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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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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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jeeves posted:I didn't think of that, and strangely the sites I read about this didn't mention the solution either. I wear glasses as well, and I really haven't found a great solution to observing while wearing them. I have a two pairs of binoculars, one with 9mm eye relief that is nearly unusable even with the eyecups rolled back, and a set with 12mm eye relief that is better, but I still just take off the glasses and spend a bit of time hunting. Viewing through a telescope is great at least.
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Feb 29, 2012 11:49
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Boba_Fettish posted:I'm trying to get a good telescope for my Nephew who is 10 right not, but this kid is really into it, and I want him to stay into it for a hobby at the very least. It's going to be tough to get all that under $600, but I'll do my best. You could get a NexStar 4SE for about $500, which is a smaller scope, but ticks the boxes of motorized go-to and laptop control via NexRemote software (which I have not used). You will need a laptop with a serial port, or a USB converter. You'd also be able to add a usb camera to this setup for remote viewing. Pre-made, these start around $100 dollars, but I and others have made them out of a USB webcam, a project enclosure box from radio shack, and bits of a leftover eyepiece for around 50 bucks. This is the specific one I did: http://ghonis2.ho8.com/Pro9000mod.html There are better webcam options now though, I think Jekub posted about one a few pages ago. You can attach a DSLR to this telescope if you purchase an appropriate adapter that fits your DSLR, but you may have difficulty using it near zenith (directly overhead) due to the telescope not having a lot of clearance on it's mount. You can add a solar filter to this telescope as well, for around 40-50, but they appear to be discontinued and will be somewhat tough to find. A NexStar 4SE plus all the goodies will be closer to 800, but if you shop the used market you can reduce that price. Loztblaz fucked around with this message at 04:15 on Mar 2, 2012 |
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Mar 2, 2012 04:10
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Teh z0rceror posted:I need a little help identifying my new toy. My dad bought this slightly before he passed away back in 2007. I think he bought it in 2005/6, and we only used it a few times. I'm pretty sure this is a Celestron Nexstar 5. Shows 1250mm on the front of it. This should be the manual for that scope, which is a Nexstar 5. The accessory tray might be important if it's part of the support system for the tripod, which I think they did for some of their tripods. The stock finder is a red dot style finder, which isn't very good anyway. If you need to replace it, I'd recommend a Telrad or Rigel finder. They run around 30 bucks, and are much better.
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Apr 10, 2012 02:34
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movax posted:My post got lost, bumping to see if people can share their experiences with light pollution Dealing with light pollution really depends on your target. I used to live in an area that is classified as red on that Dark Sky Finder map that barakus linked, and I was able to see most of the Messier objects. Globular clusters and dense nebulae were the easiest, but objects past magnitude 9 or so were only visible if they had a dense core. Planetary viewing was completely unimpeded by light pollution. I was using a 8" Dobsonian at the time. I was lucky to have a local astronomy group that had an observatory/observing field, so I would use that for nights when I wanted to see the milky way clear in the sky. Before I joined up with them, I would go to state parks as they generally have little local light pollution and are intended to be camped in. Google says you have a local astronomy club that has access to an observatory area as well: http://www.umich.edu/~lowbrows/theclub/
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Apr 24, 2012 19:47
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movax posted:Awesome. I was recommended the Orion SpaceProbe 130ST by a friend who's been doing this a lot longer than I've been alive, any thoughts? Seems to fall in line with OP advice. It's a solid beginner scope. You're giving up a little high end magnification in exchange for portability and an EQ mount, versus a Dob, but that may be a trade worth making for you. You may want to add a 2x barlow lens later on, as 25mm and 10mm eyepieces won't give you great planetary views on a 650mm focal length scope. An acquaintance of mine has the 130EQ longer tube version of this scope, and the mount is a little wobbly, but the ST is about 2/3 the weight so it shouldn't be as bad. Loztblaz fucked around with this message at 20:44 on Apr 25, 2012 |
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Apr 25, 2012 19:57
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