Posts Made By: Doug Rhodes

Hi all,

Based on me lurking here, I decided to purchase an Orion Skyquest XT8 Classic telescope for my son's Xmas present (and secretly for me!). I ordered a Telrad to go with it and the book "Turn Left at Orion".

I intend to spend many a (cold) night with him exploring the skies here in NW NJ.

Please re-assure me that I made the right decision.

BTW, we just joined the local astronomy club.

I have the latest issues of both "Sky and Telescope" and "Astronomy" magazines. I was wondering which one is preferred here and why?

I think I like "Astronomy" better but I'm not sure why.

If you could only get one, which one?

TIA.

Hi all,

Maybe I should post this on one of the other forums, but these are newbie questions.

What's the basic difference between using a CCD camera versus a digital camera such as the Canon EOS 20Da? Overall, if I spend that much for a camera, I'd like to use it for other things as well. Does the CCD take better shots because of the cooling? Or, are there other differences?

Also, why are most shots taken with refractors? Is the high f/ number better? I would have thought reflectors are better because of their higher light gathering capabilities. Are refractors easier to focus?

TIA.

My son and I had two nights of viewing with our XT8. Here's our impressions.

First night (Tuesday) was cloudy until 10 PM and cleared up for the most part. We viewed the Orion nebula and was pretty impressed by what we saw. No color but, the shape was clearly visible. We viewed Mars but were pretty disappointed. Basically an orange/red disk. No moons were seen. Can you see any moons of Mars in an 8 inch scope? Tried to find the Clown Nebula but couldn't. Is it possible to spot with our scope? Also, viewed the Pleiades successfully. We did learn a few new constellations (Taurus, Pegasus, and Gemini). We called it a night around midnight.

Tonight, the clouds were worse than Tuesday but we were determined to try. It was around 8:30 PM. We viewed the Andromeda Galaxy. Very impressive. No color but could definitely see the shape. Looked at Mars again. Not much different than Tuesday night. Tried to see the Horsehead Nebula. I know it right under (I know that's relative!) the left most star in Orion's belt but we couldn't see it. I know it's a magnitude 11 body but, is it visible in an 8 inch telescope?

We're looking forward to seeing the Moon and Saturn shortly.

Are there any other objects to view that show up nicely in an 8 inch telescope that are easy to find in the next week or two?

Happy hunting.

Well, my son and I had a very quick viewing of the moon and Mars last night. (The clouds don't seem to want to give up in NJ.) But, from the brief viewing we had, we noticed we needed more magnification to view the moon's craters and Mars up close. We have the eyepieces that came with the scope which are 25mm (48x) and 10mm (120x).

So, if we want more magnification, which eyepieces would you suggest? Should we go for a Barlow? Or, should we get a 4mm (300x) or 5mm (240x) eyepiece? I know the rule of thumb for maximum magnification is about 50x or 60x per inch under the best seeing conditions so I don't want to go too high, do I?

Does a quality Barlow give the same image as an equivalent eyepiece?

On the other extreme, I could see getting a really low power eyepiece for a larger field of view for galaxies and nebula. Perhaps, a 2" one? Any suggestions on this?

I know Televue seem to make the best. But, will I notice the difference in my scope?

Please suggest brands, types, etc.

Thanks.

Doug

Hi all,

Is it possible to get decent results of the moon and planets using a Dob without tracking and a webcam? Is there software out there to re-align the moving images and then stack them?

TIA.

Doug
Orion XT8

I've been trying to download registax from: registax.astronomy.net but something seems to be wrong. Is this the right link?

Doug

I was looking forward to stargazing tonight. It's the first night in quite a while that's actually clear. It fact, from my quick look outside, I'd say it's the best since the purchase of our Orion XT8. Too bad it's 21° F with a wind chill of 10° F! :C

Murphy's Law rules again.

Well, I admit I'm more confused now than ever. I think the majority is for S&T with Astronomy a close second.

My membership in the local club (NJAA) is due back soon. I think they offer discounts to mags. Maybe I'll wait until then and see how much the discount is. Then, I can get both.

Thanks.

Hugh Peck said:

Like Ivan, I also prefer S&T. One reason is their reviews seem more realistic. Also, it seems to be more for people who have more interest in the "hows and whys" of astronomy. Astronomy magazine, on the other hand seems to be for those who aren't as interested in getting into a lot of scientific detail but rather want a decent understanding of what's going on. For a true beginner, I like Nightsky, which really is a good mag for beginners. It would have been nice if it had been published when I was getting started. It would have saved me a lot of frustration. At least that the way it all appears to me. If I could afford it I would get both.

Hugh

Hugh,

I checked out the Nightsky web site and viewed a few sample articles. It really does look good for a beginner. Just what I need. Oh man, now I gotta get 3 mags!