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  #1621  
Old 17-04-2015, 08:17 PM
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Eratosthenes (Peter)
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greetings

I hope to learn a bit about astronomy through this forum, especially with respect to equipment and astrophotography.

I have been a very keen student of astronomy from a very young age.

cheers
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  #1622  
Old 18-04-2015, 01:05 PM
Bernie.o
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Second that about Bintel. I bought an 8" Meade from them in 2002; took it in for repairs last week (long story). One of the guys (michael I think) remembered me from 13 yrs ago and happily took on the repairs challenge.
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  #1623  
Old 20-04-2015, 07:00 AM
dannoz22 (Danny)
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New to forum

Hey folk, Danny here. Am new to this forum.

I've always had a keen interest in the skys above but have never really been able to spend much time discovering them. I've had cheap telescopes given to me and had some basic looks at the night sky etc.

Due to my new buddy cancer, I find myself with some spare time and the desire to do things I've always wanted to but never have or could.

I am based in Victoria, on the Mornington Peninsula. A very very bright area at night. I would love to go somewhere pitch black and see an uneffected night sky, so any tips on that would be great.

Cheers.
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  #1624  
Old 20-04-2015, 09:32 AM
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iborg (Philip)
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Hi Danny

You might want to look up,The Mornington Peninsula Astronomical Society, they shouldn't be far from you.

http://www.mpas.asn.au/index.htm



Philip
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  #1625  
Old 21-04-2015, 10:27 PM
Johan (Johan)
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Hello all,
I bought my first telescope this week and I already have LOADS of questions! It is a 16" GOTO Skywatcher Dobsonian which I assembled on a trolley. I keep it in my shed for easy roll out/roll in access to the night sky. Some great sights so far are Jupiter and the four moons, Saturn, Venus, Betelgeuse, Sirius, Procyon, Hadar and the moon was out tonight for the first time.
I am in suburbia which limits what I can see, however if anyone have suggestions of where to aim the telescope for great sights in the near future, please dont hold back ��. Now, I'm heading straight to the eyepiece blogs...

Johan
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  #1626  
Old 22-04-2015, 05:29 PM
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Jen
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Johan View Post
Hello all,
I bought my first telescope this week and I already have LOADS of questions! It is a 16" GOTO Skywatcher Dobsonian which I assembled on a trolley. I keep it in my shed for easy roll out/roll in access to the night sky. Some great sights so far are Jupiter and the four moons, Saturn, Venus, Betelgeuse, Sirius, Procyon, Hadar and the moon was out tonight for the first time.
I am in suburbia which limits what I can see, however if anyone have suggestions of where to aim the telescope for great sights in the near future, please dont hold back ��. Now, I'm heading straight to the eyepiece blogs...

Johan
Ooohhh nice buy for a first toy your in for a treat
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  #1627  
Old 26-04-2015, 02:13 AM
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BilliGoatsGruff (Billi)
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Hello! Another newbie here. I've been looking into buying a Skywatcher 90/1250 Mak and I was just wondering what people think? Also, are there any eps worth getting? It comes with a 10mm and 25mm Plossl.
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  #1628  
Old 26-04-2015, 02:32 AM
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BilliGoatsGruff (Billi)
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On second thought, perhaps I would be better with binoculars? I'm looking for portability and like the idea of being able to grab them at a moments notice. Are there any recommendations? (budget of $300)
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  #1629  
Old 26-04-2015, 11:04 AM
BeanerSA (Paul)
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Me again! Binoculars are great. For handheld use you don't want to go any larger than 10x50, so 8x42 or 10x50 are ideal. For anything larger than that, you ideally need a tripod. Any of the ones available locally are going to be good enough at that pricepoint. I myself am looking at the Nikons or the Olympusssss's(?)
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  #1630  
Old 26-04-2015, 11:22 AM
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BilliGoatsGruff (Billi)
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Hahaha maybe the plural is Olympi? If I get the scope then I won't be able to get the binos and vice versa. It's just a matter of portability. I did originally want a scope, so I feel like I'm going to sort change myself with binos.
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  #1631  
Old 26-04-2015, 11:41 AM
BeanerSA (Paul)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BilliGoatsGruff View Post
Hahaha maybe the plural is Olympi? If I get the scope then I won't be able to get the binos and vice versa. It's just a matter of portability. I did originally want a scope, so I feel like I'm going to sort change myself with binos.
You always need a decent pair of binos. You can upgrade to a scope later. Binos are all the things you want. Portable, right way up images, easy to store. Look for an old pair on Gumtree, or ask a relative.
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  #1632  
Old 26-04-2015, 11:51 AM
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BilliGoatsGruff (Billi)
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I found a pair of Tasco 10x50 binoculars on gumtree for $60. I'm not familiar with brands or anything, but I'm guessing this is a good price for 2nd hand ones? There's a pair of 7x50's included in that price.
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  #1633  
Old 26-04-2015, 11:55 AM
BeanerSA (Paul)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BilliGoatsGruff View Post
I found a pair of Tasco 10x50 binoculars on gumtree for $60. I'm not familiar with brands or anything, but I'm guessing this is a good price for 2nd hand ones? There's a pair of 7x50's included in that price.
I currently have a pair of Tasco 10x50's I borrowed off a mate. I see plenty through them. Buy those for $50 and try them out.
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  #1634  
Old 26-04-2015, 12:02 PM
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BilliGoatsGruff (Billi)
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They did say price negotiable so I'll try that. They are in Lockleys though, so hopefully the people will be ok with postage. If it follows through then I should be able to afford both the binos and the dob
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  #1635  
Old 29-04-2015, 02:47 PM
Grammaticus (Justin)
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advice for a telescope purchase

Hi all,

I've just joined Ice In Space in the hope of some advice on telescopes. I've never owned one and ultimately I'm interested in astrophotography, but am aware I need to learn to walk before I can run. The telescope I'm looking at buying is the Celestron Nexstar 130 SLT. I've read some reviews and as a beginner telescope it seems good for light gathering qualities and was no1 in Telescopes.toptenreviews.com.

As a total novice who's super keen, can anybody advise me if this is the way to go?

Really appreciate any help from anybody...

thanks

G
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  #1636  
Old 01-05-2015, 03:29 PM
Cloudbegone (Lachlan)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BilliGoatsGruff View Post
I found a pair of Tasco 10x50 binoculars on gumtree for $60. I'm not familiar with brands or anything, but I'm guessing this is a good price for 2nd hand ones? There's a pair of 7x50's included in that price.
Probably too late, but BCF are selling Tasco 10 x 50's for $70. Unless of course you are looking specifically for 7 x 50's
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  #1637  
Old 01-05-2015, 04:14 PM
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pluto (Hugh)
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Grammaticus

It depends on your budget and whether you want to start with visual observing and then buy new gear when you're ready to commit to astrophotography or whether you want to dive right in and get gear that's capable of astrophotography that you can grow into.

If you want to start with just visual observation then I think the consensus would be to grab an 8" dob, like this one:
http://www.bintel.com.au/Telescopes/...oductview.aspx
Or even just a decent pair of binoculars to learn the sky.

I'm going to assume you want to do deep space astrophotography, like images of nebulae and galaxies?
Can I also assume you already have a DSLR?

For astrophotography I think it's generally accepted that the base mount that can produce good images is an HEQ5.
http://www.bintel.com.au/Mounts---Tr...oductview.aspx

For telescopes for astrophotography there are a couple of directions you could take. You could get a reflector like this:
http://www.bintel.com.au/Telescopes/...oductview.aspx
Or a refractor like this:
http://www.bintel.com.au/Telescopes/...oductview.aspx
The reflector has more aperture so will gather more light, which is good, but you will need to learn to collimate it to get the most out of it.
The refractor gathers less light, so you'd need to take longer exposures, but it's capable of excellent images and it's really simple to set up.

This setup is also capable of doing images of the moon and planets but if you wanted to specialise in those kinds of images there might be other choices that would get better results, for example you'd probably look at a more specialised camera.

I'm not really familiar with that Celestron that you linked to but that scope isn't going to be great for visual observation given its relatively small aperture and that mount isn't going to be very good for astrophotography (you pretty much need an EQ mount for AP).

I started with an ED80 on an EQ5 - not HEQ5 - and while I learned heaps it was very frustrating at times and the mount did need to be upgraded relatively soon. An HEQ5 should last you well into your astrophotography hobby.
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  #1638  
Old 10-05-2015, 08:03 PM
myoda (Abhi)
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Howdy all,

New here but had an interest in Astronomy for a long time. Looking to get my first telescope but there seems to be little second hand stuff going in VIC!

Found a 16" dob in WA that was very cheap but that's just silly for a beginner. Looking for a 12" collapsible dob in VIC if anyone knows of someone selling.

Hope to learn a lot and spend some (cold) nights outside having a look and having my mind blown away with what's out there.
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  #1639  
Old 10-05-2015, 08:59 PM
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BilliGoatsGruff (Billi)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cloudbegone View Post
Probably too late, but BCF are selling Tasco 10 x 50's for $70. Unless of course you are looking specifically for 7 x 50's
I only just saw this! Honestly don't know why I didn't check online first. I ended up getting both pairs for $50. My daughter gets a kick out of using the 10x50's for moon viewing.
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  #1640  
Old 27-05-2015, 02:58 PM
leo.a (LEO)
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Nice scope Jen, for your First Telescope.
Enjoy the night skies
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