TheSkySearchers

Arsene37 wrote: ↑Sun Nov 01, 2020 6:37 pm. May I suggest that the age of the end-user must be taken in account (e.g. I was told to tell what scope for a young boy : I ask if he will use his scope alone or with an adult [weight of the gear, adjustments or not and so on ]). Arsène

Good point. And it applies to adults, as well. I am in pretty good shape for my age. I can do 45 sit-ups, and do that two or three times a day. But I have no upper body strength (or not that much: 15 push-ups are easy enough, but 20 are a goal). For me, the problem was not so much lifting the 10-inch SCT out of the box (though there was that), as it was not dropping it in when putting it back. If your home has a walk-out patio with no obstruction, you can wheel your observatory into the backyard. Myself, I have two narrow hallways and the back door and the porch between my office and the yard. I am pretty happy with my 14-lb (6.5 kg) 102 mm refractor.

tell me, can we change the background?
it's too white and I can't read the article. thx.

Bigzmey wrote: ↑Mon Nov 09, 2020 5:16 pm

SkyHiker wrote: ↑Mon Nov 09, 2020 5:16 am Why would beginners have to start with something inferior? In AP that is how people waste a ton of money. It is best to not spend anything on beginner gear but start big right away if you can and if you did your homework. And BTW if you want to do AP spend no time or money on visual because it is a waste of time and will teach you nothing useful.

If you want to do AP and are serious about it, don't get an AVX but a CEM60 or Losmandy then buy as much aperture as it can carry and as you can afford. After going through 2 Apos (OK one was a free door prize worth $2500), a RC, a Mak Newt, I finally concluded that alI need is a big 12" Newt with CC and my Mak Newt. If I had done my homework this is how I should have started.

So it depends very much on the person, there is no single pathway that all should follow.

Yes, Henk, but would idea of buying 12" Newt even cross your mind when you started? And if you did home work researching on forums etc., how many would point you to 12" Newt as a starter EP scope? Before you master the skill, gain experience and figure out what you want, dumping big $$ on equipment will almost never pay off.

Actually I started with a 10" Dob that I bought for $110 from an astro party of my local astro club. Years later Hayneedle advertised the Z12 for $630 that I got because it just seemed too good a deal. This is not very expensive gear and still easy to sell.

I think your guide is aimed at people who like visual astronomy with small to medium sized telescope and maybe that should be stated. For a broader audience it would be helpful to talk about the different types of goals including astrophotography, then discussing what gear works best for each of these goals. That way people can make up their own mind.

For instance I started out getting a 10" Dob and adapting it for astrophotography in a DIY barndoor construction project, quite a different route. I looked through my 10" Dob a few times and got bored with the faint fuzzies pretty quick so I decided I wanted to do astrophotography. For people like me but also for others interested in astrophotography there is hardly a point in trying anything visual, or talking about the thrill of hunting for targets. No thrill here other than getting the polar alignment and goto working and centering the camera on the target!

Good points Henk. Most beginners don't feel comfortable spending over $200-300, and typically advised to try visual first.

However, it will be great to have an article discussing different scope designs from AP perspective. Are you game?

messier 111 wrote: ↑Fri Nov 27, 2020 3:09 pm tell me, can we change the background?
it's too white and I can't read the article. thx.

You can change the background under Control Panel - Broad preferences- My board style.

'Prosilver' works nicely.

Bigzmey wrote: ↑Fri Nov 27, 2020 11:10 pm

messier 111 wrote: ↑Fri Nov 27, 2020 3:09 pm tell me, can we change the background?
it's too white and I can't read the article. thx.

You can change the background under Control Panel - Broad preferences- My board style.

'Prosilver' works nicely.

thanks for the tip.
your summary is very well written.
I love the fact that it is an accustomed to astronomy who describes everything to us.
well done, this should appear in all astronomy magazines.
especially during the coming holidays.
Thanks again .

messier 111 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 28, 2020 12:33 am

Bigzmey wrote: ↑Fri Nov 27, 2020 11:10 pm

messier 111 wrote: ↑Fri Nov 27, 2020 3:09 pm tell me, can we change the background?
it's too white and I can't read the article. thx.

You can change the background under Control Panel - Broad preferences- My board style.

'Prosilver' works nicely.

thanks for the tip.
your summary is very well written.
I love the fact that it is an accustomed to astronomy who describes everything to us.
well done, this should appear in all astronomy magazines.
especially during the coming holidays.
Thanks again .

Thanks M111!

Bigzmey wrote: ↑Fri Nov 27, 2020 10:58 pm Good points Henk. Most beginners don't feel comfortable spending over $200-300, and typically advised to try visual first.

I think this is why many beginners are heavily disappointed when they use their new telescope for the first time and don't seen nebulae and galaxies in blazing color. They put their scope in the closet and sell it 5 years later on EBay or Craigslist. The amount of used scopes offered online speaks volumes.

Some of the TSS "for beginners" articles reflect the author's personal preferences, history, and budget. In that case it should be clearly stated IMHO. Beginners need the entire scope of our hobby to decide what works best for them. Best to not sugarcoat anything and set the right expectations.

Bigzmey wrote: ↑Fri Nov 27, 2020 10:58 pm However, it will be great to have an article discussing different scope designs from AP perspective. Are you game?

There are so many good articles online illustrated with pictures and images, it is intimidating. For instance:

Carol's (carastro) web pages. She has written a very good introduction to AP, here's a link:
https://sites.google.com/site/caroleast ... ith-a-dslr
This is just one link of her excellent collection:
https://sites.google.com/site/caroleastroimaging/

Also, astrobackyard has a nice one:
https://astrobackyard.com/beginner-astr ... %20nebulae.

Inline illustrations are essential for me to like an article. So it takes a lot of effort to write something nice that has not been presented elsewhere. I don't see myself doing that soon and if I did I would keep it on my personal web pages and link to it in my signature. It would be more attractive to post such things on TSS if there was a dedicated section. Personal articles tend to get lost I think.

Buy used equipment until sure of what you really want permanently. I purchased a great 150mm f/8 refractor for $250. I could sell it for $250-$400.

Refractordude wrote: ↑Mon Nov 30, 2020 6:35 am Buy used equipment until sure of what you really want permanently. I purchased a great 150mm f/8 refractor for $250. I could sell it for $250-$400.

This is a good way to go. I try to buy all my equipment used or on sales. Most of it quite easy to resell to. The only exception is large DOBs.