The Stargazing Thread

[Shadow Wolf56]

Welcome everyone! This thread is a continuation of @Endersmens Stargazing thread!

This thread has been dedicated to stargazing and telescopes to those fellow stargazers among us.

feel free to show people your telescopes, and so on (*feel free to do other stuff as well!*)

I have a Celestron 6 inch telescope that is a bit expensive, but works great! (*sorry no other telescope details because I'm on holiday. Also I'm not able to take pics yet*)

Edit: wait, I have a Celestron Nexstar 6SE Schmidt-Cassegrain

 

Edited April 22, 2017 by Shadow Wolf56

[_Augustus_]

I have a Celestron NexStar 4SE 4" Maksutov, a Meade ETX-90 3.5" Maksutov, an Edmund 6" Super Space Conqueror Newtonian reflector, and a Meade 2080 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain.

[The Raging Sandwich]

My Orion Starquest XT8 is great. It's an 8" diameter Dobsonian telescope.

[Shadow Wolf56]

this reminds me of when I went out one night and saw jupiter and its four main moons...

[Green Baron]

4 hours ago, Shadow Wolf56 said:

this reminds me of when I went out one night and saw jupiter and its four main moons...

I did so yesterday :-)

I like apos. All measures in millimeters.

80/480 ed-apo (serves as a guide scope). "Explore Scientific" is the brand. It's objective is quite good, a 3 lens air spaced triplet. I see no colour fringes even at 150*, though f/6 is sporty. But i wouldn't call it an apo. The focuser is made after a banana greased with petroleum jelly. It holds its own weight plus the small guiding cam ... barely.

115/805 full apo (lzos lens, german tube assembly, starlight ft 2.5" focuser). Very proud. Got that used. The objective is a medium range (strehl .976). One one occasion i was able to view Jupiter with a 2.5mm eyepiece in very quiet air.

And there is a 200/1000 newton tinkered together (gso glasses, baader focuser, plastic tube) which works good enough.

 

What are you guys dreaming of ?

The humble dream: A 130 or 150mm f/7 apo (air spaced, i don't trust the oil spaced stuff) on a stationary mount in a shelter in the garden. Can't afford it.

If i would win the lottery (but i don't play so i do not loose money :-)) i would construct me a 2m f/4 cassegrain with a decent instrumentation, fully robotic, up on the hill, to join the efforts of planet and asteroid searchers. Big toys for big guys.

 

[munlander1]

I have a 10in Newtonian astrograph still a noob though. Getting better at controlling it though. With the mount and all.

[cubinator]

I watched the shadow of one of Jupiter's moons across it's surface last night, it's the first time I've seen that phenomenon!

[munlander1]

18 minutes ago, cubinator said:

I watched the shadow of one of Jupiter's moons across it's surface last night, it's the first time I've seen that phenomenon!

That's super cool! What telescope and eye price did you use?

[cubinator]

1 minute ago, munlander1 said:

That's super cool! What telescope and eye price did you use?

It was about a 15" reflector, I think. I don't know the specifications of the eyepiece. It was a teacher's telescope.

[munlander1]

9 minutes ago, cubinator said:

It was about a 15" reflector, I think. I don't know the specifications of the eyepiece. It was a teacher's telescope.

That's a pretty large scope though. Was it a dobsonian?

[cubinator]

10 minutes ago, munlander1 said:

That's a pretty large scope though. Was it a dobsonian?

Yes. The mirrors are housed inside a cardboard tube.

[munlander1]

Just now, cubinator said:

Yes. The mirrors are housed inside a cardboard tube.

Diy telescope?

[cubinator]

7 minutes ago, munlander1 said:

Diy telescope?

Yep. He's got several reflectors and refractors fashioned from pipes of different sorts.

[Waxing_Kibbous]

On 4/21/2017 at 8:48 PM, The Raging Sandwich said:

My Orion Starquest XT8 is great. It's an 8" diameter Dobsonian telescope.

I came really close to buying one of these last year when Mars was close by, would it have been worth it for planet hunting?

[The Raging Sandwich]

28 minutes ago, Waxing_Kibbous said:

I came really close to buying one of these last year when Mars was close by, would it have been worth it for planet hunting?

If you get the right lenses for it, yes. 

[munlander1]

15 hours ago, cubinator said:

Yep. He's got several reflectors and refractors fashioned from pipes of different sorts.

Did he hand grind the mirror and stuff? 

[cubinator]

2 minutes ago, munlander1 said:

Did he hand grind the mirror and stuff? 

I don't think so, I think it's just the frame.

[Shadow Wolf56]

Guys just asking, how far do you guys think a 

On 21/04/2017 at 9:41 PM, Shadow Wolf56 said:

Celestron Nexstar 6SE Schmidt-Cassegrain

 

Would go out?

(*I'm a noob at stargazing*)

[Dartguy]

15 hours ago, Shadow Wolf56 said:

Guys just asking, how far do you guys think a 

Would go out?

(*I'm a noob at stargazing*)

About 13 billion light-years.

Edited April 27, 2017 by Dartguy

[Green Baron]

In short:

Ok for visual, nothing for photography.

Typical instrument to give people a fix :-)

 

[cxg2827]

Celestron EdgeHD 11" here. Mostly dabble in astrophotography and some planetary with a ASI120MC.

With local light pollution basically in the "white zone" its hard to get much of a wow-factor with visual observing besides looking at the moon, planets or double stars like Albireo. Ive used my AP setup to show friends and neighbors some fairly decent single-exposure shots that they wouldn't be able to see with the eyepiece alone.

 

[munlander1]

@NSEP, when are we going to get your telescope info?

[NSEP]

16 minutes ago, munlander1 said:

@NSEP, when are we going to get your telescope info?

Im so sorry, i keep forgetting it ): i have not been paying attention to it since i have other things to care about. So don't expect the info to come soon, but ill add it to my schedule and we will see. I apolgize. Thanks for your patience ):