Part 7
At this point I began to reconsider what I wanted to do (primarily visual), what I wanted (more aperture than my other scopes) and where I would use it (mostly in the backyard, front driveway, or the sidewalk in front of my house). Finally, I got a grip on reality and carefully thought about the finances. Although I do some parttime work on the side, it would not pay enough to buy the Televue and would be somewhat stressed by the GPS. I also began to realize that despite all of the great advice and feedback offered on this forum, ultimately no telescope is perfect for all the things we want/hope it will do. It was time to ‘get a life’, make a decision, and enjoy whatever I purchased.
I also began to reconsider how my site would affect viewing. There are lampposts at each end of the street, but they do a good job of keeping the light focused downward. More obtrusive is my next-door neighbor’s lighting. He has an enclosed porch on the rear of the house, which is their TV room, and he keeps a light on in that room almost all night. He also has 4 (yes 4!) lights on the front of his house. One on each side of the front door and one on each corner. They usually stay on until 11 or 12 at night. This past summer he asked me to join him in asking the city to install a streetlight in front of our houses because someone had broken into his son’s car. Right. The only large bright object I want in front of my house is the moon and I’m not too thrilled with the intrusion of that orb most nights. I kindly explained to him that I’m an amateur astronomy and like vampires, we distain light. I encouraged him to install a motion sensor and made copies of the recent Sky and Telescope article on light pollution to help explain my position.
This summer new neighbors moved in across the street. This guy likes to keep three lights on in front of his house. A light on a lamppost, a light over his garage, and a light just below the gutter to bath his (and to some extent my) entire house in luminescence. I plan to talk to him after I receive my new telescope, to explain to him my dilemma and to invite him to come out and look through my telescope whenever I’m out with it. As an aside, I joined the Dark Sky Association last year and I’m planning on making a presentation to our city government this fall. Amateur astronomy is making me into an activist.
The bottom line is that these issues helped me in my decision. Ultimately, I realized that I wanted aperture, ease of the GOTO feature (don’t forget, I still have problems navigating the night sky), and portability. When I went back to consider my options, the LX90, which is about 18 pounds and $500 lighter than the 8” LX200 GPS started to look attractive.
At this point I began to reconsider what I wanted to do (primarily visual), what I wanted (more aperture than my other scopes) and where I would use it (mostly in the backyard, front driveway, or the sidewalk in front of my house). Finally, I got a grip on reality and carefully thought about the finances. Although I do some parttime work on the side, it would not pay enough to buy the Televue and would be somewhat stressed by the GPS. I also began to realize that despite all of the great advice and feedback offered on this forum, ultimately no telescope is perfect for all the things we want/hope it will do. It was time to ‘get a life’, make a decision, and enjoy whatever I purchased.
I also began to reconsider how my site would affect viewing. There are lampposts at each end of the street, but they do a good job of keeping the light focused downward. More obtrusive is my next-door neighbor’s lighting. He has an enclosed porch on the rear of the house, which is their TV room, and he keeps a light on in that room almost all night. He also has 4 (yes 4!) lights on the front of his house. One on each side of the front door and one on each corner. They usually stay on until 11 or 12 at night. This past summer he asked me to join him in asking the city to install a streetlight in front of our houses because someone had broken into his son’s car. Right. The only large bright object I want in front of my house is the moon and I’m not too thrilled with the intrusion of that orb most nights. I kindly explained to him that I’m an amateur astronomy and like vampires, we distain light. I encouraged him to install a motion sensor and made copies of the recent Sky and Telescope article on light pollution to help explain my position.
This summer new neighbors moved in across the street. This guy likes to keep three lights on in front of his house. A light on a lamppost, a light over his garage, and a light just below the gutter to bath his (and to some extent my) entire house in luminescence. I plan to talk to him after I receive my new telescope, to explain to him my dilemma and to invite him to come out and look through my telescope whenever I’m out with it. As an aside, I joined the Dark Sky Association last year and I’m planning on making a presentation to our city government this fall. Amateur astronomy is making me into an activist.
The bottom line is that these issues helped me in my decision. Ultimately, I realized that I wanted aperture, ease of the GOTO feature (don’t forget, I still have problems navigating the night sky), and portability. When I went back to consider my options, the LX90, which is about 18 pounds and $500 lighter than the 8” LX200 GPS started to look attractive.
