How do I transport a scope?

Hi,

For the next 6 months I shall be spending a large part of the working
week somewhere in the M4 corridor, with skies far darker than my
native Manchester. I'm thinking of buying an entry-level smallish
scope to keep in the boot of my car, and use in the dark grounds of
the hotel.

Can anyone offer advice as to how safe it is to regularly (i.e.
weekly) transport a 'scope in this way? (4hrs each way on motorways,
plus local business commuting).

If it helps, the types of scope I'm considering a
SkyWatcher StarTravel80,
SkyMax90
SkyMax127
Explorer 130M

How quickly would a 'scope lose collimation in these circumstances?

FYI I'm a rank beginner Yes, I've read the FAQs on buying. I
already own a donated, aging 6" Newt on a pedastle. Sadly not exactly
portable. Difficult enough to manhandle at home! I'm hoping the new
acquisition and dark skies will rekindle my interests.

I hope to try my hand at astrophotography under the darker skies,
using a Nikon D70. I'm not expecting to compete with the Hubble using
the above basic kit, but would I be able to image the planets? What
about the Messiers?

TIA,

Mark

On Mon, 26 Sep 2005 08:45:25 GMT, in uk.sci.astronomy , Mark
wrote:

Can anyone offer advice as to how safe it is to regularly (i.e.
weekly) transport a 'scope in this way? (4hrs each way on motorways,
plus local business commuting).

Given the smallness of the scopes youre considering, I'd suspect that
they'd be pretty safe in the boot, provided they're in a padded case
or well wedged. Obviously if someone rearends you, its a different
story

How quickly would a 'scope lose collimation in these circumstances?

Again for the smallness of your scopes, and given you're a beginner,
you probably wouldn't even notice it !

I hope to try my hand at astrophotography under the darker skies,
using a Nikon D70. I'm not expecting to compete with the Hubble using
the above basic kit, but would I be able to image the planets? What
about the Messiers?

I'm no expert but I believe You'd need a motorised drive for either,
especially with a small scope, if you want to avoid serious
disappointment. Nebulae are certainly going to need that.

You could image the moon with an afocal setup and fairly short
exposures - in fact you might need a filter to dim the full mooon
down.

The sun is another good one to photograph. Get some baader filter and
use an afocal setup for the partial eclipse next monday, if you have
time. I did this for both transit of venus and the last partial
eclipse. I also took some movie footage of venus using a very cheap
webcam in the eyepiece holder.

[the above comments made with heavy reference to my sadly underthumbed
copy of Michael Covington's Astrophotography for the Amateur]
--
Mark McIntyre
CLC FAQ http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/C-faq/top.html
CLC readme: http://www.ungerhu.com/jxh/clc.welcome.txt

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