Astronomy Who's Into It ?

[AzMandella]

I'm sitting here in the living room playing with my new Celestron CPC Delux HD 9.25 Scope . Picked it up earlier this week after trading in my Celestron CPC Delux HD 8.00 . Just waiting for some clear skies and a free weekend . I have two great places to view from . Here is a link to the TAAA( Tucson Amateur Association ) Dark sky site . This is 1-1/2 hour from my home . I also am 3hrs from the Cosmic Campground in New Mexico . It is one of only 14 certified IDA Sanctuaries in the world.
Here is a link to the TAAA dark sky site and the Cosmic Campground .

Cosmic Campground | Glenwood, NM 88039

The Cosmic Campground is 12 miles north of Glenwood and 25 miles south of Reserve. A sign on Hwy 180 points to its access road. It is on Gila National Forest land, easily accessed via a gravel road, one mile off of Hwy 180. The site has one of the darkest natural night skies on earth. The...

www.newmexico.org

 

[AzMandella]

I forgot to insert pic of scope .

 

[5150]

Baller telescope! Do you image any? I have several scopes but they're all set up for astrophotography. Can't do much visual in my Bortle 7 sky.

 

[DirtyWhiteDog]

Here in Vegas, I enjoy the 7 stars in the night sky.

 

[Ultra...Good]

Well, back in college they told me I was taking up space.

Seriously though, yes on all levels, very cool. What can be seen with just a good set of binoculars is a good start.

Showing someone Jupiter and how fast the moons move, our moon, aurora bourielas, persiod meteor showers etc.

 

[AzMandella]

Baller telescope! Do you image any? I have several scopes but they're all set up for astrophotography. Can't do much visual in my Bortle 7 sky. View attachment 1480055

Not yet . All visual . In Tucson out of my back yard I can still see tons of galaxies, Nebulas, ETC . Is the Orion Newtonian a 6" or 8" ? I actually started Astonomy when I was in the 3rd grade . One of my fathers oldest friends started out as an apprentice machinist for Steward Observatory on the UofA . By the time he passed a few years ago he would travel the world tuning up the big Observatory scopes . He gave me a book on making your own scope . We made a small 4" newtonian . I sort of lost interest as I got older with other interests . Then about 25yrs ago a friend had a cheap 4" Newtonian he was getting rid of so I played with it for a year or so . I then bought an Orion 8" Newtonian like the one in your pic . After two or three years of that I bought a Celestron CPC 11" . Got tired of Luging it around and traded it in for a new CPC Delux HD 8" . And now back up to a 9-1/4" . But yes I intend to get into Astrophotagraphy .

 

[stephenkatsea]

Astronomy - Celestial Navigation. Some little known worthless trivia. Celestial navigation does involve astronomical
bodies, but it doesn’t really delve into astronomy. Typically, celestial sights are taken at dawn and dusk, when only the brightest stars and planets are visible. A clear, unobstructed horizon is necessary for the operation of a sextant, when viewing celestial bodies (taking celestial shots).

 

[5150]

Great back story! My Orion is a 6", it's the out reach unit for the neighborhood, it's awesome for the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn, it's a light bucket! It's unfortunate that Orion, Meade and Coronado have gone belly up, largely in part because Celestron is simply rocking it. High Point Scientific recently acquired their collective inventory and is selling it at deep discounts. Astrophotography is a rabbit hole but, once you get your first stacked and processed image, it's a drug.

What mount/tripod do you use for that beast?
Are you a Cloudy Nights forum member?

Attached image is my humble attempt of the Cygnus Loop (Veil Nebula) from Bortle 7 sky with an AstroTech 72, Modified Cannon DSLR, L-eNhance filter.

 

[jetboatperformance]

The mere thought when I look out there almost frightens me to think about how big or how small we really are

 

[5150]

The mere thought when I look out there almost frightens me to think about how big or how small we really are

I get that same vibe!

 

[76sanger]

Astronomy is freaking awesome! It literally can make your mind melt if you study and read how big the universe is. I wish I was smart enough to know the math behind it as well. I miss my scope! It brings it alive that much more!

 

[rivermobster]

The mere thought when I look out there almost frightens me to think about how big or how small we really are

Right?

How can it Possibly be Endless out there??? It's impossible to comprehend.

 

[DarkHorseRacing]

I tried to get into astronomy. I didn't like staying up all night to see stuff so since I wanted to get my moneys worth on the telescope, I just looked for women during the day. Didn't have much luck with that so I gave up completely. Thank god for the morning threads.

Now I just use the Night Sky app to scratch that astronomy itch since I live in the mountains now and way too many trees to see anything. I can't even watch SpaceX launches properly.

 

[BHC Vic]

 

[Ultra...Good]

The mere thought when I look out there almost frightens me to think about how big or how small we really are

What's out there? Does it just end? How many different directions it goes and on and on.

Took an astronomy lab class and it was mostly going out at night to observe. 1 night it was the space station and as it went overhead a comet like tail started to swirl behind. Teacher craps a brick, almost in tears. No idea what it was.

Come back for the next class, and it turns out that they were just emptying the crapper tank.

 

[AzMandella]

Great back story! My Orion is a 6", it's the out reach unit for the neighborhood, it's awesome for the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn, it's a light bucket! It's unfortunate that Orion, Meade and Coronado have gone belly up, largely in part because Celestron is simply rocking it. High Point Scientific recently acquired their collective inventory and is selling it at deep discounts. Astrophotography is a rabbit hole but, once you get your first stacked and processed image, it's a drug.

What mount/tripod do you use for that beast?
Are you a Cloudy Nights forum member?

Attached image is my humble attempt of the Cygnus Loop (Veil Nebula) from Bortle 7 sky with an AstroTech 72, Modified Cannon DSLR, L-eNhance filter.

View attachment 1480173

I have the Celestron Pro Wedge for my setup . When you are imaging are you off axis guiding or do you have a guide scope . Are you using a CCD or a DSLR. I plan to start out off axis guiding with a DSLR . I am also running TheSky X Serious Astronamer on my laptop and can do auto guiding . I have a Canon 5D MkIII full frame and a new Canon R6 Mirrorless Fullframe camera bodies . I also have a plethora of L series lenses for both bodies from 24MM to 200MM . I going to use those for Milky Way shots .

 

[coolchange]

When we go to the desert, we keep track of things like meteor showers, satellite, spotting, planet alignment, etc.
Been a long time since I’ve been able to see the Milky Way. Was probably out on the water off Santa Cruz.
Had one of those little Celestron red telescopes that sits in a bowl. Gave it to the grandkids don’t think they ever use it.
I can use a sextant. Just because.
I went to space camp with my kid in Idlewild. Went in their little observatory. Saw, I think it was a nova. Amazing to think that what I’m looking at could’ve burned out millions of years ago.
When I was a kid, one of the neighbor kids that was in college made his own telescope. He had to stand on a ladder to look through it. He had it out one day and I went over when I was about 10. He let me look through it in the middle of the day at the moon. Amazed me as a kid that I could see craters on the moon in the middle of the day. He went on to become an astrophysicist or some such thing. Discovered an asteroid or something floating around outside of Pluto From the observatory in Hawaii. Laird Thompson My brother has a small scope with a clock on it. Most fun is camping with kids and getting them interested.

 

[Maw]

My older Celestron sits in the corner of the Havasu living room where it's convenient to pull outside. My wife says it's an eyesore, as if her stupid little robot vacuum isn't.

 

[AzMandella]

My older Celestron sits in the corner of the Havasu living room where it's convenient to pull outside. My wife says it's an eyesore, as if her stupid little robot vacuum isn't.

View attachment 1480740

Hah my wife has the same Roomba . On the APP she named it " MY BITCH" .

 

[Desert Whaler]

Sitting in a college class once . . .
Door opens, the student asks, 'is this astronomy class' ?. . . kid in the room replies, "They're on the roof".

 

[Activated]

My older Celestron sits in the corner of the Havasu living room where it's convenient to pull outside. My wife says it's an eyesore, as if her stupid little robot vacuum isn't.

We bought our daughter a Roomba a couple years ago for Christmas. Its name is Joe sucks.

 

[AzMandella]

My wife named her Roomba on her app "My Bitch"

 

[AzMandella]

I have got my starter rig set up to start learning Astrophotography . I bought an I Optron HEM 15 mount , ZWO ASI120 guide camera with a Williams Optics 32MMM Guide Scope . All the Photography gear I already had . Learning Astophotagraph Tool and PHD2 guiding software . It's a learning curve but I am getting it .

 

[Orange Juice]

When I can afford a hot rod space craft. Until then, I can see the moon and the sun very clearly

 

[Nanu/Nanu]

I have a daughter who has expressed interest in this. Any suggestions on a good beginning setup?

 

[AzMandella]

I have a daughter who has expressed interest in this. Any suggestions on a good beginning setup?

What is your budget ? $ 500 , $ 1000.00 ETC . Do you have any camera equipment already ?

 

[TPC]

Is there a free satellite tracker app that works good?

 

[AzMandella]

Is there a free satellite tracker app that works good?

I don't know but there is a free download called Stelarium that when you have it open looking at the sky and objects if a satellite goes by it shows it . Otherwise just google satellite tracker . I'm sure something will pop up.

 

[AzMandella]

I have a daughter who has expressed interest in this. Any suggestions on a good beginning setup?

Here watch this .

 

[Nanu/Nanu]

What is your budget ? $ 500 , $ 1000.00 ETC . Do you have any camera equipment already ?

I dont have anything set up for this. She is going to be 9. So i was thinking something along the lines of $200 max. If she really gets into it I'll go higher from that but for cutting teeth, i dont want to get to carried away.

Thanks for the video, ill take a watch. I was doing a bunch of reading about the styles of scopes and the different experiences like photography or just looking. I didn't realize how much there is to consider.

 

[AzMandella]

I dont have anything set up for this. She is going to be 9. So i was thinking something along the lines of $200 max. If she really gets into it I'll go higher from that but for cutting teeth, i dont want to get to carried away.

Thanks for the video, ill take a watch. I was doing a bunch of reading about the styles of scopes and the different experiences like photography or just looking. I didn't realize how much there is to consider.

If you just want to start doing visual I would go with a refractor . Something like this ,

StarSense Explorer LT 80AZ | Celestron

Celestron has reinvented the manual telescope with StarSense Explorer—the first telescope that uses your smartphone to analyze the night sky and calculate its position in real time. StarSense Explorer is ideal for beginners thanks to the app’s user-friendly interface and detailed tutorials. It’s...

www.celestron.com

 

[TPC]

 

[5150]

I have the Celestron Pro Wedge for my setup . When you are imaging are you off axis guiding or do you have a guide scope . Are you using a CCD or a DSLR. I plan to start out off axis guiding with a DSLR . I am also running TheSky X Serious Astronamer on my laptop and can do auto guiding . I have a Canon 5D MkIII full frame and a new Canon R6 Mirrorless Fullframe camera bodies . I also have a plethora of L series lenses for both bodies from 24MM to 200MM . I going to use those for Milky Way shots .

My mount (Sky Watcher Gti) tracks very well so I don't have to guide, plus my shots are 60 seconds or less. I use two Canon DSLR's, one has been modified (IR filter removed), the other is unmodified. Both of your cameras are excellent choices!

 

[AzMandella]

Yeah I really could use just the iOptron HEM 15 by itself especially since it has the iPolar camera built in . But the guidescope and camera was only $ 300.00 . I will also use the camera on the CPC 9.25 with an off axis guider . Also thinking of sending the 5D MkIII in to have the IR Filter removed and a Full Spectrum filter installed .

 

[5150]

I have a daughter who has expressed interest in this. Any suggestions on a good beginning setup?

Assuming that she is just interested in visual observations (not imaging), I would highly recommend a 6 or 8 inch Dobsonian style telescope. They are cheap and easy to use, plenty of used ones on Facebook Marketplace. Just about any telescope works great on the moon but if you look at planets, big aperture is key. Keep in mind that everything up there is moving so you must continually adjust the telescope to keep up with objects. With a bigger aperture, the object will stay in view a bit longer. With a Dobsonian, your adjustments are simply push and pull. Most refractors are set up on a mount that has Alt/Az knobs that have to be cranked, that's a pain in the ass, very frustrating even for an adult.

Cheap doesn't mean low quality with a Dobsonian, they are excellent pieces of equipment.

 

[5150]

Yeah I really could use just the iOptron HEM 15 by itself especially since it has the iPolar camera built in . But the guidescope and camera was only $ 300.00 . I will also use the camera on the CPC 9.25 with an off axis guider . Also thinking of sending the 5D MkIII in to have the IR Filter removed and a Full Spectrum filter installed .

If I were going to guide, I would try the off axis, seems much simpler to me. Good idea on the conversion however, I will say that my unmodified Canon with a clip in
L-enhance filter is just about as good as the modified version. Can't wait to see some of your pictures!

 

[5150]

If you just want to start doing visual I would go with a refractor . Something like this ,

StarSense Explorer LT 80AZ | Celestron

Celestron has reinvented the manual telescope with StarSense Explorer—the first telescope that uses your smartphone to analyze the night sky and calculate its position in real time. StarSense Explorer is ideal for beginners thanks to the app’s user-friendly interface and detailed tutorials. It’s...

www.celestron.com

Good recommendation, it's an Alt/Az style like the Dobsonian that I recommended.

 

[5150]

Is there a free satellite tracker app that works good?

Although it's not a "real time" visual tracker, I use Heavens Above for satellite predictions. I run the prediction chart, print it and take it outside, it's fun trying to see them all. A great feature of the App is you can select the magnitude of the satellites that you want to see. I live in heavy light pollution so I generally stick with magnitude 3.5. You can also include/exclude Starlinks. Another feature is you can click on the "time" and the app will take you to a sky map that will show you the flyby.

 

[AzMandella]

Good recommendation, it's an Alt/Az style like the Dobsonian that I recommended.

Yeah I would hav recomended a dob or newtonian on a EQ mount but for her age and his inexperience I thought leaving out collimating problems . Don't have to worry about that with a refractor .

 

[AzMandella]

If I were going to guide, I would try the off axis, seems much simpler to me. Good idea on the conversion however, I will say that my unmodified Canon with a clip in
L-enhance filter is just about as good as the modified version. Can't wait to see some of your pictures!

If I ever get any clear nights . Since I got the CPC 9.25 there has not been a clear night yet in 3 or 4 weeks .