Telescopes

[bacchen]

Hey guys, first timer here in need of a few answers.

 

First off i'm 17, I absolutely love space, the stars, plants, galaxies, nebulae, everything just fasinates me. I'll be moving into the working world soon, and after I buy a laptop a telescope is next on my list. I have never had one but Would be thrilled to own one. My problem which I present to you is what should I look for?

 

What I am looking to get out of it is to be able to see the moon, other planets, stars, nebulae, and anything else possible. Also, me being a novice, it would be handy if it auto-located the stars, planets, etc.. I am also looking to be able to take pictures from the telescope, and I have no clue how to go about doing so. So if you could offer tips or direct me to a specific telescope I would appreciate it.

 

It doesn't have to be over-the-top but I want to be satisfied with what it can offer. I foresee a budget of $300 ~ $2,000 limit. Again, thanks for any help you can offer!

 

-Bruce

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

Just a hint, I don't have a telescope myself:

 

Try to find one with an attachment point for some sort of camera. Sometimes you can buy a cheap adapter as well. Being able to take pictures means you can do long-exposure shots of things to get even more detail, or just one of those nice shots with the swirling stars.

 

I'd love to do it myself, but I'm near a large city and I get light pollution.

[JesuBungle]

Also, a $5,000 telescope isn't worth anything if the stand is low quality. Idk exactly what kind of stand you'll want, but try to avoid anything plastic or flimsy metal like they sell at the Discovery Channel stores(extremely overpriced btw).

Or even better, make your own.

[raivo]

For photographing there are special CCD modules. Even professional astronomers use them now.

 

Good telescopes take some time to set up, they also need good weather conditions. IMO its better to buy two instruments: one relatively cheap and small which is fast and convenvenient to set up (for example 12x binoculars with wide input aperture and sturdy stand) and another - decent telescope, for photographing and precision monitoring.

[bacchen]

Thanks for you guys that posted, I'll certainly keep in mind what you said, thanks. This is what I have been looking at for the past couple days.

 

http://www.telescopes.com/products/celestron-nexstar-114-slt-32980.html

 

There are also a few others but I cant nessicerely understand what their differences are. Most come with alot of upgrades, but I cant seem to find the one with about 9 different camera attachments, like one specifally for Nikon cameras.

[ajb]

I suggest that you get a pair of binoculars, say 10x50. These should be light enough to use without a tripod. Any bigger you should mount on a tripod or something similar.

 

You won't see the detail that you would with a telescope, but binoculars are far easier to use and have a wider field of view. In that respect they are far better than a telescope for looking at star clustes.

 

Also, thay are a fraction of the cost of a telescope. They offer you the chance to try astronomy without spending loads of money. If you take to it then you can buy a telescope etc...

 

On the astrophotography side, many of my friends at the local astronomical society have been getting great pictures using digital camers and webcams. These pictures are of great quality, far beyond that of standard photographic techniques employed previously. Infact I would say they are better than the professional pictures of 10-15 years ago.

 

What I strongly recommend is that you get involved with your local astronomical society.

 

I personally own a set of 12x60 binoculars, that I mount on a camera tripod via an "L"-bracket. Total cost was less than £100. Unfortunatly, since I got the tripod, we have had nothing but rain just about every night! I don't have any immediate ambitions to get involved in astrophotography.

[bacchen]

Astrology and Photography are one of my two favorite things, I want to take lots of pictures, and I dont see how binoculars would help. Also, Digital camera vs. film, whats better?

[ajb]

Use digital. You can do all kinds of image processing, like stacking and changing colours etc.

 

Do you mean astronomy rather than astrology?

 

Binoculars are no good for astrophotography, but are great for viewing the moon, open clusters and some of the brighter deep sky objects like M31 and M13. The main advantage over a telescope is the ease of use and the large field of view.

[Jacques]

Do you live in the country or in a city or a suburbs ?

If you are not living in the country, do you have a car and a site where you can setup your scope ? The quality of the sky available is a big factor. It is useless to have a big scope if your observing site is light polluted and even worse for astrophotography.

You must know that the important factor for a telescope is the diameter of the mirror, not the magnification. The second most important thing if do astrophotography is the quality of your mount. For photo the best is CCD camera.

The type of telescope in your link is a good choice for a first telescope: low cost and enought to see interesting celestial object.

[bacchen]

Hey Jacques,

 

Having an area to view is probibly going to be a problem, and no I do not have a car.

Backyard: ( Unclear I know )

 

I can surely work something out.

[Spyman]

You might find useful tips & tricks here: http://skytonight.com/