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My name is Ash, im 34 from north wales in the uk. I’m disabled and i have limited movement in my arms and legs. I’m new to astronomy but i don’t know how to pursue my hobby with the limitations i have. How can i participate in astronomy? Im unable to go outside at night. I use the computer alot.

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I would suggest a remotely controlled setup with "electronic goto" hooked up to your computer so you can stay inside and use an astronomy video camera.

There are several options open to you but it all depends on budget - this sort of setup can be quite expensive even for a basic rig. How much were you looking to spend? :)

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Hi welcome to sgl another way to do it without the large capital outlay of a robotic setup is to rent time from an observatory. I don't know much about it but have seen it discussed on threads on this forum

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Hi welcome to sgl another way to do it without the large capital outlay of a robotic setup is to rent time from an observatory. I don't know much about it but have seen it discussed on threads on this forum

Good idea Rowan

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Hi Ash, one of the best known example of how many individuals are able to access a decent telescope over the internet is of course the Faulkes Telescopes, of which one is in the south (Australia) and the other in the north (Hawaii). However, these scopes only offer access to schools.:)

Not deterred, I had a bit of a search around and came across this website called 'Global Rent A Scope' which contains plenty of information on what they do and how the process works form their dark sky location in New Mexico. From what I can read, they would appear to using Takahashi scopes on Paramount robotic mounts, so look to be a very up to date outfit. I only had a cursory glance but it would seem you don't need to download any fancy computer software to see the images just your web browser. I couldn't see what the costs were so you'll obviously have to troll through all the sections and of course check them out a little to make sure they are hosting from a secure internet site etc. Hope that helps.

Clear skies

James

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thats great thanks for the messages, i like the idea of online telescopes but im not sure about them, the images the telescopes take i can get off google images. i wouldnt know whether its a telescope or some guy taking random photos.

I was looking at the website my.telescope.org but again i dont want to pay money for some guy to take photos.

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iT would be difficult assess exactly what your needs are. as you know the levels of your disability and we don't but as Brantuck mentioned earlier to have your own set up will cost a lot. For example if your diability precludes you from setting up, moving and taking down a scope you are going to need an observatory that you can operate electronically.

Do you have a partner or carer that could help you?

If you have someone to help I would suggest a nexstar 8se and mintron camera and affilliated bits and bobs still not a cheap venture.

If you don't have someone to help the best way is to rent. or spend aprox £20 000 for a fully automated system with cameras observatory etc

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no i dont want a lot of gear. i have an old tasco scope in my bedroom next to a south facing window that i go up to occasionally when the skies are clear but they never are clear. i like the idea of an online telescope like global rent a scope but i can get the images that global rent a scope sends to me on google for free, i dont understand these online telescopes . failing the idea of using online telescopes, what could i do with astronomy and also make it fun? i use a powered wheelchair,i can only use my left arm, not fully.

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Lunar & Planetary Explorer Astrophotography Bundle | Orion Telescopes

That's what it looks like. I am not sure that an eq mount is the way to go as it is fairly heavy but anyway basically you hook it up after aligning the stars and mount) to your computer and away you go. I am not sure how easy you as an amateur will find aligning an eq mount with only a south facing window but they are right a small system like that may be a good way to go lunar imaging and with a white light filter for solar viewing may be quite rewarding. I would suggest however an alt az goto mount perhaps one of these

First Light Optics - Celestron NexStar 4SE

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Skymax 102 SynScan AZ GOTO

The nexstar is the heavier of the 2 but the mount is a little steadier and the software is a little more refined.

I am not how sure easy you will find it to use an eyepiece from a wheelchair it may be that some sort of live view camera hooked up to your computer will be better something like a mintron perhaps? excuse the vagueness but I am not an expert in either disability or imaging hopefully somebody will come along to comment on the merits of this post. I hope this helps

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I can only assume they mean one of these:

Orion StarShoot Solar System Colour Imager IV

The camera takes the place of an eyepiece in the telescopes focuser and is generally connected via USB to a computer. The purpose of such a camera is to capture a short lunar or or planetary movie from which you can then process using a stacking program such as Registax to produce a single image of the object you were capturing. Then you could use a normal graphics package such as Photoshop or GIMP or whatever to edit the image as necessary.

It's not a bad system per se, indeed many fellow SGLers use just such a system to image the planets and the moon themselves, but I see a couple of drawbacks.

The first is, it lacks a degree of immediacy. You have to capture the movie, process (stack) it, then post-process the image in order to see the finished result. Which would take you away from the "eyepiece", as it were.

The second is that it would require a degree of setting up and configuring and fiddling about just to get it to work each session. For example, aligning the mount, setting up the scope, inserting the camera into the focuser, finding the target in the sky and achieving focus. Obviously to do this you would need to be at the scope in the dark which is not possible for you. Then when all the fiddling is complete you can finally grab your movie! :(.

Of course the guy at Telescope House could have been referring to essentially the same sort of thing Kim (Brantuk) was talking about: and that is to use the camera essentially as a video camera to view the moon and planets on a computer in real time, without you needing to be outside at the eyepiece to view them. I'm a bit out of my field here, but a dedicated astro video camera like Kim suggested would probably give better results. Others would probably be able to give you better advice on this.

This still leaves the problem of setting up all the kit outside first of all (and packing it away afterwards), unless you are able to have a permanent arrangement of some sort, ideally remotely operated from inside.

Rowan's suggestion of solar astronomy that you can do during the daytime may be worth considering as well. Many people find observing the sun fascinating because it is an incredibly dynamic world, unlike the moon or the planets. Obviously you should never observe the sun directly. To observe the sun safely you need either a dedicated solar telescope such as a PST First Light Optics - Coronado PST Solar Telescope, or use a proper "white light" solar filter fitted to an ordinary telescope First Light Optics - Solar Filters.

EDIT: Good find Rowan - I didn't realise Orion actually did a product called a Lunar and Planetary scope!

The other suggestion I could make would be to try and get along to a local astronomy society meeting. Hopefully there would be people there who would offer help and advice more ably than we can over the internet!

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Welcome!

As mentioned above, there are a bunch of operations out there now which all you to remotely control telescopes and take photos. You're doing real astrophotography but without the hassle of setting up the scope, etc. So you choose the targets, the CCD settings (exposure times, gain, etc). Another site is this: LightBuckets - Use Telescopes There are more, but I don't remember the names.

It's true to a degree that you can just download the images from the internet. It's not for everyone, but plenty of people get a kick out of taking their own images and processing them. A lot of artistry can go into the processing and this part of the fun. For example, do a Google image search for "M42" and you will see all sorts of different renderings of the Orion Nebula.

If you get creative there are fun projects you could do. For example, you could make your own movie of Hubble's variable nebula: NGC 2261 Animation

Another fun thing you can do right away is this: Night Skies Network Those are live streams that people are broadcasting with a video camera hooked up to their scope. You will often get their audio feed (they chatter away about what they're doing). Those who are watching can type questions and requests. Give it a shot, it's free!

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Not too long ago a fourteen year old girl in the UK discovered a new star using remote facilities in Hawaii by imaging a particular section of sky over several nights. The star has been officially named after her now - just for interest :(

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what do you guys think of online telescopes like global rent a scope, slooh and bradford robotic telescope? what is the point of them, i can get an image of say andromeda off google images rather than pay 8 pound for a telescope to take it for me.

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I guess there could be several reasons. It saves on the expense of buying expensive imaging kit, perhaps they are more likely to be available more often than may be the case with British weather, they could be setup in a light pollution free area, and perhaps if a remote scope were located in the southern hemisphere it would provide access to targets inaccessible from northern latitudes.

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ok, ive got a meade etx 90 spotting scope thats on a very sturdy manfrotto tabletop tripod that has a squeeze and release triger for when i pan left and right. its on a table next to a window that points south. my worry is i have a limited view of the sky but also the skies are hardly ever clear. what do i do? i want to enjoy astronomy/stargazing but im not enjoying it.

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Hi

How easy is it for you to use the Meade? You might try hooking it up to a computer and using it remotely. You can get the kit to do this from the majority of suppliers plus ebay, astro buy and sell, and others. You can find details here:

Meade Instruments Corporation - Meade #506 Cable Connector Kit w/Software for 494 Autostar equipped models #04513&

Meade Instruments Corporation - #505 Meade 497/AudioStar Connector Cable Kit with Software&

South facing views will give you the 'best' views as the majority of constellations and planets travel east to west via the southern horizon. I'm guessing that your frustration with astronomy is affecting your enjoyment of the hobby so maybe give yourself a break from it and come back to it in the autumn when you've given it some thought.

HTH!

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My reply explained what the point is of those services. There's a lot you can do with your own photos, should you choose to get into that. Taking good images is challenging, but if you spend a lot of time on a computer then it's a challenge you are well set to embrace.

Sure, astrophotography and visual observing are two different things. Not everyone is interested in both. That's ok, you don't have to be. Given your constraints, it's worth your while to explore what those on-line services have to offer. Do more research into them and into photography. Don't just write it off.

Observing through a window is problematic because there will be thermal currents around the house and these will really affect the stability of the images. You'll be ok for low powers, but high powers are probably out of the question. I know that sounds disheartening but actually, many of us on this forum don't observe from home due to light pollution. Getting out there and seeing stuff under a real night sky has become a bit of excursion nowadays. I don't know your precise circumstances, but hopefully you are able to get away from home at times and so perhaps you can take the odd long weekend to somewhere with dark skies. All you need then are some binoculars, a blanket, and a star chart. Even if you can't do this, there are the computer options and hopefully you can do some planetary or double star observing even from indoors.

Let us know more about what your goals are and we'll see if we can help. :(

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is it worth me paying for slooh? can i move that telescope around? for 5 months its 30pound, for a year 90 pound, i dont know. can you explain what slooh is and what it does please? should i pay for slooh or stick with nightsky network? When is the best time to go on nightsky network? everytime i go on noones broadcasting. i live in wales in the uk.

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