(meteorobs) OT: Telescopes

[Wes Stone]

Kim,

If you're the kind who likes to find objects by yourself, the Dob is the way 
to go. I've never been able to stomach computer-controlled telescopes. On 
the other hand, you also lose the automatic tracking, which means you'll 
have to keep pushing the scope to keep the object in the field of view. 
Astrophotography is also out. There are equatorial platforms available, but 
they cancel out the cost advantage of a Dob.

The portability is mainly whether your back can stand lifting two heavy 
pieces in and out of your truck bed and carrying them to their ultimate 
destinations. As others have noted, it should be easy to cushion the ride. 
Checking (and often adjusting) collimation is something that needs to be 
done after a trip, but that also means that the jarring doesn't do any 
permanent damage. Get a combination sight tube/Cheshire collimating eyepiece 
and learn to use it. Schmidt-Cassegrains like the NexStar 8, etc. also need 
collimation (in fact are very sensitive to miscollimation), but it's easier 
to do since only the secondary mirror usually needs to be adjusted. I've got 
a 10" Dob, and could probably handle a 12" except that I have a narrow 
hallway and doorway to negotiate.

As far as meteors, this would be a strictly casual pursuit with the Dob. 
You'll see more meteors when you glance up from the eyepiece than you will 
see in the eyepiece. But they're certainly a nice surprise when you see 
them. Satellites are another matter... You're not going to put a wide-angle 
converter on the Dob to get a wider field of view; generally these scopes 
are already f/4.5 to f/5. Telescopic meteor studies are probably optimally 
done with binoculars or small, wide-field telescopes. You want the Dob for 
what its large aperture can do on the deep sky (dark skies required for best 
results, of course) and planets.

Good luck.

--
Wes Stone
Chiloquin, OR
http://skytour.homestead.com


----- Original Message ----- 
From: <meteorsga at bellsouth.net>
To: <meteorobs at meteorobs.org>
Sent: Friday, March 23, 2007 6:12 AM
Subject: (meteorobs) OT: Telescopes


> It's OT time of year!
>
> I'm considering (strongly) buying my first decent telescope within the 
> next month.  I had some experience using the Celestron nexstar goto scopes 
> last year, which sort of lit the fire to own one myself.
>
> But a bit of looking around has shown me that I could get much better 
> aperture for far less money if I forget the computereized slewing 
> functions and go with a dobsonian mount.  Right now I'm considering a 
> Celestron 12" dobsonian.
>
> My concern is portability (among other things).  The thing is big.  Am I 
> going to be able to easily (and safely) load and carry such a beast out to 
> my observing site(s)?  Is it going to get jarred and unaligned riding back 
> there in the bed of the pickup?  Should I be looking at something else?
>
> Any and all responses would be appreciated in guiding me towards buying 
> the best scope.  My only caveat is I'm not willing to attempt to build 
> one...
>
> Oh, and to get us back on topic, I'll probably try my hand at telescopic 
> meteors...
>
> K. Youmans
>
>
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