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No filters really work for galaxies because the light you're seeing is primarily continuous spectra from starlight. Any filter you put in will block the galaxy's light. As for nebulae, an OIII will primarily work for planetary nebulae and supernova remnants, but may be too aggressive for other objects, especially if you have ten inches of aperture or less. I'd recommend a UHC filter that will also let through HBeta wavelengths. I think some also allow HAlpha wavelengths, which would be optimal. As for the moon, I find general moon filters to be inadequate. Depending on the phase and other conditions they can either darken too much or not enough. Variable polarizers are the shiz, though.
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Aug 23, 2015 18:28
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Is there such a thing as a good entry-level telescope? Something maybe in the $150-$300 range? I'm looking to get into amateur astronomy and I'm curious what's available. Amazon refers me to a bunch of $60 telescopes that seem great but I'm wondering if they're actually worth it. I live in NYC and plan on doing my viewing in Central Park and in neighboring states while camping.
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Aug 28, 2015 00:08
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Verisimilidude posted:Is there such a thing as a good entry-level telescope? Something maybe in the $150-$300 range? I'm looking to get into amateur astronomy and I'm curious what's available. Amazon refers me to a bunch of $60 telescopes that seem great but I'm wondering if they're actually worth it. I live in NYC and plan on doing my viewing in Central Park and in neighboring states while camping. I just picked up a pair of 15x70 Celestron binoculars and hooked them up to my heavy-duty photo tripod. So far, they've been good as an entry-level astronomy tool. I also got an all-metal tripod mount for another $10 instead of using the included plastic one, but that's optional. http://smile.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-70-Inch-Pistol-Grip-Tripod/dp/B00CF1LS94/ http://smile.amazon.com/Celestron-SkyMaster-Binoculars-Tripod-Adapter/dp/B00008Y0VN/
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Aug 28, 2015 00:27
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I'm going to recommend against binoculars for this guy. Astronomy binos are great for scanning nebula and galaxies from a dark site, which Central Park NYC is not. They also do best with a heavy duty tripod, a specialized mounting arm, and a reclining chair to allow you to view the zenith. All of this adds a great deal of weight and bulk which removes any advantage the bins had in the first place. Get this book first: "The Urban Astronomer's Guide" is great. It has a detailed equipment section geared towards observing from light polluted sites.
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Aug 28, 2015 02:40
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I'm in the market for a telescope, I've done the binoculars and Turn Left at Orion thing this summer along with some very amateur astrophotography. I've found a great place with south and west views with little light pollution for a major city. I can't do an 8 inch reflector due to my only vehicle being a Mini Cooper and my hope for something somewhat portable as i can't just set up on my balcony and have a great view. What are the thoughts on something like this: http://protelescope.com/index.php/c...ds&SKU=678826-B It's at the top of my price range, but I can afford it now and pick up some accessories as I become more comfortable with it. I'd like to be able to see: more than just a few clusters that I have seen with the binoculars Be able to see more objects in space that Turn Left at Orion talks about (I've tried finding a bunch with binocs with little luck) a better view of our close planets, Saturn's rings, moons, etc.. slightly less amateur astrophotography than I have been doing Any other recommended options for me?
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Aug 31, 2015 23:36
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ltr posted:I'm in the market for a telescope, I've done the binoculars and Turn Left at Orion thing this summer along with some very amateur astrophotography. I've found a great place with south and west views with little light pollution for a major city. I can't do an 8 inch reflector due to my only vehicle being a Mini Cooper and my hope for something somewhat portable as i can't just set up on my balcony and have a great view. I have a Ford Fiesta and can fit an 8 inch dob fine. The tube lies across the back seats and the base goes in the trunk. There should be enough from behind the seats in the mini for the base, and the tube should easily fit since the mini is actually 3 inches wider than the fiesta.
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Sep 1, 2015 00:22
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That Meade refractor has good optics, but it's woefully undermounted. I played with one at a star party earlier this summer and the view bounced and jiggled so much that it was a nightmare. Also rendered the go-to computer pretty much useless because it wasn't able to hold alignment.
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Sep 1, 2015 03:02
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If anyone's interested Neptune reaches opposition tonight, which means it's at the brightest point in its orbit and also the closest it gets to Earth. This week is probably the best time to look at it for a while. It's in Aquarius near the star Lambda Aquarii and shouldn't be that hard to find with binoculars.
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Sep 1, 2015 03:46
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If you can afford it, an 8" SCT is surprisingly compact one you break it down from the tripod.* If it's still too bulky, look for a 6. Keep your eyes open in craigs/local online listings. You can sometimes get drat lucky. Vladimir Poutine posted:If anyone's interested Neptune reaches opposition tonight, which means it's at the brightest point in its orbit and also the closest it gets to Earth. This week is probably the best time to look at it for a while. It's in Aquarius near the star Lambda Aquarii and shouldn't be that hard to find with binoculars. * Not exactly small, just not a big dob-size optical tube. slidebite fucked around with this message at 05:38 on Sep 1, 2015 |
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Sep 1, 2015 05:30
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Vladimir Poutine posted:If anyone's interested Neptune reaches opposition tonight, which means it's at the brightest point in its orbit and also the closest it gets to Earth. This week is probably the best time to look at it for a while. It's in Aquarius near the star Lambda Aquarii and shouldn't be that hard to find with binoculars. I wish I could, but it is raining here and won't stop.
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Sep 1, 2015 07:05
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GutBomb posted:I have a Ford Fiesta and can fit an 8 inch dob fine. The tube lies across the back seats and the base goes in the trunk. There should be enough from behind the seats in the mini for the base, and the tube should easily fit since the mini is actually 3 inches wider than the fiesta. I just went and measured everything, I've got 42 inches from the back of the front seat to the rear hatch, 45 inches laid across the back seat and 53 inches if I go diagonal across the space. Looking at the measurement of http://www.telescope.com/Orion-SkyQuest-XT8-Classic-Dobsonian-Telescope/p/102005.uts?keyword=xt8 I could lay it diagonal but that cuts down the ability for a third person/baby squeezed in the back seat. And a 6 inch Dob is about the same length as well. I definitely like the idea of getting something bigger like the 8 inch, but also worry about the whole if it's big and cumbersome of transport and use, I may not get al lot of use out of it. Or I should just not worry about it, get the 8-inch and use my fiancee's Grand Vitara and make sure any future car we buy her has the space to fit the telescope and a baby.
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Sep 1, 2015 22:16
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ltr posted:I just went and measured everything, I've got 42 inches from the back of the front seat to the rear hatch, 45 inches laid across the back seat and 53 inches if I go diagonal across the space. Looking at the measurement of http://www.telescope.com/Orion-SkyQuest-XT8-Classic-Dobsonian-Telescope/p/102005.uts?keyword=xt8 I could lay it diagonal but that cuts down the ability for a third person/baby squeezed in the back seat. And a 6 inch Dob is about the same length as well. Wow I had no idea the mini was so narrow inside when it's wider on the outside. I'd highly recommend an 8 inch dob. I've tried two smaller (but bigger than the one you were looking at) and was just disappointed with the views. Exhilarating at first but after getting used to it I knew I could do better. Now I have an Orion XT8 and a Celestron nexstar 4SE. Since I got the XT8 I've only broken the 4SE out once and that was to compare what the ring nebula looked like in both. I could barely see it at all with the 4SE and could see it clearly with the XT8. Since the 4SE has a wedge style mount I do plan on trying out some photography with it, and that's basically the only reason I've kept it. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad scope, but the dob outshines it when it comes to viewing to the point that I'd rather lug the big heavy dob around than the easily manageable 4SE.
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Sep 1, 2015 22:41
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My Zhumell Z10 barely fits in the back seat wrapped up in a blanket, and due to the shape of the base I have to finagle that into the back seat as well, kinda sitting on top of it in a weird way, since it won't fit in my trunk and while it would fit in the front seat, I'm not going to put my wife in the trunk. There's definitely downsides to these things.
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Sep 2, 2015 03:45
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Problem solved. (Dude not included.)
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Sep 2, 2015 14:59
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GutBomb posted:Wow I had no idea the mini was so narrow inside when it's wider on the outside. Fiancee was okay with the size so I pulled the trigger today and ordered the Orion SkyQuest XT8 Classic Dobsonian Telescope. The reviews were great everywhere I looked and figured this will be good for a long while of learning the dark skies. It's being delivered to my parents on Friday and I will pick it up Saturday. I hope everyone in Los Angeles likes 4 weeks of clouds... Definitely excited to the point where I've spent all day reading astronomy stuff instead of working on lesson plans. Oops.
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Sep 3, 2015 06:30
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I finally got my telescope and was lucky enough to have ok conditions last night. Observational highlights were Antares, Albireo and M13 which was really cool. I was happy that I was able to figure out how to use the EQ mount well enough to find m13. I think I missed my window on Saturn from my back yard. It's just a little too low by sunset. I was able to see it in August but now it's mia. 
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Sep 5, 2015 17:53
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It's been sunny and beautiful here the past couple weeks, and had been forecasted to stay clear for the rest of the summer, so I was inspired to finally pull the trigger on some 15x70 celestron binoculars, with the hopes of taking them out tonight. Now instead of being clear and beautiful it's overcast all night, and worse yet, the rest of the week has changed to thunderstorms, rain and other cloudiness
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Sep 5, 2015 20:33
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On the bright side, you've learned how to control the weather.
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Sep 5, 2015 21:46
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I did it! I hunted around the sky with the finder scope before it got dark and found saturn. I managed to get a pic with my phone too. This is a good day in spite of the fact that my face is a bumpy itchy mess from the mosquitos.
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Sep 6, 2015 01:39
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I wear one of those mesh bug jackets while observing with a small hole unzipped for the eyepiece, which works wonders. It tends to feel warm while still having good ventilation, so I can wear it with a t-shirt while everyone else has a sweater on.
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Sep 6, 2015 06:49
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I just use stinky bug spray.
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Sep 6, 2015 13:30
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Probably gonna go out and try some astrophotography now that I'm away from NYC and in Texas. I wanna try and branch out from the "point camera up and hope" technique I've been exclusively using. Maybe I could get a nebula with my 200mm lens? Any suggestions on how to do that? I don't have a goto or motorized mount or anything so that might be my biggest hurdle.
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Sep 7, 2015 01:33
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For brighter objects like Andromeda and the Orion Nebula you can stack a ton of shorter exposures (say 1.5 seconds or so) with manual tracking. The results aren't going to be quite as good as a long exposure photo with tracking but you can still get photos of fuzzier objects this way. I've never done it so I can't help much but it's a bit of a process... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0JSTF8SGi4
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Sep 7, 2015 02:02
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Trip report: So I built my Orion xt8 last night and had not planned to do much with it this weekend, but the fiancee mentioned how clear it looked outside so without any setting of the reflex finder or collimating we were off to my viewing area. It ended up being one of the best nights for visibility that I have seen there all summer. We set up just as night was falling and got to figuring everything out. Hit up Saturn because it's easy to find and was amazing seeing the rings for the first time. Spent the night looking for stuff in Scorpio and The Teapot area as I'm most familiar with it and it was quite successful. M6 and M7 were my first finds as I have viewed them through binoculars before and I will say the difference from Binoculars to telescope was amazing! Everything kind of popped with the telescope instead of being just a muddled cluster. Then we headed over and found M21, and I think M28(may have been M22) but it was much more of just a blob of lighter looking space. Got lost trying to find M20 and M8 from M21, but it was great fun! M4 also eluded us all evening. And of course we kept going back to Saturn over the hour and a half of viewing. Definately need more practice as the upside-down image in the eyepiece takes some getting used to for coordination of movement and very little movement of the telescope means large amounts of movement at the eyepiece. The reflex sight was pretty easy to use, but left a lot to be desired when trying to star hop with Turn Left at Orion(or probably just inexperience) and having to look along the tube to get it aligned with stars. I'm pretty sure a proper right angle finder scope is in the cards in the next few months. I guess it's time to get a few accessories. All I have is the included 25mm Ploss in 1.25". I've already got a lunar filter on the way as my fiancee wants to see the moon. I'm guessing I should pick up a 2x Barlow and another eyepiece? Also I need to read a lot, practice what I read and then read more.
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Sep 7, 2015 06:12
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So I didn't do anything fancy last night because I was lazy. I was also loving baffled seeing the Milky Way for the first time -- even if it was just the vague outline. I got a bunch of good pictures, and Venusian Weasel was kind enough to give me a quick tip to bring out the cloud structure a bit. Ended up with this: Milky Way in Texas by Connor WestClick for the full size. I happened to accidentally get the Coathanger in there by chance. I guess I'm just really lucky! Today I wanna try to work on it a bit more and see if I can scrub out some of the noise without ruining the smaller stars.
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Sep 7, 2015 20:30
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Spaced God posted:So I didn't do anything fancy last night because I was lazy. I was also loving baffled seeing the Milky Way for the first time -- even if it was just the vague outline. I got a bunch of good pictures, and Venusian Weasel was kind enough to give me a quick tip to bring out the cloud structure a bit. Ended up with this: That's a really cool photo, I miss being able to see the milky way
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Sep 9, 2015 13:35
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Stargazing with the Sun again yesterday.
Rip Testes fucked around with this message at 22:52 on Sep 12, 2015 |
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Sep 12, 2015 18:05
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I've been having a blast with my new telescope. I bought the T Adapter for my Nikon and decided to try it out. I found the Omega Nebula in the sky and hooked up my camera. The live view mode really helps because 1 star was bright enough to appear on the screen and I was able to use that to keep the nebula positioned. I tried setting the iso to max (Hi3 I think) and a 2 second exposure to see what would show up and holy crap, I can see it! I had some star trails and noise was out of this world but I don't care, this is amazing. I took some photos for stacking that I'll play with tonight but this is what I ended up with after a few minutes in Lightroom using a ton of noise reduction and fiddling with the image to get something that produced a somewhat black background. 
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Sep 15, 2015 20:06
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I've gone out every weekend since I got my Telescope and it's been very fun and definitely a learning experience. Last night we went out last night and took a peek at the Moon for International Observe the Moon Night. It was my first time using my telescope to view the moon and it was pretty great. Even managed some pictures shooting through the eyepiece with my Sony DCS-RX100. I think I could have skipped the moon filter and just sped up the shot to get a bit better focus, but still not bad all things considered. Shot through an Orion XT8, 25mm eyepiece with 2x barlow and 13% moon filter Also tried to find M31, but it's currently kinda low in the sky I guess and the direction of it is over very light polluted Los Angeles at the time I was viewing. I could barely make out the great square of Pegasus and one back leg slightly so I had nothing to really go with for identifying it other than somewhere between Cassiopeia and the Pegasus Anyways, question time. I'm looking at more eyepieces. I'm trying to figure out between 1.25 or 2 inch pieces and the places I've looked for information basically boils down to 2 inch are more expensive with wider field of view. Some places like cloudynights gets into a lot of math about the difference in eyepiece size even on the beginners forum, but I want something in more layman terms of the pros and cons. I'd like to get something like a 32mm to give a better view of the sky when I'm scanning for an object. So should I go with something like a 2 inch 32mm for more field of view or stick with the 1.25 so I can Barlow to a 16mm if I want. I currently just have the 25mm that came with my scope and a 2x barlow.
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Sep 20, 2015 17:50
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I've had basically no good visibility in the last month or so in southern Wisconsin. It's either been cloudy, or a combination of heat and/or humidity has been utterly ruining everything. I'm hoping we get some crisp nights soon.
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Sep 22, 2015 18:53
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ltr posted:I've gone out every weekend since I got my Telescope and it's been very fun and definitely a learning experience. Last night we went out last night and took a peek at the Moon for International Observe the Moon Night. It was my first time using my telescope to view the moon and it was pretty great. Even managed some pictures shooting through the eyepiece with my Sony DCS-RX100. I think I could have skipped the moon filter and just sped up the shot to get a bit better focus, but still not bad all things considered. Simplest reason to go for 2" is the eye relief. The difference for me is night and day, like looking through a window vs. looking through a peep hole. Much more comfortable on the eyes, much more enjoyable viewing. You can get barlows for 2" eyepieces if you want to zoom in for detail on planets or the surface of the moon, though generally for nebulas and such barlows and larger magnification eyepieces aren't necessary. If you're looking to do imaging more than visual, then of course that changes things. What are your goals?
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Sep 23, 2015 03:31
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Rip Testes posted:Simplest reason to go for 2" is the eye relief. The difference for me is night and day, like looking through a window vs. looking through a peep hole. Much more comfortable on the eyes, much more enjoyable viewing. You can get barlows for 2" eyepieces if you want to zoom in for detail on planets or the surface of the moon, though generally for nebulas and such barlows and larger magnification eyepieces aren't necessary. If you're looking to do imaging more than visual, then of course that changes things. What are your goals? The eye relief on the 2" sounds nice. I'd like to be able to identify more of the what I am seeing in the sky but getting better at that every week. What I would like to see are nebula, galaxies, open clusters, Globular clusters, etc... So guess starting with the Messier Objects. Also Comet Catalina when it comes to the Northern Hemisphere in November would be neat. From looking at the Moon and Saturn, it seems pretty easy with whatever I have handy so far so not so worried about getting something really high magnification right off the bat . I'm not interested in doing photography at this point other than "Hey can I stick my camera to the eyepiece and take a picture of the moon?" Much later when I know more, I'll look into something dedicated for that kind of thing.
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Sep 23, 2015 04:49
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Today I called a former national security advisor to the white house and 9/11 hero a "dumbface jerkwad wanker pissant" to his face. He's my neighbor, and he bought a 12" Lightbridge yesterday and now the eclipse is going to be clouded out because of it. He said "That's DOCTOR dumbface jerkwad pissant wanker to you, buddy."
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Sep 24, 2015 15:03
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ltr posted:The eye relief on the 2" sounds nice. I'd like to be able to identify more of the what I am seeing in the sky but getting better at that every week. What I would like to see are nebula, galaxies, open clusters, Globular clusters, etc... So guess starting with the Messier Objects. Also Comet Catalina when it comes to the Northern Hemisphere in November would be neat. From looking at the Moon and Saturn, it seems pretty easy with whatever I have handy so far so not so worried about getting something really high magnification right off the bat . I'm not interested in doing photography at this point other than "Hey can I stick my camera to the eyepiece and take a picture of the moon?" Much later when I know more, I'll look into something dedicated for that kind of thing. I think with the objects you're planning to observe definitely go 2" eyepieces if you can. You can still retain your 1.25" eyepieces and use when you wish, but I suspect once you start down the 2" route you'll be hooked.
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Sep 24, 2015 16:18
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Rip Testes posted:I think with the objects you're planning to observe definitely go 2" eyepieces if you can. You can still retain your 1.25" eyepieces and use when you wish, but I suspect once you start down the 2" route you'll be hooked. Cool, thanks for the info. From what you wrote, it sounded like 2" was the way to go, or at least grab one and try it out. I've only got a 25mm that came with my scope, 2x barlow and moon filter in 1.25" so not much of an investment so far. Once I take care of some wedding expenses, I'll pick up a 2" eyepiece and see how it is.
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Sep 25, 2015 00:18
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Oh man my first lunar eclipse since I've gotten my binos and its clouding over right now  Should be clear by totality but I was hoping to watch it move across the moon
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Sep 28, 2015 01:45
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I'm kind of in the same boat. I've been dodging clouds since the eclipse began and there's some thicker ones rolling in from the south so I don't know how much of totality I'll see. Fortunately it's a long totality so hopefully I'll get at least one cloud-free shot.
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Sep 28, 2015 02:25
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Same here, the moon was totally in the clear earlier but 20 minutes before the eclipse started the clouds moved in and haven't let up
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Sep 28, 2015 02:28
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Man, this is a really dark eclipse
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Sep 28, 2015 03:07
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drat, I only caught faint glimmers of it early in the evening before totality. Next total lunar eclipse here is in 4 years. Well, hopefully my equipment is that much better by then (and the weather!)
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Sep 28, 2015 04:40
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