Newbie question regarding Moon

[Gilly D]

Hello I am new here.

I am moving to Cyprus from the UK for work and I will be there about 6-9 months. I am told the sky is very clear and free from pollution.

I have been interested in the moon for ages, but in Derby there is no chance of seeing anything good, so I never bothered with a telescope. I'm thinking of getting something now that will give me a good image of the moon from Cyprus.

Any suggestions on a mid range scope? Will I ned tracking for the moon? Potentially I might need to mount my Fuji X mount camera for some photographs, but that would not be the main purpose.

Thanks

Gilly

 

 

[AstroNebulee]

Hi Gilly

Lovely spot to go and work in, I'm sure more experienced members will be along shortly to offer advice, if your jot planning to do much imaging of the moon then I'd say no need for tracking and even if you attach your camera to a scope you could still take photos without tracking, if it's more lunar your interested in the a maksutov would be a good choice, I'm a newbie though so take my advice with a pinch of salt, a skywatcher skymax 90 https://www.firstlightoptics.com/maksutov/skywatcher-skymax-90-ota.html or 102 https://www.firstlightoptics.com/maksutov/skywatcher-skymax-102-ota.html could be a nice scope on Sky-Watcher AZ Pronto Alt-Azimuth Astronomy Mount & Tripod maybe https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/sky-watcher-az-pronto-alt-azimuth-mount-tripod.html but the suppliers are all struggling to get stock. Like I say I'm a newbie so someone more experienced will be along shortly. Clear skies 

Edited October 6, 2020 by LeeHore7

[johninderby]

A small mak will give great images of the moon and a manual,alt-az mount will be fine for the moon.

BTW the moon is great to observe in  Derby through a telescope. Few smartphone moon pics taken in Derby.

 

Edited October 6, 2020 by johninderby

[Floater]

Welcome to the forum. I’m sure you’ll have lots of fun ... just a bit surprised that you feel/felt there was nothing good to see  on the Moon, even in Derby. 

Hope Cyprus fulfils your hopes. 🙂

[sloz1664]

Hi Gilly The Moon is so bright that even in the most light polluted cities it can be successfully observed or imaged.

Btw a very warm welcome to the Lounge Dilly

Steve

[laudropb]

Hello and a warm welcome to the SGL. A small Mak would be ideal for viewing the Moon.

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi @Gilly D and welcome to SGL. 

A small Maksutov [Mak] i.e. SkyWatcher Skymax 102 or Meade ETX90,105* or 125 will show a lot of detail on the Moon. You will get a long focal length 'scope in a short tube. I have the ETX105 which since I purchased it; (OTA only); has been since 're-modded' after a fall from one of my mounts when the dovetail snapped when the outside temperature dropped to minus something Celsius several years ago and damage two of three mounting points to the ABS plastic rear cell. Images below.

Being a short tube, they can also be used for other outdoor pursuits as well, or a long camera lens with a DSLR or compact digital camera set to 'manual' mode.

 

 

BTW - the Jubilee/hose rings hold the dovetail to the OTA.

Wishing you clear skies in Cyprus too! 🇨🇾

 

* Meade now only do the ETX90 & ETX125 models. ETX105's do 'pop-up' from time to time second-hand. Though the drive mechanism is not particular good, the optics are excellent.

    

[Ruud]

A 5" Maksutov-Cassegrain on a goto mount would be a good idea. Get a power adapter for the goto mount. You also need a couple of good eyepieces to go with the telescope. And a dew shield to keep the corrector from fogging over (you can make one yourself).

[Dave Lloyd]

Hi Gilly, welcome. 

[Pete Presland]

Hi welcome to SGL from Pete in Bedfordshire 🙂

[hoss]

Hello Gilly D

For visual observing for the Moon, virtually any telescope at all will work. As mentioned above by Sloz1664, you can see the moon with a telescope even in the most light polluted areas.

For visual observing the moon you can  use manual tracking. Motor drives, not to mention go to are not required. I have observed Saturn with a Takahashi Sky90 (90 mm aperture, F5.6) using an EQ5 German Equatorial mount, using the manual slow motion controls.  Of course I have used such a set up to observe the Moon as well.

I will make some assumptions about your situation: I assume you want something small, light, simple and inexpensive since you are traveling to a far off land for a short period of time. Who knows if your equipment will get lost or stolen.

I would get a small refractor. To give you a short lesson on Refractors:  If you get an inexpensive Achromat refractor (which has two lenses) you will see some purple color with bright images. To get an Apochromat refractor (which has three lenses and sometimes two lenses of special glass) is much more expensive but the color will be reduced. On the moon the color is there using an Achromat, it is a matter of taste as to how objectionable the color is.  Believe me, when observing Jupiter with an Achromat it feels like a purple laser beam is being pointed at your eye. The image is effected drastically. Not so much with the moon, just a slight amount of color  on the edges of the moon.

Even a small cheap refractor, a mount and tripod, and eyepieces are still going to cost you about $1,000.  You could get something for less of course.

For example go to here: https://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/Refractor-Telescopes/Refractor-Telescopes-with-Premium-Optics/Orion-Carbon-Fiber-ED66-CF-Refractor-amp-Tritech-CFX-Tripod/pc/1/c/10/sc/332/p/118234.uts?refineByCategoryId=332

This is a small refractor with an altitude and azimuth mount. It woudl be nice to have a few more eye pieces other than a 14 mm.  I would purchase the most inexpensive Plossl eyepieces. That is what I have been using for years.  Of course, I also have very expensive eyepieces, but the Plossl works well as long as the focal length is 9 millimeters or greater. I would have the following Plossl eyepieces in my kit:   32 mm, 20 mm, 15 mm , and 9 mm.  

 

Altitude and azimuth mount (Altazimuth for short) and German Equatorial Mounts  (GEM) accomplish the same task by slightly different methods. Do research on the two types if needed.  

If you get something too cheap you will have a frustrating time and it will be a terrible experience.  That is the trade off in astronomy. Astronomy as rule can be a very expensive hobby. If you get equipment that is poor quality you will have a bad experience. A cheap shaky mount will also result in a bad experience.

Also go here to get  an idea about the cost of a cheap small telescope:  https://www.astronomics.com/telescopes.html?___SID=U&filter_telescope_type=425&manufacturer=360

This is the EQ5 that I have, it is over kill for a small refractor but it is stable. Also this is perhaps bigger,  heavier and more expensive than what you want:  https://www.telescope.com/Orion/Orion-SkyView-Pro-Equatorial-Telescope-Mount/rc/2160/p/9829.uts

I hope that helps.

 It is difficult to condense 30 years of telescope observing experience and  advice in a few sentences.

 

[Astrid]

On 06/10/2020 at 21:06, Gilly D said:

Hello I am new here.

I am moving to Cyprus from the UK for work and I will be there about 6-9 months. I am told the sky is very clear and free from pollution.

I have been interested in the moon for ages, but in Derby there is no chance of seeing anything good, so I never bothered with a telescope. I'm thinking of getting something now that will give me a good image of the moon from Cyprus.

Any suggestions on a mid range scope? Will I ned tracking for the moon? Potentially I might need to mount my Fuji X mount camera for some photographs, but that would not be the main purpose.

Thanks

Gilly

 

 

I would recommend a good quality refractor: cheap, portable and it offers some very sharp, clear and beautiful views. 

By the way, a refractor is good for both the moon and the planets.

And you don't need tracking for the moon. You can do short exposures.

The only downside of a refractor is that it has an effect called chromatic aberration around the object (kind of like a blue halo). But from my experience that won't be that big of a problem when you look at bright targets like the moon.

Oh, and my profile picture was taken with a terrestrial refractor (it is not even an astronomical refractor). 

 

Good luck!

Astrid