Anyone into amateur astronomy

afterburnt

I want to get a nice telescope for photography and looking for the next Death Star. If anyone knows about this stuff please share your insights. I am shopping for one and clearly the sky is the limit and there are so many choices that I believe would suit my needs that I am overwhelmed. I don't want any junk but I don't want to break the bank on such a silly hobby as saving all of humanity or at least telling all of humanity that we are all gonna die.

verb

Growing up, I always wanted to be an astronomer. Took a lot of classes in high school and after (yes my junior college had a planetarium)!

But then, before the internet, I came to the realization that most professional astronomers are unemployed, working other jobs waiting for the government grant or philanthropist to finance the next project.

So I keep it as a hobby. In high school, I built my own Newtonian reflector (6” primary) and still have it to this day. I built a spotting scope from a surplus lens assembly out of a projector screen TV. And others through the years.

For light gathering ability, reflectors are much better than refractors, IMO.

My latest is an 11” Celestron Schmidt Cassegrain computer controlled telescope. Love it, but it’s heavy and hard to lug around.

For compactness, I would look along the Schmidt Cassegrain types. Meade is another good brand. 6” is easy enough to be portable. I have a 4” Meade SC and it’s great for taking out to the back yard without making things a huge ordeal. SC’s are nice cause everything is sealed, no dust or anything else collecting on the mirrors.

Of course, if size matters, you could go the Dobsonian route. Essentially a Newtonian, but you can get huge mirrors and they very easy to use, with no complication mount. Pretty much point and shoot.

@joecoulson is another astronomy hobbiest!

Nightfall

I think @mhardy6647 is as well to a lesser extent.

afterburnt

butterbean wrote: »

I have a meade 114 eq-ar that sits down my basement that I am looking to sell. Not sure if it is what your looking for.

I am looking for something miniaturized, rubberized, and motorized with computer and or gps controls. Thanks though.

afterburnt

@verb My high school had a planetarium! I wish I could buy a used planitarium then I wouldn't need a telescope.

That's a nice 11" you got there but that would be out of my price range. I would like to have something with all of those features but a little (lot) more portible be cause I want to take out to all of the geek meets in the desert. I only like to be around people in the dark out where now one can hear them... Uh, nevermind.

joecoulson

Questions for me to answer properly.

Do you live near a city with bright lights or out in the country?
Do you want to have one that is GREAT at either planets or deep sky or one that’s good at both ?
What’s your budget?

afterburnt

joecoulson wrote: »

Questions for me to answer properly.

Do you live near a city with bright lights or out in the country?
Do you want to have one that is GREAT at either planets or deep sky or one that’s good at both ?
What’s your budget?

I will be using this when I go to Prescott AZ. A small town sort of with not near the light pollution of Satan Clarita CA. It is a mile high so that helps too. I do plan on taking it way out in the desert where there are no lights and no one can hear me scream.

I would like it to do both but I kind of lean towards the planets, In my religion I pray to Jupiter.

I don't think I should go more than 1.5K but since I will be spending the rest of my life doing nothing but staring into space maybe could spend a little more?

verb

15 hundie gets you a great pre-owned one. Most of the used ones are hardly ever used, like mine!

afterburnt

verb wrote: »

15 hundie gets you a great pre-owned one. Most of the used ones are hardly ever used, like mine!

Sold! But you gotta pay the shipping, ok?

verb

I was looking on CL locally, 8” Celestron SC for 850! Or a 12” Dobsonian for 6 hundie!

afterburnt

@verb is that the same as this one, cause I want the XYZ adapter too?
https://www.amazon.com/Celestron-NexStar-8-SE-Telescope/dp/B07K96HTNR/ref=pd_cp_421_3/141-7346866-3477948?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B000GUFOC8&pd_rd_r=6eba4314-5933-4626-a451-ceb5ff008a0c&pd_rd_w=Uzh45&pd_rd_wg=L45Me&pf_rd_p=0e5324e1-c848-4872-bbd5-5be6baedf80e&pf_rd_r=K40286NEPYEC6XGH10TN&refRID=K40286NEPYEC6XGH10TN&th=1

verb

Similar. This guy I believe has better quality optics, and an equatorial mount
https://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/for/d/troy-celestron-8-schmidt-cassegrain/6993865144.html

Kex

If you want to really help the guy out @verb, maybe see what’s available on SoCal craigslist. Don’t know if he’s in Santa Clarita (L.A. ... almost) or Chula Vista (south of San Diego).

afterburnt

"Satan Clarita. ****. I'm still only in Satan Clarita. Every time I think I'm gonna wake up back in Arizona. When I was home after my first tour, it was worse. I'd wake up and there'd be nothing. I hardly said a word to my wife, until I said "yes" to a divorce. When I was here, I wanted to be there; when I was there, all I could think of was getting back into Arizona. I'm here a week now, waiting for a mission, getting softer. Every minute I stay in this room, I get weaker, and every minute Charlie squats in the bush, he gets stronger. Each time I looked around the walls moved in a little tighter."

verb

Of course! Just trying to get an idea of what’s out there. Baby steps my man! Where do you live @afterburnt ?

afterburnt

verb wrote: »

Similar. This guy I believe has better quality optics, and an equatorial mount
https://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/for/d/troy-celestron-8-schmidt-cassegrain/6993865144.html

So I am gonna need a mortorized equatorial mount, no?

joecoulson

So if you want to set and forget, and not have to learn too much about the sky, an SCT is the way to go. Celestron makes great 6 And 8” versions that are very transportable. Most will come with GOTO mounts.

If you plan on imaging, set at least half that budget for a good ZWO imager.

I like to view more than shoot so a lot of my budget is spent on eyepieces. They can make or break a scope.

Dobsonians are fantastic to see deep sky objects (DSO’s ) but are rather larger (for a decent one) and not very transportable. And most do not come with GOTO (or motorized) mounts.

Lastly, make sure you plan for power, if you have a motorized mount, make sure you either have a plug-in available or a battery pack that will last your viewing session.

I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a dob used, I would really make sure you know who your buying from for an SCT (Schmidt Cassegrain Telecope) as they can get banged around and screwed up past the point of fix ability.

Good luck! Hope you don’t fall down the rabbit hole like me:

Viking64

Every time I see "amature", I want to kill everyone.

Kex

Amateur, not armature or armament @Viking64

audioluvr

Here you go. Never have ishouldagotaitis again

https://telescopespace.com/collections/goto-dobsonian-telescopes/products/sky-watcher-flextube-250p-10-synscan-goto-collapsible-dobsonian-telescope

afterburnt

Viking64 wrote: »

Every time I see "amature", I want to kill everyone.

Sorry, I meant to say mature astronomy.

afterburnt

joecoulson wrote: »

So if you want to set and forget, and not have to learn too much about the sky, an SCT is the way to go. Celestron makes great 6 And 8” versions that are very transportable. Most will come with GOTO mounts.

If you plan on imaging, set at least half that budget for a good ZWO imager.

I like to view more than shoot so a lot of my budget is spent on eyepieces. They can make or break a scope.

Dobsonians are fantastic to see deep sky objects (DSO’s ) but are rather larger (for a decent one) and not very transportable. And most do not come with GOTO (or motorized) mounts.

Lastly, make sure you plan for power, if you have a motorized mount, make sure you either have a plug-in available or a battery pack that will last your viewing session.

I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a dob used, I would really make sure you know who your buying from for an SCT (Schmidt Cassegrain Telecope) as they can get banged around and screwed up past the point of fix ability.

Good luck! Hope you don’t fall down the rabbit hole like me:

Wow that's a really nice rig! I would love to have one like that but I don't have a hitch on my car. I am guessing that one in the Amazon link that I posted would be pretty good for me.

afterburnt

verb wrote: »

Of course! Just trying to get an idea of what’s out there. Baby steps my man! Where do you live @afterburnt ?

I really do suck wind and take up space in Santa Clarita CA. This will be to keep me out of trouble when I retire in AZ. In a few months or so.

afterburnt

Viking64 wrote: »

Every time I see "amature", I want to kill everyone.

Btw I feel your pain, same thing happens to me when anyone says "Niagra Falls". Have you tride placebo, it usually helps me?

mhardy6647

sometimes. 6 inch Newtonian reflector on a (manual) equatorial mount in the basement. Also most of a 10 inch Dobsonian (dump find) down there, too, come to think of it

Plus... a fast little Schmidt-Cassegrain that gets more use as a camera lens, truth be told -- but we do use it as a spotting scope in a pinch, and, occasionally, for more astral applications.

DSC_9428 (2) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
DSC_9459 (2) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

(how d'ya like that sophisticated DIY aperture to reduce the light coming into the 'scope's optics? )

I actually have more fun takin' long exposure, wide field photos of clear night skies on moonless nights, though, truth be told.

DSC_6467 (2) by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

afterburnt

Camera obscura or did you catch the moon?

mhardy6647

Solar eclipse, summer of 2017.
The moon we can do the ol' fashioned way...


027 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

106 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

131 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

030 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

From Sept. 2015

afterburnt

afterburnt wrote: »

Viking64 wrote: »

Every time I see "amature", I want to kill everyone.

Sorry, I meant to say mature astronomy.

I used be into immature asstronomy but I only needed shoe mirrors for that

Viking64

Kex wrote: »

Amateur, not armature or armament @Viking64

Using the "mention" feature is for kweerz.

afterburnt

@mhardy6647 this is how I observed the last eclipse

Kex

Viking64 wrote: »

Using the "mention" feature is for kweerz.

Actually, @Viking64, it earns one a badge. Also, I’m not homophobic, so the “kweerz” thing doesn’t bother me in the slightest.