Hello from Chelsfield!

[smuudge]

Hello, i seem to have a growing fascination with the stars, (went out on the closest full moon night earlier in the year, which was pretty impressive) and i am considering taking the plunge and getting myself a telescope.

i have a couple of questions really.

Firstly, light pollution! I live along Worlds End Lane and although street lighting is infrequent we still suffer with the orange glow from street lights and the horrific lighting from London and the valley below. Im curious as to how this will effect my viewing experience and what the limitations will be or that should be expected?

Secondly (and if the above is a favourable answer!) I have set a budget around £250 for a scope. I was hoping to go for a motorised unit as i really want to be able to dive in and let everyone else in the family enjoy it, can anyone recommend a good beginner unit?

Thanks!
Ben

[Rick]

Hiya, Ben.

Light pollution's most of a problem when you go looking for the faint fuzzies, and much less of a problem when you're looking at planets or the Moon. If you're going to buy a 'scope make sure it's one you can take places and set up easily. Then it'll be something you can take when you go somewhere with a good dark sky too.

A good selection of the foolk who know what's available at present are away at one of our Deep Sky Camps this weekend...

[Tony G]

Welcome Ben,

As Rick has already said, a few of the people who could answer your questions are camping with their 'scopes this weekend.
If you have transport, and a spare couple of hours, take a drive down this afternoon, and introduce yourself, and ask your questions, and with the equipment on show, you'll see where your budget will take you.
If you stay until evening you may see some of the members in action, so to speak, and if its cloudy you may still see what sort of action they get up to.  (emptying wine bottles is a common one)
Here is a link to the campsite where they are,
www.blacklands-farm-campsite.co.uk
There is also an observing evening at High Elms on Tuesday, but they meet in the 'Change of Horses' in Farnborough Village at 7/15pm, I think, which is a bit nearer than Henfield, and it does involve a Pub.
(Have you seen the relationship this hobby has with alcohol, which is why, there may be so many members)   
Well welcome again Ben and hopefully we may see you soon.

Tony G

[doug]

Hi Ben. My wife and I don`t live very far from you at Farnborough, and light pollution is always a problem.  As to telescopes, seek advice from those who know, i.e., don`t jump in for the first one you see.  There are some very good beginners telescopes out there; it depends if you want a reflector (one with mirrors) or a refractor (one with lenses).  Talk to some of the members ... why don`t you try to meet us at the Change of Horses in Farnborough village on Tuesday evening around 7.30pm or visit the DSC at Blacklands today, as has been suggested ??

Look forward to meeting up with you soon.

Regards, Rose and Doug.

[Carole]

Hi Ben, and welcome to the fascinating world of Astronomy.  We all suffer from light pollution in the Bromley area, although I think where you are situated you are a little better better off than some of us.  This is why we go to Deep Sky Camp so we can have a weekend away together where there are dark skies.  

I agree that a motorised telescope is probably best for you and family especially if you have a GOTO (in case you don't know what that is, most modern motorised Mounts can do just that Go To an object) and provided you have done an accurate alignment (which comes with practice, you might not get it right the first few times), you can easily find the brighter objects quite quickly.

I am not sure what you would be able to get with a budget of £250, but you might be able to get a good second hand scope for that price.  If you're not interested in doing deep sky imaging then a telescope on an ALT-AZ mount such as the ETX.  The reflectors and cassegrain telescopes will give you bigger magnification for your money.  The other members will also make recommendations.  Tony's suggestion of going to Blacklands today is a good one, so if you get these messages in time, hope to see you there.

However, if you think you might want to get into deep sky imaging you will need something completely different.  This hobby has a habit of creeping up on you and over time most of us have upgraded our scopes as we get more and more into it.  

In addition, I recommend getting yourself a planisphere to help find your way around the sky to start with (it should also tell you where the planets are at a given date (on the back).  Make sure you get one for the Northern hemisphere.  

Will you be joining us as a member?  If so please introduce yourself when you come along for a meeting.


Carole

[Mac]

Greetings from Mac.

Light pollution, hmmmm, dont worry, its the cloudy nights that are more problematic

I'm from deepest London, where the skies are vibrant orange, you just have to live with it. (Not for long, Hampshire's calling )
You can buy filters to remove the sodium (orange glow) from your scope, to that you can see the fainter objects, but you also need a larger scope (catch 22).

But then the councils go and fit those pesky white light street light which are broad spectrum, which you can do nothing about. 

As said by many, we do have a Deep sky camp, where we like to go and let our hair down, sometimes even do some astronomy.
i would try and get down as Tony said, so that you can have a look at the different types of scope available.

As carol said get your self a planisplhere make sure its 51.5 degrees north, or the challenges start to get even harder.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-Planisphere-Northern-Degrees-Astronomy/dp/054008817X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268484898&sr=8-1
Might break the bank @ £7

You might find that setting yourself a budget is not recommended, because once you get hooked, your always looking at your next purchase.
and the problem is you never stop looking.
Bigger scope
Faster scope
Better mount
bigger camera
and the list goes on on.

As Tony said, most of the people you want to ask are camping this weekend.
So you need to now include, Tent, sleeping bag, camping equipment, ect,ect (See how this hobby just gets better, even more things to purchase now )

A nice sized small second hand scope will probably be ideal, you probably wont get a goto one for the price you are looking at,
I would even consider getting a decent pair of binoculars and using these with the planisphere start looking round the sky, you will be amazed at whats out there, even from light polluted skies.

10 * 50
12 * 50
12 * 70

When you first start out it soon becomes very frustrating, cant find the objects, not in focus, clouds, ect.
One word of advice, DONT GIVE UP. It happens to everyone, especially when you've spent an hour setting up just for the clouds to roll in.

Above all enjoy, you've taken the first steps.

Mac.

ps. As you will probably be aware, cloudy skies are directly influenced by the purchasing of said optical equipment.
Have a look at this thread to get the idea,
http://forum.orpington-astronomy.org.uk/index.php?topic=5713.15

[Rick]

Incidentally, you should now be able to contribute to discussions in other parts of the forum.

[Carole]

Hi Ben,

If we haven't put you off, just to say, I would consider increasing your budget slightly as you will probably only regret not having done so and end up buying a more expensive one later anyway.

If you're interested in coming to Deep Sky camp, I am pretty sure there are a number of members with tents for sale, so ask before you buy.

I would seriously consider a motorised telescope if you can stretch to it.  I had a manual scope to start with and although I managed to find some of the brighter objects, they drifted out of view very quickly and then you had to find them again, so if you're wanting to show the family, you need to be "tracking" (following the Earth's rotation).  A GOTO will make life a lot easier for you, and most of them have what is called a "Guided Tour", which will take you to all the interesting features in the sky at the time when you are observing. 

Lastly, do come along to our meetings, you can come to a couple as a guest before you decide if you want to join - lots of things going on through the year, lots of friends with the same interest, and lots of members willing to offer advice.

If you are interested in a 2nd hand telescope, there are a couple of sites where Astronomers buy and Sell. 
http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/
http://www.popastro.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=7

[Mike]

Welcome Ben.

For £250 you're not going to get a lot, never mind with motors and GoTo. Second hand would be best. For that budget I would forget GoTo and just go for a single motor drive so at least it will track the stars. Also, a Newtonion is your best bet as for such a low budget you can get fairly decent sized Newts second hand.

You're probably better off coming along to a few of our observing sessions first so you can try out different peoples scopes, see what that kit cost and compare them, get an idea of what you can and can't see with them, etc. The most important part of the kit is the mount, not the scope. A good aperture scope on a wibbly wobbly mount is as much use as a chocolate fireguard.

[Mac]

A good aperture scope on a wibbly wobbly mount is as much use as a chocolate fireguard.

[The Thing]

a wibbly wobbly mount is as much use as a chocolate fireguard.

But not as tasty 

[MarkS]

A chocolate fireguard?  Surely the chocolate would melt, next to a fire?

[Rick]

A chocolate fireguard?  Surely the chocolate would melt, next to a fire?

...which would be a waste of good chocolate. Eat it first.

[Mike]

A chocolate fireguard?  Surely the chocolate would melt, next to a fire?

And you Mark, are as much use as a candyfloss condom !!

[Tony G]

Sometimes...................just sometimes, I feel Intellectual. 

Tony G