Spotting Scopes

[chrissara]

I just purchased a Bushnell Spotting Scope with a 45 degree viewfinder.

Just wondering if poeple use these for astronomy. I did a quick google and got a tad upset when the first site I went to referred to the smaller SCG type telescopes as spotting scopes e.g. ETX125 etc.

Are there any website that look at spotting scopes at all for astronomy?

[ving]

how about duel purpose scope?
the st80 is essentially a spotting scope, it gets sold with a 45 deg diagonal doesnt it?

[chrissara]

This one is called the Spacewalker.

At www.bushnell.com (http://www.bushnell.com) they have about 5 different models - the one I have is the only one with a 45 degree scope (portable too)

[ving]

interesting, let us know how it goes on the night sky. also do you have a solar filter? you could shove solar filter over the front :)

[Roger Davis]

Too many lenses (ie. glass surfaces) to reflect light, let alone the method of correcting the image orientation (45° would be a Schmidt prism with a roof to give linear diffraction spikes). That's why we use them for terrestrial use and not astronomy.