any telescope owners? - Page 3

fratermus · 03-01-2009, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by McKBrew

the only thing I know for sure in the night sky is the moon and the big dipper. I spent 30 minutes trying to find that green comet that flew by recently, but had no idea where any of the other constellations were, and none of the online maps helped me.

The big dipper is much more interesting and useful than it appears:

* you can use the big dipper (BD hereafter) to easily locate Castor/Pollux, Regulus, Arcturus, Spica ("arc to arcturus then speed on to spica"), Vega, Deneb, Cassiopeia, and of course polaris/northstar. Then daisy chain off those. The BD really can be the key to your understanding of the sky.

* There are revelations in even the most common groups like the BD that will change the way you look at the sky. For example: The second star from the end of the handle is not a star. It is two stars (Mizar and Alcor) which means horse and rider in Arabic. Our Arab brothers used to gauge one's eyesight by whether or not one could make out that this is not one star but a brighter and dimmer one very "close together" (optically speaking).

You can definitely "split" (tell that they are seperate) them in binos. Light pollution or haze may keep you from doing it with just eyeballs.

But the revelation is multilayered: put a telescope on the pair and the brighter one, Mizar, is actually also a double and was the first "star" split with a telescope. Its partner orbits it. The smaller of the two is something like 10x the brightness of our own sun.

Oh, and there are two telescope-visible galaxies in the Ursa Major const. that the BD is a part of.

Nightwatch: A practical guide... is full of handy tricks/tips like how to find the stars/constellations using the BD. Turn left at Orion is my favorite for finding easily locatable splits and galaxies. Both of these will likely be findable at local used bookstores as they are very common. I got mine at Half Price Books fer cheep.

fratermus · 03-01-2009, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StunnedMonkey

I mean, how many times can you look into it and say, "yeah, that little dot is a much bigger dot when I peer though this baby!"

As noted before, sometimes that dot isn't a dot. Sometimes the dot is a system that can be picked apart under magnification.

And seeing some simple things with my own tools was really affecting. These are easy-peasey but blew me away and still do:

* the major moons of Jupiter, as stated above
* the cassini division in the rings of Saturn
* great "red" spot and striated color on Jupiter
* amazing detail on the moon
* the Trapezium in the Orion Nebula
* splitting stars in general

When SWMBO first saw Saturn out there hanging in space with distinct rings I believe she said "Oh my god...." then lapsed into silence. A bit later she managed "it's like a ghost..." Completely alien, yet out there all the time whether or not we think about it.

I don't mean to convert anyone over to stargazing. But if you have a pair of normal, everyday binos do yourself a favor and take them outside at night. It's amazing.

Papinquack · 03-01-2009, 08:18 PM

If I were you I'd look into finding out when and where amatuer astonomers meet in your area. What they do is have "star parties" and anyone can go. They are a friendly bunch who set up their telescopes and let anyone take a look. You'll pretty much encounter every telescope there is and you can ask them questions.We took the kids and we got to see Saturn and its rings, Jupiter and its red storm. The very colorful nebula in the constellation of orion. We even got to see some very distant galaxy. Another cool thing was we got to see satelites with the naked eye and they had a countdown till the space station flew over. Your able to see that with the naked eye as well. I didnt realize that the space station is moving like 16 thousand mph. I thought it just hovered up there. If yor lucky you'll also see shooting stars we did. you'll walk away realizing just how small and insignificant we really are in the bigger scope of creation. Go for it you have nothing to loose.

eriktlupus · 03-01-2009, 08:42 PM

if you really want to see stars and galaxies go north to the up of michigan. the fewer the population the fewer lights to spoil the view.

as a bonus in the north you can get a glimpse of the northern lights, something everyone should see at least once in thier life.

flyangler18 · 10-05-2009, 01:51 PM

Resurrecting this thread - as I've been feeling the itch to do some stargazing again. I have a pair of binoculars that does great, but I'd like to get a reflecting scope. See someone mentioned a Celestron earlier - is this a well-regarded 'scope for general viewing?

**Homercidal** · 10-05-2009, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EvilTOJ

I'd like to minorly threadjack and ask has anyone ever built a telescope? I know the most expensive part is the mirror and I'm wondering if anyone's had any luck finding cheap mirrors.

I've been working on a telescope for many years. I started out grinding my own mirror with a friend, but he got ahead of me and I didn't want to contaminate his grit with my coarser grit. I'm about to the figuring and polishing stage.

I'd say that if you are handy with tool, and basically adept at minor math and love perfection, then building a telescope is def doable. I keep telling myself that I ought to clean the grinding room out again and finish it.

FWIW my friend never did finish his either, and he ended up buying a dob mount reflecting scope, can't remember either 4 or 6 inches. The one I'm building is about 7.25 inches.

Google ATM (Amateur Telescope Makers). It's a fair amount of work, but certainly possible for the average person to accomplish with effort.

Tripod · 10-05-2009, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flyangler18

Resurrecting this thread - as I've been feeling the itch to do some stargazing again. I have a pair of binoculars that does great, but I'd like to get a reflecting scope. See someone mentioned a Celestron earlier - is this a well-regarded 'scope for general viewing?

Celestron is what my scope is. It's a 4.5-inch reflector and I am very happy with it! There are plenty of makers out there that are great but I really like my Celestron.

This is the right time of year too because the sky is generally clearer during cold-weather months.

-Tripod

**Laughing_Gnome_Invisible** · 10-05-2009, 09:06 PM

My wifey recently bought me a telescope thingy at a garage sale. It's a Bushnell 60 cm? I dunno. Anyways, it was great the first time i used it to see jupiter. I could see the stripes and all that.....Since then, it never seems to quite get into focus. I target it, then start with the whatever lens makes it less big....But all the lenses seem to crap out just before it gets into focus and the screw thingy won't move any more.

Sorry for all the technical jargon. You guys might not understand things when they is written proper like what when Gallileo used to write stuff.

GregR · 10-06-2009, 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fratermus

Castor/Pollux, Regulus, Arcturus, Spica ("arc to arcturus then speed on to spica"), Vega, Deneb, Cassiopeia, and of course polaris/northstar. Then daisy chain off those. The BD really can be the key to your understanding of the sky.

thread jack

all those star names just gave me flash backs of celestial navigation school. any sailors out there ever try to navigate with a sextant and sight reduction tables?

it wasn't a very fun or easy school but it was really fun to fix the ships position with star and moon lines and see how close it was to GPS.

/thread jack