Do Any of You Double as an Amateur Astronomer?

[Dan Griffing]

I’m both an amateur astronomer and a Level 2 rocketeer.

As a crossover tool, I’d recommend a good pair of binoculars.

But for astronomy, I’m a fan of SCT scopes for their overall performance, compactness, and affordability. The optical tube of an F10 8” SCT would be 80” long if it weren’t for the genius of its folded optics. My 10’ dome 2-story observatory has a computerized 12” F10 Meade LX200. But the SCT’s do have design trade-offs that scopes costing many times more don’t have.

My first scope was a classic 8” SCT Celestron with digital setting circles. It was easy to put this and all its support gear into the back of my minivan to go from our Bay Area home to a dark site 50 miles away for a night of viewing.

The basic questions for anyone getting interested in amateur astronomy are 1) what do you want to see, and 2) how much time and money do you have to spend.

I’d first recommend finding a star party in your area and going there for an evening. You’ll find many avid astronomers who will gladly show you their equipment and let you see how they work and what you can see with it.

 

[o1d_dude]

+1 to the star party recommendatio.

That’s where you’re going to be able to look through any number of telescopes and compare views through competing optical designs and cost factors.

 

[caveduck]

Nice observatory Dan!! The classic Mt. Palomar dome look...rolloffs never did much for me aesthetically. Making me want to refurb my classic Cave Optical 8" Newt and give it the mount it always deserved. But I'm stuck near sea level in the middle of San Diego.

 

[Brian-Tampa]

I have been an avid astronomer since I was a kid.
Current scope is an 8" Meade SCT LX200GPS
Digital setting circles, motorized focus, GPS
Great views, but quite a heavy scope
Both the telescope and the field tripod together weigh around 73 lbs.
I have included some pics of it sitting on my shop table
Lots of light pollution in my area though, I usually have to drive at least 30 miles away to get good views

 

[Dan Griffing]

Nice observatory Dan!! The classic Mt. Palomar dome look...rolloffs never did much for me aesthetically. Making me want to refurb my classic Cave Optical 8" Newt and give it the mount it always deserved. But I'm stuck near sea level in the middle of San Diego.

Thanks!

A 10 ft dome only has room for a 12” SCT OTA on a computerized equatorial mount.

In addition it needed a light shield tube on the end of the OTA that fits inside of the dome. The scope’s equatorial mount was mounted on the top of a reinforced 2’ diameter concrete column that went from 4 feet in the ground on a reinforced concrete pad and up to the second story observation deck. This was to isolate the scope from vibration from the observatory building, something critical for CCD photographic astronomy with long time exposures that wouldn’t result in blurred images.

The poor observation quality and the light pollution were one reason why we moved from Silicon Valley to 3 acres in rural Montana at 4600 feet. Another reason was it was near Bozeman and in sight of the beautiful Bridger mountains (that you see in the background) where I grew up.

 

[Dan Griffing]

8" Meade SCT LX200GPS

The 8” LX200 GPS is a great scope.

A 10” is a lot heavier and more expensive, but it has better light gathering capabilities. But then you often run up against atmospheric limited distortions to seeing conditions that waste the additional aperture.

 

[Michael L]

At the moment I'm a visual astronomer. I also do a bit of photography and use my largest lens to shoot a local object and the occasional comet

8.7.20 one lonley spot

7.9.17

Neowise and Ursa Major

One of my favorite objects to hunt - Skinny Moon. 0.8 Days old 0n 1.28.17

 

[dr wogz]

Any bathroom reading (magazine) recommendations?

I picked up "Astronomy" & "Sky & Telescope" the other day any others? Any better? or worse?

 

[Jim Hinton]

I can proudly state that I am about as amateur as it is possible to get. These days, I have an old Celestron C8. It's a black tube 8" on the Ultima mount and drive. I had it out a couple of days ago trying to get a peek through all of the smoke at the planets in opposition. We actually got surprisingly good looks at Jupiter and Saturn. By the time Mars was up, the sky was total soup. I waited until about midnight so Mars would be about straight up and looked then. At that point Mars and the Moon were about all that could be seen with the eye through the haze. I could not make out any sort of detail on Mars, but I've never looked at it when you could. This time, I can blame it on forest fire smoke.

Jim

 

[DRAGON64]

Looks like I can sell off some "safe queen" ietms and fund an 8" Dob from Apertura... when they come back in stock of course.

 

[Dan Griffing]

I can proudly state that I am about as amateur as it is possible to get. These days, I have an old Celestron C8. It's a black tube 8" on the Ultima mount and drive. I had it out a couple of days ago trying to get a peek through all of the smoke at the planets in opposition. We actually got surprisingly good looks at Jupiter and Saturn. By the time Mars was up, the sky was total soup. I waited until about midnight so Mars would be about straight up and looked then. At that point Mars and the Moon were about all that could be seen with the eye through the haze. I could not make out any sort of detail on Mars, but I've never looked at it when you could. This time, I can blame it on forest fire smoke.

Jim

Your experience with not seeing details of Mars with your C8 are pretty normal. It takes expensive small aperture refractor telescopes for sharp planetary viewing.

But these refractors don’t have the light-gathering power for seeing dim and distant galaxies and nebulae.

But even with large aperture scopes, you won’t see the colors of the nebulae without photographic astronomy, precise alignment, longterm exposures, and even simultaneous guide scope tracking to maintain alignment during minutes or hours of exposure with different color filters.

 

[o1d_dude]

Any bathroom reading (magazine) recommendations?

I picked up "Astronomy" & "Sky & Telescope" the other day any others? Any better? or worse?

There are few astronomy magazines from the UK that I don’t seem to be able to find any more.

Sky At Night was one of those.

 

[Knuckledragger]

If you a little bit handy and are going to view from one spot in your yard, you can pour a concrete pier and post. Fix a mount plate on the post and buy a 8" OTA (scope minus tripod) about the same price or build your own dob mount from maple or whatever blows your hair back. A quality sun filter an camera mount will add some fun to it all. Its astronomy, anything's possible.

 

[swatkat]

The 8” LX200 GPS is a great scope.

A 10” is a lot heavier and more expensive, but it has better light gathering capabilities. But then you often run up against atmospheric limited distortions to seeing conditions that waste the additional aperture.

I've got the 12" plus superwedge, it's a LOT heavier.

 

[Dan Griffing]

If you a little bit handy and are going to view from one spot in your yard, you can pour a concrete pier and post. Fix a mount plate on the post and buy a 8" OTA (scope minus tripod) about the same price or build your own dob mount from maple or whatever blows your hair back. A quality sun filter an camera mount will add some fun to it all. Its astronomy, anything's possible.

Be careful with SCT’s for solar viewing.

Block the finder scope or remove it. And make sure that the solar filter doesn’t slip or fall off while the scope is pointed at the sun. The Intensity of the magnified solar image will cause instant and irreversible eye damage.

 

[Dan Griffing]

I've got the 12" plus superwedge, it's a LOT heavier.

That’s what I have in my observatory. They are not meant to be portable.

Two decades ago I was at a star party in California and saw a couple of guys trying to get their 12” LX200 onto it’s tripod wedge. In the dark they mis-threaded the first screw and I heard a sickening crash with the sound of breaking glass. Since the corrector plate is matched to the mirror, the repairs, if possible, would have been costly.

 

[swatkat]

That’s what I have in my observatory. They are not meant to be portable.

Two decades ago I was at a star party in California and saw a couple of guys trying to get their 12” LX200 onto it’s tripod wedge. In the dark they mis-threaded the first screw and I heard a sickening crash with the sound of breaking glass. Since the corrector plate is matched to the mirror, the repairs, if possible, would have been costly.

yes, I'm very careful loading mine. (I go to a lot of star parties in Cali) I had an 8 before this, and wanted something more... the 12 has been good, but it's right at the limit of portability.

 

[Blast it Tom!]

Thanks!

A 10 ft dome only has room for a 12” SCT OTA on a computerized equatorial mount.

In addition it needed a light shield tube on the end of the OTA that fits inside of the dome. The scope’s equatorial mount was mounted on the top of a reinforced 2’ diameter concrete column that went from 4 feet in the ground on a reinforced concrete pad and up to the second story observation deck. This was to isolate the scope from vibration from the observatory building, something critical for CCD photographic astronomy with long time exposures that wouldn’t result in blurred images.

The poor observation quality and the light pollution were one reason why we moved from Silicon Valley to 3 acres in rural Montana at 4600 feet. Another reason was it was near Bozeman and in sight of the beautiful Bridger mountains (that you see in the background) where I grew up.

I was wondering where in Montana you were. I've had several trips to Fort Smith, including one last July - all of July - on a 10 day job at the dam. We had excellent viewing several nights and could see the comet, but only an 80mm refractor on an alt-az that a guy had got as a Father's Day present. Still got to see some stuff, but just looking at that sky, with the Milky Way from horizon to horizon was beautiful. That's quite a wonderful observatory you have there.

 

[dr wogz]

Montana is known as "big sky country"!

 

[icyclops]

Thanks!

A 10 ft dome only has room for a 12” SCT OTA on a computerized equatorial mount.

In addition it needed a light shield tube on the end of the OTA that fits inside of the dome. The scope’s equatorial mount was mounted on the top of a reinforced 2’ diameter concrete column that went from 4 feet in the ground on a reinforced concrete pad and up to the second story observation deck. This was to isolate the scope from vibration from the observatory building, something critical for CCD photographic astronomy with long time exposures that wouldn’t result in blurred images.

The poor observation quality and the light pollution were one reason why we moved from Silicon Valley to 3 acres in rural Montana at 4600 feet. Another reason was it was near Bozeman and in sight of the beautiful Bridger mountains (that you see in the background) where I grew up.

Congrats. You made it through a Montana Winter.

 

[Dan Griffing]

Congrats. You made it through a Montana Winter.

Montana winters here are much milder than the Dakotas, Minnesota, and Wyoming.

We have trouble staying cold long enough for good ice skating. The cold periods are broken up by warm periods when all of the snow melts. (And I’m not referring to summer.)

But if you like LA or Silicon Valley weather, then Montana isn’t for you.

The winters are cold enough here that we don’t have to worry about termites, cockroaches, or fleas on our cats and dogs.

But the Gallatin valley where I live is filling up from people from warmer places who have discovered the the winters here aren’t that bad. But I do wish that the warm season was a bit longer.

 

[Voyager1]

... Do we have many Amateur Astronomers here on the forum?

Yep, guilty! I have 4 scopes and a couple of bins. Looking up at a dark, unpolluted sky is a moving experience, even without a scope. Even from a light-polluted city, the planets are still a great target, particularly at the moment with Jupiter, Saturn and Mars clearly visible high in the evening sky.

 

[o1d_dude]

Astronomy is one of the reasons I’m up late at night...

 

[Splinter]

Super Blue Blood moon early 2019 - taken with my Canon 1300D attached to an old Saxon 100x500 refractor.

And a partial solar eclipse mid last year - same camera on a Saxon 100x1000 refractor.

 

[DRAGON64]

Looks as though much patience is needed in Astronomy... both in clear skies, and good supplies. Although I have not looked real hard everywhere, High Point Scientific appears to be out of everything Dobsonian. On the bright side, I did manage to sell off a "Safe Queen" so funds are in place... Hopefully mfg's can catch up from this pandemic, and get supplies replenished soon.

 

[Dan Griffing]

Yep, guilty! I have 4 scopes and a couple of bins. Looking up at a dark, unpolluted sky is a moving experience, even without a scope. Even from a light-polluted city, the planets are still a great target, particularly at the moment with Jupiter, Saturn and Mars clearly visible high in the evening sky.

Rocketeers can’t have enough rockets. Amateur astronomers can’t have enough scopes. Shooter/hunters can’t have rifles. Fly fishermen can’t have enough fly rods.

Nature allows no vacuums. Fanaticism hobbies expand to consume all resources, space and time.

Guilty! Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!

 

[mooffle]

My neighbor is into bikes and when I asked him how many he had his response boiled down to "n+1".
Then he asked me how many computers I had, and yeah... "n+1".

 

[caveduck]

Way back in college we put out a C14 on a pier at the observatory fairly often. That was definitely a 2-person job! It was a pretty nice scope for the late 1970s. Nowadays my "drool" scope would be one of the Obsession dobs that fold into a box for transport. But I'm planning to fix up my old Cave 8" first - it has known good optics...interferometer tested at the university...but could use some mech upgrades like curved vane spider, a Crayford focuser, better leveling jacks, and Byers RA/dec drives with servos or steppers and some encoders (I was amazed to find recently that Ed Byers is still in business; he's been around since I bought my scope!). So far I've dodged the (n+1) syndrome though. So far.

 

[prfesser]

Way back in college we put out a C14 on a pier at the observatory fairly often. That was definitely a 2-person job! It was a pretty nice scope for the late 1970s. Nowadays my "drool" scope would be one of the Obsession dobs that fold into a box for transport. But I'm planning to fix up my old Cave 8" first - it has known good optics...interferometer tested at the university...but could use some mech upgrades like curved vane spider, a Crayford focuser, better leveling jacks, and Byers RA/dec drives with servos or steppers and some encoders (I was amazed to find recently that Ed Byers is still in business; he's been around since I bought my scope!). So far I've dodged the (n+1) syndrome though. So far.

Berry and ??? describe some Dobs in The Dobsonian Telescope that were 16" or larger and could be broken down to fit in a subcompact hatchback.

Best -- Terry

 

[aerostadt]

I have a 11" CPC Celestron SCT with the alt-az mount and no wedge. The tripod weighs 30 pounds and the scope weighs 60 pounds. I usually set up in the back yard once or twice per year now. On occasion I have transported it to star parties as far away as Bryce Canyon. Lifting the heavy scope and setting it into the 3 pins in the top of the tripod is quite a task. Getting older does not make it any easier. I am thinking of seeing if I can sell the 11" scope and get a lighter 8" scope with an equatorial mount.