Buying a new telescope...suggestions welcome

GD Wrote:
Why does this surprise nobody? =A0
---------------------------------------------------------------
Well GD, I see the little smiley face at the end of your post, but your
post still sounds like pure sarcasm to me. Your smiley face doesn't
hide it.

Are you jealous? Or just don't really give a ****? (Probably both)

I rarely come down on people on the web, and I've been in the hobby a
long time. I'm happy, and enthused when a newcomer comes into this
Hobby, and I've always been a person that was always willing to share my
knowledge, and past experiences with others. so they perhaps would not
fall into the same pitfalls, and costly mistakes-errors that I had, and
can perhaps find, and seek the better path.

What do you have to share? Anything? Come on, tell us? Do you
observe? With what? Are you that ****ing high, and mighty that a
newcomer's posts, and enthusiasm bore you?

There's many that are long gone from here, and that's a dam shame. All
cause of assholes, ****ing matches, baby-like personalities, and
braggarts.

You probably are a newbie here, and don't even remember 10% of the
knowledgeable folks who did post here at one time.

Try to have a little more compassion please.
Even though I don't know Zarkovic from Adam, I give him the respect, and
help he deserves. Mark D.

So what are you going to look at first?

snip

Hopefully, the collimation, while looking at Polaris...

Good point. Zarkovic, are you familiar with how to collimate? If not, there
is a good primer on the subject at:
http://skyandtelescope.com/howto/sco...icle_787_1.asp

Without collimation, the views will be very disappointing. It is the biggest
single improvement you can make to your view without costing any more money!

Clear Skies

Chuck Taylor
Do you observe the moon?
Try http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lunar-observing/

To reply, remove Delete and change period com to period net
************************************************** ************

Mark D wrote:

GD Wrote:
Why does this surprise nobody? *
---------------------------------------------------------------
Well GD, I see the little smiley face at the end of your post, but your
post still sounds like pure sarcasm to me. Your smiley face doesn't
hide it.

Are you jealous? Or just don't really give a ****? (Probably both)

I rarely come down on people on the web, and I've been in the hobby a
long time. I'm happy, and enthused when a newcomer comes into this
Hobby, and I've always been a person that was always willing to share my
knowledge, and past experiences with others. so they perhaps would not
fall into the same pitfalls, and costly mistakes-errors that I had, and
can perhaps find, and seek the better path.

What do you have to share? Anything? Come on, tell us? Do you
observe? With what? Are you that ****ing high, and mighty that a
newcomer's posts, and enthusiasm bore you?


Easy, now ... FWIW I didn't read GD's comment that way at all: much
more likely a sardonic commiseration, acknowledging the 'conventional
wisdom' (also expressed elsewhere in the thread) that a new or
improved telescope inevitably attracts or invokes poor conditions --
an astronomer's version of Murphy's Law, if you will -- than an
gratuitous flame. I agree that a smiley alone can't obviate the
offence of a truly obnoxious remark, but even without the wink I
wouldn't take the comment in question to be anything other than an
expression of sympathy, albeit one expressed with some black(ish) humour.

--
Odysseus

Easy, now ... FWIW I didn't read GD's comment that way at all: much more
likely a sardonic commiseration, acknowledging the 'conventional wisdom'
(also expressed elsewhere in the thread) that a new or improved
telescope inevitably attracts or invokes poor conditions -- an
astronomer's version of Murphy's Law, if you will -- than an gratuitous
flame. I agree that a smiley alone can't obviate the offence of a truly
obnoxious remark, but even without the wink I wouldn't take the comment
in question to be anything other than an expression of sympathy, albeit
one expressed with some black(ish) humour.
--
Odysseus
---------------------------------------------------------------
Hello Odysseus,
You are correct, I have perhaps mis-interpreted GD's remarks, and as
you say, his post may have had a more sympathetic, and
agreeable-concurring tone-meaing, rather than a malicious one, so my
public apologies to GD, and all, for perhaps jumping the gun with my
response.

Sometimes, the written word can be difficult, and hard to interpet, and
at first, it seems that it was more of an attack against this new scope
owner.

There's been quite a few newbies (and even adult regulars) that have
come to this group over the years, and no doubt became discouraged from
malicious replies, and personal attacks. I feel that we all lost to
varying degrees due to their absence.
Again, my apologies. Mark

AW, come on Mark. You're just making it worse! Be upbeat and happy The
guy was just commenting on a pure coincidence of life. Bet he's got 200
days a year thar are cloudy anyway so the chances are quite high that he's
gonna have a cloudy day when he gets a new scope and wants to go out that
day.
I've gotten a lot of scopes and built a few scopes (my 200" refractor had a
very nice first light) and only infrequently had a bad night on the first
light of the scope.

--
Why isn't there an Ozone Hole at the NORTH Pole?

"Bob May" wrote in
:

AW, come on Mark. You're just making it worse! Be upbeat and happy
The guy was just commenting on a pure coincidence of life.


Ahh yeah... it was only meant to be taken as a joke. I'm stunned
that it was taken out of context that way.

Been hit by clouds many times myself of course, and no I'm not a
newbie, I've been doing astrophotography since Halleys comet and
my first posting to this newsgroup was in December 1994.

cheers...
P.S. Hopefully the clouds have cleared now.

Good good, all is jolly agian.
"GD" wrote in message
.150...
"Bob May" wrote in
:

AW, come on Mark. You're just making it worse! Be upbeat and happy
The guy was just commenting on a pure coincidence of life.


Ahh yeah... it was only meant to be taken as a joke. I'm stunned
that it was taken out of context that way.

Been hit by clouds many times myself of course, and no I'm not a
newbie, I've been doing astrophotography since Halleys comet and
my first posting to this newsgroup was in December 1994.

cheers...
P.S. Hopefully the clouds have cleared now.

I've owned and used all 3 eyepieces you've mentioned. Sold the 32mm TV
Plossl as I preferred the 30mm Ultima. Eventually, many years later,
sold the 30mm Ultima because it was displaced by a 35mm Ultima on the
widest field of view end (for a 1.25" eyepiece) and by a 21mm Pentax on
the best exit pupil, close enough fov, on the "shorter" f.l. end.

Sold the 1rpd and kept the 32mm Burgess. The Burgess is lighter, had
more eye relief, and has an excellent eye guard. I wear eyeglasses for
observing and the 1rpd required putting the glasses right up to the lens
where they would be scratched. One person I know literally sawed off
the top of 1rpd (it has a recessed lens).

Optical quality fairly similar. While they might not provide crisp
views across as much of the field of view as a 35mm Panoptic... at f/6,
you're going to good large sized crisp field of view with either
eyepiece and for a lot less money. Check back posts for comparisons of
actual field of view. The two were comparable but not nearly what they
are advertised as having (no 70 or 80 degrees that's for sure).

Still, the 2" Burgess or the 2" 30mm 1rpd will have wider fields of view
than the 32mm plossl. That's better for star hopping, framing big
clusters or DSOs (or conjunctions), and sweeping the Milky Way. But the
sacrifice is switching back and forth between 2" and 1.25" eyepieces.
Some observers don't mind; others are driven to distraction. But the
advantage is the big sky context. When you want to put M81 and M82 in
one field of view, having the 2" eyepiece will help you with your 8".

Larry Stedman
Vestal

Last couple of nights, very cloudy, nothing happening. Got telrad and
aligned it with polaris, can't wait to check it out.
"GD" wrote in message
. 150...
"Zarkovic" wrote in
news:kq%Ce.1979546$Xk.1702240@pd7tw3no:

Now just playing the waiting game and trying not to spend all my
money on other eyepieces, filters, barlows, you name it.


You wish.
A year from now you'll be thinking [paraphrased]
"hmmm... I really need a X. ahhh... better get a Y then. That'll
mean I need a good Z though, so perhaps if I just buy this package,
then I'll get all that... but I kind of need more aperture.
...more aperture...
...more aperture...
...more aperture...
...more aperture...

...and so on. Most regular posters here know how it goes.

You'll note the 3 adjustment knobs on the telrad, when ever you adjust your
scope for alinement, you may need to adjust the telrad too, but it's easy to
do. I do it when I set up, I use a stop light a few blocks away and then
fine tune the telrad with the moon or planet I've giving views of.


--

The Lone Sidewalk Astronomer of Rosamond
Telescope Buyers FAQ
http://home.inreach.com/starlord
Astronomy Net Online Gift Shop
http://www.cafepress.com/astronomy_net



"Zarkovic" wrote in message
news:GoAFe.45866$%K2.10952@pd7tw1no...
Last couple of nights, very cloudy, nothing happening. Got telrad and
aligned it with polaris, can't wait to check it out.