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Okay, I will try and type something up soon.
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Nov 18, 2011 02:29
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So, have any of you heard of the Gazer Equatorial Mount, or GEM1? I've found one with what looks to be a pretty bad newtonian on top for $200. The mount seems to be an out of production equivalent to the EQ4. That it is out of production seems to be a problem for finding motors for it, but I'm not quite at that point anyway. I have a feeling this is either a steal, or a complete waste of money, and I really hope someone here knows which.
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Nov 20, 2011 11:11
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My 6 year old wants a telescope for Christmas and I want to get her something that isn't crap. We don't need to see PLuto or anything, just the craters on the moon, the rings of Saturn and the eye of Jupiter. Any suggestions?
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Dec 7, 2011 19:47
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wormil posted:Someone nearby has a Zhumell 8" (Z8) Dobsonion for $300, like new. It looks like a nice scope but I don't know anything about them. Reviews on telescope.com are favorable. Anyone have experience with them or comments vs the Orion Z8? That's pretty close to the price point of buying a new one. Does this one come with anything special like extra eye pieces which cost you a ton - everyone interested in getting into this hobby needs to know this - you will spend more money on your eye pieces/accessories than the telescope.
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Dec 7, 2011 19:59
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Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:My 6 year old wants a telescope for Christmas and I want to get her something that isn't crap. We don't need to see PLuto or anything, just the craters on the moon, the rings of Saturn and the eye of Jupiter. Any suggestions? I'd suggest either an EQ mounted newtonian (cheap, smaller, lighter, but more complicated) or a small dobsonian (easy for a kid to track an object while observing, easy to set up, but larger and heavier). For the EQ mounted newtonian, the Astromaster 130EQ is a solid starting scope. For the price you're getting good (for the price) optics and a decent mount. EQ mounts are more complicated to set up than a dobsonian though, so this would be a good option if you planned on doing most of the setup for a while. For dobsonian mounted newtonians, something in the 6-8 inch range is both easy to set up and use, and very capable depending on where you're viewing from. Most dobs are pretty similar, anything from Orion/Zhumell/Skywatcher will be of similar quality. Once the tube is on the base, a dob is dead simple to use. The only small refractor I have personal experience with is the AT72ED, which may be more than you want to spend ($380 without any accessories or a mount). It's a great grab and go scope though, the entire setup that my friend uses weighs about 10 pounds.
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Dec 7, 2011 21:57
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Loztblaz posted:I'd suggest either an EQ mounted newtonian (cheap, smaller, lighter, but more complicated) or a small dobsonian (easy for a kid to track an object while observing, easy to set up, but larger and heavier). Thanks for the answers. Although I must admit, I don't understand many of your words. So if I got this would I later be able to interface it with software to help find stars? I have a phone app that apparently has some sort of interface for that, but I don't know what I would need on the scope end.
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Dec 7, 2011 22:12
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Is she going to have to lug the thing around (or want to) or is this something you plan on doing together? I don't see her being able to lift a larger newtonian/dob in any capacity.
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Dec 7, 2011 22:17
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invalid posted:Is she going to have to lug the thing around (or want to) or is this something you plan on doing together? I don't see her being able to lift a larger newtonian/dob in any capacity. I will do all the setup. Hell, it's after her bedtime by the time it gets dark most of the year. This will definitely be a father/daughter activity.
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Dec 7, 2011 22:19
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Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:My 6 year old wants a telescope for Christmas and I want to get her something that isn't crap. We don't need to see PLuto or anything, just the craters on the moon, the rings of Saturn and the eye of Jupiter. Any suggestions? If I had the $$$ to buy every child I know a first telescope, it would go to this : http://www.celestron.com/c3/product.php?ProdID=568 It is about $75 at dealers here in Canada, I believe. Great reviews all around for a small starter scope for people to dip their toes in the astronomy waters and see if it is something they want to invest further in. http://www.universetoday.com/29996/the-celestron-firstscope-telescope-official-product-of-international-year-of-astronomy/ http://blackholesandastrostuff.blogspot.com/2009/05/review-celestron-firstscope.html PingtheMerciless fucked around with this message at 02:59 on Dec 8, 2011 |
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Dec 8, 2011 02:57
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PingtheMerciless posted:If I had the $$$ to buy every child I know a first telescope, it would go to this : Oh that could be a really nice starting point. I assume I'd want to get the spotting scope kit too.
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Dec 8, 2011 03:06
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Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:I will do all the setup. Hell, it's after her bedtime by the time it gets dark most of the year. This will definitely be a father/daughter activity. Yeah I was assuming that you'd be doing most of the setup, but I totally forgot about the FirstScope that PingtheMerciless brought up, which is a great little scope for a kid. She'd be able to use it on her own a lot sooner than a dob or EQ newtonian. I'd get the accessory kit too, it's worth it. Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:Thanks for the answers. Although I must admit, I don't understand many of your words. Sorry about that, I sort of panic typed that out before heading to an appointment. Go with the FirstScope and ignore all that crap I said up there, at least until you've got some telescope time and know if you want to go further. As for software based star finding, that's the realm of much more expensive and complicated gear. Most smartphone star apps are just for finding where object X is tonight in relation to other objects. Loztblaz fucked around with this message at 05:08 on Dec 8, 2011 |
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Dec 8, 2011 04:56
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I gotta agree with the other two. If she shows interest then you could always upgrade. Hell, you might catch the bug. Most kids lose interest. Well in just about everything really, but with astronomy the realize that things don't look like the pictures she's seen. The planets and moon should blow her little mind though. That a few of the more brilliant clusters.
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Dec 8, 2011 20:09
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I own a firstscope, complete with the spotting scope kit and its easy to use, and provides (for the price) really good views. I modded a really sturdy tripod to attach to the base, and have gotten great results so far.
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Dec 11, 2011 19:06
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PingtheMerciless posted:If I had the $$$ to buy every child I know a first telescope, it would go to this : Is this pretty much the best thing one could get for about 100$ in canada? My girlfriend is going to buy her father a telescope in that price range and I wonder what she could get that would be worth it. other options that are available in our area : SKY HERITAGE 76 SPECIAL ASTRONOMIE (http://www.opticalvision.co.uk/astronomical_telescopes/sky-watcher/sky-watcher_IYA_2009_special_edition_telescopes) Also, what are some essential things to buy with a first scope like those two? Also, what can one expect to see with those things? From my quick research Jupiter and moon would look something like that  And the moon would look like this :   Which is kind of underwhelming since I can get a better picture of the moon with my Dslr and a 200 or 250mm lens. Was there a lot of detail lost in the taking a picture part? Is there anything cooler looking than this to see or is that the best one can hope to see through a 100$ telescope? I mean it's pretty cool already and I would like to dick around with a telescope like that but I don't know if her father would, so I'd like her to have a good idea of what he's going to be able to see before she buys it since she knows him better than me and will know if it's a good idea or not. KingColliwog fucked around with this message at 16:06 on Dec 19, 2011 |
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Dec 19, 2011 01:24
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I can't really advise on those mini scopes, I've never used one. I would expect the view of Jupiter would be better than that though, that picture is both badly over exposed and out of focus, at least one of those won't be an issue for your eyes. Anyway, it's been a while but I've finally got back down the shed.  The Heart Nebula - IC1805 by tmarkuk, on Flickr Next target will be the soul nebula next door, if you go back to page 15 you can see both of these objects in my widefield of the region.
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Dec 21, 2011 00:01
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KingColliwog posted:Which is kind of underwhelming since I can get a better picture of the moon with my Dslr and a 200 or 250mm lens. Was there a lot of detail lost in the taking a picture part? Buying a scope for under $100 is tough if you are wanting to see some nicer stuff, about the lowest starting point for decent scopes is ~$210-240 for the 130mm EQ mounted scopes (AstroMaster for Celestron, SpaceProbe for Orion, etc). If you've got plenty of time, the used market can get you a great deal (I've seen 8" dobsonians for about $100 at times) but you need to know what you're looking for and how to set up and use the telescope without a manual.
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Dec 21, 2011 20:39
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Loztblaz posted:Some of the larger deep sky objects like M31 (Andromeda Galaxy), M42 (Orion Nebula), and M45 (Pleiades) will be visible in small scopes, but their visual quality will be dependent on your light pollution and sky quality. Jupiter likely would show some surface bands, and the moon would show you a bit more detail as well. Thanks, we got lucky and found an Astromaster on sale about 50% off and got that instead. Thanks to everyone
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Dec 21, 2011 20:55
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Loztblaz posted:Buying a scope for under $100 is tough if you are wanting to see some nicer stuff, about the lowest starting point for decent scopes is ~$210-240 for the 130mm EQ mounted scopes (AstroMaster for Celestron, SpaceProbe for Orion, etc). If you've got plenty of time, the used market can get you a great deal (I've seen 8" dobsonians for about $100 at times) but you need to know what you're looking for and how to set up and use the telescope without a manual. I just saw a 10" dobsonian on Craigslist for $100! But it was gone within hours. Gah!
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Dec 22, 2011 20:17
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Loztblaz posted:If you live in some area where you can see the Milky Way from your front door, congratulations. I hate you. Does my backdoor count?  Heber Valley, Utah is what we now call home (with a brief stay in Park City) Clouds of any type are rare (perhaps one day every 2 weeks or so), and the skys are dark as something really absent of light. Well, except for the planets, moon and that bright milky way that I can see with only a couple seconds of pupil dilation. My wife and I discussed getting me a proper scope once we moved west from PA. It was a no-brainer once we landed here, and she talked sandy claws into bringing me a XT10 Orion Dobsonian. After a quick self-lesson in collimation, The very first (last) night found me looking at jupiter and it's moons. Even with the included 25mm EP, I could easily see the bands. Pointing it into the milky way was pretty overwhelming. SO many stars popped into view that would be invisible to the naked eye. If we didn't have company over, and it wasn't cold as a witches tit, I would have been outside all night. I anticipate some upgrades to the tube, finder is a bit flimsy, the bearings need some slickening and I am already researching higher-end wide-view EPs. 
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Dec 26, 2011 20:16
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Fog Tripper posted:Does my backdoor count? I live in Lehi you bastard. I have a ward house across the street and a stake house two doors down, along with plenty of street lighting. Just ordered my 12" Lightbridge. I'm coming to your backyard.
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Dec 28, 2011 02:38
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This beast should be here sometime on saturday.
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Dec 30, 2011 07:28
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I finally have enough money to get an XT8 (), could use a little advice on EPs though. The wide FOV EPs sound pretty nice, but I definitely don't have the cash to drop on a Televue Nagler. The Orion Expanse EPs sound like decent low-end wide(ish) FOV options, at around $50. What I was thinking about was rolling with a 20mm Expanse (replacing the 25mm Sirius Plossl by using the Build-A-Scope) and 15mm Expanse, coupled with an Orion Shorty 2x barlow. This, however, leaves me enough room in my budget to upgrade one of the EPs to an Orion Stratus, which sound like pretty solid WFOV options around $110. Or I could upgrade to a Televue 2x barlow at $125, but I'm not sure which would be the better investment. Planning on grabbing all this from Telescope.com. I don't really want to take a chance at getting screwed out of my money on the used market by getting a faulty scope since I don't really know better. Also I wouldn't mind having the warranty, just in case. Edit: Also, I was thinking about going with one of the right-angle view finders since it looks like it would be a lot less awkward to use than the default red dot finder on a small scope like this. Sikreci fucked around with this message at 00:13 on Jan 11, 2012 |
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Jan 10, 2012 10:38
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AceSnyp3r posted:I finally have enough money to get an XT8 ( I have a 13mm and a 5mm Orion Stratus. I love them both. I use the 13mm the most out of all my EPs. Using both of these on a Zhumell 10" Dob.
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Jan 11, 2012 02:41
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AceSnyp3r posted:I finally have enough money to get an XT8 ( 1. Join This Forum 2. The forum owner is Atronomics.com, who gives it's forum members a discount. 3. The EPs I mention in above post are on sale and are very highly regarded. Since getting my XT10, I mounted a telrad (the stock red-dot is a piece of garbage) for a finder. I have not regretted it. I need to get a decent collimator now...
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Jan 13, 2012 03:15
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Oh wow, those look great, thanks! Do you know if Astronomics accepts credit cards, or are they PayPal only? I can't seem to find out one way or another without creating an account there. Also, when you say a telrad finder, do you mean this? I wasn't sure if that was a specific piece or if "telrad" is a more general term. http://www.astronomics.com/main/product.asp/catalog_name/Astronomics/category_name/2DNUFM33CE2S9KTPBVGJN12PF1/product_id/3990
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Jan 13, 2012 05:35
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AceSnyp3r posted:Oh wow, those look great, thanks! Do you know if Astronomics accepts credit cards, or are they PayPal only? I can't seem to find out one way or another without creating an account there. I put my order in over the phone, mention I am a forum member. Yes to credit cards, yes to the telrad. You still have to look through it like the red-dot, but it is a more solid mount and "rings" rather than a crappy dot. I think the ES EPs are on sale until February. I got the 30mm. It is as big as you'd imagine. About the size of a large coffee mug.
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Jan 13, 2012 06:18
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In the event you thought I was kidding:
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Jan 13, 2012 23:36
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Fog Tripper posted:In the event you thought I was kidding:  Thanks for the links and the heads up on the Explore Scientific pieces. I read/posted on CloudyNights a bit, and it sounds like the Zhumell Z8 is a better deal than the XT8, so I'll probably go with that. Leaves me enough in my budget I think I might grab a 2x barlow and a 14mm ES eyepiece.
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Jan 14, 2012 04:14
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Fog Tripper posted:1. Join This Forum Do you mind saying how much of a discount the forum membership gave you since they can't say what it is on their site?
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Jan 14, 2012 23:38
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Inept posted:Do you mind saying how much of a discount the forum membership gave you since they can't say what it is on their site?
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Jan 14, 2012 23:46
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I got 5% off the piece and telrad.
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Jan 15, 2012 03:45
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Inept posted:Do you mind saying how much of a discount the forum membership gave you since they can't say what it is on their site? I think I got about 10% off the last time I ordered from them, but it was about a year ago so I could be wrong or it could have changed. I also remember getting great service from them. I bought a couple eyepieces and paid for air shipping without looking up where they shipped from, and about 10 minutes after the order went through I got a phone call asking if I wanted to drop down to ground shipping, since it would ship from one state over and take the same amount of time either way. Not the biggest deal in the world, but I appreciate little stuff like that.
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Jan 15, 2012 03:47
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I need to get a decent collimator. Last night was a VERY dark sky, but I exchanged mirrors (original had some scratches/chips) and it's all out of whack now. Looks like we will finally be getting a bit of snow/clouds over the next week, so I should have a nice window to purchase a laser. Also took a moment to unpack the old russian tank of a reflector that I have had for like-ever. May see about tuning it a little bit. The primary mirror's screw adjustments are covered with some nasty-rear end wax substance. Uncertain how much tweaking I will be able to do. It's a 6" I think (or whatever crazy measurement system space-russians used). Fog Tripper fucked around with this message at 17:16 on Jan 15, 2012 |
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Jan 15, 2012 17:14
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AceSnyp3r posted:and it sounds like the Zhumell Z8 is a better deal than the XT8, so I'll probably go with that. Confirming that the Zhumell is nicer than the Orion.
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Jan 16, 2012 05:04
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I ended up getting the 11mm Explore Scientific eyepiece that was on sale. All I have right now is the 25mm Plossl that came with my XT8, so it will probably impress me no matter what.
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Jan 19, 2012 17:00
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Inept posted:I ended up getting the 11mm Explore Scientific eyepiece that was on sale. All I have right now is the 25mm Plossl that came with my XT8, so it will probably impress me no matter what. The 25mm will be more forgiving of lower quality, I think.
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Jan 19, 2012 18:12
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My CGEM broke, bit cross about that. It looks like the motor control board has failed, probably one of the MOSFET chips, a replacement board can only be sourced from the US at around £300 ($480) plus duty and tax, which seems a bit steep all things considered. A friend of mine is going to take a look at it and replace some components, hopefully we'll be able to bring it back to life with some spare parts. In the mean time my Vixen Sphinx has moved into the shed with my small scopes to serve as a widefield imaging platform for the time being, it look a bit lost in there but should keep me happy until something can be worked out with the CGEM. I took this the other night as a quick test to make sure everything was working with the Sphinx :  The Orion Nebula by tmarkuk, on Flickr Just a quick set of 25x60 seconds and 25x120 seconds, stacked separately with the resulting images combined with Pixinsight's HDR Combination tool.
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Jan 26, 2012 10:13
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Hey guys. Any suggestions on an inexpensive way (50 bucks or less would be great) to mount some binoculars? I was looking at some downward facing plans but I'm worried the mirror I use will kill the quality. Any ideas?
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Feb 1, 2012 01:34
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Not really. You'll need at least a decent tripod and head combo. It will have to be beefy to deal with the offset load and high mag. Anything cheap will be a waste of time and money.
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Feb 1, 2012 01:43
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| # ? May 10, 2024 13:36 |
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Hello astro goons! I'm trying to get into Astronomy, and I am in a pretty neat observational astro class at my community college. My current issue is the fact that I wear glasses. They are mostly for reading far away things, as if I take my glasses off this text on my monitor becomes a barely readable blur. Thus, trying to stargaze without glasses is pretty hard. This is a bit of a problem with binoculars, as my teacher was just like "oh, take your glasses off you don't need them to see through the binos", but the issue then becomes I lose sight of what I am trying to look at while taking off glasses and putting on the binos-- by the time I look through them it takes me forever to find what I was trying to look at before. Thus, I have just been keeping my glasses on. I read a thing about eye relief on various websites, but I have heard wildly conflicting measurements on what eye relief to look into. One site said anything below 15mm eye relief would be bad, but another said 10-12 is 'great for glasses'. It seems most of the high end nicer stuff has much smaller eye relief, so this is making me wonder a bit before I drop some money on a nice pair to use on my own when not in class. Any suggestions? What is a decent eye relief to look for? Would these 9x60's be good enough for introductory star gazing-- they seem to be advertized for glasses users with the 16mm relief? And if I buy something with a lot of eye relief does that mean that ONLY people with glasses can see through them well? I'd rather exhaust these options before going and dropping way more money on getting contacts again for the first time in years.
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Feb 24, 2012 21:40
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