Amateur Astronomy

[NuWaveRx]

And now for something completely different....


I was wondering if anyone here has experience with amateur astronomy and/or purchasing telescopes. I've wanted to get a decent telescope for years now (ok--time to get "so I can see Uranus" jokes out of the way now...). With a little extra money I've saved I may be able to swing this for xmas. A frind of mine at our local science center recommends a dobsonian telescope, but they are quite large and I'll have to drive out of the city to get some decent views. I'd like to see most planetary bodies (insert joke here) as well as some stellar phenoms. I'm also talking to a professor of astronomy that runs the local star club in town about this. But with all the brain power on NWO I thought someone else might have an opinion on what to get. looking at $1k-$2k here.
Thank you[:)]

[MARV]

It's funny you should mention this, NuWave. I recently inherited an old telescope from the 1950's in pretty much great condition. If only I knew what to do with it! I am quite eager to learn how to use it as astronomy has always been one of those hobbies "I'd eventually get around to". I remember 2nu was a major enthusiast. I was always kinda hoping he'd give me a little advice about how to use it.

It's just standing in my living room. I understand the winter months are better for stargazing as the skies are much clearer.

<a href="http://marvymarv.multiply.com/">[i]You on the guestlist?[/i]</a>

[Grunch]

I'd highly recommend Astronomy, the monthly magazine. It is great reading, down to earth for amateurs as well as a good read for professionals. Lots and lots of info on telescopes, as well as purchasing, comparisons, how to use, and of course they always detail celestial happenings for the given month, including where in the sky to look, dates and times, etc....one of the finest and facinating mags ever if you did astronomy. I managed to take any and every course offered in college, some advanced, and could never get enough of the overwhelming wonder of space and the universe.

You may also want to consider going to a local planetariumm, if this is possible. You'll find the people that staff these usually have good insight into scopes and might point you in the right direction based on your dollar range and intent of use.

[n/a5]

Light pollution is frustrating around big cities leaving only the planets and the brightest stars visible. If you live near a big city don't buy nothing too expensive as you will only be limited as to what you can see.

[NuWaveRx]

Thanks guys.

Grunch, I will check out Astronomy

Nero, I agree about light pollution--luckily about a 30 minute drive from my house and I am in the middle of the woods--so I'm hopeful in getting to see some stellar stuff (pun intended)

[UniversalRadio]

This is why I like guys much younger or older than me--because the guys my age are geeks. If you looked through bras instead of telescopes, you might get laid. [}:)][:D] I may not be much to look at, but all cats are gray in the dark, baby! (I'm not ugly I'm just not a supermodel. That is me in my profile pic)

Anyway is a telescope really worth the money? Sorry I don;t mean to be the Devil's Advocacite,---------or do I?[}:)][:p]

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v165/Strabley/colorbar_e0.gif" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket">

[tiger_mn]

[quote][i]Originally posted by UniversalRadio[/i]
Anyway is a telescope really worth the money? Sorry I don;t mean to be the Devil's Advocacite,---------or do I?[}:)][:p]
[/quote]

It's any wonder you aren't getting any.

[i_like_lectric_motors]

[quote][i]Originally posted by UniversalRadio[/i]
<br>This is why I like guys much younger or older than me--because the guys my age are geeks. If you looked through bras instead of telescopes, you might get laid. [}:)][:D] I may not be much to look at, but all cats are gray in the dark, baby! (I'm not ugly I'm just not a supermodel. That is me in my profile pic)

Anyway is a telescope really worth the money? Sorry I don;t mean to be the Devil's Advocacite,---------or do I?[}:)][:p]

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v165/Strabley/colorbar_e0.gif" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket">
[/quote]



Hey now, that just ain't fair. We're not all like that. I am a proud hater of Star Wars, have only seen one episode of Star Trek in my entire life, haven't read a comic book since I was 10 years old, have never seen Transformers, X-Men or Blade Runner, watch none of the "adult" cartoons with the exception of South Park (and only occasionally), and don't own a telescope. I have never even tuned to h the Sci-Fi channel unless it's to catch an old episode of The Twilight Zone. The only thing I can think of that's even remotely geeky about me is my like of a handful of They Might Be Giants songs. Keep the faith - we're out there. [:D][8D]

Edit: I have no idea why my post is underlined and links to Photobucket. [?][?]

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Results:
Too much damage done. Go away. [78%] 63 votes
Yah! Kimiiii is back! Hip hip hooray! [22%] 18 votes

[coop41]

[quote][i]Originally posted by i_like_lectric_motors[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by UniversalRadio[/i]
<br>This is why I like guys much younger or older than me--because the guys my age are geeks. If you looked through bras instead of telescopes, you might get laid. [}:)][:D] I may not be much to look at, but all cats are gray in the dark, baby! (I'm not ugly I'm just not a supermodel. That is me in my profile pic)

Anyway is a telescope really worth the money? Sorry I don;t mean to be the Devil's Advocacite,---------or do I?[}:)][:p]

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v165/Strabley/colorbar_e0.gif" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket">
[/quote]



Hey now, that just ain't fair. We're not all like that. I am a proud hater of Star Wars, have only seen one episode of Star Trek in my entire life, haven't read a comic book since I was 10 years old, have never seen Transformers, X-Men or Blade Runner, watch none of the "adult" cartoons with the exception of South Park (and only occasionally), and don't own a telescope. I have never even tuned to h the Sci-Fi channel unless it's to catch an old episode of The Twilight Zone. The only thing I can think of that's even remotely geeky about me is my like of a handful of They Might Be Giants songs. Keep the faith - we're out there. [:D][8D]

Edit: I have no idea why my post is underlined and links to Photobucket. [?][?]




[/quote]

How true, I fit the same description..... Except you have one more episode of Star Trek than me. Besides, if you were a geek, you'd know why you linked to photobucket!


edit: Hey, now my post is linked to photobucket!!!!! Yikes!

[NuWaveRx]

[quote][i]Originally posted by UniversalRadio[/i]
<br>This is why I like guys much younger or older than me--because the guys my age are geeks. If you looked through bras instead of telescopes, you might get laid. [}:)][:D] I may not be much to look at, but all cats are gray in the dark, baby! (I'm not ugly I'm just not a supermodel. That is me in my profile pic)

Anyway is a telescope really worth the money? Sorry I don;t mean to be the Devil's Advocacite,---------or do I?[}:)][:p]

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v165/Strabley/colorbar_e0.gif" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket">
[/quote]

A perfect example of why I'm glad I've been out of the dating game for 12 years now
Fortunately my wife digs geeks (well this one at least..) [:p]

[plagiarism]

motors', coop's, and NuWaveRx's posts are long links to photobucket because Universal Radio's sig file somehow omitted the </a> HTML tag.

I'm a bit of an astronomy geek. I even bought the lastest copy of Discover magazine because the cover article was about the fate of Pluto and the other dwarf planets. I never had a desire to own a telescope though, because you can't see much because of the light pollution problem. A telescope would become just another expensive piece of clutter.

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I got a fever, and the only prescription is more Rickenbacker.

[KYYX4ever]

Astronomy is so cool! So much out there to look at. I would rather go to a planetarium to look out of one of their super-duper scopes, though. Light pollution can be pretty obstructive, altho it depends where you live. The West and the Southwest, in general, offer darker skies.

[birdmadgirl]

Add me to the astronomy fans!

When I was in grade school, I carried around star charts and had a little telescope. I wanted to be an astronaut when I grew up.

I grew up (some) and realized that with my crappy math grades, I probably didn't have much of a chance of getting to do anything scientific. So, I took astronomy in high school and college, which was a lot of fun and left me with enough info to have more than a passing interest in the subject.

The tattoo on my left ankle is of a solar system, just as a reminder of the little geeky girl with the star charts.

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h301/xxbirdmadgirlxx/big-hand-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

[Grunch]

The McDonald Observatory in the Davis Mountains in West Texas is absolutely amazing, and they show you incredible stellar objects through several of their scopes. They also have an annual amateur astronomer gig every late spring I believe, where you go out into the middle of nowhere, and your vehicles are fitted even with covers to create only red light, and tons of scopes are trained on objects for viewing by anyone. It's hugely popular with families and space buffs. All the hotels, the very few there are close by, are all booked way in advance. Check out the McDonald Observatory website on line for incredible stuff, they've some of the world's larget telescopes and fascinating info/fact/pics, etc...it is part of the University of Texas. Also, many universities with any decent astronomy programs usually offer to the public several viewing nights each year for celestial objects. Obviously, their scopes are mucho expensive, many computer controlled, and are not affected by the atmospheric conditions that cause stars to appear to twinkle to us, or other objects to appear shaky in a regular telescope. The first time I saw clear images of Jupiter, and beautiful detailed rings for Saturn, and just to know it was real at that moment versus a picture was pretty amazing. The shear concept of space itself, and the universe, is just mind boggling. When you consider our galaxy alone has over 200 billion stars, with the closest one to us being 24 trillion miles away, all just within our galaxy, that is hard to fathom. And there are billions and billions of galaxies, infintely ones we don't even know exist at this point with the technology we have at this time. With the night sky and fall/winter, look up at Orion, and note the one corner star appearing reddish. It is Betelgeuse,a red giant, about a thousand times bigger than our own sun, and eventually it will explode. It is a red giant as opposed to a white dwarf, among other things. And some of these constellations, you see the stars, and they appear about the same distance to the naked eye, but one may be 300 light years further away than another. And thousands of light years across from it, the magnitudes are just beyond belief.

I could go on all night.......I love astronomy. But I'll end with a classic Steven Wright quote - "the universe keeps expanding, so that should ease the traffic"

[UniversalRadio]

[quote][i]Originally posted by plagiarism[/i]
<br>motors', coop's, and NuWaveRx's posts are long links to photobucket because Universal Radio's sig file somehow omitted the </a> HTML tag.



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[/quote]Sorry about that. I hope you all know, especially you Tiger, that I was just kidding.[:(][:o)]