jp_bl_68 Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I'm interested in getting a telescope (or perhaps just a decent pair of binoculars) to do a little star gazing. However, I live in an area with a great deal of light pollution (Croydon, SE25 to be precise) and it's very difficult for me to get away from the city due to my work.If I were to get a telescope, how much would I be able to see on a clear night? Would I be wasting my time and money buying a telescope for home use given the amount of light pollution in my area?Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan46 Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 hello, welcome to sgl. to some extent a larger apparture can mitigate the effects of light pollution. so you may be able to see quite well with an 8-10" scope your biggest problem is going to be finding your target, its going to be difficult to starhop when most of the smaller stars are washed out. and for this reason I would recommend a goto telescope. however a darker sky would definately show more. as to whether its worth it that depends on your expectations. I live in birmingham a fairly light polluted area. when I get my scope to a dark site its staggeringly beautiful but even grotty birmingham skies with my small scope is enough to inspire wonder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
star_chaser Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 i have a 6" (no laughing girls) and i live in east london i have only had a look at jupiter and the moon as im new to this(and its cloudy when i get up for saturn) but i could see them very well as for dso i can see orions belt from where i live but im yet to see the sword.this is with naked eyestar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp_bl_68 Posted January 22, 2011 Author Share Posted January 22, 2011 Thanks guys. So there is some hope.Do either of you have pictures (or links to pictures other people have taken) of what you can see with your equipment (or similar gear) in light polluted areas? when I get my scope to a dark site its staggeringly beautiful but even grotty birmingham skies with my small scope is enough to inspire wonder.Seeing a full moon on a clear night with the naked eye can be enough to inspire wonder in me. It really is incredible that something as simple as looking up at the sky can be so rewarding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick P Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Hi jp_bl_68 welcome to SGL, light pollution need not stop your observing but it will clearly depend on your equipment and targets. Photographs will not readily show what you will see at the eyepiece, the best comparison would be sketches (have a look through the sketching section in the imaging forum of this site)I observe from a very light polluted location which not only suffers sky glow (to about 30 degrees) but also LP from below my observing site as I view across a harbour - this means keeping my night vision intact is very difficult!However with an 8" reflector I can see most objects with the exception of galaxies (I can see M31 and M32 though and one or two other brighter ones) Clusters both open and globular, doubles, the moon, and the planets plus several emission nebula (the ring nebula etc).To give an idea I can resolve M13 pretty much to the core under mag 4.5 skies, obviously dark skies would be fantastic and the views would be much better, but light pollution need not put you off, there is still a huge of objects to view which will keep you busy for years.Good luckNick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp_bl_68 Posted January 22, 2011 Author Share Posted January 22, 2011 light pollution need not put you offThat's great news, thank you.I'll check out the images forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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