OMG! OK, I got a telescope for Christmas - and I set it up the other night - but it's been overcast and raining here for a week - tonight, though was brilliantly clear. Full moon - so I started there - unbelievable - the detail.
What I really wanted to see sooner - rather than later was Saturn. I tracked it down... amazing - simply amazing. I was looking at that planet... with my own eyes - not as a picture in a book or on TV. Quite an experience. The rings were nice and clear and I could even pickup the varying sandy-brown hues of the planet itself. Remarkble.
Andrew
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
Well, technically you weren't looking at them with your own eyes, but rather as a magnified reflection But close enough. I envy you. I've always wanted to get a really decent telescope. And not just for watching the neighbor lady either...
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
Heheh...
If I tried the telescope on a neighbour - I probably wouldn't workout what part of her knuckle I was looking at
What was something that I didn't realise was how fast the moon and Saturn move across your viewing field! Highest power with Saturn was nearly impossible with my expertise at the moment - as it was moving across the field of view at about every 4 seconds!
Andrew
Posted by Balaam Xumucane (Member # 419) on :
What kind of scope did you get? What's the focal length? What kind of mount/tripod do you have for it?
Posted by Balaam Xumucane (Member # 419) on :
Congrats and welcome to the universe, btw. I just got into this myself when a family friend gave me a fixer-upper 4.5" Tasco reflector to look at Mars. So cool.
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
Astronomy kicks ass. There's just something about gazing at another planet, Mars in particular, that really gets you thinking why we can't fix our shit down here anddothis with our minds and hands instead of this.
Yeah, I know, kill the idealism and shut up. Right.
Posted by LOA (Member # 49) on :
My sister is a space geek, too.... 7 telescopes later, she's still a nerd.... I don't get it
She loves standing outside and freezing her ass off while looking at the stars though, so I hope you get the same pleasure from it, Andrew....
~LOA
Posted by The359 (Member # 37) on :
quote:Originally posted by LOA: My sister is a space geek, too....
I hadn't noticed...
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
quote:Originally posted by Balaam Xumucane: What kind of scope did you get? What's the focal length? What kind of mount/tripod do you have for it?
It's a Tasco 40-114675 Luminova - the mount/tripod came with it.
The Diameter is 114mm and the Focal length is 900mm.
Andrew
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
quote:Originally posted by Cartman: Astronomy kicks ass. There's just something about gazing at another planet, Mars in particular, that really gets you thinking why we can't fix our shit down here anddothis with our minds and hands instead of this.
Yeah, I know, kill the idealism and shut up. Right.
Cartman - you've read/a fan of Kim Stanley Robinson's Red/Green/Blue Mars trilogy??
Fantastic books.
Posted by Balaam Xumucane (Member # 419) on :
Is it a equatorial mount? That can make tracking alot easier if you're aligned right. Though, I'm guessing polar alignment is more tricky in the southern hemisphere.
Anyway, it's cool. It's fun. Mars is tiny now. Saturn isn't. You and I have the same telescope more or less. Except yours isn't held together with duct tape, has a nicer 1.25" focuser, and I'll bet your tripod is actually sound. What that must be like.
Did it come with a Barlowe? Might make a good investment if you want to look at planets up close. What's the seeing like where you're at? How's the light pollution? Because here in the armpit of Silicon Valley, it sucks wombat dick.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
quote:Originally posted by Balaam Xumucane: Is it a equatorial mount? That can make tracking alot easier if you're aligned right. Though, I'm guessing polar alignment is more tricky in the southern hemisphere.
Anyway, it's cool. It's fun. Mars is tiny now. Saturn isn't. You and I have the same telescope more or less. Except yours isn't held together with duct tape, has a nicer 1.25" focuser, and I'll bet your tripod is actually sound. What that must be like.
Did it come with a Barlowe? Might make a good investment if you want to look at planets up close. What's the seeing like where you're at? How's the light pollution? Because here in the armpit of Silicon Valley, it sucks wombat dick.
OK, seeing as I am COMPLETELY new to all this - what is and equatorial mount and/or a polar mount?
It does indeed have a Barlowe. I tried using the Barlowe and the highest objective on Saturn - the only problem - it was moving out of field too quickly!!
Well it IS a full moon at the moment - but I can step out into the back yard on a dark night and have a beautiful view of the milkyway - although I SO want to go out west about an hour - so many stars.
Posted by Balaam Xumucane (Member # 419) on :
An EQ mount is designed such that if you position one axis parallel to the polar axis, you can then easily locate objects using their Right Ascension and Declination. Also the problem with things moving out of field because of the Earth's rotation is simplified because now objects will ostensibly only be changing aparent position in one axis. Of course, the idea way to deal with this is to employ a clock drive which keeps the scope constantly looking at whatever you point it at. All of which, of course, depends on ensuring your mount is properly polar-aligned and adjusted for your latitude. And this can be a little tricky when you're first starting out. EQ mounts are undertandably more complicated than Alt/Az mounts and, depending on the type, frequently seem like they've got an extra axis in there.
You know one thing I'm finding, and have read time and again from countless sources is that it really comes down to viewing conditions. The instrument is important, but even a smaller scope is going to see a whole lot more in good conditions than a great scope in bad ones. I envy you your ability to see the milky way on dark nights. I have to drive at least an hour just to get up out of the haze.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
Ahhh ok - I'm not sure - there are 'dials' on two axes with numbers - but I have not calculated the telescopes position with my latitude and longitude yet. I'm just sort of pointing and looking.
Actually the first (well second night) after I had set it up (the first night was bust as by the time I had assembled it the sun had already come up! ) I was just swinging it around looking at a few different things and I was looking at the Milky Way and of all things a meteorite flashed passed my field of view - which is crazy cause it's such a small area. It was round and orange/yellow. Was cool.
Posted by Siegfried (Member # 29) on :
quote:Originally posted by LOA: My sister is a space geek, too.... 7 telescopes later, she's still a nerd.... I don't get it
It's kinda hard to explain, but it's just so... neat, cool, whatever... to stand outside looking up at the heavens and seeing all the beauty and wonder that's out there. I also found it to be quite relaxing.
I used to have a nice telescope when I was in elementary school. It blew my mind the first night I took it outside and saw some great views of the lunar surface. It was nice. I had trouble seeing a lot, though -- too close to the haze of Houston. Sadly, I stopped using my telescope in junior high, and it was destroyed when my family moved soon after. I miss it.
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But close enough. I envy you. I've always wanted to get a really decent telescope. And not just for watching the neighbor lady either...
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