Goldfinger

Good afternoon from the USA.

When one looks up at the night sky and sees all those pinpoints if lights, are they most likely stars or galaxies?

I'm a little confused since I've googled this topic recently and they all seem to run 50-50. 

Is the answer 50-50 or is there a more precise answer?

Before I joined this forum I always thought most of those dots of lights were galaxies because that's what I read years ago.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks. 

Lost In Space.

Welcome to the forum.

I visited a friend in Norway years ago. Just a beautiful country. I'm sure you have clear skies in the mountains. Good luck.

Good Morning

I'm not sure if I posted this in the correct section. Feel free to move to proper location.

Does anyone have any specific information on when the general public will be able to see the photos  coming from the Webb Telescope? I believe they are talking June or July. Just  wondering if someone can narrow that down.

Thanks 

In this vast universe, have we discovered all the elements? Or could there still elements we're not aware of? Just food for thought.

17 hours ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

I assume you mean the hardware device and not the more recent app.

I use it in conjuction with a C8 SE as a quick-deploy setup. The skies here are not great - nominally Bortle 6, but the Starsense usually works well.  The skies are never so light polluted here that I can't see the bright alignment stars.  The Starsense even works with some scattered cloud in the sky, but I have found that there are two things it does not like which can cause alignment to fail: an overly bright sky at dusk, and a full moon.

What brand of telescope do you own? The Starsense only works with Celestron mounts and (with an extra adapter box) Sky-watcher mounts.

I just purchased a Celestron Nexstar 6SE. I'm not even aware of an app but would like to know more about it. I would imagine that works in conjunction with the StarSense hardware.

We have severely light polluted skies here in my city and I use my scope on a lighted rooftop deck as well. So I have a double whammy with regards to light pollution. The only things I can see at night is the moon and jets. That's it. Most of the time I just set my scope up and just scan the skies I hoped of finding something to view.. I've tried to locate the planets manually but haven't been successful at it, even with the star charts like Stellarium or Sky Portal.

That's why I'd like to get some information on how successful StarSense is in locating the planets.

Has anyone used StarSense on their telescope? I'm in a  heavily light polluted city and wonder how something like that might work. It can be very difficult trying to locate guide stars as it stands now.

I don't want to spend any money on something like that unless I know for sure what to expect.

Does heat effect sky viewing at night? Right now we're having 90 to 100  F degree  days and you can see the shimmering off the pavement, etc.

Just wondering.

23 hours ago, Stu said:

A Baader AstroSolar filter would work well on that, full aperture over the front.

There is a ready made one here for £82

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/solar-filters/astrozap-baader-solar-filter.html

I found one on the Celestron website for the Nexstar 6 SE. I ordered one but it's on back order.

Thanks. I thought solar viewing was off limits.

On 09/06/2021 at 13:31, Gfamily said:

My understanding is that refractors are the only scopes that are suitable, as glass has more or less 100% transparency for the IR light that is going to cause problems. 

Reflectors and Catadioptric systems are more likely to be damaged because reflecting surfaces may only reflect about 95%, and if the light has been brought close to focus, the 5% that's absorbed can be pretty intense. 

However, this assumes glass throughout, if the light goes through any plastic optical elements close to the focal point, there is the likelihood of damage being caused. 

I've used 50mm binoculars for projection for tens of minutes at a time without any problem, so I would expect anything up to 70 or 80 mm should  be OK for reasonable length periods - though maybe make a cover for the objective to pop back on between observations  

I have a Celestron Nexstar 6SE. Would any type of filter prevent damage viewing the sun?

Does anyone here have the mailing address for the main office of  Celestron in the USA?

Sent them an email three days ago with no response yet.

Thanks in advance.

8 minutes ago, Louis D said:

You could build a wheeled dolly out of wood and caster wheels, and then put cups for each tripod foot on it spaced appropriately.  Next, tighten cargo straps or heavy duty bungee cords down from the center of the tripod to hold the tripod firmly to the platform.  If the whole thing still seems top heavy and tipsy, put a 40 pound bag of sand or steel plates around the center of the platform to move the center of gravity lower.  You can even add corner jacks to avoid lifting the tripod off the dolly.

That's kind of what I had in mind but I don't have access to tools or a space to work in. So it looks like I'm going to purchase a garden cart like Peter has in one of his photos above.

2 hours ago, Peter_D said:

Here's a photo of the 6SE in the trolley (cargo area 90 x 45 X 32cm)  It's not ideal that it needs to be assembled / disassembled each time but safer in my opinion.

Peter,

Thanks for the photo. Unless there's some other option which I'm not aware of, it looks like the cart would be the best option. I'm going to dread having to take it apart and reassemble after each time I use it. Just means more wear and tear on it imho. But it's rather top heavy so I don't see any other option.

Is your cart at home the same dimensions as the one in your link? I need to make sure I get the right size..or maybe they all come in the same size.

Hello

As some of you know, I purchased a Celestron Nexstar 6SE recently.

While I knew it was a little hefty when I purchased it, it seems much heavier when you actually try to move it around.

I'd like to try and see if I can find a telescope-tripod dolly to make it easier on me when I move it. I live in an apartment building so I'm not worried about shoving through grass, etc.

All I would have to do is mount it on the dolly once then move from apartment to elevator to the rooftop and back down again.

I'm hoping some of the older members might be in the same predicament I'm in and can recommend something.

Thanks in advance.

OMG 😳😳😳 I didn't realize binoculars could get so big. I'm so used to seeing the field binoculars that are used by bird watchers or fans at sporting events.

Those are huge and no doubt have a huge price tag as well.

2 hours ago, 200pman said:

Im 64 years young.dont have any issues using it.

Come back in ten years and give your opinion.😉

3 hours ago, 200pman said:

My 200p skyliner.great scopes great value.great veiws.nothing else to say really.

Looks like a great telescope and I'm glad you're happy with it. Originally I wanted a Dobsonian Skywatcher Telescope as well but when I started adding cost of the accessories to go with it, it would have cost me more than the Nexstar 6SE package. So I pulled the trigger on the Celestron 6SE.

I'm also an oldie but goodie and won't have to worry about hauling such a large scope up to the roof each time I want to use it.

Hello Everyone

Thanks for all the replies. You've all been a big help.

I just wanted to let you know I purchased a Celestron Nexstar 6SE telescope  with lots of accessories like lenses, filters and other misc things. I got a great deal on the package so I pulled the trigger. 

Originally I was looking to purchase a Dobsonian Skywatcher Telescope but for a couple hundred dollars more, I got a go-to scope with lots of accessories. 

Only time will tell if I made the right decision as I live in a high light pollution city. 

Am hoping for the best. Thanks again to everyone.😊

On 04/05/2014 at 09:36, tich said:

As I've had folk asking & looking around my caravan at SGL7 & SGL9 I thought I'd add my tuppenceworth as an alternative.
If camping in a tent isn't your thing anymore then I think these quirky folding caravans could be the next best thing before owning a regular caravan. They made 3 models the Confort, Record & Export. After 1982 models made had torsion springs to aid unfolding of it & were called Confortmatic, Recordmatic & Exportmatic. As I have an Export two people are needed to unfold it as it is quite heavy however the Confort can be done solo. I keep saying I ought to downsize to a Confort so I can set up by myself but I'd miss the extra room of the Export. There is also the rarer 2 berth Confort T which has a separate washroom a model I've considered owning too.

Ok so these aren't as luxurious as proper caravans & they are pretty basic but it has everything in it that I need, plus it can sleep up to 6. Not bad when you consider it folds down to the size of a trailer. It also only weighs 650KG The Confort being much lighter around 500KG so I think they can still be towed by folk who passed their test after 1997 but it would need to be confirmed with the Matic models are a bit heavier.

I know there are other models of folding caravans out there but they just don't seem to be as big as these.

The video below gives you an idea on how these work but if you do buy one I'd get some practise in first setting it up plus you need to get these things level before unfolding or nothing will fit together.
 

 

They stopped making these in 1990 but the more extras you can get with it the better, things like floor heater, fridge,awning etc. Be warned though there are plenty of bad ones out there but there is also bargains to be had too if you know where to look. Mine only cost 300 quid & while it was usable as is I have done some work to it so it probably owes me around 500 quid. For that I've got a fully functioning caravan with cooker/ grill, floor heater, awnings of various combinations & a fridge.









Mmmmm very 70's lol.







I run a forum about these as I couldn't find out anything about them from the clubs here in the UK & I have since learned a great deal about them. Spares are pretty scarce though but a lot of repairs can be done by yourself with a bit of ingenuity.

 

 

I spent 10 years as a gold nugget prospector traveling between Arizona and Nevada during the 90's and I NEVER saw anything like that before. That's pretty cool and wish I would have had something like that back then.

2 minutes ago, Tiny Clanger said:

I agree completely with this  : I've been (repeatedly) unable to perceive faint fuzzies even  when I know I have been looking directly in the right place with my  150mm dob , (cough, Leo Trio, only ever managed one and a suspicion, never all 3) it can take persistence, averted vision , and swapping between eyepieces to  eventually see what is in an area.

You don't mention your location , if you are by , around or near street lights, what you can have pop out obviously against a truly dark sky will be far less . For random scanning,  or even for learning your way  around the sky, binoculars would be a good purchase. There's a whole section on here devoted to  binocular astronomy, it is not a poor relation , but an alternative approach.

I never thought of that. What is the highest power binoculars you can purchase?

4 hours ago, Piero said:

My advice is that an adjustable chair improves comfort, and therefore the observing experience, in any small to medium size dobson. That's for dobsons with focal length between about 1 and 2m. After that, a ladder is generally needed.

The uncomfortable alternative is that you lie on your knees and / or bend your back and neck to reach the right altitude..

With my 12" F6, I use a three steps ladder: 1st step is when standing when the telescope points at the zenith, whereas the other two steps are for sitting when the telescope points at low altitudes. In between, I stand. 

With my 16" F4, I stand when pointing at high altitudes and sit on the three steps ladder otherwise.

All of this is going to change after completing my adjustable chair which is based on a Catsperch chair style. With this I will observe sitting all the time.

If you have some basic skills, you can build your own. Look up: "Denver observing chair". Berlebach also makes some adjustable chairs, but they seem quite flexible to me... There are also some metal chairs like the Starbound, and its US and EU clones. Some observers use chairs for ironing clothes.. 

There is a quite large range of options.

Since I'm a relative newcomer to astronomy and purchasing my first telescope I need to find out if this hobby is suitable for me before I purchase an adjustable chair as some of those are pricey. For the time being, I'm going to purchase some thick seat cushions and use those to adjust my height as needed.

2 hours ago, John said:

To be honest, you might get more out of the scope / observing with a little planning and having some targets / locations in mind when you star using the scope.

Telescopes present a surprisingly small "window" of the sky in the eyepiece even at low magnifications. Apart from seeing quite a few more stars, you might not find anything more interesting to observe by just scanning around.

Binoculars are probably better for that.

 

 

 

That's a good point and that will come later. I've never owned a telescope before..much less one this big. I need to spend some time getting familiar with it and have no idea how long that might take.

After that, I could form a plan depending on what and where everything is located using my Stellarium app. I'd love to see if I can find the planets.

4 hours ago, Chris said:

A Dobsonian sounds perfect for this purpose. It's more of an all rounder compared to the Mak which is mainly considered a planetary lunar scope, and the Dob has a simple Alt/az (up down left right) mount which is perfect for just plonking down and having a look around.

Don't worry about height, my smallest Dob stands about 9" tall! As said you can raise the scope up or lower your self down with an observing chair : )   

9" tall? I can't imagine seeing much with that.😉

I like the 10 inch Dobsonian for two reasons. Price and aperture. I live downtown in a major light polluted city. I hope the larger diameter aperture might overcome some of that.

If I get really discouraged I can always sell it. 

As far as purchasing an adjustable chair for height, I'll just use some square seat cushions with a chair for the time being. 

If any of you had a choice of three lenses and filters that you'd want to use on a 10 inch Dobsonian telescope, which three would it be? 

Thanks for all the replies. You've been a terrific help to the newbiest of all newbies. Seriously...I'm a total newcomer to this hobby.

I have a question about lenses. Are lenses of the same size interchangeable? I notice there's different brands of lenses and filters and a lot of them are 1.25" in diameter.  Will they all fit any telescope that requires 1.25" lenses?

Or do I have a watch for specific lenses for special brands of telescopes?

Does anyone have opinions on the collapsible Dobsonian scopes like this one? Being a newbie not quite sure what to think of them.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/735539-REG/Sky_Watcher_S11720_10_Dobsonian_Telescope.html