The Official Astronomy Thread

Crusader

Crusader

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Price is certainly a large factor but I think it comes down to ease of setup and usage more than not. An 8" Newt on an EQ5 mount will already be a beast. I don't think I'd look forward to setting that up for each observing session.

A SCT on EQ mount would be more manageable but then price becomes the major factor.
 
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Gaz{M}

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Crusader said:
Are you sure it was a galaxy and not the Helix Nebula? From the sketch the general shape reminds me of the Helix Nebula.

Which Alt-az mount did you use? (A Dob mount is also an Alt-Az). Most of the Alt-Az mounts that have slow-motion controls have somewhat limited travel needing 'resetting' after about 10-15 mins - at least the one on my refractor does.
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I honestly can't remember what it was. Something near the Southern Cross (to the right)

Correction, it was an EQ mount, not an Alt-Az. Getting my terms mixed up here.
 
Crusader

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Mmm... then it could be Omega Centauri (but that would be easily resolved as hundreds of thousands stars in the globular cluster - kinda like a sprinkle of fine salt on a black background). So I'm guessing it's the Southern Pinwheel galaxy.
 
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Kalvaer

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Crusader said:
I don't think I'd look forward to setting that up for each observing session.
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You can come and set up mine tonight if you want :D Its really not that hard when you get used to it. Same as with the DOB i'm sure.

I had my tracking drives repaired almost 2 months ago and just have never gone to pick them up, But really wanna check out jupiter tonight. Its in a lovely position and it is after all the 400th annivesary of Galileo's telescopes So kinda have to do something :eek:
 
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Kalvaer

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JFIS, Took me 10 minutes to set the scope up, Thats mostly because it was completly disassembled and in boxes in 3 different rooms.

Granted a DOB would still be much quicker, though its really not that bad
 
Crusader

Crusader

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10 mins isn't bad at all. I really need to test out an EQ mount sometime.

Jupiter has been stunning the last couple of nights. GRS just popped out at me and I could even make out festoons, dark spots and swirls of clouds. An amazing sight to say the least.
 
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Kalvaer

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Kinda apt dont you think being the 400 year anni :) I just thought I would pretend to know whats going on and check out the moons he discovered tonight and should be great with Jupitors position.

I was half upset though that my scope has picked up a bit of dust on its main mirror (yeah my fault for not making 100% sure it was packed correctly last time the wife took it to a function). Though I was speaking to the ex-chairman of ASSA-JHB after I took it out and he laughed saying I shouldn't worry, I'd more than likely see 100 times better than Galileo :D

PS: as to the setup, It used to take me at least an hour. Today the 10 minutes included checking all the alignments of the spotting scope and a quick mirror collimation. That would of taken at least 2 hours when I first got it. Granted.. I think I was more careful back then which is maybe a good thing
 
Crusader

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dappled said:
If anyone can say, in terms of weight and physical dimensions, how does skywatcher 8" dob differ from the orion xt8" dob?
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They should be about the same size in physical dimensions and weight since they are both f/5.9 scopes. The focal lengths and the apertures are the same so differences would be minimal.

An 8" would be very manageable and should be quite easy to carry around. If you can carry a golf bag around you should be set for an 8" scope. The OTA weighs in at around 8kgs which should be well within the lifting range of most people. The OTA should also be able to fit easily into most cars.

dappled said:
So there's no going smaller in physical size without a radical jump in price? :(
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You might want to consider a collapsible Dob, but personally I don't see much of a reason to do so for anything less than a 10". Unfortunately the really compact designs are the more expensive designs. An 8" Mak or SCT will set you back about 2 - 4x the price of a similar aperture Newtonian.
 
Crusader

Crusader

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Kalvaer said:
Kinda apt dont you think being the 400 year anni :) I just thought I would pretend to know whats going on and check out the moons he discovered tonight and should be great with Jupitors position.

I was half upset though that my scope has picked up a bit of dust on its main mirror (yeah my fault for not making 100% sure it was packed correctly last time the wife took it to a function). Though I was speaking to the ex-chairman of ASSA-JHB after I took it out and he laughed saying I shouldn't worry, I'd more than likely see 100 times better than Galileo :D

PS: as to the setup, It used to take me at least an hour. Today the 10 minutes included checking all the alignments of the spotting scope and a quick mirror collimation. That would of taken at least 2 hours when I first got it. Granted.. I think I was more careful back then which is maybe a good thing
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Cloudy out here so I won't be viewing much of anything. Guess I had my chance the previous two nights.

From what I can ascertain a mirror needs to be absolutely filthy for the views to be affected in any way. A coating of dust shouldn't hurt the views at all. In fact a dusty mirror is preferred above a scratched one so I always ignore the urge to clean mine.

My main bugbear with EQ mounts is the setup time and learning curve involved to use it. Obviously I'm not speaking from experience but from what I've read it can be quite intimidating to beginners. Although I think once you have it down it becomes second nature (just like moving a Dob ;) ). If you know what you are doing things generally seem to take less time and effort.
 
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dappled

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mercurial said:
8" is not heavy at all. It's quite portable.
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Crusader said:
An 8" would be very manageable and should be quite easy to carry around. If you can carry a golf bag around you should be set for an 8" scope. The OTA weighs in at around 8kgs which should be well within the lifting range of most people. The OTA should also be able to fit easily into most cars.
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What does the mount weigh, and can it be stored outside? Is the OTA interchangeable?
/noob here, learning. Looked at the sun today with the sun filter.
 
Crusader

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dappled said:
What does the mount weigh, and can it be stored outside? Is the OTA interchangeable?
/noob here, learning. Looked at the sun today with the sun filter.
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The mount should be in the area of 9-10kg. It will depend on what you mean with "outside". If you put on a weatherproof cover and store it on a raised platform so water can't get to it I think the mount should be pretty safe to be stored in the garage or shed. Since it's made from particle board you wouldn't want it to get wet, and of course dust could become a problem later.
 
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