!
dl
I think you have to spend a few bob say £500 plus to get something worthwhile. But I'd love to be proven wrong!!
dl
07 August 2009, 08:05 PM
#7
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Funny you should mention these. A friend of my mothers is moving and he has no room for his telescope and has offered it to her for a while.
No idea what make or model but knowing him its probably quite a decent one. If this loan actually happens I'll take some pics and pop back here.
No idea what make or model but knowing him its probably quite a decent one. If this loan actually happens I'll take some pics and pop back here.
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07 August 2009, 08:12 PM
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Funny you should mention these. A friend of my mothers is moving and he has no room for his telescope and has offered it to her for a while.
No idea what make or model but knowing him its probably quite a decent one. If this loan actually happens I'll take some pics and pop back here.
No idea what make or model but knowing him its probably quite a decent one. If this loan actually happens I'll take some pics and pop back here.
07 August 2009, 08:21 PM
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I have one that cost around £150, (was a present). It's all manual, and actually focusing on a subject further away from the moon was fecking difficult.
That said, I did manage to see Jupiter and it's spot, plus orbiting moons. And when you see Saturn for the first time it's a bit of a mind fvck.. like... WOW!!!
The other huge problem at the lower end of the scale is tracking, both the Earth and the planets are moving and Saturn would drift from the top right to the bottom left of my view in about 15-20 seconds IIRC, so you constantly have to track and if you sneeze then you've lost the bastid and it takes ages to find again.
I got bored with it in the end. Think about utilising the pc and a scope on a motor so it can do the tracking and focusing for you.
That said, I did manage to see Jupiter and it's spot, plus orbiting moons. And when you see Saturn for the first time it's a bit of a mind fvck.. like... WOW!!!
The other huge problem at the lower end of the scale is tracking, both the Earth and the planets are moving and Saturn would drift from the top right to the bottom left of my view in about 15-20 seconds IIRC, so you constantly have to track and if you sneeze then you've lost the bastid and it takes ages to find again.
I got bored with it in the end. Think about utilising the pc and a scope on a motor so it can do the tracking and focusing for you.
07 August 2009, 08:40 PM
#12
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I have one that cost around £150, (was a present). It's all manual, and actually focusing on a subject further away from the moon was fecking difficult.
That said, I did manage to see Jupiter and it's spot, plus orbiting moons. And when you see Saturn for the first time it's a bit of a mind fvck.. like... WOW!!!
The other huge problem at the lower end of the scale is tracking, both the Earth and the planets are moving and Saturn would drift from the top right to the bottom left of my view in about 15-20 seconds IIRC, so you constantly have to track and if you sneeze then you've lost the bastid and it takes ages to find again.
I got bored with it in the end. Think about utilising the pc and a scope on a motor so it can do the tracking and focusing for you.
That said, I did manage to see Jupiter and it's spot, plus orbiting moons. And when you see Saturn for the first time it's a bit of a mind fvck.. like... WOW!!!
The other huge problem at the lower end of the scale is tracking, both the Earth and the planets are moving and Saturn would drift from the top right to the bottom left of my view in about 15-20 seconds IIRC, so you constantly have to track and if you sneeze then you've lost the bastid and it takes ages to find again.
I got bored with it in the end. Think about utilising the pc and a scope on a motor so it can do the tracking and focusing for you.
you can get ones now that are electronic basically you have a keypad attached to the scope and it automatically keeps the object in view.
07 August 2009, 09:35 PM
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I have one that cost around £150, (was a present). It's all manual, and actually focusing on a subject further away from the moon was fecking difficult.
That said, I did manage to see Jupiter and it's spot, plus orbiting moons. And when you see Saturn for the first time it's a bit of a mind fvck.. like... WOW!!!
The other huge problem at the lower end of the scale is tracking, both the Earth and the planets are moving and Saturn would drift from the top right to the bottom left of my view in about 15-20 seconds IIRC, so you constantly have to track and if you sneeze then you've lost the bastid and it takes ages to find again.
I got bored with it in the end. Think about utilising the pc and a scope on a motor so it can do the tracking and focusing for you.
That said, I did manage to see Jupiter and it's spot, plus orbiting moons. And when you see Saturn for the first time it's a bit of a mind fvck.. like... WOW!!!
The other huge problem at the lower end of the scale is tracking, both the Earth and the planets are moving and Saturn would drift from the top right to the bottom left of my view in about 15-20 seconds IIRC, so you constantly have to track and if you sneeze then you've lost the bastid and it takes ages to find again.
I got bored with it in the end. Think about utilising the pc and a scope on a motor so it can do the tracking and focusing for you.
LOL!
I want one with an electric motor for the tracking, otherwise I can imagine it is a right pain in the ****!
07 August 2009, 11:34 PM
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The bigger the aperature the better i.e. the lens or mirror, dont go off power as this is meaningless, you can have a 525x eyepiece on a 50mm refractor and its pretty much useless. The more light gathering power the better.
Most people go along the route of a reflector, this is good in theory as they are cheaper and more portable than a refractor (a traditional type telescope) but need more maintenence i.e. the mirror will need reground every few years plus a reflector is not as good as an equivalent size refractor.
basically a 3 inch refractor has as much light gathering power as a 6 inch reflector.
Also think about portability, i bought a 120mm refractor and its quite a big bugger to haul about, thing is where i live has got terrible light pollution and to take it away in the sticks is pretty much impossible - it was perhaps a mistake getting one that big.
Try this place Telescopes and Binoculars from one of the UK'S premier specialists i bought mine from here and they are really helpful.
Most people go along the route of a reflector, this is good in theory as they are cheaper and more portable than a refractor (a traditional type telescope) but need more maintenence i.e. the mirror will need reground every few years plus a reflector is not as good as an equivalent size refractor.
basically a 3 inch refractor has as much light gathering power as a 6 inch reflector.
Also think about portability, i bought a 120mm refractor and its quite a big bugger to haul about, thing is where i live has got terrible light pollution and to take it away in the sticks is pretty much impossible - it was perhaps a mistake getting one that big.
Try this place Telescopes and Binoculars from one of the UK'S premier specialists i bought mine from here and they are really helpful.
Last edited by The Chief; 07 August 2009 at 11:37 PM.
08 August 2009, 10:19 AM
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I have a Meade ETX105.
It takes a lot of time, and a lot of wasted time too to set up and then get rain or cloud or something else. But when it goes right.... you really can get some nice results.
Its also cool to watch friends reactions when they see Saturn or Jupiter. They rub their eyes, look at you, look back into the scope... look back at you..
Makes you feel about <holds up finger and thumb> that big.
But, be aware, you are going to have to spend a LOT of money to get anything thats going to be able to see much in the way of detail beyond the planets of our solar system.
You will also need to learn a lot about photography, and the technical aspects of what you are doing. A good start - if you are really going to go for it - is an ETX125 with a colour DSI CCD camera.
But again, be aware you are not going to get hubble images!
To get reasonable images you are going to need something like an LX200.... I will warn you now... £5k+....
I used to keep some of my pics online but have taken them off now.
Here is an example image from an ETX 105 with LPI.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ghnr-Mq7GDg/Ry...saturn-pic.JPG
This is what you should expect to see with a reasonable price scope (£500-£1000)
It takes a lot of time, and a lot of wasted time too to set up and then get rain or cloud or something else. But when it goes right.... you really can get some nice results.
Its also cool to watch friends reactions when they see Saturn or Jupiter. They rub their eyes, look at you, look back into the scope... look back at you..
Makes you feel about <holds up finger and thumb> that big.
But, be aware, you are going to have to spend a LOT of money to get anything thats going to be able to see much in the way of detail beyond the planets of our solar system.
You will also need to learn a lot about photography, and the technical aspects of what you are doing. A good start - if you are really going to go for it - is an ETX125 with a colour DSI CCD camera.
But again, be aware you are not going to get hubble images!
To get reasonable images you are going to need something like an LX200.... I will warn you now... £5k+....
I used to keep some of my pics online but have taken them off now.
Here is an example image from an ETX 105 with LPI.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ghnr-Mq7GDg/Ry...saturn-pic.JPG
This is what you should expect to see with a reasonable price scope (£500-£1000)
08 August 2009, 02:51 PM
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The bigger the aperature the better i.e. the lens or mirror, dont go off power as this is meaningless, you can have a 525x eyepiece on a 50mm refractor and its pretty much useless. The more light gathering power the better.
Most people go along the route of a reflector, this is good in theory as they are cheaper and more portable than a refractor (a traditional type telescope) but need more maintenence i.e. the mirror will need reground every few years plus a reflector is not as good as an equivalent size refractor.
basically a 3 inch refractor has as much light gathering power as a 6 inch reflector.
Also think about portability, i bought a 120mm refractor and its quite a big bugger to haul about, thing is where i live has got terrible light pollution and to take it away in the sticks is pretty much impossible - it was perhaps a mistake getting one that big.
Try this place Telescopes and Binoculars from one of the UK'S premier specialists i bought mine from here and they are really helpful.
Most people go along the route of a reflector, this is good in theory as they are cheaper and more portable than a refractor (a traditional type telescope) but need more maintenence i.e. the mirror will need reground every few years plus a reflector is not as good as an equivalent size refractor.
basically a 3 inch refractor has as much light gathering power as a 6 inch reflector.
Also think about portability, i bought a 120mm refractor and its quite a big bugger to haul about, thing is where i live has got terrible light pollution and to take it away in the sticks is pretty much impossible - it was perhaps a mistake getting one that big.
Try this place Telescopes and Binoculars from one of the UK'S premier specialists i bought mine from here and they are really helpful.
I have a lot of reading to do................
08 August 2009, 02:52 PM
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I have a Meade ETX105.
It takes a lot of time, and a lot of wasted time too to set up and then get rain or cloud or something else. But when it goes right.... you really can get some nice results.
Its also cool to watch friends reactions when they see Saturn or Jupiter. They rub their eyes, look at you, look back into the scope... look back at you..
Makes you feel about <holds up finger and thumb> that big.
But, be aware, you are going to have to spend a LOT of money to get anything thats going to be able to see much in the way of detail beyond the planets of our solar system.
You will also need to learn a lot about photography, and the technical aspects of what you are doing. A good start - if you are really going to go for it - is an ETX125 with a colour DSI CCD camera.
But again, be aware you are not going to get hubble images!
To get reasonable images you are going to need something like an LX200.... I will warn you now... £5k+....
I used to keep some of my pics online but have taken them off now.
Here is an example image from an ETX 105 with LPI.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ghnr-Mq7GDg/Ry...saturn-pic.JPG
This is what you should expect to see with a reasonable price scope (£500-£1000)
It takes a lot of time, and a lot of wasted time too to set up and then get rain or cloud or something else. But when it goes right.... you really can get some nice results.
Its also cool to watch friends reactions when they see Saturn or Jupiter. They rub their eyes, look at you, look back into the scope... look back at you..
Makes you feel about <holds up finger and thumb> that big.
But, be aware, you are going to have to spend a LOT of money to get anything thats going to be able to see much in the way of detail beyond the planets of our solar system.
You will also need to learn a lot about photography, and the technical aspects of what you are doing. A good start - if you are really going to go for it - is an ETX125 with a colour DSI CCD camera.
But again, be aware you are not going to get hubble images!
To get reasonable images you are going to need something like an LX200.... I will warn you now... £5k+....
I used to keep some of my pics online but have taken them off now.
Here is an example image from an ETX 105 with LPI.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ghnr-Mq7GDg/Ry...saturn-pic.JPG
This is what you should expect to see with a reasonable price scope (£500-£1000)
It is an expensive hobby from what I see......
The photo dont work, got any more?
08 August 2009, 04:37 PM
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You can have a 12inch Reflector (easy) yet if you have a load of light pollution the image wont be much cop, better to have something a little bit portable.
Stockport Binocular & Telescope Centre. Refractors
I'd say a decent 90mm refractor with an equatorial mount tripod would be relatively portable, cheap and provide decent views if you get out and away from light pollution.
It all depends on what and how serious your gonna be. The best way is get a cheap portable one and join an astronomical society, where no doubt someone will have the latest wizz bang 12" Meade and you can use that for nowt.
Meade i'd say are by far the best scopes you can buy.
Stockport Binocular & Telescope Centre. Refractors
I'd say a decent 90mm refractor with an equatorial mount tripod would be relatively portable, cheap and provide decent views if you get out and away from light pollution.
It all depends on what and how serious your gonna be. The best way is get a cheap portable one and join an astronomical society, where no doubt someone will have the latest wizz bang 12" Meade and you can use that for nowt.
Meade i'd say are by far the best scopes you can buy.
08 August 2009, 07:03 PM
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You can have a 12inch Reflector (easy) yet if you have a load of light pollution the image wont be much cop, better to have something a little bit portable.
Stockport Binocular & Telescope Centre. Refractors
I'd say a decent 90mm refractor with an equatorial mount tripod would be relatively portable, cheap and provide decent views if you get out and away from light pollution.
It all depends on what and how serious your gonna be. The best way is get a cheap portable one and join an astronomical society, where no doubt someone will have the latest wizz bang 12" Meade and you can use that for nowt.
Meade i'd say are by far the best scopes you can buy.
Stockport Binocular & Telescope Centre. Refractors
I'd say a decent 90mm refractor with an equatorial mount tripod would be relatively portable, cheap and provide decent views if you get out and away from light pollution.
It all depends on what and how serious your gonna be. The best way is get a cheap portable one and join an astronomical society, where no doubt someone will have the latest wizz bang 12" Meade and you can use that for nowt.
Meade i'd say are by far the best scopes you can buy.
I will use it further inland and away from big urban centers, hopefully.
10 August 2009, 12:43 PM
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http://www.ricksastro.com/Gallery/2_12_grs.jpg
Also look here
Weasner's Mighty ETX Site
This site has all the info you will ever need..
Also look here
Weasner's Mighty ETX Site
This site has all the info you will ever need..
10 August 2009, 01:04 PM
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with light pollution you have to be prepared to travel to do your observing. lugging a 8 - 10 inch schmit-cass is a major PITA. i sold mine as i had to move back to the city from the countryside. i also have a 12" reflector lying around which as chiefdude says is all but useless now. gathers far too much light from the sodium discharge vapour lamps on the main road. bought a pair of rebranded meade binos from Lidl. £15 and they are adeqaute for casual obseving, meteor showers etc.