On Thursday, March 17, 2016 at 8:19:14 PM UTC-7, wrote:

Sorry, that would completely against his nature...


Hey, ****head, what do you think about "Department Store Telescopes?"

Well, a$$hole, I had a department telescope in 1955. It was from Montgomery Wards, it was perhaps 5 or 6 feet long, maybe 3 inches in diameter, mounted on a tall and extremely wobbly tripod, and it could show the craters of the moon, the rings of Saturn and the moons of Jupiter... and that's about it, for a 9-year-old. I knew practically nothing of the sky at that time and simply pointed it at whatever was brightest in the sky. I readily admit that it took maybe 10 minutes to locate any object in the sky, and that goes for the moon, too! It was a very frustrating experience for a little kid whose parents hadn't a clue what was in the sky other than the sun and the Moon. I spent endless hours and hours trying to make sense of the universe, but it was a trying experience, at a minimum. This was my ONLY experience with a department store telescope, and it was not a good one. It did not, however, kill my curiosity about astronomy.

Perhaps it was a different experience for you.

It wasn't until 1974 that I bought my next telescope, a C-8, and this was well after getting a B.A. degree in astronomy. I should clarify that I used the University's telescopes while a student and became proficient in navigating the sky, in general. I observed perhaps 4,000 NGC objects with my C-8, and would have added to that C-8 total had I not acquired a 25" dob. Now I'm up to about 10,000 or 12,000 objects observed, and look forward to observing several thousands more before I'm done.

So, I guess it would be fair to say that, as a 9-year-old, I didn't think much of my department store telescope. If anyone else had a bad experience like this, well, I can relate.

Of course, there are certainly "small" telescopes on good mounts that can't really be compared to "department store" telescopes, and can be employed to provide stunning wide-field views and even deep-sky views of hundreds of objects. For example, who would believe that a 55 mm telescope, in the hands of an expert experienced observer, could do this...

http://www.jayreynoldsfreeman.com/Au...RSaga.text.pdf

Jay Reynolds Freeman is a monster observer who is an idol of mine, and his persistence just shows what can be accomplished if one were to persevere at the eyepiece.

Of course, it is completely against your nature to agree with just about anything I have to say, so let's hear it...