Posts Made By: Alan French

12.5" x (25.4mm/") x 6 = 1905mm

I am mostly a visual observer, and if I was picking from your suggestions, I'd quickly and easily go with the TEC140.

Clear skies, Alan

Mauricio Alvarez said:

Hi all,

I'm looking into purchasing some binoculars for viewing the sky. Any recommendations?

Basic questions...
1) How much do you want to spend?
2) Do you want a pair you can hand hold, or are you willing to put them on a mount?
3) If you want to hand hold them, what power can you hold for reasonably steady, agreeable views?

My choices for astronomy...
Swarovski 7x42 SLCs for a low power, wide field that often provides some context.
Canon 15x50 IS binoculars so I can hand hold a reasonably high power.
A Lafuma reclining chair for comfortable viewing, and occasional naps.

Clear skies, Alan

A nice 28" Starstructure makes a lot more sense to me.

Time will tell if any of these actually get made. If so, I'd certainly love to see one under dark skies.

Clear skies, Alan

Equipment addicts and amateur telescope makers see aberrations. Amateur astronomers see star clusters, galaxies, nebulae, planets, and other celestial wonders.

Clear skies, Alan

Obviously, many people think so and have spoken with their wallet. The real question is whether you like such fields and the need to look around. Only you can decide if they are a good fit for you.

One real advantage of the larger apparent field is the ability to see the same true field as a longer focal length eyepiece at a higher power. Added magnification benefits many deep sky objects, and the wider true field allows "framing" more objects.

Clear skies, Alan

Buy one telescope, three or four good eyepieces, a couple of filters, and a good atlas. If necessary spread your purchases out over time. Now take them out on every clear night and enjoy and learn the night sky. Don't even think about buying more equipment. Stay away from equipment discussions and say "I don't need the latest and greatest - I need to spend time behind the eyepiece learning to see what my telescope can show me, and enjoying the beauty of the heavens."

It's not the initial investment that makes the hobby expensive, it's the unending chase after something better. If you want better views, a trip to darker or steadier skies is probably better than a new telescope.

Clear skies, Alan (who would have done well to have followed this advice, but is getting better!)

Jim Wayda said:

Has anyone air-traveled with a small refractor like a TV85 or an Astro-Physics Traveler, or a scope of like size that is transported as "carry-on" baggage? If so, what did you experience from the TSA? Did they scrutinize and paw the scope? Did they deny the scope as a carry-on? I need to know what to expect before I travel.

Thanks,

-jim

Jim,

We just returned from the Winter Star Party, and took Sue's AP 130 GT on the trip. It was broken down into its three parts and in a legal ScopeGuard carry-on. In Albany, NY, they opened the case and ran some of their swabs around the outside. They did not handle any of the scope parts. In Key West they did not look at the scope at all.

I always say "Hi" and mention it is a telescope when I place it on the conveyor.

Sue had the eyepieces, star diagonal, filters, and binoculars in another carry-on. Since it likely showed up as a jumble on the x-ray, they did look at these more carefully. They were careful with everything.

Although we were careful to check all the rules we did have a problem with the second carry-on flying out of Charlotte. Apparently PSA Airlines, which operates the US Airways Express from Charlotte to Albany, bans wheeled carry-ons. Although this piece of luggage was smaller than the ScopeGuard case, she had to gate check it. She removed the optics first and carried them onto the plane. (Our flight to Charlotte was on a larger plane not operated by PSA Airlines.)

There is always a chance a plane will run out of space in the overhead and you'll have to gate check bags. We made sure we were at the head of our zone's boarding, and had a stuff sack for the lens in case things didn't work out. The new rules of one carry-on and one personal item do seem to have made it less likely not to find a space in the overhead. On one full flight they did ask for volunteers to gate check items. Quite a few people took them up on this.

I'm going to look into the PSA Airlines rule. It should certainly be mentioned on the US Airways or PSA Airlines web site if they enforce it (I have not found it mentioned anywhere). The plan for next year is to avoid PSA Airlines flights, if possible, and pack the optics in a smaller case that can be removed if necessary. We could also use a non-wheeled carry-on.

Clear skies, Alan

At the moment it is still vaporware. Time will tell if someone actually orders one. If Orion does make a 50", I sure hope some ambitious soul will bring it to a convention and folks will get to see it.

Me, I'm holding out for a 72".

In reality, I think something in the 25" to 30" range makes a lot more sense. The 28" StarStructure is certainly quite manageable and provides fine views. I note the eyepiece height of the Orion 50" is about 16 feet at the zenith. I don't think I'd want to climb a 20 foot step ladder in the dark.

Clear skies, Alan

Someday folks might understand there is a difference between weather and climate, and that global warming does not mean some places will not be colder or snowier than usual from time to time.

Clear skies, Alan