Any Star gazers on Acorn ?

[Adam H]

Always been interested in Space and astronomy, turns out I'm a bit geeky haha.

I like a bit of novice photography with my Canon DSLr when I get some spare time so started to wonder if I could get some decent shots of deep space with a reasonably priced starter telescope.

I couldn't think of anything I wanted for xmas, and the missus is getting pee'd off with me, so I'm thinking of just telling her to get me telescope, but only if it will do what id want it to do.

Is there such thing as a reasonably priced ( Like sub £200 scope ) which can see clear images of galaxies like Andromeda and clear images of Pluto and Saturn?

Ive been looking at this one : Sky-Watcher Explorer-130 EQ2 Telescope ( £150 )

But have no idea if it can be linked up to a DLSr or if it has the capability id like to have...........or whether I should just stump up a bit more cash.

Thanks in advance for anyone "in the know".

 

[monaghan]

Not familiar with what scopes will take a camera. Do you watch The Sky at Night, they often have useful info for the beginner, perhaps there's something on their website? I'd love to give it a go, but we have so much light pollution here. Generally more cash gets you better optics.

I did a year's contract (in the IT dept) for a satellite company about 18 years ago, was a fascinating year seeing all that technology 1st hand. I have a mate who's been working on the Mars rover program. My son's school managed to get the early prototype of one of the Mars Rover's to a science evening (of course he needed Dad to give him a lift!), this was the week after it had been on Stargazing Live with Brian May.

 

[domainseller200]

I like gazing at Kelly Brook if that's of any help?

 

[mat]

My wife got me a Skywatcher 607, really entry level but is ok for looking at the moon etc.

I asked her to get it for me as I want to try and find the planet I was gifted from to this Earth. Find my way home.

What I find with this Skywatcher and may be the same with others is that the thing moves quite a bit making it hard to accurately pin point things. Even locking it in position is quite hard because of the cheaper components. It puts me off making any real effort sometimes, so may upgrade to something of better quality.

When it comes to actually looking at objects in the sky I guess it is all down to the lenses you use, so you may find that even with a cheaper model + amazing lenses you can get the desired results.

By the way, this guy creates AMAZING imagery with his telescope...

https://twitter.com/AstroAffairs

 

[Adam H]

My wife got me a Skywatcher 607, really entry level but is ok for looking at the moon etc.

I asked her to get it for me as I want to try and find the planet I was gifted from to this Earth. Find my way home.

What I find with this Skywatcher and may be the same with others is that the thing moves quite a bit making it hard to accurately pin point things. Even locking it in position is quite hard because of the cheaper components. It puts me off making any real effort sometimes, so may upgrade to something of better quality.

When it comes to actually looking at objects in the sky I guess it is all down to the lenses you use, so you may find that even with a cheaper model + amazing lenses you can get the desired results.

By the way, this guy creates AMAZING imagery with his telescope...

https://twitter.com/AstroAffairs

ah that could be why reviews I have read talk about a Dobsonian telescope, apparently, the Dobsonian stand or something is more fluid and solid when viewing, id imagine its a case of a couple of mm movement results in huge distances up there.

With my DSLR I can get some pretty good moon shots, with a telescope I should be able to really zoom in on some specific craters etc. That's why I want to see more than just the moon as I can do that pretty good with my camera and a 400mm telephoto lens.

Thanks for that link, his pics are amazing......should think that scope cost a small fortune lol

 

[aquanuke]

Astrophotography is my fav, but from a wide angle perspective. I tend to use a 14mm on full frame. Best places I went to with no light pollution was the Australian outback and Death Valley in Calli stars and milky way was crazy!

http://aquanuke.500px.com/night

 

[Adam H]

Some fantastic shots there Chris

 

[ian]

If you get a telescope, get one that automatically tracks; it is an absolutely PITA having to do it manually and try to keep up.

 

[Adam H]

If you get a telescope, get one that automatically tracks; it is an absolutely PITA having to do it manually and try to keep up.

Didnt even think of that, you mean like tracking the star, satellite movement ? I was going to download one of those IPAD night sky app's so I know where to point it lol

 

[ian]

Didnt even think of that, you mean like tracking the star, satellite movement ? I was going to download one of those IPAD night sky app's so I know where to point it lol

Yep, motorised telescope or whatever they call them, so it tracks the movement and adjusts accordingly. Doing it manually is a pain, if you have a lens full of the moon, expect it to be out of view within seconds. It means your hands freeze to death instead of sitting their comfortable enjoying.

 

[lazarus]

I have been looking at this one + a moon filter for my son this Christmas.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00B0GV1N8/?tag=acorn06-21

Only down side is that I live in a city so I will have to travel out to use it properly.

 

[Adam H]

I was looking at some youtube vids of shots of that one earlier, the 200p has a noticeable clarity difference for the moon etc, the dobsonian is one i keep seeing as a more stable setup as well.

 

[findtim]

the Australian outback

yep, uluru (ayers rock) is the go, fantastic sunset, glowing rock then the stars.
"otter trail" in south affrica, search google images, is great, its on the coast in a remote part of SA with high cliffs and no cities for miles.
tim

 

[Admin]

Ayers rock looks fantastic... more info here http://www.beautifulworld.com/oceania/australia/uluru-ayers-rock/

 

[aZooZa]

Chris Bowler's HDR stuff is simply amazing. Too modest I think, young @aquanuke

 

[findtim]

not to steal the thread by uluru isn't easy to get to, dayssssssssss in a car or hours in a plane, accommodation needs booking well in advance but they do have different grades 1 star, 2,3,4

 

[Edwin]

I'm not a photographer, but the most glorious night sky I ever saw was from a boat crossing the lake near Te Anau in New Zealand (having visited the glow worm cave on the opposite shore)

It's a large lake surrounded by mountains, and there's only the one small town anywhere nearby, so it's a fabulous "dark skies" location. On a clear, crisp night with no moon, I was able to see thousands of stars unaided, as well as the silvery ribbon of the Milky Way. Glorious!

 

[Admin]

I'm not a photographer, but the most glorious night sky I ever saw was from a boat crossing the lake near Te Anau in New Zealand (having visited the glow worm cave on the opposite shore)

It's a large lake surrounded by mountains, and there's only the one small town anywhere nearby, so it's a fabulous "dark skies" location. On a clear, crisp night with no moon, I was able to see thousands of stars unaided, as well as the silvery ribbon of the Milky Way. Glorious!

Tbf that sounds like most nights at my house in rural Andalucia . Sat in the hot tub watching shooting stars.

 

[findtim]

lake near Te Anau in New Zealand

it was six feet of snow when i was there in 2006, could see 2 feet but a great pizza joint in town. australia lost to italy in the world cup in that horrible match and we found out we were preggy with our first, very special Te Anau.
do you remember the church?
http://media.gettyimages.com/videos...otago-new-zealand-video-id103173155?s=640x640

 

[Edwin]

No, I don't remember the church (fab photo), but we had pizza in a pub/cafe that was the only place still open at 9pm so maybe the same place you ate. Small world, anyway!