Telescopes and astronomy

[Demosthenes]

I was wondering if anyone is interested in astronomy, and if they have a telescope? I want to ask my parents for one for Christmas, and was wondering what type I should look for.

[Lenny]

A big, expensive one is usually preferable. :p

I believe it depends on whether you want to star gaze, or planet watch, though I may be wrong. It's been six or seven years since my astronomy days. I just don't get the time to do it... and it's nearly always cloudy in my area.

[Demosthenes]

Do telescopes make much of a difference when looking at stars? I primarily wanted it to see the planets, however if I can discern galaxies and such, that would be cool, and I would consider buying one for star gazing.

[Lenny]

I'd just wirrten a nice long post, explaining various things... and then I clicked the wrong button and closed my browser. :(

I'll try and write it again.

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First things first, read this article. It gives a lot of insight into buying a telescope - http://www.skyandtelescope.com/equipment/basics/3303926.html?page=1&c=y

Briefly...

- Aperture (opening in the telescope that allows light in)
The larger the aperture, the easier it is to see 'deep space' objects, such as galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters. This is because the larger the aperture, the more lights it lets in - dim objects appear a lot brighter. For example, a 6 inch aperture will makes things appear four times brighter than a 3 inch aperture, simply because the surace area of the six inch is four times that of the three inch.

- Portability
As a general rule of thumb, the bigger it is, the harder it is to lug about, so the less you lug it about, the less you use it, the bigger a waste of money it becomes... unless you peer through your bedroom window with it.

From personal experience, I can tell you for sure that using a telescope outside is a damn sight better, pardon the pun, than using it inside - for one, you get a much greater degree of movement. Who cares if it's cold (kind of a catch-22 - the best stargazing time is when there is no cloud cover, but it's colder when there's no cloud cover)? I nearly developed pneumonia when I was ten because I was outside staring at Saturn and Jupiter (absolutely beautiful!!), but it was worth it.

- What type of, erm, viewy method?
There are three main types of telescope - refractor, reflector, and catadioptric.

A refractor uses lenses to magnify the object for a crisp, high-contrast image.

A reflector uses mirrors and can provide the highest quality image for the money paid (larger apertures are a lot cheaper than those of ther refractor variety, I think), and is best for all round gazing.

A catadioptic telescope uses both lenses and mirrors, and are brilliant for transporting around, as they are compact.

- Final thoughts
I'll reiterate what is said at the end of the article - price. Don't go for the cheapest telescope available, as it can be very badly made, and give an awful quality image. If you've got a budget of around or below $200, then go for a pair of high quality binoculars - you'd actually be surprised at how much you can see using them. Whilst you won't view the planets in as much detail, or as large as with a telescope, you can still get a satisfying view with a good pair of binoculars.

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I've got a Celestron Newtonian Reflector telescope with a 4.5" aperture on top of my wardrobe. I don't know how much it cost, as it was a Christmas present years ago. With it, I viewed Jupiter, with it's various bands, Great Red Spot, and four moons in stunning quality. I even made a detailed sketch using it. I also viewed Saturn and saw its amazing rings. It stands about five feet tall, and rests on a tripod.

Oh, one last thing to remember if you do decide to get a telescope - eyepieces. The article talks about them, and I don't feel I know enough to talk confidently about them.

[Demosthenes]

Thanks a lot Lenny!

After reading around a bit, I think I want to go for a reflector. From what I've gathered they seem to be quite a bit cheaper than refractors, more portable, and are good for both looking at stars and planets. I'd Like something in between 90-150mm, with a few eyepieces.

Again, thanks for all the info.

[Lenny]

Not a problem.

Enjoy all your future stargazing!

[Grav]

I had a few telescopes growing up. Nothing over $200 I reckon. With the last one I remember having, craters in the moon were discernable. Pretty cool. I found it difficult to get a good angle with one eye though.

[Demosthenes]

I had a few telescopes growing up. Nothing over $200 I reckon. With the last one I remember having, craters in the moon were discernable. Pretty cool. I found it difficult to get a good angle with one eye though.

My friend has some high-quality astronomy binoculars which showed an excellent view of the moon, however I couldn't see any craters. It just was a very high-resolution, somewhat magnified picture of what I already see.

[Grav]

I don't mean small ones. Just the larger ones, as far as I can remember. What you're saying sounds about right, but with more detail. I guess you'll find out.

[Demosthenes]

Lenny, I was wondering if you ever took pictures with your telescope, and if so, how?

[Lenny]

Not with mine, no.

I've just had a quick lookee on Google, on the general consensus is that you'd need a Digital SLR, and an afocal coupling, I think it's called, to attach it to the eyepiece, effectively using the telescope as a lense. If you want to go for exposures of longer than a few seconds, you'll also need an electric motor which will slowly turn the telescope to follow the object around the sky.

Alternatively, you can use a method called "piggybacking", in which you secure the camera to the telescope with a mount, start the motor running, and walk away - the camera takes a picture through its own lense, rather than through the telescope.

Here are two articles, from the same site as before. The first is piggybacking, the second is using the telescope as a lense.

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/howto/astrophotography/Deep-Sky_Photography.html?page=2&c=y

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/howto/astrophotography/3304331.html?page=2&c=y

And if you want further reading, here's a list of astrophotography articles from the same site:

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/howto/astrophotography

I assume you did get a telescope, then?

[Demosthenes]

Thanks.

And yea, I did get a telescope. http://www.celestron.com/c2/product.php?CatID=62&ProdID=428 My dad got it for 150 somewhere.

[D3V]

Thanks.

And yea, I did get a telescope. http://www.celestron.com/c2/product.php?CatID=62&ProdID=428 My dad got it for 150 somewhere.

That's a very nice peice of machinery, my uncle has one almost identicla to that, have fun MJ!

[Lenny]

I agree with D3V - a great piece of kit.

Have you been able to do much with it so far?

[Demosthenes]

Actually I haven't even seen it yet. It arrived in Houston day-before yesterday, and I've been in College Station. I'm going home on the 10th, though, and I'm looking forward to it.

[Lenny]

Diggeth!

Just wondering how it's all going - have you been able to use it, etc?

[Demosthenes]

Yea, I got a chance to use it. It was pretty sweet. I enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I am not very good with locating things quite yet, but I'm getting better every time I go home. I went home this weekend, but unfortunately it was too cloudy to see anything. :-\

The finder scope helps!