Advice needed (please)

[William]

I have spent the last few days reading this forum, as I needed some questions answered, but I did not just want to rush in with a load of questions! So I have been reading your threads and posts to gage a feeling for your world of telescopes. I want to go for the Skywatcher EXPLORER-200P (EQ5) Telescope Package and I already have a Canon 450D.

Can you see the ISS with the 200P? I was looking to see the moon, some other planets and so on...

So I guess i'm here looking for that bit of "yes you should do just that" or "no wait, have you thought about this" advice.

Thank you in advance.

[legion48]

You'll be able to see most things with the 200, the ISS included. Tracking the ISS will be difficult but not impossible. I've seen some amazing images taken of the ISS, posted on this site I think.

[Viking]

You can do the iss and the moon with your camera.

John

[William]

Thanks for the reply's guys.

Viking: The ISS with the camera alone? Really I never know that!

legion48: Yes I think the tracking will be hard (well for me anyway)

I have two questions, If I may.

If I was to buy one extra Eyepiece with above scope, what should I go for?

And

Would I need anything extra to attach my 450D to the scope in order to take photos?

[proflight2000]

William, I put a post to athread the other day re photographing the ISS, yes you can photograph it as has been mentioned, but you also need to remember that she is moving at roughly 15000mph. On a digital camera you need to be in the right position as she comes over the horizon, starry night, thesky and other star programmes can be fed the information gathered from sites like space-trak, or heavens above via a TLE file.

If you aim your digital camera at the ISS for any length of time you will have no more than a line across the picture, but that is your line and a good one to add to a collection.

Following the ISS with a scope basically will just show you a nice bright light crossing the sky, you could place a 10mm eyepiece in there and hope to see something better, but at the speed it is tavelling your eyes will not connect with your brain as such as you move the telescope to follow the object. Personally, I always find watching it with my eyes from the ground is better as I can see it over a further distance. So make an account at heavens above, have them send you emails when the ISS is over your location, then go from there.

With any luck, you may end up as one of the handful of people who have actually capatured the ISS in all its glory actually in space from the ground.

[TheThing]

Just a thought, but are space stations following the same conventions as ships? Are they all personified in the female form?

[William]

Just a thought, but are space stations following the same conventions as ships? Are they all personified in the female form?

Any peice of working machine a man owns is "female"

Take my car, she's called Deloris and I drive her hard

[Viking]

Another thing re the ISS is that it suddenly disappears due to the position of the Sun.

I also mentioned that you can achieve good images of the Moon with your camera.

One other lens would be a barlow. This in effect will double your present lens capability.

John

[Zaphod_B]

Would I need anything extra to attach my 450D to the scope in order to take photos?

Yes

You would need a T-adapter and a T-mount for Canon EOS cameras. Together, these come to about £30 (give or take).

Zaph

[The Warthog]

People generally refer to the ISS as "it," but Captain Kirk always referred to the Enterprise as "she." :scratch: