Educate me on telescopes (edited for Webmost lol)

LiquidChaos66

So I have one that was gifted to me that is pretty decent! I enjoy it but want to get something really top notch! What exactly should I be looking for in a good telescope? dimensions, lenses, whatnots? I really want good clarity and big magnification options

jgibv

LiquidChaos66

LiquidChaos66

the few things I do know is there are additional lenses to improve magnification and then the bigger the diameter the more light it lets in and better clarity... other than that... im lost. lol

raisindot

LiquidChaos66

LiquidChaos66

jlmarta

raisindot

LiquidChaos66

Great info! Ill look into those links today and do some reading and maybe pop back with more questions! Thanks!

raisindot

Definitely try to get out to a local club viewing when you can. Winter is actually the best season for viewing. Well, at least here in the northeast. Even though it's cold, on clear nights there's little humidity and haze, so you really get crystal clear views without the "jiggling" caused by moist air. Also, Saturn and Jupiter are usually viewable and high in the sky before midnight, and the Orion Nebula and other nebulae and star clusters are best viewed because they're above the horizon. If you can get to a higher elevation site that's far away from city lights and cloud cover your view of the sky should be spectacular.

LiquidChaos66

I gotta start doing research on visible space objects in the NW. I know The Andromeda Galaxy and quite a few twin stars are visible and Saturn in the summer if I remember right. Gotta start selling things too cause I NEED to get this hobby started! lol

raisindot

There really aren't objects that are "specifically" viewable (or unviewable) in the NW. The main distinction is between northern and southern hemisphere. Anything I can see in Boston you can see in Oregon. The main difference is the times when you see them. Fixed objects like stars will be in roughly the same area of the sky whether I look at them at 9:00 local time or you look at them 9:00 local time. The positions of planets may be a little different because a planet that "rises" at sunset at my local time will have moved a little bit in its own orbit during the three hours before you have your sunset. But the difference won't be all that much to the naked eye. When you use a manual scope, you can try to use standard star coordinates to locate objects (which you might to adjust for longitude and latitude), but for the most part people find objects by "star hopping," i.e., starting with a recognizable star in a constellation and moving the scope from there in the general direction of the object they're viewing. However, with GOTO scopes longitude and latitude are very important, which is why these scopes generally require you to choose your location (most main cities can be selected) or enter your lat/long manually. You then have to do the star alignment thing because that helps to provide a reference point for the scope to make accurate calculations of where these objects will be at any given point at night.

LiquidChaos66

So it may be some time before I can afford a new telescope... BUT that doesn't stop the learning and discovery. lol I still have my current telescope to take advantage of. Recommendations for star charts or any helpful tools for locating cool things in our night sky? I found a decently priced Planisphere that would work perfect for where I live. it works for 30N-50N latitude and im sitting about 45N so that should work fine. But what are your suggestions?

The3Stogies

Charts just confused me, but then I'm easily confused. Found a book like astronomy for dummies that just showed different night objects from different area's in the US. Also had the different seasons but winter is the best, cold and dark. Depending where you are as to what you can see, Jupiter is prominent here and easy to find. Spent loads of time just checking out the moon. But now they are computerized you say, damn. I had a 440x refractor, had a great time with it.

raisindot

LiquidChaos66

LiquidChaos66

Skies are clear tonight. I have a little guide on how to find some nebulas and I think I just might be able to find a good cigar to go with it tonight.

LiquidChaos66

Fog.

raisindot

LiquidChaos66

Very good points! Glad it was foggy last night then.

raisindot

LiquidChaos66

webmost

Okay, that's enough. If we're going to "eduacate" anyone on anything, first thing, we have to spell the word. Sometimes it's just the little things get under my skin.

jd50ae

Point the big end at the object you wish to view.

LiquidChaos66

raisindot

LiquidChaos66

We are set to have fog tonight and tomorrow... If not im gonna use my smaller spotter and try to track it down before trying with the big one I currently have