Posts Made By: Gary Smith

I'm 40 and haven't had a telescope since I was 11 and I haven't viewed since then. I have been reaquainting myself with astronomy researching different telescope types with goal of purchasing a scope in the $5k range.

I had a viewing opportunity last night from a very gracious owner of a 24" Starmaster w/ startracker, he had 25+ yrs astronomy experience and one of his observing friends attending had over 30 yrs in the hobby.
These experienced gents commented about the favorable viewing conditons. I wanted to see a scope of this caliber because there are so many people that aspire to own these big aperture scopes. We started the evening looking at Mars, when you total the value of the scope, EP's, and accessories its $15k; I approached the EP (400x) with excitement I looked and there was Mars and the two moons and here is where the disappointment begins, the polar cap was visible with color variations through the planet but it was a flat disc and the two moons were dimly lit nondescript starlike specs. We moved onto Uranus and Neptune and one of the moons Titania? was visible along with other moons; their was oohs from the guy with 30+ yrs commented some of these moons he had never seen and this was a night he would never forget. I began to feel guilty here was a man that had committed 30 yrs to a hobby and was see things for the first time and I hadn't looked in a telescope in almost as many years and I was experiencing quite a let down. I asked if we could look at Andromeda, I remember the $$$$31mm Nagler was used very, very fine optics- the core looked like a snowball that hit a picture window frosted slightly in a circular pattern, the owner said if the skys were truly dark the dust trails would be visible. Back to Mars I asked to see it at high magnification it brought up to just over 1200x, it was bigger, but not in my face. We concluded with the moon that was spectacular!!

When I take a family photo when the picture is developed I don't expect to just see the whites of their eyes I expect: color, background, three dimensionalty etc. When people look at astrophotos they see these elements, get excited about the hobby, run out buy a telescope only to be disappointed I was just amazed with this level of fine equipment and the results. I hope to go out again with the Starmaster setup again in the future in a really dark favorable location, but unless I experience some wows I think my $5k will be going elsewhere.
I purposely omitted the location because I didn't discuss my comments with the people present last night - I don't want to hurt anyone and if any of the individuals present last night reads this I intend no disrespect nor is my intention to disparage the equipment used or amateur astronomy. I would appreciate any positive comments or insights that any one might have as I have not closed the door on pursuing astronomy as a hobby. Thankyou in advance for comments!

I'm 40 and haven't had a telescope since I was 11 and I haven't viewed since then. I have been reaquainting myself with astronomy researching different telescope types with goal of purchasing a scope in the $5k range.

I had a viewing opportunity last night from a very gracious owner of a 24" Starmaster w/ startracker, he had 25+ yrs astronomy experience and one of his observing friends attending had over 30 yrs in the hobby.
These experienced gents commented about the favorable viewing conditons. I wanted to see a scope of this caliber because there are so many people that aspire to own these big aperture scopes. We started the evening looking at Mars, when you total the value of the scope, EP's, and accessories its $15k; I approached the EP (400x) with excitement I looked and there was Mars and the two moons and here is where the disappointment begins, the polar cap was visible with color variations through the planet but it was a flat disc and the two moons were dimly lit nondescript starlike specs. We moved onto Uranus and Neptune and one of the moons Titania? was visible along with other moons; their was oohs from the guy with 30+ yrs commented some of these moons he had never seen and this was a night he would never forget. I began to feel guilty here was a man that had committed 30 yrs to a hobby and was see things for the first time and I hadn't looked in a telescope in almost as many years and I was experiencing quite a let down. I asked if we could look at Andromeda, I remember the $$$$31mm Nagler was used very, very fine optics- the core looked like a snowball that hit a picture window frosted slightly in a circular pattern, the owner said if the skys were truly dark the dust trails would be visible. Back to Mars I asked to see it at high magnification it brought up to just over 1200x, it was bigger, but not in my face. We concluded with the moon that was spectacular!!

When I take a family photo when the picture is developed I don't expect to just see the whites of their eyes I expect: color, background, three dimensionalty etc. When people look at astrophotos they see these elements, get excited about the hobby, run out buy a telescope only to be disappointed I was just amazed with this level of fine equipment and the results. I hope to go out again with the Starmaster setup again in the future in a really dark favorable location, but unless I experience some wows I think my $5k will be going elsewhere.
I purposely omitted the location because I didn't discuss my comments with the people present last night - I don't want to hurt anyone and if any of the individuals present last night reads this I intend no disrespect nor is my intention to disparage the equipment used or amateur astronomy. I would appreciate any positive comments or insights that any one might have as I have not closed the door on pursuing astronomy as a hobby. Thankyou in advance for comments!

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!!!!

Gift Wrap is only $9.99 Caution arrive at your local starparty early, setup will take a while! A little humor for you guys. The link is below. Enjoy.

http://www.binoculars.com/detail.asp?PID=10228#prodOpenBox

Gary

I'm leaning strongly toward the lx200 UHTC GPS in either 12 or 14 inch and I would like to ask those of you who own or have experience with these scopes a couple of questions. Is there a concern (longterm - most things work when they're new) with the fact that nylon gears are used instead of metal, if so is there some aftermarket company that makes these? I'm just concerned (especially the 14") about the forces that are involved. Also, other than the Meade superwedge who makes a quality wedge and how much?

I'm aware that the 14" is a beast, but I see that that JMI makes a dolly so I thought I would leave the scope assembled and take it out of my garage (I have a climate controlled area in the garage) for viewing and I spoke to Meade customer service this week and they are discontinuing the 48" tripod in favor of a 36", that will make assembly a little easier. Anyone familiar with JMI dolly?

Just one other point I live in Atlanta and one of the guys I spoke with here said that he had seen numerous operational issues with lx200 electronics, they were all resolved but some had to be returned to Meade,I know these are shipped via freight lines and probably was due to the distance and rough handling. So have you owners etc., encountered these issues? Any other comments for or against the lx200 welcome - thats what makes a good debate!

I've been doing some reading on ccd cameras and I'm amazed at the stratospheric money that can be paid for these cameras I saw on the FLI site a camera using the Kodak Kaf-16801e chip and the price was over $40,000, this makes cutting edge professional digital cameras for conventional photography costs seem cheap. So here are my questions. Is the price due in part to a lack of economies of scale (i.e the realitively few people who purchase)? Are individuals who purchase these ultra $$$$$$ cameras selling there pictures and can they actually have a lucrative business? I'm asking because astrophotography for many objects isn't dynamic (for example the Orion Nebula) its beautiful, but she doesn't ever change her pose unlike a supermodel such Cindy Crawford many pictures none the same. I just thought how many times could someone sell a picture of andromeda you have the choice of b&w or color, absolutely beautiful, but the composition doesn't change. Most of you are doing this because you enjoy it I'm just curious about the ultra high end if these individuals are doing this for business reasons (selling their photos) or simply because they can afford the best that money can buy.

I've watched the classifieds for quite a period and its not scientific what I'm about to say, but I see especially in the refractor crowd people trading up from a 3" to 4" or 4" to 5" OR maybe someone owns a 4" and a 6" refractor. Does one or two inches actually make a big viewing difference? Is there really a huge performance difference between an APO and an achromat are the differences only most apparent to a veteran observer? Finally, I know two gentlemen one owns a 24" Starmaster, the other the 8" Astrophysics AP0 (thats correct the 8" AP) the AP owner said his scope does a great job on the planets and he had the opportunity to view through the Starmaster, which he said gave him the best views of the planets even surpassing his superb AP, does that surprise you? If not why do people drop that kind of money for an APO refractor when they could have so much more aperture for an equivalent or much less money? Thankyou for your comments.

Looking at the classifieds, I see an AP 152mm, an TMB 180mm and an RCOS 12" all of which have gone through recoats of the lenses and the mirror respectively. Is this a common, necessary practice on such high end scopes? If not, what are some of the possible causes for the necessity of these (I'm sure costly) procedures? Would these procedures make you wary of purchasing a scope that has been through such a process? :S

If I understand the exit pupil formula correctly it's the objective lens dia divided by magnification. So if I have a given optic with an obj. lens dia of 56mm and mag of 24x then the exit pupil is 2.33mm If my eyes are capable of dialating to 5mm does this mean my eyes are only receiving about 50% (2.33mm divided by 5mm) of the light they are capable of? Does this mean the image ( terrestial viewing) would be dim? Is this what causes the black that surrounds the visible image that you see in an eyepiece at times and as you move your head and eyes the position of the visible view and the black that surrounds it seems to move as well? I'm trying to understand the significance of exit pupil data and why mfgrs. provide it?

I have been considering a Solarmax ? and I am curious for those who own a solar scope or have done solar viewing if you get bored in short order since your subject matter is limited to one object, not unlike lunar viewing. I guess the upside for me is that like lunar viewing you actually get to see a great deal of detail. Are you also limited to the 50x/inch general rule that you encounter with a conventional refractor?