How much telescope do I need?

http://home.inreach.com/starlord

Telescope Buyers FAQ

has much of the info you need in it.



--
"Knowledge is a 3 edged Sword" Kosh on Babylon 5
www.starlords.org


"PowerPost2000" wrote in message
...
I just got a Celestron PowerSeeker from the local Gander Mountain.

It's the 60mm refractor.

some specs:

700mm focal lenght
4mm & 20mm eyepieces
1.5X & 3X magnifiers

According to the manual, the magnification works out to 35, 53, 105,
175, 263 and 525 power using various combinations of parts.

At the 35X setting, I was able to see the rings of Saturn and 4 of
Jupiter's moons. At any higher settings, it's almost impossibe to
even find the planets. (I'm assuming it's due to the small field of
view---but I'm not sure)

Would a larger tube help? I've seen some that are over 200mm.
Will a larger tube let you use more magnification?
How much magnification is really needed for a good view of these
planets?

I'm not looking to spend thousands of dollars, but I would like
something a little better.

Thanks for any info you might have.

Here's a good info link that'll answer some of your questions. They also
have a section on what's up this week.

http://skyandtelescope.com/


"PowerPost2000" wrote in message
...
I just got a Celestron PowerSeeker from the local Gander Mountain.

It's the 60mm refractor.

some specs:

700mm focal lenght
4mm & 20mm eyepieces
1.5X & 3X magnifiers

According to the manual, the magnification works out to 35, 53, 105,
175, 263 and 525 power using various combinations of parts.

At the 35X setting, I was able to see the rings of Saturn and 4 of
Jupiter's moons. At any higher settings, it's almost impossibe to
even find the planets. (I'm assuming it's due to the small field of
view---but I'm not sure)

Would a larger tube help? I've seen some that are over 200mm.
Will a larger tube let you use more magnification?
How much magnification is really needed for a good view of these
planets?

I'm not looking to spend thousands of dollars, but I would like
something a little better.

Thanks for any info you might have.

PowerPost2000 wrote:

I just got a Celestron PowerSeeker from the local Gander Mountain.

It's the 60mm refractor.

some specs:

700mm focal lenght
4mm & 20mm eyepieces
1.5X & 3X magnifiers

According to the manual, the magnification works out to 35, 53, 105,
175, 263 and 525 power using various combinations of parts.

Don't bother trying to use the highest powers. A 60mm aperture is
only good for magnifications up to about 120X under ideal conditions,
so the 4mm eyepiece is not going to do you much good even on its own,
let alone with the "magnifiers" (Barlow lenses, I presume).

At the 35X setting, I was able to see the rings of Saturn and 4 of
Jupiter's moons. At any higher settings, it's almost impossibe to
even find the planets. (I'm assuming it's due to the small field of
view---but I'm not sure)

It certainly gets tougher to find things at high power, but at 175X
and above the image will be so dim that you'll be disappointed even
if you do get a view -- and forget about trying anything but the
bright planets or the Moon. However, on a good night with clear and
steady air, assuming you're polar-aligned, if you get something
centred in your field at 35X, track for a while then 'lead' it a bit
in RA, you should be able to swap in a Barlow (carefully, so as not
to jar the tube out of position!) and resume viewing at 53X or 105X.

Would a larger tube help? I've seen some that are over 200mm.
Will a larger tube let you use more magnification?

Yes.

How much magnification is really needed for a good view of these
planets?

It depends on the seeing conditions, and what you think of as a "good
view", but I imagine most amateur planetary observing is done in the
100X-300X range.

I'm not looking to spend thousands of dollars, but I would like
something a little better.

Thanks for any info you might have.

Others have referred you to a couple of FAQs. Beside your budget much
depends on your interests & expectations and how you want to use the
'scope. The lowest cost for a given aperture on a decent-quality
instrument will be for a Newtonian OTA on a Dobsonian mount, but
there are other considerations. I recommend that you find a local
observing club and attend an event where you can see various models
'in action'.

--
Odysseus

Thanks for rthe info. Guess I'll have to find a star party and have a
look at some equipment.

That's your best choice.
http://skyandtelescope.com/resources/organizations/ will give you a list of
astro clubs in your area. Going will let you look through a lot of different
scopes. There will also probably be someone who wants to sell their scope in
order to upgrade. Also, start watching www.astromart.com on a regular basis
to get a feel for second-hand prices.

Clear Skies

Chuck Taylor
Do you observe the moon?
Try the Lunar Observing Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lunar-observing/
Lunar Picture of the Day http://www.lpod.org/
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