|
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Recommendation request: /= $200
Partly inspired by the excellent film "My Date With Drew," my wife and I had
resolved to buy a telescope with whatever windfall might come our way. Now it has; a small sum ($200), but enough to purchase something more powerful than the 8x50 binocs we currently own. (We live just north of San Francisco, so rather than pay shipping I'll take a day off and visit Scope City -- unless someone has a better visitational recommendation). As a former amateur astronomer (20+ years ago), I've been doing a ton of online/magazine research and am amazed at what's now available, and for versatility's sake will likely go with an 80mm refractor (Celestron or Konusmotor) on an EQ mount so as to combine terrestrial/planetary observation with hints of DSOs, but could really use a bit of specific input: 1. One article (Sky and Telescope's '05 Buyer's Guide) suggests that any finderscope less than 6x30 is a waste of cash. True or false? 2. Two different vendor websites say that an 80mm refractor either will or won't show galaxies and/or nebulae. Come again? I don't expect to see dust lanes with an 80mm refractor; OTOH, my wife would really like to be able to see M84 even without the colors. ;-) TIA, Scoop |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Recommendation request: /= $200
Scoop wrote:
1. One article (Sky and Telescope's '05 Buyer's Guide) suggests that any finderscope less than 6x30 is a waste of cash. True or false? Well, that depends. (Just the sort of answer you wanted, right?) See, in the first place, most 6x30 finders are internally stopped (that is, they have a washer-like thingie in them that baffles some of the light coming through) in order to limit the amount of spurious color, so that they act more like 6x24 finders--the image in them is dimmer than it would be if they were really 6x30. The same is true of the 5x24 finders--they're also internally stopped. Fortunately, it's not too much trouble to take the washer out, if you're not too squeamish about opening the thing up. Secondly, if you have really dark skies, the 5x24 finders will do all right. The whole point is being able to identify when you're close to your target, and be able to recognize the star field, so that you can do your fine adjustments. In light-polluted Santa Monica (a community near Los Angeles), a 5x24 finder would be usable for me, but then, I'm pretty handy at star-hopping. Lots of people would find it pretty difficult. Under dark skies, it might be different; a 5x24 finder has a wider field of view, so you might actually be able to see more of what you need to in order to identify your target. The eighth-magnitude stars that you see through a 6x30 finder won't help you if your star atlas only goes down to the seventh magnitude. 2. Two different vendor websites say that an 80mm refractor either will or won't show galaxies and/or nebulae. Come again? I don't expect to see dust lanes with an 80mm refractor; OTOH, my wife would really like to be able to see M84 even without the colors. ;-) From a dark site, an 80 mm refractor will show all the Messier objects, and many others, if they're well placed that night. Some of them will even look pretty nice. M84 will probably look mostly like a faint cotton blob. What they won't show is anything like the level of detail you can see even in black-and-white photos. From the city, it's a lot harder to say. Everyone's city is different, but I can see probably a third of the Messier galaxies in my 70 mm refractor on a good night from Santa Monica. I have to try pretty darned hard on many of them, though. -- Brian Tung The Astronomy Corner at http://astro.isi.edu/ Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/c5plus/ The PleiadAtlas Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/pleiadatlas/ My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://astro.isi.edu/reference/faq.html (Location of these pages soon to change. Stay tuned for updates.) |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Recommendation request: /= $200
Quoth Brian Tung:
: Scoop wrote: : 1. One article (Sky and Telescope's '05 Buyer's Guide) suggests that any : finderscope less than 6x30 is a waste of cash. True or false? : Well, that depends. (Just the sort of answer you wanted, right?) Sure -- it's the sort of answer I usually give. ;-) : See, in the first place, most 6x30 finders are internally stopped (that : is, they have a washer-like thingie in them that baffles some of the light : coming through) in order to limit the amount of spurious color, so that : they act more like 6x24 finders--the image in them is dimmer than it would : be if they were really 6x30. The same is true of the 5x24 : finders--they're also internally stopped. Fortunately, it's not too much : trouble to take the washer out, if you're not too squeamish about opening : the thing up. Good to know. Do they unscrew, or is it a matter of finding the right solvent? : Secondly, if you have really dark skies, the 5x24 finders will do all : right. I live in Sonoma, so the skies are actually pretty dark most of the time even from the backyard. : 2. Two different vendor websites say that an 80mm refractor either will : or won't show galaxies and/or nebulae. Come again? I don't expect to see : dust lanes with an 80mm refractor; OTOH, my wife would really like to be : able to see M84 even without the colors. ;-) : From a dark site, an 80 mm refractor will show all the Messier objects, : and many others, if they're well placed that night. Some of them will : even look pretty nice. M84 will probably look mostly like a faint : cotton blob. What they won't show is anything like the level of detail : you can see even in black-and-white photos. Oh, I figured that -- I just want it to be a /bigger/ blob than the binocs show. ;-) And having just found out about Messier Marathons, your advice is especially well-taken. Thanks! Scoop |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Recommendation request: /= $200
On 08 Mar 2006 22:27:33 GMT, Scoop wrote:
Partly inspired by the excellent film "My Date With Drew," my wife and I had resolved to buy a telescope with whatever windfall might come our way. Now it has; a small sum ($200), but enough to purchase something more powerful than the 8x50 binocs we currently own. (We live just north of San Francisco, so rather than pay shipping I'll take a day off and visit Scope City -- unless someone has a better visitational recommendation). As a former amateur astronomer (20+ years ago), I've been doing a ton of online/magazine research and am amazed at what's now available, and for versatility's sake will likely go with an 80mm refractor (Celestron or Konusmotor) on an EQ mount so as to combine terrestrial/planetary observation with hints of DSOs, but could really use a bit of specific input: 1. One article (Sky and Telescope's '05 Buyer's Guide) suggests that any finderscope less than 6x30 is a waste of cash. True or false? Lots of people have used a 5 x 24 (I think that is the size) coupled with a 60mm refractor for years and have been happy. It is all about expectations. 2. Two different vendor websites say that an 80mm refractor either will or won't show galaxies and/or nebulae. Come again? That is not true. Furthermore, the binoculars in your possession will do quite nicely for several of the brighter nebula (and your bare eyes for at least one). Additionally, three galaxies come to mind which should present themselves in the binoculars. -- Martin R. Howell "The Astro Post" www.theastropost.com |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Recommendation request: /= $200
Scoop wrote:
Good to know. Do they unscrew, or is it a matter of finding the right solvent? Typically, they unscrew. It shouldn't be too hard to find the washer and remove it. You can also muck around with the cross-hairs this way; they should reside at the focal plane of the finder's objective. -- Brian Tung The Astronomy Corner at http://astro.isi.edu/ Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/c5plus/ The PleiadAtlas Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/pleiadatlas/ My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://astro.isi.edu/reference/faq.html (Location of these pages soon to change. Stay tuned for updates.) |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Recommendation request: /= $200
Before going to the store, Please Read Telescope Buyers FAQ
http://home.inreach.com/starlord and you'll know even more and be ready to get a scope. -- The Lone Sidewalk Astronomer of Rosamond Telescope Buyers FAQ http://home.inreach.com/starlord Sidewalk Astronomy www.sidewalkastronomy.info Astronomy Net Online Gift Shop http://www.cafepress.com/astronomy_net In Garden Online Gift Shop http://www.cafepress.com/ingarden Blast Off Online Gift Shop http://www.cafepress.com/starlords "Scoop" wrote in message ... Partly inspired by the excellent film "My Date With Drew," my wife and I had resolved to buy a telescope with whatever windfall might come our way. Now it has; a small sum ($200), but enough to purchase something more powerful than the 8x50 binocs we currently own. (We live just north of San Francisco, so rather than pay shipping I'll take a day off and visit Scope City -- unless someone has a better visitational recommendation). As a former amateur astronomer (20+ years ago), I've been doing a ton of online/magazine research and am amazed at what's now available, and for versatility's sake will likely go with an 80mm refractor (Celestron or Konusmotor) on an EQ mount so as to combine terrestrial/planetary observation with hints of DSOs, but could really use a bit of specific input: 1. One article (Sky and Telescope's '05 Buyer's Guide) suggests that any finderscope less than 6x30 is a waste of cash. True or false? 2. Two different vendor websites say that an 80mm refractor either will or won't show galaxies and/or nebulae. Come again? I don't expect to see dust lanes with an 80mm refractor; OTOH, my wife would really like to be able to see M84 even without the colors. ;-) TIA, Scoop |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Recommendation request: /= $200
Scoop wrote:
Partly inspired by the excellent film "My Date With Drew," my wife and I had resolved to buy a telescope with whatever windfall might come our way. Now it has; a small sum ($200), but enough to purchase something more powerful than the 8x50 binocs we currently own. (We live just north of San Francisco, so rather than pay shipping I'll take a day off and visit Scope City -- unless someone has a better visitational recommendation). I know you're looking at an 80 refractor, but if I were you I'd get in touch with the guy on astromart selling this: http://www.astromart.com/classifieds...fied_id=413874 It's an 8" coulter dob. The 80mm will have almost no "wow" effect on anything but the moon and a few of the very brightest nebulae. The 8" will show a lot of stuff - saturn and jupiter in detail, dust lanes on a few of the brighter galaxies, globular clusters like M13 will look super. The only drawback of this scope is if you need to move it around in a car frequently, and you say you have dark skies in your backyard, so no problem. Astromart is a terrific place to get deals if you're on a budget. The person selling this one is not rated yet, but he lives in San Jose. You can drive down and have a look through it, and if you like what you see snap it up for no shipping costs. And if he's already sold it, just keep your eyes open for a 6 or 8 inch telescope. They come along pretty frequently on astromart and are well within your price range. I have a couple of small refractors - an 80mm f/11 and a 100mm f/5. They're nice for their portability and quick cool down time, and since I know what I'm looking at and have experience observing I can get a lot out of them. But the views hardly compare to my 6" or 8" reflectors or my 8" SCT. Do yourself and your wife a favor - get something nice that won't leave you disappointed and wondering why you plunked down money for something that doesn't show you much. More people leave this hobby through initial disappointment than for any other reason. Go a little bigger and you'll definitely be glad you did. Clear, dark skies and best of luck, and welcome- Chris |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Recommendation request: /= $200
Brian Tung wrote:
Under dark skies, it might be different; a 5x24 finder has a wider field of view [than a 6x30 finder], so you might actually be able to see more of what you need to in order to identify your target. Unfortunately -- and amazingly -- that bit about the wider FOV isn't true. In the Dec '05 S&T Test Report, Gary Seronik estimated the true FOV of the 5x24 finderscopes he saw as 4.5 degrees. The 6x finderscopes on the reviewed scopes, by contrast, have TFOVs ranging from 6 to 8 degrees. So not only do you get less aperture and drastically reduced optical quality (a singlet objective instead of an achromat), you also get a dramatically reduced field of view. And all to save a few dollars. - Tony Flanders |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Recommendation request: /= $200
Tony Flanders wrote:
Unfortunately -- and amazingly -- that bit about the wider FOV isn't true. In the Dec '05 S&T Test Report, Gary Seronik estimated the true FOV of the 5x24 finderscopes he saw as 4.5 degrees. The 6x finderscopes on the reviewed scopes, by contrast, have TFOVs ranging from 6 to 8 degrees. So not only do you get less aperture and drastically reduced optical quality (a singlet objective instead of an achromat), you also get a dramatically reduced field of view. And all to save a few dollars. Really?! That is amazingly short-sighted (and narrow-fielded, too!). -- Brian Tung The Astronomy Corner at http://astro.isi.edu/ Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/c5plus/ The PleiadAtlas Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/pleiadatlas/ My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://astro.isi.edu/reference/faq.html (Location of these pages soon to change. Stay tuned for updates.) |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Recommendation request: /= $200
Scoop wrote: Partly inspired by the excellent film "My Date With Drew," my wife and I had resolved to buy a telescope with whatever windfall might come our way. Now it has; a small sum ($200), Hi: Here's my recommendation...cheap, but capable of showing you the basic wonders of the sky (perhaps supplemented by an inexpensive barlow lens for planetary use). This little scope leaves my (beloved) 80mm f/5 in the dust on...anything. http://www.telescope.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=4644&itemType=PRODUCT&RS=1&k eyword= Peace, Rod Mollise |
|
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Beagle 2 Commission of Inquiry - Press Release | Keith Dancey | UK Astronomy | 5 | May 25th 04 10:14 PM |
Lessons learnt from Beagle 2 and plans to implement recommendationsfrom the Commission of Inquiry (Forwarded) | Andrew Yee | Astronomy Misc | 0 | May 24th 04 10:52 PM |
Columbia Accident Investigation Board Issues Preliminary Recommendation Five: On-Board Ascent Imaging | Jacques van Oene | Space Shuttle | 5 | August 2nd 03 11:28 PM |
Columbia Accident Investigation Board Issues Preliminary Recommendation Five: On-Board Ascent Imaging | Jacques van Oene | Space Station | 5 | August 2nd 03 11:28 PM |
Columbia Accident Investigation Board Issues Preliminary Recommendation Four: Launch and Ascent Imaging | Jacques van Oene | Space Station | 0 | July 1st 03 06:45 PM |