I'll be going out as I said for some additional viewing before making any final decision. Comments on the Meade Lx200 GPS UHTC would be welcome I'm aware the OTA & mount weigh 125 lbs. Also I do have a pair Steiner 7x50 that are breathtaking on the Milky Way probably the wide angle. Mr. Young I enjoy flying in July of this year I got to set in the jump seat while flying in Gulfstream III now that was a wow for Orville and Wilbur!!!!
Astronomy Sages Thankyou for your replys!
Started by Gary S., 09/14/2003 02:32AM
Posted 09/14/2003 02:32AM
Opening Post
Posted 09/14/2003 12:59PM
#1
Gary: your proposed scope sounds like a real nice item. But please just stop a minute and think about this: it might be real fun to set up the first time. Or the second. Or the 8th. But what about the 25th time? I am not the originator of this statement: the best scope is the one that gets used the most. For me, the thought of getting 125 pounds of metal, electronics and glass out the door and onto the driveway is more than I would want to do at this point. For me it's a lot of running back and forth and up and down stairs and squeezing through narrow doors and maneuvering around tricky corners, and getting 125 pounds of scope plus eyepieces outside probably wouldn't happen very often. A C5 on a photo tripod is just about right; I do the 6 inch reflector on the eq mount when I am going to make a night of it. Maybe you're one of those fortunate people who have a secure garage to park your scope in so you can just wheel it out onto the driveway. Just a thought.
Posted 09/15/2003 01:04PM
#2
I think some additional viewing is certainly a good idea. Check out a variety of scopes of all types and sizes. Take some time doing this and try to forget those Hubble Images.
How one reacts to looking through a scope is dependent on expectations. If you have been looking at Hubble pictures then you will be disappointed. Besides the fact that Hubble is in space, uses a huge scope and long exposures, the reality is that all original Hubble images are Black and White. The color comes only because multiple images taken with different filters are stacked on top of one another.
Another factor to realize about the Hubble photos is that the colors are often just representations and are assigned to represent some particular frequency band which may well be outside the visable spectrum. Were you to look at something with a telescope powerful enough to see colors, they would be quite different than those Hubble photos.
Yeah, the Hubble images in black and white....
-----
If on the other hand, when you look at a faint nebula or galaxy you are amazed because you know that the photons hitting your eye have traveled maybe for many millions of years and have now entered the telescope and you are seeing them....
If that is your attitude, then probably using any scope will be a pleasure....
Take some time to look though a variety, consider the setup, that 125 lb OTA etc is unlikely to get used every clear night like a smaller scope might. When it takes 30 minutes or more (the last guy I helped setup a 12 inch LX-200 took about an hour) then most often the scope only comes out for special events.
Biggest is not always better, whats best is what gets used and what makes the observer grow.
jon
How one reacts to looking through a scope is dependent on expectations. If you have been looking at Hubble pictures then you will be disappointed. Besides the fact that Hubble is in space, uses a huge scope and long exposures, the reality is that all original Hubble images are Black and White. The color comes only because multiple images taken with different filters are stacked on top of one another.
Another factor to realize about the Hubble photos is that the colors are often just representations and are assigned to represent some particular frequency band which may well be outside the visable spectrum. Were you to look at something with a telescope powerful enough to see colors, they would be quite different than those Hubble photos.
Yeah, the Hubble images in black and white....
-----
If on the other hand, when you look at a faint nebula or galaxy you are amazed because you know that the photons hitting your eye have traveled maybe for many millions of years and have now entered the telescope and you are seeing them....
If that is your attitude, then probably using any scope will be a pleasure....
Take some time to look though a variety, consider the setup, that 125 lb OTA etc is unlikely to get used every clear night like a smaller scope might. When it takes 30 minutes or more (the last guy I helped setup a 12 inch LX-200 took about an hour) then most often the scope only comes out for special events.
Biggest is not always better, whats best is what gets used and what makes the observer grow.
jon
Funding Member
