Androri

Oh great ! Thanks for the info ! Well if the star dicovery 150mm reflector is not well collimated , i guess , it is not well collimated for life ... The primary as they say is not collimateable and is fixed into position permanently. Maybe I got that part wrong ? Idk. But I think I got it right And wow , I didn’t know there were special microscope to telescope adapters on the market , but it seems there are That’s good if I won’t be able to DIY something xD I will at least (worst case) just hold my microscope eyeiece just the correct place by hand and look through it , cause I don’t wanna buu adapters just to find out that my eyepieces are dim , have unuseably narrow fov etc. LOL . But thanks for letting me know ! By the way I have heard there are some popular books about astronomy . What would you suggest me to get and read to better understand stuff ? (Scientists themselves don’t actually understand stuff about the space tho LOOL ) I would like to have a book that would be more of a detailed “guide” type of thing xD . It would be anything from teaching the sky, the stars or dsos or even how to properly use telescopes and take shots of the sky ^^ .Not stories about astronomy or astro pictures . A book that will help me learn . THANKS !

Yea , you’re definately messing things up I have nevery had a mount / camer or a telescope before xD

Oh , thanks for the comments , although I guess you got me wrong about the desert air xD It’s not actually air that comes from Sahara , nor it is dusty , it is just very very hot you know. Like when you turn on a gas stove and look to the air just higher from the flame - it wobbles around from the heat - that’s the effect here during a summer day although without any fire xD. And also : Yes I have , but maybe not , cause photography while being very interesting subect and fun thing to do , is still not my primary reason of getting a scope . Thx for advice , though don’t know what you meant by “that bresser telescope you still have” , I own / have owned no scope xD . Maybe I didn’t get what you said ^^. About the winds - we do tend to have quite steady winds in the evenings and midnights . Though right now looking at Vega from my window XD I can’t see any twinkling xD . MY LONELY VEGA !!! Also just today I found out about another scope , I am still not sure which exact type it is tho. It seems a bit better than the star discovery series, but it is bigger too. I had a conversation with the sellers and they told me that they would* in fact lower the price a bit for me, but the only comcern was that they did not guarantee shipping and safe handling. IDK why ?! Although there might be some comparibility issues. They sent me some really good looking photos taken directly from the scope which I put here , so yea. They say light pollution has almost no effect on the observing quality. Plus it is in the CLEARANCE section , so I guess it is lower price than it is acrually worth . Some of the comments on the product say that the instrutions are in Chinese , and that it is a piece of rubbish ... idk... So basically what do you think about this scope ? Is it even worth the buck ? Here’s the link , please check and tell me : https://www.firstlightoptics.com/clearance/hubble-cassegrain-reflector-telescope.html THANKS !!!

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Oh man , you guys always fascinate me with such detailed and informative comments ! I am the buyer , yet I didn’t notice there were two different mounts on them , not to mention that one of them is not meant to work with no power. You basically gave me the answer . I will still go with the reflector. As for transportation , it will probably be like once a week or sth if I am lucky , and it is a place where I definately won’t walk to in any case , no matter which scope xD , so as long as it is in the car it’s basically the same to take either of them along. By the way how do you transport your scopes ? (If you even do) How to keep it safe during the process ? I guess I don’t have to worry much about collimation getting bad for the chosen model , but anyway do you collimate your scopes every time after transportation ? And thx for the detailed guide on how to clean the stuff , I am happy it doesn’t need to be cleaned much xD LoL . I have had a microscope for years , have cleaned it once I think , and just the outside xDDD. By the way I just remembered something , saying microscope. I think I have read somewhere (don’t remember where though) that microscope oculars do just fine with telescopes LOL. Dunno if this is true or not , but if you have any experience , tell me .Not that I plan on relying on my microscope oculars (cause they’re pretty old and some are scrached) , but it would be really intersting if it worked xD . And I have quite a few pairs , would like to know what is the correspondance between microscope and telescope oculars ( I have 5x 7x 10x 15x and 20x eyepieces ) . PERSONAL INFO DOWN THIS POINT NO NEED TO READ IF INTEREST IS ONLY IN THE FORUM SUBJECT. I actually bought this microscope secondhand (or maybe third or fourth LOL it is really old) from a local dealer, which is actually really powerful and fully functional . It was after I got interested in microbiology. After some while of observing I felt like I HAD TO take images and record videos of what I saw . So I started doing so from then on and now am happy with the collection of potos / videos I have and am still doing it.Some of the shots are of really interesting organisms, parts of their life cycle , which never happened to be seen since then. By the way I DIY-ed some things to hold my simple camera in front of the eypiece , so nothing fancy , but great results. Now all this , to tell you why I am looking for something that you can actually do some astrophitography with from the start , It’s not that I wanna sell the pictues or get HD pictues or something. I purely know myself and know for sure that the time will come , and WILL WANT TO take pictures. And plus something , which is abscent in micoscopy , there are many many objects (mainly DSO-s) which just don’t show much detail with the naked eye - so the way to actually see them you NEED TO take pictures and stack them . THANKS !

Oh that’s fortunate ! Thanks for letting me know . By the way what is the major difference between the reflectors and refractors ? Cause today I found an option similar to the Star Discovery 150mm reflector , instead it is a refractor. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/startravel/skywatcher-startravel-102-synscan-az-goto.html Now , it is a bit cheaper than the prev. one , and I would like to know more about what I would get more and what less with this one than the reflector. The things I noiced were that : 1.Obviously cheaper. 2.Refractor means smaller in size (I assume) , easier to transport. 3.Comes with 2 eyepieces (10+20) and 2x barlow , though , with this model I lose 1 magnification because 10x2 barlow=20 4.No possible collimation problems (although they guarantee that the Star Discovery reflector is collimated for life) 5.The focal length is smaller , thus , I get less magnification for the given eyepiece ( The first major concern) 6. Lower max. magnification . (The sencond major concern) So yea , basically the other is the same - the mount the alt az system , has the same amount of objects in the database etc. What do you have to say about this ? Is it too low power for the planets ? Is it better/worse for DSO ? THANKS !

I generally hate really cold too (LOL) , but now if I can remember accurately -when it starts snowing here , it doesn’t even stop for 2 months ... , so I guess worrying much about too cold isn’t a big concern. And I am happy to hear that dry heat won’t interfere . Although I can say that we sometimes have that “Sahara Desert” air , which tends to make the air very turbulent (idk if it is the right term tho) , so you can see the air rise , squiggle around with just your eyes Won’t that be a problem when you change from 1x-150x magnification ? Although it may* not be the same for the night idk. I am also getting concerned about the battery thing , although also if I won’t use it much during the very cold , then maybe it’s ok.I am glad that ,at least, no optics will be harmed from the cold / hot . What about the power tank ? Will it run the scope normally when it’s cold ? Also , can I use this scope without the need of electricity ? Can I just manually move it from thing to thing ? Or it will damage the system ? You mentioned , that after condensation evaporates , there may be some dust on the mirrors . If this happens (or even not) how do you clean the mirrors ? Or is it too risky to try to do it yourself ? What about cleaning the eyepieces / barlows ? Thanks !

Good to hear that you have a positive opinion about the scope. Now the power tank , I won’t buy immediately with the scope , but when I actually run the scope with batteries and see if it does the trick for me or not. Also good to know that it is portable That’s good ! And about the Field Derotator - of course I will buy it - I can’t afford to buy the Sky Watcher Explorer 150P with GoTo mount for 730$ , but i can afford to buy a FREAKING FIELD DEROTATOR for 995$ plus a scope (Sry , didn’t wanna sound rude xD) , but thanks anyway for letting me know there is such an accessory. Also , knowing my location , you would understand how much shipping it will need. Does anyone have experience with long distance scope shipping ? Won’t it suffer (mainly the mirrors) from so much handling and shipping ? (Also given that the primary is not collimateable makes me worry a bit ) By the way I have another general concern about using scopes - here in Armenia the climate is quite not forgiving Although we have very dry air throughout the year , we tend to have severe cold winters AND severe hot summers. This summer the temperature went up to +50 degrees Celcius (in the sun) and more than +40 almost constant in the shade (Although obviously the night temp will be lowe , but not much) . Then we have very very snowy and cold (I mean freezing , cutting cold) winters , when the temperature drops to about -15 deg. Celcius . Although last winter we had temperatures about -22 deg. Celcius. Now I would like to know what are the optimal operating temperatues for telescopes ? When is it dangerous to even expose the scope to the weather ? Or maybe temperature doesn’t affect the scope at all? THANKS !

After doing a bit of research I find that the SkyWatcher Star Discovery 150P may be the best option.It is quite expensive , but I think after all there is no way without GoTo , and the scope is good too Considering it doesn’t need regular primary collimation as most Newts do , it is even better . I was against Alt Az mount for some time , but now that I consider this option I think it may be the best option for me . 1. It is (hopefully) lighter than an eq mount. 2.No counterweights , weighing as much as the mount ... 3.Not so good for very long exposures , but I am not planning to do those in the near future , so ... Even if I do want to do astrophotos I have seen videos about how to modify the focuser and get prime focus + there were some REALLY GREAT photos made with the same model Alt Az mount with 30-90 sec exposures . 4. GoTo ... Means that even if I see 2 bright stars in the sky I CAN successfully use the scope , which is GREAT ! And yea ,as you mentioned , my city is in the orange / red zone , which gives me hope And actually if I can DIY some convinient suitcase for the scope I think i may be able to transpot it with a car to somewhere dark (Actually if someone gives me the weight of the scope and/or it’s length , it would be cool to know if transporting is an option or not ) So yea , for now I consider the best option SkyWatcher Star Discovery 150P . If any of you own / have used this model , please comment on how good it is Thanks !

Oh Giving a location won’t change much ) But if you want to know I live in Armenia City Yerevan , if you wanna check light pollution I would be happy if did and told me if it is doable .

Thanks for the suggestions . The ED80 Apo is out of my price range unfortunately , although I consider the SkyWatcher Star Discovery 150P a great option. The only concern is the Alt-Az mount , but I searched on youtube and found some people doing ap with the same model . They said the exposures were limited to 30-90 sec , but they had great pictures anwyway . Plus the GoTo will save my life basically ... Can the batteries be enough to run it ? Or the power tank is a must ? Also why isn’t that model not in the skywatcher official website ? It is somewhat confusing why they wouldn’t advertise their product. Anyay good option - thanks for suggesting ! And , yes, I have considered buying used scopes , but that is just TOO MUCH of a risk for me to take ... Without seeing the used one you can never know what defects it has , even if the site guarantees ... The return of the product will be a headache.

Oh , first of all thank you for your comments and effort , but fortunately for me ,you got me wrong I plan to observe from the top of my building , and from there there is NOTHING in the way to the stars - you can see ALL THE SKY , no limitations . (The only limiting factor is the light pollution ...) Also , you said that even if I see only one or two bright stars unarmed , then with a telescope I will see more , right ? And so it will help me to starhop At least I hope it will Although , are my chosen scopes good enough ? Maybe some amateur ap ? Any other scope suggestions ? Thank You All !

Thanks to everyone who replied It was faster than I expected to see replies ! Thanks for all your comments. First of all yes I am going to observe from the rooftop , not the balcony And I think I shouldnt have mentioned the Vega thing , because let me tell you again - I have VERY VERY small piece of sky to look at from my balcony, so by saying I only see Vega , it means I cannot see anything surrounding vega in a small area , not that I see Vega in the whole sky .Although I have not been under a clear sky late at night , so can't really say what exactly I can see. So yea , as you mentioned , it will be hard to starhop , I know , but my hope is the smartphone apps like - Star chart , Sky map to be able to at least guess where the desired object is and what stars are around it , although yes , I am still VERY concerned about this situation. The thing is though that MOST of the lights of surrounding houses , buildings , shops are dhut off after 2-3am or so, so I think observing after that will be more beneficial. I would LOVE to go for the Skywatcher Explorer 150P GoTo version , if I could, but I am not sure if it will fit my finances.Although it will save the 'trying to find objects" part, right ? Also , if the finder scope won't show much , can I use the lowest power on the telescope to do some part of the starhopping ? (Considering I know that I am looking at the almost exact place of the sky , or al least near it) By the way I have a little Canon camera from years ago It can do up to 15 sec exposures , so maybe I will start with that ? Also , if you happen to have some shots (any) taken from your scopes please share them with the specs used , so ai can get an idea of what I can get ! And before the 2 main scopes that I am looking at now , I got interested in Celestron Astromaster 130EQ MD https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013Z42AK/ref=twister_B016RNBYVW?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 What do you think about that ? Anyway do you have any suggestions of other scopes , models , brands ? If so , please let me know ! Thanks!

Hey everyone ! I am new to this site , don't know how to properly use it , but hope someone will help me As the topic says , I am trying to buy my first telescope , and am quite excited for it. I have been reading wuite a lot about astronomy , so I know most of the basics , but have many many unanswered questions ... xD I was originally looking for a scope for viewing the planets , but well , after learning more , I thought that maybe a scope that can show only planets will eventually get a BIT boring , and will not be used much (although I still admire the planets and still will want to observe them). Just a quick info on me : I live in a city , have no place to go / or car to transport my scope to a darker place , live in a building , hope to observe from the rooftop. My ONLY CONCERN about this is that from my balcony I can see Vega at night , and as depressing as it may sound , nothing more .It may be because there are buildings covering my view (I at least hope so that's the case) or light pollution , although the place I live is in the orange to red zone in many light pollution maps. So originally I stumbled upon the Orion Starseeker IV 80mm GoTo refractor. http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/GoTo-Computerized-Telescopes/Orion-StarSeeker-IV-80mm-GoTo-Refractor-Telescope/c/1/sc/15/p/113919.uts Thought it was good for the GoTo and stuff , but after doing some research , got concerned about the sturdyness of the mount.Some said it was too shaky (I have almost constant winds of about 10mph at night here) . Plus after some while I discovered DeepSpace and got even more interested in it than the planets . So I started to seek for reflectors. After a while I discarded Dobsonians as an option , cause I do want to do astrophotography ( just amateur , not gonna spend money on expensive DSLR s or sth) . And maybe in the future I will want to do some more serious astrophotography , so it will be very sad , if I have to change the scope later , if I want to... So after doing some research I am currently watching these scopes . 1. Orion 9827 AstroView 6 Equatorial Reflector Telescope . https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000XMSR0/ref=psdc_499154_t1_B01N2HJBQC 2. SkyWatcher Explorer-150P EQ3-2 Reflector. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-150p-eq3-2.html The only downside of these is that they're not GoTo (The second one has an option , but it's out of my price range) , but I think an additional RA motor drive will do the thing. At lease if I will be able to find anything in my sky ... That's it ! If you own/have used any of these scopes tell me more about them ! What you like/dont like etc. ANY GENERAL ADVICE IS APPERCIATED . Thanks !