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KnightSquared · Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2009 1:22 am Post subject: Telescopes?

So, anyone here got a telescope? If you do and you use it, post here anything cool that you've seen lately. Have you seen Nibiru yet?

I'm getting my first pair of Astronomical Binoculars this month! They are 15 x 70's which make them strong enough to see the moons of Jupiter, and the space station.

Share your astronomical experiences here.
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fshk · TripleXp AB Rep: +3 7264 Credits

I have seen full moons, constellations, Venus, and that is mostly it. It is cool seeing things in Space. I know a lot about astronomy because of the History channel.

KnightSquared · Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 12:31 am Post subject:

Well tonight was the first night I have ever used any astronomical viewing apparatus. My 15 x 70's arrived in perfect condition. They were just as big as I expected them to be. Huge things! But just light enough to hold for a couple of hours before tiring my arms.

Anyway, first went out on the balcony, but it was kinda cloudy. Neither was the moon in sight, it had disappeared round the other side of the globe. I did spy a star and kept it steady. At first I thought maybe I had bought a gimmick, 'cos although the star was larger, there was no other 'deep space' stars around it that I would expect to appear. Then later on it got really exciting...

At about 11pm the sky cleared up completely and I had a huge scope of stuff to look at. I found a nice strip of tarmac to lie back on to give my neck a rest... then got to work.

It was fairly mundane for the first few minutes until it happened... As I was slowly moving round the sky a huge cluster of about a hundred stars suddenly came into view. Really bright and close up. I said to myself, "Wow What the...? Where did they come from?" I looked with just my eyes but couldn't see anything other than a very dim glowing bit of what looked like tiny dust cloud. I thought, "That can't be what I'm looking at, is it?" But sure enough I looked back and forth from my binoculars and to my amazement, the only place these stars could have come from was indeed that tiny speck of dust.

The reason the first star I looked at didn't seem impressive, was because firstly, there weren't any other stars around it to appear under magnification, and secondly it was so far away you couldn't expect it to magnify by much. Different stars are different distances and sizes so it's all good.

I was also able to see constellations that didn't exist to the naked eye. For example, I looked at an area of just one or two stars, but with the binoculars there were loads of other tightly knitted constellations in and around the initial two stars! To the naked eye, it's just two stars surrounded by blackness, but with the binoculars... absolutely loads!

So there you have it... now I cannot wait for the moon to come back around. Apparantly with these binoculars I will be able to see the space station and the moons of Jupiter when when they come into view.

Full on! I'll let you know what else I see as the skies change.
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Lonny · **$ 346** AB Rep: +44 Aura: 155007 Credits

Awsome read their Mr Jepps Se. Please keep us posted on what you find. Also what what type / kind of astro binoculars are you using. I came across a set of Galileo 15" x 70" for around $89.99 a few days back would like to know whats your take on the price is it good or bad. Would you recommend something better for the same price.
TIA.
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KnightSquared · Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 10:24 pm Post subject:

I'm not sure about Galileo's. I would say that amongst astronomy forums, Celestron and Zhumell are more commonly discussed, but then Galileo's might be fine too. As I said, I don't know about those. These are the ones I bought:

My Binoculars

For the US the ones on this American site look to be similar:

Similar to mine

They are practically half the cost in USA.

More Astro Binoculars

My advice is not to get anything more than 15 x 70's unless you are prepared to always use them with a tripod as anything stronger will be too shaky to hold.

I think 15 x 70's are the second strongest in the world, next to 20/25 x 100's which will be too strong without a tripod. I've not seen many much stronger.

Also the younger you are the less powerful they should be as your pupil behaviour changes with age. They get better as you approach middle age and then deteriorate as you get older. This means some binoculars will be harder to see through at different times in your life.

I'm not too sure on the facts about the pupil thing, but I do know that if you are in your 30's, 15 x 70's are an ok choice and for some time thereafter. If you're younger than 30, you might want to start on some 10 x 50's, which are still quite cool!
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Lonny · **$ 346** AB Rep: +44 Aura: 155007 Credits

Thank you very much for explaining on the difference for pupil behavior as I have some what of poor eye sight already and I learned something new today.
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ArcadeBoss · Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 3:11 pm Post subject:

That's awesome! Thanks for the info.

I used to have a telescope, which we picked up from a family member years ago. The moon was so bright, and you really get a sense of how fast the moon is moving because you can literally see if moving across the viewing area of the scope and every few minutes you must reposition to keep it in frame. Unfortunately the scope broke, but these 'nocs look pretty interesting.

KnightSquared · Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 3:20 pm Post subject:

I'm going to try and spy Jupiter for the first time tonight.

I'm told that for the UK I should look low in the South West as soon as it's dark or else I'll miss it if it gets much later. Apparantly it will appear in my 15x70 binos as a bright disk, and obviously not a star; the moons will be tiny stars in a line either side.

I've also been recommended a decent telescope for a decent price that will give clear pictures of the atmosphere of Jupiter:

Skywatcher Skyliner 150P Dobsonian

One of these scopes will blow your mind. All those other nebula, galaxies and colourful stellar clouds that you see on tv? Yup. One of these will bring them right to you.

I might save up for one of these one day, but meanwhile there is still a lot you can see with binos. In fact astro binos are just as popular as telescopes if not more because of their range, convenience and price.
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khelos · **$ 52** 2469 Credits

Wow, I'd really like to get a telescope like that. I think we have an old one laying around in storage, I should break it out and see what it's capable of. Maybe even get to see the ultra deep field: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgg2tpUVbXQ ... in my dreams Very Happy

KnightSquared · Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 10:27 pm Post subject:

I had to edit my last post 'cos a lot of the time in astronomy, descriptions to a newcomer sound more amazing than they actually are.

For example if a newcomer heard an astronomer say, "I got a lovely view of Jupiter's bands last night" You immediately think he can see everything.

The above mentioned scope does give good images, but even I got mislead by the description. It will show you Saturn, Jupiter etc, and clearly too, but only just half as close I thought... here's a post that shows you how Jupiter will look...

Dobsonian 150P Discussion

However, you can't expect the universe to be cheap. I still think for £200 it's a scope worth getting.
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KnightSquared · Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 11:03 pm Post subject:

Well I saw Jupiter's moons for the first time tonight through my binos! That was so cool. Jupiter did indeed appear as a brilliant disk. The moons were like studs in a line either side. You can tell they're moons because they kind of deliver light differently. Stars tend to emit light, like a torch, but moons tend to reflect light... the difference is visible even with binoculars, in that you can tell you're not really looking at a star because they seem more 'solid' light reflectors than 'gassy' light emitters.

The view was a bit shaky but it was darn cold. Had it been warmer it would have been lovely. Also I could have laid down to rest the eyepieces on my eye sockets, which gives a good steady picture, but my balcony wasn't really big enough.

I'll check out Mars about midnight...
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KnightSquared · Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 5:32 pm Post subject:

The Moon was right outside my balcony window this evening and not a cloud in sight.

It is unbelievable how different it looks through binoculars. I could really make out surface detail, like craters and texture.

The most inspiring thing though, was how close it felt. I really had the feeling that I was looking at a sphere floating in orbit as opposed to a distant shining disk like the moon usually looks like.

I could feel its roundness! It's powerful sphere-like presence... just sitting there right next door.

Really cool.

Still haven't had a chance to see Mars yet - too darn cold.
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Telescopes?