So You Wanna Buy a Telescope: Advice for Beginners (2015) • Hacker News Board

Re: So You Wanna Buy a Telescope: Advice for Beginners (2015)

#51

Post by Starwatcher2001 » Mon, May 23, 2016, 10:34 AM UTC

aortega wrote: post #29

I disagree with the astrophotography thing. Even with a telescope your human eyes are limited to planets and the moon, that's it. Forget about seeing galaxies with the naked eye, unless you have a 1-meter diameter telescope. All other objects are basically points of light. Artificial satellites are really fun to see, but also points of light. But a 2006 DSLR (EOS400) that I found in the garbage, connected to a cheap…

"Even with a telescope your human eyes are limited to planets and the moon, that's it."

Andromeda, M42, star clusters, can all be seen with the naked eye, but only from a dark location, and unfortunately not in most cities. I've seen scores of galaxies with just a 8.75" reflector. The virgo cluster that's available at this time of year is amazing.

I agree with most of the rest of your post though, especially the weight thing.

I'd also suggest that learning to star-hop from one object to another is a great way to learn the sky, but it does put newcomers off sometimes.

Re: So You Wanna Buy a Telescope: Advice for Beginners (2015)

#52

Post by maratc » Mon, May 23, 2016, 10:34 AM UTC

I am visiting the USA soon and thought of getting a telescope, but not a 42lb/20kg monster. What's the best I can do for 10 kg/$300 or so?

Re: So You Wanna Buy a Telescope: Advice for Beginners (2015)

#53

Post by Starwatcher2001 » Mon, May 23, 2016, 10:38 AM UTC

ackfoo wrote: post #43

I used to love to go out at night with my 10" reflector and see a point of light magnified to... a point of light. For variety, I would look at binary stars to see... two points of light. Sometimes, I would search for nebulae and galaxies to see... a fuzzy patch of light. Optical astronomy is such fun. Now, alas, the light pollution is so severe that all my points of light and fuzzy patches are severely washed out. S…

Haha... I took up scuba diving after astronomy too. Maybe there's something similar in wanting to see stuff for yourself, rather than television or photos. Coolest thing I saw was a star disappear for a few seconds as it was occulted by an asteroid.

Re: So You Wanna Buy a Telescope: Advice for Beginners (2015)

#54

Post by nxzero » Mon, May 23, 2016, 10:56 AM UTC

Infrared: Most amazing experience I ever had looking at the average clear night sky was wearing a pair of night vision goggles. Seeing all the extra stars (100x more) in the sky as I turned my head around allowed me to see the sky in a way I never would have imagined possible. Highly recommend it.

Re: So You Wanna Buy a Telescope: Advice for Beginners (2015)

#55

Post by Avshalom » Mon, May 23, 2016, 11:12 AM UTC

aortega wrote: post #29

I disagree with the astrophotography thing. Even with a telescope your human eyes are limited to planets and the moon, that's it. Forget about seeing galaxies with the naked eye, unless you have a 1-meter diameter telescope. All other objects are basically points of light. Artificial satellites are really fun to see, but also points of light. But a 2006 DSLR (EOS400) that I found in the garbage, connected to a cheap…

You can see the entire messier catalog, quite well, with a pair of binoculars. 1 meter is a fucking ludicrous diameter.

Re: So You Wanna Buy a Telescope: Advice for Beginners (2015)

#56

Post by verytrivial » Mon, May 23, 2016, 11:54 AM UTC

I have dabbled with simple whole-sky night photography with a DLSR and wanted to do more (yes, going straight against the no astrophotography advice from the article!). But as the article shows, there are simply so many options and permutations of equipment!

I would love a simple (and very approximate) web page with a few sliders and check boxes that said I have budget range X, and want to do Y and Z. It will say: "you need the following ... and these will be nice ... " And you can click "I have these", and it will go "Okay, then go and add this."

This goes for a few other grouped-purchase hobbies/undertakings. I entered similar befuddlement trying to get a reasonably sound field recording setup. There's a lot of opinion in these areas, perhaps a general "recipe" engine would be good to allow people to submit their codified advice.

Re: So You Wanna Buy a Telescope: Advice for Beginners (2015)

#57

Post by aortega » Mon, May 23, 2016, 11:56 AM UTC

Avshalom wrote: post #55

aortega wrote: post #29

I disagree with the astrophotography thing. Even with a telescope your human eyes are limited to planets and the moon, that's it. Forget about seeing galaxies with the naked eye, unless you have a 1-meter diameter telescope. All other objects are basically points of light. Artificial satellites are really fun to see, but also points of light. But a 2006 DSLR (EOS400) that I found in the garbage, connected to a cheap…

You can see the entire messier catalog, quite well, with a pair of binoculars. 1 meter is a fucking ludicrous diameter.

Sure, if you are in the middle of the chilean desert.

Re: So You Wanna Buy a Telescope: Advice for Beginners (2015)

#58

Post by CydeWeys » Mon, May 23, 2016, 12:52 PM UTC

aortega wrote: post #29

I disagree with the astrophotography thing. Even with a telescope your human eyes are limited to planets and the moon, that's it. Forget about seeing galaxies with the naked eye, unless you have a 1-meter diameter telescope. All other objects are basically points of light. Artificial satellites are really fun to see, but also points of light. But a 2006 DSLR (EOS400) that I found in the garbage, connected to a cheap…

You are severely hurting your argument by making false statements about what is possible to see with the naked eye and what kind of diameter telescope is required.

An 20cm reflector is a very reasonable telescope that won't break the bank, will fit into most cars, and will enable you to see a large number of galaxies and nebulae with the naked eye. The claim that you need a 100cm telescope to do so is ludicrous and contradicted by all of established astronomy.

Re: So You Wanna Buy a Telescope: Advice for Beginners (2015)

#59

Post by jonathansizz » Mon, May 23, 2016, 12:56 PM UTC

starik36 wrote: post #30

wmblaettler wrote: post #3

Bought the recommended Orion XT8 Dobsonian a year ago for my 10 year old daughter (ok, and for myself!). It is super easy to setup (minutes), captures plenty of light and has been a joy to view through. I have observed the moon, Saturn, Jupiter and its moons and several Messier objects - even tracked a few satellites as they transited overhead.

Were you able to see the rings of Saturn with this telescope? How about the red spot of Jupiter? Any of its moons? And finally, do you observe these objects in a place with a lot of light pollution?

I can see Saturn's rings with my 16x70mm binoculars. Jupiter's Galilean satellites are easy with any decent pair of binoculars. You can track their positions relative to Jupiter from night to night.

Binoculars are definitely the way to go for a beginner. Spend 12 months using the naked eye and binoculars to learn the entire night sky that's visible from your location. With the aid of an astronomy book and star charts, you'll learn all the constellations and the names of the major stars in each, plus other interesting objects in each constellation (Messier objects, variable stars). Binoculars also bring out the different colours of many stars. Supplement this with background reading on the targets of your observations and other nearby objects.

During this time, you'll also be able to learn many of the most prominent features of the moon's surface, as well as easily being able to identify the planets (although Mercury can be a challenge and Neptune requires large binoculars and even then will just be a speck of light), and you'll get a feel for which constellations are visible in which seasons. Learning the sky like this is very satisfying and is a great precursor to buying a telescope. Your binoculars can of course be used for other purposes too.

As casual astronomers are generally most interested in the moon and planets, I'd recommend buying a medium-sized apochromatic refractor as a first scope. A high-quality 4" (100mm) one with a good mount can be had for under $1000, and will give stunning views of Saturn, Jupiter and the Moon, even in the middle of a large city. Other planets and the brighter star clusters and nebulae will also look good.

Re: So You Wanna Buy a Telescope: Advice for Beginners (2015)

#60

Post by geff82 » Mon, May 23, 2016, 1:16 PM UTC

lake99 wrote: post #47

geff82 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The advice not to do astrophotography is meant for the beginner. He wants you to concentrate "on the thing itself" first, on watching the stars, navigating to an object, controlling the telescope, getting a feeling for what eyepiece is good for what situation, getting a feeling on how wind affects your viewing experience, getting a feeling on where to put up your telescope, getting a feeling on how the environment af…

> The advice not to do astrophotography is meant for the beginner. My advice is meant for the beginner as well. All the other things you pointed out, well, you need to learn those things for astrophotography, even if you don't have a telescope. Given how many of us have DSLRs, this is something we can start today . > He essentially advises you not to take part in a tech arms race as a beginner. I did not advice getti…

You see, there are two types of people going to concert nowadays: the first group goes there to listen to the music, enjoying the atmosphere, have a good time. The second group goes there to film everything with their phone, take selfies, post to social media while there.

The OP is of the former type: before you go there and photograph, first take time and enjoy the simple, dark sky.

There is nothing wrong with buying a telescope with an equatorial mount instead of a dobson. But buying a dobson (and thus not having the possibility of deep sky photography) might still be a valid endeavour to really connect you mind to your new hobby. And a dobson can be had so cheap it is a no-brainer.

I for one would recommend going with an equatorial mounted Newton telescope with 6"+ . Then you have a lot to see and learn. And one day, when you are ready, take it to go for the photos. There were those great russian Sirius-Telescopes in the 90", equipped even with a motor. Do they still exist?