Something for begginers

[Ganymede12]

I found this website about telescopes. It's quite useful so I thought I'd share it with SGL.

Telescope Science: All About Telescope Aperture

[sologuitarist61]

That is very good - I found the aperture calculator particularly interesting - I know you can do it manually but the calculator saves the math (lazy or what?)

[ApprenticeAstronomer]

Great link Thanks for that.

[LukeSkywatcher]

"One way to calculate the theoretical minimum and maximum powers for a given aperture is to use the following formulas":

Minimum Power = D/6

Maximum Power = D/1.58

I think this is a bit cautious. This would mean my 200mm SCT has a max theoretical magnification of 126X. I've used 200X very comfortably and even a bit higher.

P.S.~~~isnt the formula to work out min/max power to divide the F/L by the aperture?

I have a theory that the max usable power of any scope (used in the UK/Ireland) is the same as the aperture:

So a 90mm scope has a max usage of 90X, 150mm scope has max usage power of 150X and so on.

[JamesM]

Thanks Ganymede for the heads up on that site, very useful information and put across in a style that will appeal to many people. Good find!

James