Supernova74

Looks very similar to the 100 Tal Russian scope!?

Yes choosing your first telescope can be a little bit daunting at first as there is various scope types to choose from ie the refractor,sct cassagrain,maksutov cassagrain,reflector and so on thay all serve there purpose in Amateur Astronomy some perform better than others on certain objects also and if you don,f like fiddling and have reasonable hands on approach the reflector may not be the best choice for you as regular collomation of the primary mirror is necessary to obtain the best performance of the optics.yet in saying that there are various sources of information ie through the stargazers lounge with members who own them to guide you through.an alternative very good performer is a small maksutov cassagrain telescope this will give you sharp contrasty views of the moon and planets and requires very little maintenance small and compact a grab and go scope.on the slighty negative side thay don,t perform as well on deep sky observing due to the narrow field of view.the refractor for instance does give you wide field views for deep sky and a good performer on the planets I hope this helps.

Wow some great detail there slighty out of focus but brilliant otherwise

Hi guys i was woundering as I very nearly purchased a Meade 12”RCX400 beginning of last year I believe this was through telescope house of the bargain basement price of £1800 or there abouts.and according to various sources of information I’ve heard the only reason why meade stopped really making them is thay was to exspensive to produce.as I’m aware this was the first successful attempt in producing the meade ritchey chretien optics now known as ACF advance coma free and unfortunately I got put off buying one due to the rather complexed electronics and was told thay like to be used on a regular basis which is all very well but weather permitting cannot always be used much as you like to and you shouldn’t really have to baby sit a telescope anyway.this scope also had some additional useful features like a motor focus and also built in electronic collomation very handy instead of useing dreaded hex drivers and worries of a quick slip of damaging those rather expensive optics. I also was advised that only one Meade engineer in the whole uk that could actually service them if anything did go wrong and as I gather this was Steve collingwood at sct telescopes.In saying that I was told that thease RCX400 telescopes was the best sct cassagrain telescope ever made and was something special and offer spectacular views and once and a while even tho it’s really an observatory class telescope thay do pop up from time to time on the preowned market.So any comments will be very much appreciated on this scope and anyone who owns one.😄

Maybe we all should forget the weather focasts and put Monday-Sunday on a piece of paper sling it in a hat take one out luck of the draw really

Yes the only thing that annoys me is you freeze to death in winter time and in summer get bitten by mosquitoes as I have a pond at bottom of garden clearly the fish aren’t doing there job properly

What ever

I think so far perhaps some have got wrong end of the stick

well that went down like a lead balloon Hi guys and girls on the stargazers lounge an I hope you are all keeping well firstly. ive decided to bring up this topic to you all in the lounge as I truly feel it’s relevant and important and as I’ve only been a member for a few months I’ve kind of noticed a set pattern,trend emerging in the forums.in the last three years or so I’ve recently got back into Astronomy and this time round have been more serious then ever before and now I’m currently 46 years of age so not over the hill yet or a spring chicken either and always have had a passionate nature around Amateur Astronomy since I was 13 sticking a 2” refractor out the window in hopeing to find Halley,s comet how I was a fool back then and nieve and I consider my knowledge of the subject and the equipment we use at a intermediate level some where in the middle so to speak and for a the few which say thay are advanced is just lieing to you in my books as it’s most probably the most advanced of the sciences in the history of man besides Astrophysics,Quantum physics ,and string theory etc those are just some exsamples. However if I was starting out as a beginner and asking for advice on telescopes and direction of the night sky on the forums it would be a strong possibility it would leave me feeling very confused and lack of direction to go in.for exsample we are all the same at end of the day creatures of habit have at times strong views and opinions around certain subjects especially in something we all are passionate about and believe in also stubborn at times and we live in a day and age of free speech which all entitled to however my fellow Astronomers are we putting beginners off buying there first scope maybe!?as apart from all the tec jargon most of us are familer with regarding that perfect scope for a beginner is a little different as it just don,t exsist for another exsample we all to blame here myself including an beginner will say is this scope any good and we all at times can recommend different telescope optical types,mounts,eyepieces and so on and leave the newbie very confused for choice as I would be as a general whole of things we all have different opinions another exsample for me recently was a member he had a bad experience with a goto mount yet no good for him without thinking it could possibly be a user error or something simple or perhaps bad,connection,firmware update or something mechanical as let’s face it from time to time an product with electric curcuit boards in and mechanical moving parts will go wrong thats the law of average.thease are just some exsamples guys that could put the beginner off asking us for help on stargazers lounge which could make or break them purchasing there first telescope.

Yes mike at times it can be very frustrating waiting for the cloud to pass over that’s why the weather man says it’s raining you can trim up your knowledge and plan ahead your observing sessions when the seeing is good to go ie books and literature all easy accessible this day and age however from past experiences I’m not go to put all my hope and dreams on weather apps any longer and set the scope just to find out in process that computer says no after all

Yes I agree John however if the person of interest has,nt made a final decision as considering larger aperture it just maybe go in the realm of an entry level goto scope as an alternative nothing is written in stone😀thanks John you just given me another topic!?

Yes no set rules in Astronomy and can be just as a money pit at times same as fishing really it all depends where your interests are and observing style I suppose if your an imager or visual amateur regarding to true darkness it does,nt necessary mean you will see more anyway as it does help yes admittedly as you gain another couple of magnitudes in what your observing ie deep sky and most of all seeing conditions of course

Well I’m sorry to here that however your entitled to your opinion as I’ve never never had any issues with goto mounts etc yet as you had a bad experience with one is there a small possibility it was a user error or perhaps even firmware issues was truly a problem.and. Besides the likes of Meade,celestron and skywatcher are all the major contenders in the Amateur Astronomy market place.ie celestrons skyportal WiFi device is very very beginner friendly you don,t even have to no the name of the stars 🌟 it’s literally level the tripod the hand set usually gives you automatic GPS to your location set day light saving time to yes or no it’s easy as 1,2,3

Well to be honest as things go the weather has been very good for this time of year don,t remember last time had a good spell of clear seeing conditions especially for April time.as the June and July approaches true darkness is around 1:00-2:00am I believe it’s called Astronomical twilight.Astronomy has a similar terminology as fishing it’s a waiting game at times that’s the nature of the hobby.and all due respect as a certain name virus which most are fed up of mentioning about even tho how tragic.the earth has a little opportunity to heal herself as less carbon monoxide pollution from vechles and planes and yes light pollution has been reduced also.

well In Astronomy aperture is king of course and firstly before I go any further it depends on your budget!? As I don,f want to recommend certain scopes to you that go beyond your means the answer is a definitely a yes as I feel regarding the binoculars anyway will not be able to do more serious observing as your limited in that respect.there are some great goto scope packages out there by skywatcher,celestron and yes meade (meade I own myself) without sacrificing that important factor of portability so if you can afford that next up yes is my answer. with goto it takes all the frustration out trying to find a certain object with the conventional way of useing star charts and maps and for the beginner this is essential in growing within the hobby not only you can remotly control scope from the supplied hand set the alignment procedure is quite easy also and opens up new doors for an instance to use meades Stella WiFi device or something similar to use with a iPad mini or smart phone then this allows you to open an app of the whole night sky in a planetarium so you can see the whole night sky in front of you and see a object you wish to observe and just press goto. and lastly your right about the dob and reflectors not so portable and need constant Colomation of the mirrors so the best thing you can do is give me a budget to work on and will be happy to recommend you some scopes.

Personally I would go for the scope instead of the binoculars even tho are very good for wide field views of the heavens and some deep sky light deep sky observing you still be able to detect Jupiter’s moons and the rings of Saturn and yes detail on the moon.however regarding the Meade there it will definitely be the next step and will give you more versatility ie a wide range of magnification with various eyepieces up to 175x in good seeing conditions of course the views will be a lot close and personal and be able to detect bands on Jupiter the red spot the rings of Saturn will start to open up in casssini devision etc

Lol I think the crystal ball method works best

Um!? I thought the topic was about weather not seaweed!?

Hi to you all on the stargazers lounge and hope the weather forecast has been forgiving for you all in your current location as most part for myself the weather has behaved here in Stoneleigh just outside From Epsom race course. I’ve decided to write another topic this evening Regarding the good old uk weather forecast and for most it’s been not bad for this time of year hottest day here in London in April which has broken the record.and last year in 2019 hottest day ever in uk which I believe was in Cambridge!?Ive only been a member on stargazers lounge for just a few months now and yes love it 🥰.however as usual I read certain topics and forums ,posts etc etc and I’ve notice a pattern emerging in posts regarding the weather and let’s face it yes imagers,and visual Astronomers alike rely on the weather to behave so we can either try attempt that great image or visual Astronomy to the best of our advantage with our equipment allows.but are some including myself relying on thease clear outside,Accuweather etc to be an accurate prediction of the weather forecast as most folk in Amateur Astronomy like there tec jargon adore talking about scopes eyepieces and myself like wise however form my experiences with thease weather apps I feel I cannot just rely on and have been proved inaccurate on predicting the weather forecast and at times has left me in frustration as reliable information.so another way round for me that works a little bit better for me is work out an Average this consists of looking at three different weather apps and if all say the same clear outside the general rule of thumb a good pretty chance it will be!?besides back in the day before goto mounts even exsisted for exsample we all used to use star charts,maps and so on to find an object we wished to observe with freezing cold hands painstaking trying to find that object.but coming to the conclusion now I’ve just found the old fashioned way works best for me now look up and use those blinkers as if the weather has been great during the day a very good chance it will be clear during the night and this system works for me but maybe not you and let’s face it even the great Michael fish got it wrong on occasions.

Ha ha!? Yeah can always fly over and drop post by bungee cord it will insure safe distancing

Simple plane old fashioned common sense!?😊

Definitely more light gathering power over magnification your most probably at the limit there what you already own you could up grade the eyepieces for something a little better to improve contrast however the 130mm will definitely be a worthwhile upgrade

Hi to all on stargazers lounge had brilliant nite last night the topic of interest for me tonight is a little bit different!? However don,t worry guys it’s still Astronomy related most of us on here own a telescope silly question really some are Astrophotographers,imagers and the old school brigade like myself visual Astronomy and we all strive for that perfect image photo perfect seeing conditions etc etc and for the few who are prvalaged either have a more permanent set up in there own backyard and great sky conditions also so if you have both consider yourself quite lucky lol it’s not fair don,t worry I will not throw my toys out of the pram😩.i do gather there are designated dark sky sights across the uk when amateurs can meet up and have a good chin wag about there Astro gear and hopefully get a clear nights observation in at the same time however for some due to health issues and other circumstances are unable to attend could be some thing like don,t drive married Ha Ha😆all perhaps the certain location is to far away to get to.the ideal scenero for me would be up in Northumberland where Keider observatory is pitched up with a nice bbq during day and pitch up a tent maybe and from what I’ve heard as spoken to Admin not the easiest locations to get to unless you drive yes middle of no where and as I don,t drive maybe a few up the wall tho on occasions it’s just to far away for me unless I plan well in advance and constantly looking at the weather forecast.and give someone a few hundred pounds to drive me via car.on a different note I would absolutely love to do some kind of out reach in Astronomy to gain more knowledge and awareness around the hobby but can only hope and pray that one day I might achieve that perhaps a fools hope never know.what I like to know to those on stargazers lounge are there any such organisations at all that have certain hot spots around the uk that you could either volunteer your services in what ever that maybe for an pitch of land which would not be much for an more kind of pop up observatory on a more permanent arrangement for Telescope (would,nt that be great) or maybe some kind of rent to an land owner as I truly feel this kind of idea would be the way forward for more modern Astronomy ie in conjunction with land owner organisations national trusts etc with carefull understanding,communication to Authorities etc or maybe this already exsists just don,t know

Hi for me anyway owning that perfect scope is a rare thing and that’s why some own a few or loads and it’s only by the mistakes we make we learn and adapt what is right for us.some get it right some get it wrong that’s the learning curve and and mistakes are made unfortunately I’m the guilty party here as it’s only the mistakes you make is you learn and the true knowledge is granted to you over time.and it’s only human nature at times not to be satisfied and strive for perfection in what we do and yes also our hobbies.in yet saying that I would,nt never go beyond my means as once upon a time I used to change my scopes every few mths that is when it becomes an obsession and perhaps at times a £tad in healthy but now I’m 46 as thay say get older get wiser and a definitely a yes I can say I am.as reaching achievable goals in Astronomy is more so after time as you grow and learn is just to be satisfied even tho how hard it is.for exsample some spend £100 perhaps £1000 or even tens of thousands of pounds but at the end of the day I’m not willing to remortgage the house for or sell a kidney stroke arm and a leg for I’ve spent around £8000 time I’ve finished saying that tho it’s taken me a number of years to do it and get there.And lastly we all in the same boat here just searching for answers and exsploring the cosmos.