Backyard Astronomy

D

D-Sect

Veteran XX
Anyone ever seen anything other than moon craters or neighbors with their telescopes?

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I saw this review on this crapjob Amazon.com: Celestron 21024 FirstScope Telescope: Camera & Photo :
I was looking for an affordable and portable telescope so that I can easily set up without taking too much time. A friend recommended this so I decided to purchase this (for $50, I can't go wrong). I was skeptical at first but that went away when I unpacked this. The telescope is 3" which is better than the 60mm telescope one usually sees in this price range. It came with 2 decent eyepieces (2 decent eyepieces by themselves already costs around $40 - $50). It was easy to put together as it was ready to use out of the box. For the price I paid, the base was well made like a dobsonian. It had a smooth swiveling motion so that I can easily point it at celestial objects and tracking it by gently pushing the tube. I was able to see Jupiter and its moons, Saturn, craters on the moon and on a clear night the Orion nebula. The images were brighter when I compared it to my friends 60mm telescope becasue this is a 76mm telescope. I am very pleased with my experience with this telescope and the price is great. It doesn't take long to set up so when I feel like just going outside to take a look at a celestial object, i can easily do it. My 9 year old daughter loves it too. Definitely a telescope I would recommend to anyone who is interested in looking at the night skies.
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So, you can see "stuff" besides moon craters?

I never tried looking at other things besides the sun and moon when I was a kid. Now I'm thinking about getting one of these little shit telescopes just for fun.
 
I don't remember what size mine was, but it was a pos. I could see the rings of Saturn with it. Cold winter nights are excellent for viewing due to the air being so dry. I remember looking at Saturn and being real surprised I could see the ring. Mind you I couldn't see individual rings. Also its a pain in the ass tracking these objects. They move out of your view quickly and this is the main reason I don't use that scope. Piece of shit tripod, real flimsy. Trying to track an object was real damn hard.

If that thing has a solid base and it looks like it does then it might be a lot easier. That scope looks tempting.
 
I was in an astronomy class in college. Part of the class was we had to visit the local astronomy guild and look through their telescopes, on top of this hill where it blocked all the city lights.

Each one was a giant nerd and spent $10k+ on their telescope.

but it was damn cool and we were looking at galaxies n shit.
 
This year is the worst to look for Saturn's rings. You'll only see them edge-on.

If you want a good shot, you'll have to wait a while. The best viewing time will come in about 7 years.
 
I'd like to get me a good telescope for view saturn and the other planets. Need other shit right now :[

On a side notes a really good podcast is Astronomy Cast if you are interested in all that.
 
Cool. I was always interested in this stuff. How do you find those planets? Is there some website that has coords that you can match with your own telescope?
 
Looking at the sky through a good telescope is breathtaking.

Yes, you can see much more than the moon and its craters. You can see nebulae (you'll mostly see them as fuzzy blobs - but with some practice you should be able to make out a tiny bit of detail also). Also well worth a good look are galaxies (andromeda is a beuty), double stars and last but not least star clusters (like Omega Centauri - if you live in the right hemisphere).

And these are with low powered scopes. 4-6 inches. Greater scopes will provide you with greater detail. But you will never see hubble images in a telescope. That's not how the live view through any telescope is.

But even amateurs can take breathtaking images. With the right equipment, and lots and lots of practice and experience, stuff like this is possible:

http://www.flemingastrophotography.com/home.html

There are some truely talented amateur astro-photographers out there. I just wish I was one of them :)
 
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That's a neat site.

This:
M31_FSQ_5_67pct.jpg


Was taken with this: SBIG CCD Imaging Camera STL-6303E Class 2 CCD Camera $7,995.00, SBIG STL-6303 E-C2,Telescope Digital Cameras CCD Digital Cameras, Specials

and this:
51975745.fsq.jpg


Crazy, though.. That's a pretty sick setup, but it's a cheaper than a shitty boat, to put it in perspective.
 
Solar telescopes look awesome, especially during sunspot peaks, all kinds of cool designs n shit, best if you have a camera so you can view it via timelapse.
 
It doesn't take much to see moon craters, Jupiter, Saturn, and their associated moons. Any cheap department store telescope with the right eyepiece will do. Decent binoculars will do a pretty swell job.

Nebulas, galaxies, and distant star clusters, on the other hand, largely require aperture. Bigger telescopes are better. Reflecting telescopes get you way more size for your money. I've got an 8" one, cost around $400 CAD a few years ago, and it's not dissimilar to the posted one, aside from being much larger. This price is including a cheap dobsonian (cannon-style) mount. It's also moderately awkward to transport due to the size; there are more compact reflecting telescopes that offer the same diameter, but they cost more.

Equatorial mounts are more expensive and are preferable to what I have because they're aligned along the rotation of the sky (so rotating one gear will cause them to track an object as it moves across the sky), and many include motors and computer control. Following a planet with a cheaper mount is a pain in the ass, especially at lower magnifications, and photography is out. Computerized mounts are also very nice for finding dim objects in difficult parts of the sky.
 
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My brother picked that up for his 2 kids , it's actually pretty decent for 50$ , you can see a ton of detail on the moon , Jupiter , and it's 4 largest moons , and quite a few of the cooler clusters / nebula.. Did not try to see saturn on it.....because shortly after that he bought a 6" NextStar (?) with the auto alignment feature...tracks things automatically , pretty slick SGT set up for i think 700$? , well worth the money personally.

can see scary detail on the moon , Jupiter pretty clear , the rings of Saturn pretty clear (and they are no longer edge on , they look decent , saw them last week)

but that scope is a fun way to start to look at shit.
Even if you have a pair of binouculars , go outside , look up with them , and you'll be shocked how many more stars you can see..


*cliffs : Buy it , you'll like it
 
I have one of these:

nexstar4se_mid.gif


With an assortment of decent plossl eyepieces and barlow lenses.

Only a 4 inch aperture but I've been able to see Jupiter and its moons, Saturn and its rings (I say rings but you only 'see' 1) and have been able to make out some detail on the Martian poles. All of these required good weather and excellent seeing. Have also been able to see galaxies (generally appear as wispy 'smudges' to be honest, although with the right conditions you can make out some detail) clusters and binary systems.
 
My sister and I used to do this a long time ago. Just sit out on the deck and look at the sky for falling stars/planets/constellations. My home is pretty far from any light pollution, so the night sky was pretty clear except the trees blocked a lot of the view.

Perhaps sometime I'll go out on an extended boat trip and do this
 
D-Sect said:
That's a neat site.

This:
M31_FSQ_5_67pct.jpg


Was taken with this: SBIG CCD Imaging Camera STL-6303E Class 2 CCD Camera $7,995.00, SBIG STL-6303 E-C2,Telescope Digital Cameras CCD Digital Cameras, Specials

and this:
51975745.fsq.jpg


Crazy, though.. That's a pretty sick setup, but it's a cheaper than a shitty boat, to put it in perspective.
Click to expand...

Indeed - but you don't need super expensive CCD cameras. They help, but they aren't must. A modified Canon Rebel XL camera - or any DSLR - and some practice will get you a long way.

This site, for example, is mostly DSLR imaging: Astrofotografie von Frank Sackenheim

When it comes to imaging, equipment does matter though. A good mount is important.

But if you want to explore the sky visually - you will also need a good book to get you started. I can recommend "Turn Left At Orion" by Guy Consolmagno and Dan M. Davis. It excellently explains how to find what, when to find it, and what you are looking at. Also, I would recommend a plainsphere which will help you greatly when star-hopping across the sky to find objects. Or if you got an Android based telephone, Google Sky from the marketplace is also very nice.

But this can be a very expensive hobby once you get hooked :) Especially if you got access to a dark sky. So good luck with it :) It's a hobby with a steep learning curve, but the rewards are well worth the effort.
 
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