Since the powerplant building business has slowed down, I have changed jobs. Now and I am working for a company that builds mainly commercial satellite recievers. I don't mean like the ones in your backyard. These are much bigger, up to 100 meters across. We are currently building an optical telescope (4 meter mirror) that is going to Chile which is where I will be in a few months.
Where I am going with this is now I have become interested in astronomy. (Weird how your interests change as you get older) I am going to buy a telescope in the next few week. Anyone else into this that might give me some input on what to look for as far as brands, size and types?
If you want to see some pics of some we have built, to a Google image search for XBR, SBX, or Greenbank West Virginia.

 

B-R, were you working next door at Kiewit building the SBX RADAR?

K.

 

Yea, I was on that project for about a year. I was offered a job with the company that was building the xbr and I couldn't turn down the money! We are probably gonna build another one a little smaller there in a few months. They are already engineering it, just not sure if it will be built in Ingleside.

 

Well I talked to my Boss who is into this pretty Big. and I had him right something up for a beginner like you.


ORION
www.telescope.com
XT6= 6' (150mm) Rfkector
Between 200 and 300 bucks


Per my Boss
"Good stater scope,if you decide astronomy is for you you can step up at that point. This scope is light weight which means it can be set up by one person in under 5 mins. If you go bigger it will eventually become a 2 man job that takes 45 mins and you will never use it. If you have the money they have an xt8,xt10 and at12"

 

Dually, thanks alot for the info. It is pretty interesting and will sure teach you patience! I pass alot of time behind my RV in the dark sipping cold beer and staring at the sky until my eyes do this!

 

I have always been intrested in astronomy. Navigated ships for the Navy for 21 years.............Nothing like looking to the heavens for guidance.

 

I can't imagine what it must look like being out in the middle of the ocean. Since I started taking interest in this I have learned that "light pollution" really sucks. If I was 10 years old again with my trusty Daisy, I think I could do something about that!

 

My neighbor friend got a telescope a few years back. It's a fairly compact Schmidt- Cassegrain design; spent well over a grand on it. It has the equatorial mount and will zero in on any number of targets using a microprocessor based library. He gets it all set up and calls me over to take a look. It's 10PM and butt cold out, but I go over anyway. It's pitch, he has a dog, and I have no idea what I'm stepping on. He has it pointing at a planet, I think it was Jupiter. "Take a look, take a look!" he's yelling. I look thru it, and all I see is this little orange-ish dot. He's all excited, and all I see is this dot. I didn't expect Hubble quality, but something more than a blurry dot. That's when I decided that unless I could have one of those big, white observatory domes in my back yard and something with a 200" mirror , I'd stick to to viewing the heavens via the internet.

Oh....and I've never been invited back!

 

I was into astronomy deep a few years ago. It's expensive if you do it right. Get a good quality 8 inch or larger CAT with a good equatorial mount. The mount is just as if not more important than the scope. The newer ones have nice computer drives which will find whatever you want to see without needing charts.

Then find a good tall mountain and a clear moonless night. Cool or cold nights if you can stand it are better seeing than warm summer. Good 2 inch eyepieces are nice but expensive.

Forget the hype about magnifying power. Those 3 inch x 300 power cheapos are junk and not worth the time to set up. Aperchure is where it's at. A good newtonian at 6 or 8 inches are good also but a CAT is more compact and easier to handle. The mount should be massive and solidly built for steadyness. If you're trying to look at planets, don't expect to much. They require high magnification and good seeing. Nebulae and star clusters are more rewarding.

Get a good 35 mm camera with color slide film and either strap it on the side or hook it to the T mount. If you can find a good Olympus body with the manual mirror it's worth its weight in gold.

Have fun!

Edwin

Oh and get a subscription to Sky and Telescope.

 

There is nothing like being up on deck on a brisk evening on a cloudless and moonless night with a good cup of coffee. You can see every star in the heavens and just get lost in all it's wonder.

 

In my old neighborhood the old gentleman across the street used to set up his telescope in his driveway on nice evenings, right by the sidewalk.
It was fun to go over and have a look, all the local kids loved it, actually everybody enjoyed it,he had a big poster sized "map" of all the stars, so you could get a good reference to what you were looking at.

 

My son and I went out on a dark road Saturday night and set up. We found Saturn which was pretty cool. You could see the rings around it. A friendly neighborhood deputy pulled up to see what was going on and wanted to take a look. With his headlights, spotlight, and megabright flashlight I dont think he was too impressed. When he pulled up my son said," Well there goes our night vision!" We had a good time though. It's good to get kids interested in things like this. Pretty rewarding just watching there excitement at seeing something they have only seen pictures of.

 

What kind of Scope Did you end Up getting?

 

All I have right now is a 50 dollar Meade I bought at Walmart. Still shopping. I think I will go to Dallas this week-end and get another in the 3 to 5 hundred price range. I looked online at that XT6 you told me about and will probably go with that one.

 

I know squat about it all but seem to recall you can save a bunch of money by building your own. Seems there are many companies selling lens, mirrors and such.

That and some concrete forming tube . . . . . . . ..

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=telescope+parts