Re: [OT] Telescopes...

["Mal Lansell" <mlansell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Sorry, spotted a type - VentureScopes website is at
www.telescopesales.co.uk

I also forgot to add - don't buy one of those scopes from Argos or
Littlewoods - they are completely crap and you will be disappointed with
what you can (can't?!) see.

Mal


----- Original Message -----
From: "Mal Lansell" <mlansell@xxxxxxx>
To: <ukha_d@xxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, October 15, 2004 10:20 AM
Subject: Re: [ukha_d] [OT] Telescopes...


>
> First, if you want to see anything worthwhile apart from the moon, you
need
> as big an aperture as you can get.  The best bet is a reflector -
mirrors
> are cheaper than lenses, so you get to see more for your money.
>
> As a rough guide, I bought a cheapish 6" reflector (Skywatcher
Explorer
150)
> for £350 from Venturescope (www.telescopesales.com.uk).  This is
probably
a
> reasonable first scope, but if you get the bug you'll quickly want a
larger
> one.  It came with a motorised EQ3 equatorial mount (meaning it can
keep
> pointing at the same star as the earth rotates).  A motorized mount is
vital
> IMO - without it the object you're looking at will quickly drift out
of
> view.
>
> With this size telescope you can see Jupiter and it's four largest
moons
> (Jupiter appears as a small disk, but you can make out some banding -
the
> moons are just bright points).  You can also get a good view of Saturn
-
the
> rings are visible as a white circle around the planet (or they were
last
> winter - I don't know how quickly that changes!).
>
> The moon of course comes out bright an clear - a bit too bright
really.
I'm
> going to buy a moon filter soon.
>
> I haven't really looked for nebulae etc - I only got the scope last
> Christmas and there's been a lack of clear nights this year.  I
imagine
that
> they will mostly show up as faint fuzzy patches.  I've just ordered an
> adapter for my digital camera, so I hope to get some good picks with a
long
> exposure.
>
> If you're willing to spend a bit more, I'd recommend buying an 8"
or 10"
> reflector - it will be worth it.  The highest practical power
> (magnification) is 2 x the aperture in mm, so a 6" reflector has
a limit
of
> 150mm x 2  = 300.  If you use eyepieces that give a higher power, it
will
be
> impossible to focus the image.
>
> Mal
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Andrew Kilgore" <amkilgore@xxxxxxx>
> To: <ukha_d@xxxxxxx>
> Sent: Friday, October 15, 2004 12:21 AM
> Subject: [ukha_d] [OT] Telescopes...
>
>
> >
> > Hi all,
> >
> > Firstly apologies for the off topic post, but I figured with all
us
> dreamers
> > on the list some of us must occasionally look at the stars :o)
> >
> > I'm looking to buy a (basic) telescope but know absolutely
nothing about
> > them.
> > What should I be looking for feature-wise and magnification etc.?
> > Also, what should I expect to see - what kind of detail with x675
> > magnification etc.
> > Lastly, any recommendations? I've looked at Argos' selection and
there's
a
> > couple on lxdirect.com (Littlewoods).
> >
> > TIA,
> > Andy.
> >
> >
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