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  #501  
Old 29-08-2007, 11:34 AM
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Jaala
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Thanks Ric... I'll have to look into buying some equipment soon... I'm getting married in 4 weeks so budget won't allow for any extras like telescopes!

Felix - that is how I found the site too.
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  #502  
Old 29-08-2007, 07:59 PM
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G,Day HawaiiBill I,m also new to this community(IIS)So welcome.I think the amount of money spent by the gov of the world should be = to what they spend on there own political advancement, but we know that won,t happen.But anythingspent thats advances our knowledge is good for us.
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  #503  
Old 29-08-2007, 08:21 PM
Tragedies
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Hello everyone.

I recently joined (just yesterday in fact). Was searching information about the Lunar Eclipse, and found this interesting site.

I haven't been fascinated about astronomy until recently, and this may sound a little stupid, but I want to buy my first telescope but I'm not sure where to start.

Can anyone help me by suggesting how much I should spend on a 'beginner' telescope and what to look out for?
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  #504  
Old 29-08-2007, 09:50 PM
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Hi Tragedies, welcome to IIS and I hope you have a great time and a long stay here.

As to how much you should spend on a beginner scope is a very subjective area as it would depend on size, type and what you would want to do with it. I would suggest to stay well clear of internet and department store specials, you will only be dissapointed.

For starters I would try to get along to your local astronomical club and see what other members have, maybe even attend some viewing nights and have a look through some of their scopes as well this will give you a better idea of what is on the market and also what you would like to do as well.

You could also talk with some of the astro shop people as they are amateur astronomers themselves. There are lots in Melbourne but the only one I know of is Bintel, I'm sure other members can add a few more shops to this list.

Cheers
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  #505  
Old 05-09-2007, 05:01 PM
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Hi there everyone from yet another new member.

Have been perusing the forums and found loads of interesting info to help me with my pending upgrade from my ancient home-made museum-piece 6" reflector (spent all afternoon trying to collimate the thing - those laser collimators are great but the scope really isnt good enough - its a very thin wobbly metal tube on a pretty solid EQ mount thats fixed for Melbourne's latitude.

Anyway I am (very nervously) about to do the big upgrade and I can see already that the friendly folks at Iceinspace will be a mine of information and advice. See you on th forums (fora?)

Cheers
Phil
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  #506  
Old 05-09-2007, 05:10 PM
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Hi Phil and welcome to the forum, you'll find a lot of good info and advice for your upgrade. Do you have anything in mind as yet?

Cheers
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  #507  
Old 05-09-2007, 11:04 PM
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Thanks for the reply Ric.

I am contemplating Celestron 9.25, Skywatcher ED80 600mm, Canon SLR and EQ6 pro mount. (Is the EQ6's weight a problem when transporting, setting up etc?).

Another possibility is ED80 on a smaller mount (HEQ5 pro or GM8) on which to learn astrophotography and a Dob (10 or 12 inch) for visual observations.

Cheers
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  #508  
Old 05-09-2007, 11:49 PM
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hi!
Should only an experienced star gazer who could star hop use a dobsonian?
Also, with eyepieces whats the best size for an 8' reflector? and why are some 100 where'as other eyepieces are $500!!!! is there a huge difference in what you could see?

I have a star map, can cannot find any stars in the sky!.. what am i doing wrong?
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  #509  
Old 06-09-2007, 08:41 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thongus View Post
hi!
Hi to you, thongus.

Quote:
Originally Posted by thongus View Post
Should only an experienced star gazer who could star hop use a dobsonian?
I expect that you mean a dobsonian reflector without any digital setting circles, nor driven axes? If so, yes, you fundamentally have to know how to work your way from one star to the next, otherwise you will just be observing randomly, or have to sweep through the target area hoping to spot what you are looking for. But knowing how to use the finderscope and/or a laser pointer attached to the scope will greatly assist.

Quote:
Originally Posted by thongus View Post
Also, with eyepieces whats the best size for an 8' reflector?
An 8 foot reflector! Wow. I'm sure you mean 8 inch, that's what I have. I have eyepieces from 40mm to 6mm which is magnifications of 30x to 200x. When I introduce my 2x barlow, those magnifications double. I think you'll find this is the maximum useful range. I wouldn't go below 40mm, but you may wish to try a 5mm or 4mm eyepiece if you can borrow one.

Quote:
Originally Posted by thongus View Post
and why are some 100 where'as other eyepieces are $500!!!! is there a huge difference in what you could see?
Apparently so, since I doubt anyone pays $400-500 more for an eyepiece just for the "name"! I can tell you that a $175 Vixen LV 6mm is heaps better than a $39 GSO 6mm plossl. Same for an Orion Stratus and a Pentax XF I had a chance to borrow (around $200 eyepieces). I'm not sure whether one would invest in $400+ eyepieces if all one had or planned to have was a mass produced 8" reflector. But if you are sure you will upgrade to a bigger and better scope some day, maybe it is a good move. Depends on how fussy you are with your view and how many discretionary $s you have. Read the many many eyepiece threads on the forum.

Quote:
Originally Posted by thongus View Post
I have a star map, can cannot find any stars in the sky!.. what am i doing wrong?
Wait for the clouds to go away? Sorry, I couldn't resist! Do you have a Planisphere as well? Maps are very useful, but you also need a picture of what the sky overhead looks like, at the time you are looking! Put the telescope away, and the binoculars. Sit back with your Planisphere and redlight torch and work with the sky until you know and recognise several major stars. Then update to the binoculars and see if the view around those stars can be compared to your star map. Then get the telescope out and get it pointed at a bright star (with the longest focal length eyepiece you have, therefore lowest magnification) and compare that to what you are seeing through your binoculars. Yes, it's all upside down and you'll need to train your brain to that fact. Watch out for the Planets - Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn don't appear on your Planisphere or star maps, but can be very bright, so can confuse you. (Duh! I did it early this morning - was looking at Aldebaran in Taurus, so I thought. No, that was Mars - fooled again )

Suggestion, start with the Moon - it's easy to get that in your field of view and there is plenty to see and you'll get used to moving your scope in the right directions to track the moving object and to see different parts of the object.

Hope some of this helps?

Eric
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  #510  
Old 06-09-2007, 01:20 PM
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Hi Eric,
thanks for answering,
I havent got my t'scope yet, hoping Friday(tomorrow)
I bought it off this forum,
So those small eyepieces are usually for massive diameter scopes?? OR just for looking at the moon ?(since its so bright?)
My starmap doesnt have the moon on it unfortunately, i'm thinking all i need to find is one star, then i can figure out the rest lol
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  #511  
Old 06-09-2007, 02:42 PM
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Hi thongus, if your looking for one star to start with you could try for Antares, it should be directly above you near the zenith at this time of year and being a bright red star it should be easy to pick out. There will be a very bright star nearby which is actually Jupiter and there will be heaps in that region to keep you going.

Cheers
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  #512  
Old 07-09-2007, 04:13 AM
thongus
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Thanks for the replies guys,
Maybe an offtopic here,
Does anyone else get dizzy or eyestrain from looking into a pair of binoculars at the stars because it shakes so much?
I got 8x40 and they are an eyesore..
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  #513  
Old 07-09-2007, 07:31 AM
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Does anyone else get dizzy or eyestrain from looking into a pair of binoculars at the stars because it shakes so much?
I got 8x40 and they are an eyesore..
Yes, it can happen. Possible solutions:-

1. get a chair with arm rests and see if you can rest your elbows on them - that should steady them and give your arms some rest. Obviously you need to be able to lean back a fair distance so need the right adjustable lounge - check the deckchairs and pool furniture at somewhere like Clark Rubber.

2. get the binoculars onto a tripod. The problem then is looking at a high elevation - you get all tangled up in the tripod.

3. put them on the tripod, but leave the legs folded and use it like a monpod. hold onto it and lean back to look higher. That will steady them better. Even lying down and leaving the tripod connected will assist steady the camera, even if the tripod legs don't touch the ground.

4. build a suitable binocular mount - see some examples in the Projects & Articles section , or search this forum or the net for "binocular mount" or "parallelogram mount"
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  #514  
Old 07-09-2007, 11:08 AM
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Hi I'm here for the first time, but not all that new to astronomy. I do however have a request if anybody can assist me with advice on a 200mm f4 (I was suprised to find my scope on Brian Nolan's first telescope report).

I like the scope and find it great for the deep sky objects but I went to replace the focuser and found all manner of headaches from the focuser too short in depth (I had a 15mm spacer made up for it), to the collmination way out.

When the collmination is in alignment the star patterns resemble misguided fireworks and the field is in focus on one side and progressively fades out of focus to the other side. Does anybody have any ideas?

Darryl
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  #515  
Old 08-09-2007, 05:36 AM
thongus
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Anyone know what these stars are?
i see them everynight and always notice them
I'm talking about the left side which looks like an arrow
http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/3959/dsc5221fv0.jpg
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  #516  
Old 08-09-2007, 07:58 PM
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That's Orion Thongus, point your scope at them and you'll be rewarded with some fantastic sights.

You will not be sorry.
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  #517  
Old 09-09-2007, 04:12 AM
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thanks! i can find it on the starmap now!
my starmap actually only shows this in november, so my starmap is wrong?
but in real life its right above me.
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  #518  
Old 15-09-2007, 04:59 PM
john.pullen1 (John)
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Hi Felix,

I use and ed 80, a canon and an EQ 6 mount. The EQ6 is an excellent mount but is VERY HEAVY, if u need to set up each night an HEQ5 may be a more better option, the EQ6 is a bit oversized for an ed80.

Regards,

John
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  #519  
Old 16-09-2007, 09:40 PM
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edwardsdj (Doug)
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Hi,

I've only recently registered but have known about IceInSpace for a couple of years. Have been into Astronomy since I was a kid and am now on my fourth telescope. Used to be into astrophotography as a teenager on a 4 1/2" reflector from Kmart with a Zenit 35mm SLR. Did some piggyback of constellations and some prime focus photography of the Moon.

I recently got a Nikon D80 and some camera adapters for my C8 and took some prime focus shots of the lunar eclipse. Am really excited about digital astrophotography!

Anyway, just thought I'd say hi.

Have fun,
Doug
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  #520  
Old 16-09-2007, 10:00 PM
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Hi Doug and welcome to IIS. I'll look forward to your images.

Cheers
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