Low cost astronomy

[Jlabute]

That’s great! People who have never looked through a telescope usually go wow. People who read astronomy magazines then get their first telescope are sometimes disappointed, lol. I am thinking of getting a scope again. Something much smaller than what I had, maybe in the 70 to 80mm range, doublet or triplet.

[alanjh595]

Note to anyone using optics of any kind...


Never touch your eye on the eye piece at minus 17 C if your eyes have been watering from the wind/ cold.

When moving a telescope inside from minus 17 C, put a blanket over it so it warms slowly or it will get condensation on the optics and the mirror will crack.

Great advice.

[Jlabute]

This looks interesting. It reminded me of Queen K... lol. Thoughts?

https://williamoptics.com/redcat-51

[Jlabute]

Yeah, I wonder too, 51mm, not very large, but photographically fast at f/4.9.

If I had two scopes, one was 51mm f/4.9 and the other was 70mm f/6.7 or something like that, given the same ISO setting, both could take an image in about the same amount of time. I'm thinking about making a purchase when it comes out. It can also be used visually. Not sure if this scope is a bad idea or not.

[Jlabute]

I’d be interested in a nerd nite, lol.
Yeah, not much magnification. Probably not great for planet viewing, etc.
Is it not too late to see the comet?

[Queen K]

This looks interesting. It reminded me of Queen K... lol. Thoughts?

https://williamoptics.com/redcat-51

s__10502158.jpg

Ya, glue enough 'nip on a lens and I'm in.

May have to look into this one this March.

[JagXKR]

Next year at this time they will be about 1 fist apart. They continue to get closer during the fall.
Unfortunately when they do get to be at their closest in the sky they will be on the other side of the sun. Around Christmas 2020.

You can use Heaven's Above website to play around with the dates.

https://www.heavens-above.com/PlanetSum ... 342&tz=PST

[Queen K]

This looks interesting. It reminded me of Queen K... lol. Thoughts?

https://williamoptics.com/redcat-51

s__10502158.jpg

OHH yes! Sign me up for that bad boy. I'd love to get into astro photography as what I'm seeing from others is astounding.

[JagXKR]

If I'm reading the website right that Jag posted , Neptune should be in between Jupiter and Saturn, I should be able to make out a bluish disk if I get lucky with a wide field sky sweep. Or am I reading something wrong ?

Neptune is not between, nor is Uranus. Best way to look at the web page is to use the meridian transit time. That's when it should be at it's highest above the horizon and basically due south. But the time is based on standard time so add 1 hour for DST. I know it's a bit complicated.

I really enjoyed the first time I saw Uranus through the binoculars. It's not as tough as Neptune though. Both are good objects to try and spot in late fall or early winter. A dark sky both can be seen in binoculars. Some (not me) can spot Uranus with the naked eye. I never had eyes like that and they are less effective at low light than my younger years.

2 good sites for you are a Jupiter's moon position site and the "seeing" prediction site. Seeing is a term for the how much twinkle a star will have due to turbulence in the atmosphere.

Seeing

https://weather.gc.ca/astro/seeing_e.html

Dark blue is the color you want to see.

Jupiter's Moons (also the Great Red Spot)

http://shallowsky.com/jupiter/

[Jlabute]

Have you had a camera hooked up to your telescope? Do you have any camera adapters?

What do you guys recommend for a good pair of binoculars? I wouldn't mind a pair not too heavy with nice aperture and a good diopter adjustment range that can be tripod mounted.

[Jlabute]

So you're trying to do eyepiece projection to a camera. My guess is that could be tough without the proper adapters. What does 'Q' have?

As for binos, without paying more than $1000, I think these might be nice:

They have individually focusing eyepieces. They have another pair for the same price that is 15x70. These are 10.5x70.

https://www.telescope.com/Orion-Resolux-105x70-Waterproof-Astronomy-Binoculars/p/9545.uts

[Jlabute]

I see a number of accessories are available for the a$$master 114eq (hehe)

There is a cellphone adapter.

https://www.celestron.com/products/nexyz-3-axis-universal-smartphone-adapter

A digital camera adapter.

https://www.celestron.com/products/digital-camera-adapter-universal

There is a t-ring, and various cameras. What camera are you trying to use? You’ll need something to align it and hold it in place?

[Jlabute]

NO!!! Damn. Good thing you weren’t lookin’ through it.

Well good things never die. Maybe we can have binocular parties or something until you get you 4 and a half inches back up :-) They have these phone camera adapters thingies for binoculars too.

[JagXKR]

And that would just about conclude the thread 'low cost astronomy'. For now anyway, until I find another telescope.

I hope you find another scope.
When you do consider making your own solar filter. Thousand Oaks Optical has 12"x12" sheets that can be cut to make multiple filters for cameras, binoculars and telescopes.
They have 2 options Silver-Black Polymer and SolarLite. SolarLite is about 2x the cost. I've seen a homemade filter that slipped (tightly) on the front of a 8" Celestron that was really awesome to view sunspots. Fairly sure it was the Silver-Black Polymer.
Baader has sheets as well that gives more "white" image. It can be a bit bright on high magnification and more cost than the Silver-Black. Not sure about SolarLite vs Baader for image quality but they are both more money than the Silver-Black.
Btw I suggest the 12x12 just in case you make a mistake while cutting. You will still have lots left over to try again.

[Jlabute]

Did you get a new telescope or something?