Anyone here own a telescope?

Being debating for a while on whether I should buy a new one or not and if I do what to get.

I own a 4" Newtonian that isn't in a workable condition. It's a great little scope though. I've had people in the past look at the mirror (people who make their own scopes) and I've been told that the mirror is amazing.

However, yeah, the mount's gears, etc are all stripped and it would be nice to one day get a bigger scope.

My favourite objects are Globular Clusters. My favourite planet is Jupiter..... screw Saturn!

Wondering what anyone else has, how they find it and what they like to look at.

 

I have a little telescope for looking at the moon but can't afford anything fancy. My eyesight has gotten so bad that even if I did buy a better one, I couldn't use it.

 

I have an 8 inch Celestron

http://www.celestron.com/astronomy/telescopes/celestron-c8-ngt.html

I also have a small one for lunar observation.

 

I have an 8" Celestron. I dig it. I am amazed that actual photons from Crab nebula go into my eyeball. My neighbors, not so much. They just barely see fuzz.

 

Hey common ground at last! I crushed my last scope just a few months ago by backing over it with my 4x4. It was a non computerized 6" dob that I have had forever. I liked it because I could throw it in the back of my modestly set up for off road Explorer and go camping. I have not had much of a chance for viewing so I hadn't missed it too much until the winter sky enchanted me with its crisp beauty! I was surfing for another this morning. I love both planetary viewing and deep space objects sometimes called M objects i.e. Messier objects. Hmmm fav planet? Mars fav deep space object? Umm' hard one! I like the beautiful blue white Wolf-Rayet stars. They look like brilliant cosmic diamonds set in the black velvet of cold deep space. I want to buy a computer guided scope this time around, for ease of navigation. Add to that easy to pack and affordable. I have been thinking about another dob (ie cheap but good) from Orion in the six to ten inch range.

Rev A

 

I have a telescope, in my pants! (rimshot).

With that nonsense out of the way, how are they? I've only been able to play with them as a kid in school, and very rarely at that. Do you actually get a decent view with a, say $100 telescope or are you just zooming in on a bright spot? It's one of those things I've been a bit curious about but haven't really had the urge to spurge. (rimshot again!)

 

I have two Maksutov 90(for planets) and Newton 150 (for stars)

 

Saturn and Jupiter are great. But the Moon is awesome,when look into telescope.

 

I still have one covered with dust in my mum's garage - I should have sold it to another pervert

 

No way! Screw Uranus

 

I hate the Moon.

 

I have a 115mm Pearl Meade I think, I bought when I was twelve from someone who placed an ad in a magazine... the Moon was the only thing I could see clearly, as if it was across the street!

 

I've owned dozens of telescopes in my lifetime and built my first observatory in my backyard when I was a teenager. Now I spend my time with a group of like-minded individuals. Our main telescope is a 0.41m custom Meade f/3.6 SCT robotic telescope that we use to study comets and NEOs. I used to love to observe the planets using various telescopes including a 6" Unitron Refractor, but moved on to deep sky objects. For my own personal use, the more portable telescope the better. TeleVue makes awesome refractors, but they are pricey.

 

I forgot to mention the magnificent moon. It was the first heavenly body that I viewed with a fairly good cheap refactor and it warped me for life. I love the moon as well.

~rv~

 

what kind and how much ? Thanks~

~rv~

 

ISO 800, Exp 9x5m, f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is.

 

Looks like the Lagoon Nebula.... one of my favourite.

 

Yup, it's M-8.

 

The picture was taken at the camera Meade LPI

 

A bit surried but nice. What imaging equipment are you using?

 

Synta Maksutov-Cassegrain 90 mm f /13.8. Barlow 1.5x . Meade LPI Camera
This picture was taken at the limit of capabilities of this telescope.

 

I have a little scope but a sky to die for!! Try NO light pollution and very little pollution for hundreds of miles

My only bloody problem is every time I bring out the scope it starts to rain - farmers are starting to want to pay me!!

 

Nice capture, the Barlow lens is always a compromise eh? or its been so in my experience. Do you use the Autostar Suite software (for more difficult images?)

Rev A

 

Sometimes small or moderate is the way to go. I envy those that don't have a street light or a city halo when viewing from their back yard. The sky here even in the 'city' is fair. That's the reason I struggled with portability vs size. I love to take my scope camping in the mountains. Ive been sick since my last post so I have yet to make a decision.

Rev A

 

Barlow lens is a smart thing.
I only use AutoStar Envisage and additionally use the Registax