Viewing times

[flyte]

Hi, I hope someone could answer a few questions that are concerning me. I been wanting to buy a telescope for a while now and a couple of weeks ago I decided on getting a 8 inch Dob, but now I'm having second thoughts about buying a telescope at all. Let me give you the basic picture so you can understand my concerns, I suffer from a disability that means I am wheel chair bound and can not move around easily so it means that I cant travel to dark spots and can only view in my back garden, well this inst a major problem for binocular viewing I am not sure if it will be a let down when viewing through a telescope, another major factor I'm concerned about is that because of my disability it means that I get very tired and normally have to retire about 10 pm at night, So my question is what time would I have to stay up to, or wake up to see anything decent through a scope? I mean planet wise. I don't want to spend £300 on a scope and then find out that its useless for me and that im to tired to stay up and get any good views.

I know this may seem like abit of an odd question but I really want to get into this hobby but have concerns with my disability, and I know there must be someone in the same shoes as me with a disability who could answer my questions.

Many thanks

Sam

[insomnia]

A good idea would be to download Stellarium, it's free plus you can fast forward the timeline, so you can see what will be visible at what particular time. This will help you plan your viewing.

[rocketandroll]

A couple of thoughts...

I'd think a Dob would be a reasonable idea in terms of being able to view throuhg it from a chair... though all scope/mount types will have restrictions... if theres any way you can get to either a local astro club event ir a shop where you can try looking through different kinds of scopes and see what the pisution is like for you that'd be a good idea before you commit to buy.

In terms of time... obviously during summer months it wont be dark enough to observe before 10pm... though at least 8 months of the year you should be ok.

Different planets are up at different times throughout the year... a lit are early morning targets at the mo but you'll certainly have choices through the year.

Viewing planets you'll also be fine from a light poluted location... its only feint objects like nebulae and galaxies that need a dark site.

Hope that helps!

Ben

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

[Capricorn]

Times: At this time of year you can view from about 18:00 onwards, by the time summer comes round it will not get that dark by 22:00. So you will not actually manage any.

May be a bit of a cop out but I would say that you would view generally when GMT is in place. BST is to allow more light in the evenings. So when that kicks in the viewing time drops.

I wouldn't have thought a Dob was the scope for your situation, you simply couldn't point it all that high in the sky, or alternatively low down. The wheel chair limits the heights at which your eye can manage to get to.

I cannot think of a scope other then one of the goto's, and the one that comes to the front is the Meade ETX 80. Easy to set up and a wide field of view. Ones like the SW 127 Mak are bigger but the field of view is narrower so you would lose the ease that the wider field supplies.

Equally when the scope slews to a new target you will have to chase the eyepiece round.:D

I wonder if something like the Opticstar 80mm on a sky-tee type mount would be better? Guess the total cost to be in the region of £500ish.

Any clubs nearby that may have knowledge and experience of disabled astronomers? Check the various Astro federations - SPA, BAA.

One thought is a goto, web cam and laptop. Align the scope, drop in the webcam, attach to the laptop and view on the laptop.

One point is that for the smaller goto's you can get a solar filter and during the day observe the sun. The PST are expensive (£500+) but are for solar observing. Nice sunny day, sit outside, observe the sun, plonk a web cam in and image solar flares, process via Registax. Saw this done at Sidmouth 2 years back.

[Astronut1982]

Hi Flyte,

There is a member on here called LukeSkywatcher. Like yourself, he is in a wheelchair. If you were contact him, I'm sure he would love to help as he is the exact same position as yourself & would have had the same dilemma as you.

PM him & I'm sure he'll be able to advise you.

Jeff

[LukeSkywatcher]

Hi Flyte.

Being in a wheelchair myself,i totally understand your questions about the type of scope suitable for you. Capricorn is correct when he says that a Dob is not the solution to your issues. The eyepiece is simply too far out of reach from a seated position to do any kind of observing at targets high in the sky.

Ideally you want a scope where the eyepiece is at the rear of the tube and closest to you. This includes refractor,SCT's,Mak's etc.

A good alternative to a Dob is the Skywatcher Heritage 130P. It is a 5" "mini" Dob. When placed on the ground, the eyepiece is at a comfortable height for observing from a seated position. It takes a bit of manouvering though to slew the scope side to side and get your chair out of the way also.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-heritage-130p-flextube.html

There is also the choice of the Go-To scopes mentioned above as there is little setup and the height of the EP varies so little even when observing high up or low down.

I recently bought a Celestron Nexstar 8" SCT. I never thought i could/would own an 8" scope because they are so heavy and cumbersome to move about. I dont have this problem with the 8 SCT though . It is very light for its size and is easily transported to my garden in 3 loads.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/se-series.html

Hope this helps. If you have any other questions, feel free to drop me a private message.

Paul

[brantuk]

Another option you might like to consider is a pair of big binoculars. Something like the Strathespey range may offer you alternatives (eg the 20x90's). I don't know too much about binocs but I do know they can be mounted on a sturdy parallelogram counterbalance mount for viewing from reclining deck chairs and camp beds.

There are other makes and sizes that you'll need to research. And possibly visit a local astro society to try them out and see if you like the views. Here's a couple of links to start off your research:

Strathspey Binoculars

Big Binoculars - Parallelogram Mounts

Binocular parallelogram mount

Universal Astronomics

http://www.scsastro.co.uk/catalogue/orion-paragon-plus-binomount-and-tripod.htm

[flyte]

Times: At this time of year you can view from about 18:00 onwards, by the time summer comes round it will not get that dark by 22:00. So you will not actually manage any.

May be a bit of a cop out but I would say that you would view generally when GMT is in place. BST is to allow more light in the evenings. So when that kicks in the viewing time drops.

One point is that for the smaller goto's you can get a solar filter and during the day observe the sun. The PST are expensive (£500+) but are for solar observing. Nice sunny day, sit outside, observe the sun, plonk a web cam in and image solar flares, process via Registax. Saw this done at Sidmouth 2 years back.

Thanks that an excellent idea about the solar viewing during the day, I hadn't even thought about that. And I now see that planet viewing wouldn't be out of the question it would just mean a little compromise.

:A good idea would be to download Stellarium, it's free plus you can fast forward the timeline, so you can see what will be visible at what particular time. This will help you plan your viewing.

Ahh, just the thing I need this will help me to see what I can view in my time periods!, thanks a lot.

:A couple of thoughts...

I'd think a Dob would be a reasonable idea in terms of being able to view throuhg it from a chair... though all scope/mount types will have restrictions... if theres any way you can get to either a local astro club event ir a shop where you can try looking through different kinds of scopes and see what the pisution is like for you that'd be a good idea before you commit to buy.

In terms of time... obviously during summer months it wont be dark enough to observe before 10pm... though at least 8 months of the year you should be ok.

Different planets are up at different times throughout the year... a lit are early morning targets at the mo but you'll certainly have choices through the year.

Viewing planets you'll also be fine from a light poluted location... its only feint objects like nebulae and galaxies that need a dark site.

Hope that helps!

Ben

Yes, I chose the Dob as I was told that It would be easy to carry and set up even for a wheel chair user.

:Hi Flyte.

Being in a wheelchair myself,i totally understand your questions about the type of scope suitable for you. Capricorn is correct when he says that a Dob is not the solution to your issues. The eyepiece is simply too far out of reach from a seated position to do any kind of observing at targets high in the sky.

Ideally you want a scope where the eyepiece is at the rear of the tube and closest to you. This includes refractor,SCT's,Mak's etc.

A good alternative to a Dob is the Skywatcher Heritage 130P. It is a 5" "mini" Dob. When placed on the ground, the eyepiece is at a comfortable height for observing from a seated position. It takes a bit of manouvering though to slew the scope side to side and get your chair out of the way also.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/refl...-flextube.html

There is also the choice of the Go-To scopes mentioned above as there is little setup and the height of the EP varies so little even when observing high up or low down.

I recently bought a Celestron Nexstar 8" SCT. I never thought i could/would own an 8" scope because they are so heavy and cumbersome to move about. I dont have this problem with the 8 SCT though . It is very light for its size and is easily transported to my garden in 3 loads.

First Light Optics - SE Series

Hope this helps. If you have any other questions, feel free to drop me a private message.

Ahh, its great to have some advice from someone who has gone through the same issues as me! I first looked at the Dob as I was told that it was really easy to carry and set up for someone in a wheelchair, I see what you mean though about the viewing scope being at the end, but I am 6,7 so even when im sitting I should be able to reach it comfortably, I didn't really wish to buy a GOTO mount as I feel that it takes some of the fun out of exploring the sky, but I will look into it more now I see your point of view. I think Ill try and get to a shop soon and see what is most easy for me to use and try out some different scopes.

Many thanks for all the answers and advice, such a lovely bunch of people willing to help!

[LukeSkywatcher]

I was going to say that if you are very tall then a Dob might be usable from a seated position. I'm 5'7" and when seated my eyes just fall short of the EP in an 8" Dob.

You may very well be able to use one.

Try before you buy (as they say).