Any astronomers in the observatory?

i know enough to not try and find Uranus......

 

Don't need a telescope to find it!

Can anyone smart explain this:

 

More is unknown than is known. We know how much dark energy there is because we know how it affects the Universe's expansion. Other than that, it is a complete mystery. But it is an important mystery. It turns out that roughly 70% of the Universe is dark energy. Dark matter makes up about 25%. The rest - everything on Earth, everything ever observed with all of our instruments, all normal matter - adds up to less than 5% of the Universe

 

 

 

Ok, we know people back in the day thought Ra was canoeing the sun across the sky daily, then we figured it out.

 

 

Can anyone fathom anything that would explain this - what bigger picture could this be a part of?

Can anyone smart explain this:

 

 

 

 

 

Ok, we know people back in the day thought Ra was canoeing the sun across the sky daily, then we figured it out.

 

 

Can anyone fathom anything that would explain this - what bigger picture could this be a part of?

 

Im guessing it has to do with the fact, that with current technology, we are finding more and more things being out there. But what we are observing is only a small part of what it actually is. So with each snippet more we discover, there is essentially an iceberg of details underneath it that we have absolutley not understanding or idea of. With each snippet, more icebergs. At least thats my guess.....

My boy wants a telescope for christmas... Which works out nice, because I want a telescope for christmas too....

 

Anybody know what I should look for in features, price range, how do you know what the fcuk youre looking at or where to point the damned thing? etc... Speak to me like a child... I have ZERO idea of how or where to start.

 

 

I went through a "telescope" phase about a year ago.

 

 

1. DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT buy a telescope from a retail shop. They are all JUNK. Unless it's a dedicated telescope store. Don't buy anything from Best Buy, Frys, Discovery Store, etc.

 

2. You don't need to spend a lot of money to get a really ood scope.

 

3. A good newbie scope is a REFLECTOR type. They are a little big, but they are priced decent and powerful enough to see some REALLY COOL stuff.

 

4. When it comes to scopes, BIGGER IS BETTER. Get whatever size you're comfortable with, but keep in mind bigger is better. I would not get anything smaller than a 6" reflector type. Things will appear larger and more clear the bigger you go. This is because scopes work by gathering light. The larger the scope, the more light they can gather, the better the result.

 

 

I have this Orion Starblast 6". Cost $300. I have seen moons on other planets, rings of Saturn, Orion nebula, etc. You can see so much detail on earth's moon that it's SICK! This thing can see other galaxies, but I don't have the viewing conditions to do it at home. Too polluted.

 

http://www.telescope.com/Orion-StarBlast-6...cope/p/9926.uts

 

 

The way I find objects is I have an App on my Iphone called StarMap, it's really cool. I look on that App and it shows me where to look in the sky for certain objects at any moment and it tells me what is available to see and shows me where to look in the sky. I look up in the sky and spot the object with my eye. As you see in the picture of the scope on the website, there's a "Red dot scope" on the side of the telescope. It's just like an Aimpoint scope on a gun. You look through it and put the "red dot" on the planet or star you're trying to look at. Then look through the viewfinder on the telescope and it should be in view. You can then put different lenses in the scope to increase or decrease the magnification as desiered.

 

Telescopes seem dorky, but they are actually really cool sitting there looking at stuff that's 1,500 light years away think thinking about how the light from that object you're looking at now is 1,500 light years old. It's pretty amazing.

 

As a first scope I would go with a refelctor. They are powerful and cheap. Only drawback is they are a little big. Just buy a name brand scope whatever you do. The top 3 entry level name brands scopes are Orion, Celestron and Meade.

I think Id like to keep it under $500... Is that a stretch? (Yeah... I know... I pay twice that for a good rifle scope... But those do stuff!)

 

Im mostly into Planets and ManMade shit we put up there.

 

What about this?

 

http://www.optcorp.com/product.aspx?pid=1-599-2-79-16640

 

 

 

Good scope, but it's a 4" refractor. You can get a 6" reflector at that price. Bigger is better, but you would still see cool stuff with it.

 

Scopes normally come in 4", 6", 8", 10", 12", etc on up to 20"+. So that scope you pointed out is on the very small end of the power range.

 

 

Any one of these would allow you to see some really cool stuff. Keep in mine these are "dobs". Which means they have their own stand and sit on the ground or the smaller ones you will need a table. So you put a chair next to the scope and sit and the chair and look through the scope, as opposed to refractor scopes that are on a tripod. As drawback of the tripod is you need a REALLY solid one to keep from shaking. ANY slight vibration will ruin you viewing, especially when at high magnification....just like when using a rifle scope. That's the upside of the big Dob refelctor type scopes. They have a solid base that sits on the ground.

 

http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/Dobson...pes/pc/1/12.uts

That type of stuff is only visible with special telescopes that show gases in different colors and/or temperatures in different colors. You wont be seeing that sort of stuff with personal telescopes I m pretty sure. Very cool none-the-less.

 

 

 

That's the Orion Nebula. You can see it with ease if you have a decent scope. I have a 6" refelctor and can see it easy. It's just not all colorful as in the pictures. DSO (Deep Sky Objects) like that will look grey in color through a scope. That's mostly Photoshop, or you can shoot it with video and "stack" the images. It will come out in color like that. You may need to "touch it up" a bit to give it the "wow" factor. But it will be in color.

Here's my 6" Starblast 6. I put my hat in front of it for size reference.

 

 

 

 

Bumping this thread.

 

I'm thinking of picking one up, and like most people on here don't want to spend any outrageous amount.

 

RD- did you pick one up?

Bumping this thread.

 

I'm thinking of picking one up, and like most people on here don't want to spend any outrageous amount.

 

RD- did you pick one up?

 

My parents got me one when I was a kid, they spent a couple hundred bucks on it. But indeed you'll see basic stuff, you aren't going to see heaps of stars and bright galaxies. It's fun nonetheless, but don't expect anything like you see off of a nasa telescope. If you have an observatory with an impressive telescope, it is cheaper (sometimes free) to go to an observatory like that.

Bumping this thread.

 

I'm thinking of picking one up, and like most people on here don't want to spend any outrageous amount.

 

RD- did you pick one up?

 

Sweet bump. I am a backyard astronomer. Can't go wrong with a small dob for a first scope imo!

Ive been looking into this for a while since I moved to the country - dead black skys is great with just the naked eye never mind a decent scope - it looks like im getting a meade ls 8 - its mtorised with a gps - so it goes through a calibration process finding some key stars by itself then you can tell the scope where you want to look and it will find it in the sky. The detail looks great and you can get video out and shit like that. It even plays video of info on what you are looking at.

 

Its not too expensive either - a couple K would get you a good setup.

 

http://meade.com/ls

 

 

If you've got the $$$, there are companies out there that will build you a seriously high-powered research-grade telescope. Prices range from $10K to $100K+ From what I've read, the best type of telescope is what is called Ritchey-Chretien, which is a special way of constructing a telescope to eliminate optical errors. Most professional research telescopes are Ritchey-Chretien. Some manufacturers may also claim they make Ritchey-Chretien telescopes when they don't (Meade got sued by Star Instruments and RC Optical Systems over this regarding some of its telescopes). So you have to be careful there.

 

As said earlier, I'd go to a dedicated telescope shop.

If you've got the $$$, there are companies out there that will build you a seriously high-powered research-grade telescope. Prices range from $10K to $100K+ From what I've read, the best type of telescope is what is called Ritchey-Chretien, which is a special way of constructing a telescope to eliminate optical errors. Most professional research telescopes are Ritchey-Chretien. Some manufacturers may also claim they make Ritchey-Chretien telescopes when they don't (Meade got sued by Star Instruments and RC Optical Systems over this regarding some of its telescopes). So you have to be careful there.

 

As said earlier, I'd go to a dedicated telescope shop.

 

It's easily something I could spend a fortune on, just like anything. But I think as long as I live in a light-polluted area like Indiana, and don't know what the hell I'm doing - I'll spend something like $300 on it.

 

 

Also keep in mind for anyone that's interested in scopes, that most states have amateur astronomer gatherings usually called "star parties" They are like a car show for amateur astronomers. Everyone brings out their scopes and shows them off (nothing is too small). They are family friendly and you can get to look through everyone's scopes and see different objects though different scopes. It's lots of fun and gives you a good idea of what you might be looking for, and you get to look at stuff through massive 20" scopes that cost thousands and need a truck to transport, and also see see astrophotography at work.

 

Here's a Texas one:

 

http://www.okie-tex.com/

 

A California one:

 

http://www.goldenstatestarparty.org

 

Florida:

 

http://www.scas.org/wsp.html

 

 

As with anything else, you can spend thousands on the scopes. I like the Obsession dobs http://www.obsessiontelescopes.com/index.php but don't have the interest to drop the money on one.

 

For those on a budget and want the most bang for the buck, a dobsonian scope is your best option if all you want to do is look at stuff. You will be able to see the most objects with them. The reason not everyone buys one is because they are big. And also they don't track objects well, so astrotography and video is more difficult. For that, a dob would not be your best option.

 

 

Here's a reference of how big different size Dobs are.

 

 

 

All of these scope will be cheap, but allow you to see enough stuff that will make you say WOW.

 

Orion 8"

 

http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/Dobson...c/13/p/8943.uts

 

 

Orion 6" compact (I have this one)

 

http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/Dobson...c/28/p/9926.uts

 

I can see REALLY COOL stuff with this. My only regret is I did not get a bigger one so I can have an even larger and sharper image. But it's a really great newbie scope.

 

Meade 10" Lightbridge

 

http://www.shopatron.com/products/productd...0.0.0?pp=8&

 

 

Video of Mars through an 8" Schmidt Cassegrain

 

 

 

Here's an Orion 10" Dob. This is how big it is. He got decent video of Saturn considering he's trying to record it with his cell phone or whatever though the lens at dusk.

 

 

 

This is how it will look through a scope. You will be able to see seperation in the rings, it's moons, etc. Depending on the year, the rings will be in different locations. Sometimes angled, sometimes they are "edge on" and you wont see them.

 

 

 

Jupiter through an 8" scope (scope type unknown but but obviously has dark clear skys)

 

 

 

12" Dob using Skywatcher tracking software. At the end of the video there's a pic they took with a digital camera with three white dots to the right. If you look close you will notice those are the moons of Saturn.

 

 

 

10" (Newtonian)

 

 

 

 

As you can tell, the 12" gave the sharpest best image. When it comes to scopes, bigger is better. But the most important thing is viewing and atmosphere conditions. A small 6" scope in the desert of Nevada will give way better images than a 12" in the city.

Sweet post Castor! I've been thinking of picking up a 12" DOB. You're convincing me .Last scope I had was a 10" meade lxd-75 with uhtc coatings...was very awesome.

Bringing this back from the dead. I got adapters for our Nikon D40 and an adjustable camera adapter. My first attempts at some astrophotography

 

This is with an Orion 8XT Dobsonian

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sort of hard to see, but this is Jupiter, and visible (lightly though) is the weather bands and one of the moons passing in front in the lower corner.

 

 

Nice pics! I am thinking of picking up a 12" orion intelliscope myself. How are the views with the naked eye thru the 8" dob kerplop? Similar to the pictures? Also, what finder scope are you using? I have a Celestron Astromaster 130mm and put a Telrad finderscope on it...it is freaking amazing. Highly recommended.

 

I was LA last weekend and went to check out shuttle discovery at the CA science center. That was cool, but I also saw Hubble 3D on iMax and that movie blew my mind! Freaking awesome and inspiring. It made me want to hug everyone after the movie . It really puts the universe in perspective. I <3 space

Nice pics! I am thinking of picking up a 12" orion intelliscope myself. How are the views with the naked eye thru the 8" dob kerplop? Similar to the pictures? Also, what finder scope are you using? I have a Celestron Astromaster 130mm and put a Telrad finderscope on it...it is freaking amazing. Highly recommended.

 

I was LA last weekend and went to check out shuttle discovery at the CA science center. That was cool, but I also saw Hubble 3D on iMax and that movie blew my mind! Freaking awesome and inspiring. It made me want to hug everyone after the movie . It really puts the universe in perspective. I

 

Looking through a quality lense is indeed a very awesome experience. I have 3 different lenses right now. 10mm, 25mm and a 2x barlow. So I'm able to use them all pretty easily and the quality is pretty fantastic. In fact, what you'll see with your eyes is sometimes better than what you'll see with the camera. For instance, in the picture of jupiter, you can make out the weather bands "ok" but really just "ok" - with my naked eye I can see it quite clearly with no issues. Play with the focus a bit and you've got it. It's not gigantic though in view, I find my favorite viewing of Jupiter is with a 25mm lense and a 2x barlow.

 

I'm not familiar with Celestron but I've seen some good reviews on them

 

A 12" would be AWESOME! I think my only beef is that you'd only want to take it outside the house, not take it on the road or camping. We can actually pack up our 8" dob in our car and take it with us (although only in the 924, the 911 only if it's just me). My understanding is that once you get into the 10" and above dobs, they're just so big that it's ridiculous to try and take them anywhere.

 

It's actually quite light too so carrying it isn't a big deal.

 

If you go that route though, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND a laser collimater to make your life easy.

Looking through a quality lense is indeed a very awesome experience. I have 3 different lenses right now. 10mm, 25mm and a 2x barlow. So I'm able to use them all pretty easily and the quality is pretty fantastic. In fact, what you'll see with your eyes is sometimes better than what you'll see with the camera. For instance, in the picture of jupiter, you can make out the weather bands "ok" but really just "ok" - with my naked eye I can see it quite clearly with no issues. Play with the focus a bit and you've got it. It's not gigantic though in view, I find my favorite viewing of Jupiter is with a 25mm lense and a 2x barlow.

 

I'm not familiar with Celestron but I've seen some good reviews on them

 

A 12" would be AWESOME! I think my only beef is that you'd only want to take it outside the house, not take it on the road or camping. We can actually pack up our 8" dob in our car and take it with us (although only in the 924, the 911 only if it's just me). My understanding is that once you get into the 10" and above dobs, they're just so big that it's ridiculous to try and take them anywhere.

 

It's actually quite light too so carrying it isn't a big deal.

 

If you go that route though, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND a laser collimater to make your life easy.

 

You did a pretty awesome job taking pics with a DOB! Must have been a bitch! The astromaster is cool, I actually bought it for my nephew as a potential christmas present, but the EQ mount is too complicated for him, so I kept it for myself . I am using stock eyepieces, buying a little eyepiece set for it soon if I decide to keep the scope any longer.

 

On the topic of dobs, I want to buy a 12" CLOSED tube, lol. Thing is a beast, but haven't pulled the trigger yet since I just go to open observatory sessions to really get my fix.

You did a pretty awesome job taking pics with a DOB! Must have been a bitch! The astromaster is cool, I actually bought it for my nephew as a potential christmas present, but the EQ mount is too complicated for him, so I kept it for myself . I am using stock eyepieces, buying a little eyepiece set for it soon if I decide to keep the scope any longer.

 

On the topic of dobs, I want to buy a 12" CLOSED tube, lol. Thing is a beast, but haven't pulled the trigger yet since I just go to open observatory sessions to really get my fix.

 

Hey thanks! It wasn't a total bitch, just lots of playing with camera settings and being careful using small movements. I found that the best way to do it was to get the object at the very beginning of my view, set my camera for a timed photo, leave the scope alone and allow it to do it's thing. The result was usually it ending up in a decent view and quite clear.

 

Some of the moon pictures the exposure was so quick you could just snap a picture without having to plan ahead since it only took a fraction of a second for the lense to get enough light.

 

If tonight is clear enough I'll try and get more.

 

If you get the 12" let me know how you like it, would be interested to hear feedback on it.

Will do! Do you have a motorized/tracking device on the mount your dob?

Will do! Do you have a motorized/tracking device on the mount your dob?

 

Nope! I wish haha.

If you get a really quality telescope, you don't even need to look through a lense, you attach a computer and view the images on-screen. They have telescopes available to the average person now that will let you see the whole night sky even in areas with lots of light pollution.

 

I hadn't known it but learned recently, amateur astronomers actually play a huge role in modern astronomy. There simply are not enough professional astronomers in the world to watch the whole sky and they don't get enough time on the big telescopes around the world to do so either, so the astronomy profession relies a lot on amateur astronomers for making contributions to the field as well.

 

I also hadn't known, but there is amateur radio astronomy too.

Nice pics! I am thinking of picking up a 12" orion intelliscope myself. How are the views with the naked eye thru the 8" dob kerplop? Similar to the pictures? Also, what finder scope are you using? I have a Celestron Astromaster 130mm and put a Telrad finderscope on it...it is freaking amazing. Highly recommended.

 

I was LA last weekend and went to check out shuttle discovery at the CA science center. That was cool, but I also saw Hubble 3D on iMax and that movie blew my mind! Freaking awesome and inspiring. It made me want to hug everyone after the movie . It really puts the universe in perspective. I <3 space

 

That sounds like a cool film, will have to check it out.