Telescopes...

[steviec_lj]

Right, been thinking of getting one for a while now. Even at the previous house, it's almost perfect for star gazing.

No idea what to look out for on the specs, but the below is reasonably priced;

Tripod Material: Aluminum
Color: Sliver
Optical System: Reflector
Magnification: 35X, 56X,175X
2X Magnification: 70X, 112X, 350X
Reflective focal length: 700mm
Object Diameter: 76mm
Focal Length: 700mm
Eyepiece focal length: 4mm,12.5mm, 20mm
Erecting eyepiece magnification: 1.5X
Barlow magnification: 2X
Finder magnification: 5 x 24
Finder field of view lens: 5.4 degrees
Tripod Height: About 1.5m
Package Size: 72 x 24 x 25cm/28.1 x 9.4 x 9.8''(L x W x H)
Usage: Observing Stars and Planets


Opinions?

 

[johnakay]

what ever you do don't buy celestron powerseeker 50tt
bl**dy rubbish can't see a thing out of it.
wife got it for xmas off my 2 lads.

 

[Dave Sherwood]

Don't left the high magnification fool, to high is totally useless image gets distorted through floor vibration. anything upto X90-100 is perfect for reflector also size of mirror, the Bigger the better, lets more light in. you want 6 inch Mirror if possible.

 

[Gareth0123]

bl**dy rubbish can't see a thing out of it.

You do have to remove the lens caps.

 

[steviec_lj]

According to my sources (the Mrs), its a Kenley Astronomical Newtonian Reflector Telescope 76/700.

That's exactly what she spouted right now.

An ebay search shows they're cheapanese.

A 6" mirror, sounds like a large unit. I shall spend some time looking myself..

 

[voipio]

The description sounds like it could be a bit of a disappointment. With telescopes you generally get what you pay for. Optical performance-wise, good quality Dobsonian telescopes give the biggest bang for the buck, and I would suggest a 6" mirror or bigger, of at least 1m focal length. With an 8" primary mirror telescope it is possible to see much more detail in difficult to see objects like the Orion Nebula than with a 3". Look for makes like Meade, Celestron, SkyWatcher, for example. Alternatively, something like the Meade ETX125 would be better for planetary observing with its ~2m effective focal length in a relatively short tube and goto mount, or the ETX90 at a push. Goto mounts are useful for finding objects in the sky, but need a certain amount of knowhow to set them up. An exception is the Meade Lightswitch which just needs to be taken out on a clear night, switched on, and left to it for about 10 minutes whilst it works out where it is and calibrates itself to the celestial sphere. Also, goto mounts tend not to be engineered particularly well, and will often need TLC if they're to perform the way they were meant to. Astronomers tend not to be great engineers, it seems, though there are exceptions, and some of the real high-end stuff is very well made indeed.

There's a Skywatcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian telescope near Rotherham going on Gumtree at the moment for about the right sort of money. You wouldn't regret it.
.

 

[brightspark]

what ever you do don't buy celestron powerseeker 50tt
bl**dy rubbish can't see a thing out of it.
wife got it for xmas off my 2 lads.

its all the crap from the chemical works why u cant see owt

 

[voipio]

PS, Dobsonians will can be stored with the optical tube vertically, so need take up no more floor space than the base, which is usually a lot less than a tripod.

 

[johnakay]

this the model.(I've ask my son's to send it back but wont..not worth it Dad. checked Amazon feedback and theres ya answer. crap)
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Celestron...932846?hash=item3399b2532e:g:z28AAOSwj0NUe4QA

 

[TechnicAl]

I bought one..........its crap
I think they saw me coming

 

[ronan]

http://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/yourfirstscope

 

[Shox Dr]

I bought one..........its crap
I think they saw me coming

What scope did they use

Ive tried to use my Optoyth 33x85 HD spotting scope, but its nigh on impossible to see anything barr the moon, as it shakes too much, even on a benbo tipod

 

[TechnicAl]

What scope did they use

Ive tried to use my Optoyth 33x85 HD spotting scope, but its nigh on impossible to see anything barr the moon, as it shakes too much, even on a benbo tipod

careful what you admit to

 

[voipio]

Ive tried to use my Optoyth 33x85 HD spotting scope, but its nigh on impossible to see anything barr the moon, as it shakes too much, even on a benbo tipod

The Dobsonian mount is, for the money, the most solid mount there is.

 

[Wedg1e]

I was in the local astronomical society in my late teens (gave it up for ham radio ); a mate and I were building our own scopes, strarting by hand-grinding the mirrors. Mine was 6 or 6.5 inch and his 8" (the mirror ).
I got my mirror to the jeweller's rouge state of polish and then gave up but matey finished his mirror, had it silvered and built his scope up (used his student grant as I recall) and it was excellent. One of my early electronics projects was to built a variable-speed controller for the mains synchronous motor that drove its tracking mount.
Nobody in the society used anything other than a reflector. Only sailors and neighbourhood perverts use refractors

 

[ronan]

Only sailors and neighbourhood perverts use refractors