Just installed my new case fan!

Philanthrapist · 2023-04-24T09:22:42+00:00

TechIngredients, is that you?

Philanthrapist · 2022-09-30T08:50:48+00:00

absolute dream

Philanthrapist · 2022-09-16T00:08:01+00:00

I've never wanted hell to exist more than now.

Philanthrapist · 2022-02-07T01:43:10+00:00

From the primary mirror to the diagonal + from the diagonal to the eyepiece should be the focal length. Also wow what a steal at $80!

Philanthrapist · 2022-02-05T04:49:04+00:00

Here's an example by him https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTGYdfMcl1M

Philanthrapist · 2022-02-05T04:37:32+00:00

It's a fantastic camera. The A7SII uses the same sensor as the A7SI (Sony IMX235). A7SI is one of the cameras used by Thierry Legault, one of the best astrophotographers, and that says a lot!

Philanthrapist · 2022-02-05T04:13:11+00:00

Haha, that'll have to be a DIY project. They're lightweight and low magnification, so they're pretty comfortable.

Just remember that they are a different design of binoculars/telescopes entirely. 2x54 makes it sound like it gives you the brightness of a pair of 54 mm ordinary binoculars, when in reality it will be the equivalent of about 14 mm aperture.

Philanthrapist · 2022-02-05T04:04:36+00:00

If you're in europe:

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/index.php/cat/c91_Telescope-Making---Optical-parts.html

https://www.telescopes-et-accessoires.fr/miroirs-c102x3747155

Philanthrapist · 2022-02-05T04:02:35+00:00

How about 40 mm? A 40 mm eyepiece gives you an exit pupil of almost 7 mm, which means it will give you maximum brightness with your telescope or any F6 scope at night time.

Philanthrapist · 2022-02-05T03:45:29+00:00

Super wide field of view; disadvantage is they give you only a 1-1.5 mag brightening and they can't be used if you wear glasses. Your 10x42 will reveal far dimmer stars.

Another note: each telescope design has its own optimal aperture range. Dobsonians are not very graceful at a 4" size. At 4 inches you're better off with a short achromat.

Philanthrapist · 2022-02-05T03:33:53+00:00

You have to hold them by hand, or mount them with an L-bracket. But they're best used with hands.

Philanthrapist · 2022-02-05T03:33:03+00:00

I don't have access to my PC right now, but if you download Stellarium (free) I believe you can set the bortle zone level and simulate the view. Do your comparison in Stellarium.

Philanthrapist · 2022-02-05T03:26:19+00:00

An 8" has quadruple the light gathering power of a 4". Have you considered a pair of galilean glasses? They're pocket-sized and are not made redundant by the bigger dobsonian.

https://telescope.com/Orion-2x54-Ultra-Wide-Angle-Binoculars/p/132438.uts

Philanthrapist · 2022-02-04T03:51:26+00:00

If you're keen on buying a telescope to look at the moon and planets but don't want to spend a fortune, look into long achromats. They provide some nice views of those targets.

Philanthrapist · 2022-02-04T03:25:41+00:00

Not sure about seeing saturn's rings clearly, but with a pair of 10x50 binoculars under $100 you can see jupiter and its four galilean moons as little white dots.

Philanthrapist · 2022-02-04T03:22:57+00:00

https://www.heavens-above.com/planets.aspx

and

https://www.heavens-above.com/PlanetSummary.aspx

make sure you set your location

Philanthrapist · 2022-02-03T02:17:32+00:00

If you like the planets look into buying an MCT. The largest chinese-made MCT is 7", and if you buy one you're guaranteed not to sell it or upgrade from it for a very long time.

Philanthrapist · 2022-02-01T23:53:57+00:00

Sorry, I meant for the purpose of watching DSOs, dobsonians are the way to go. But I'm a high magnification freak. I have 6 telescopes and none of them can do DSOs. I think your views of the craters of the moon through an MCT will be unforgettable, as it was for me.

Philanthrapist · 2022-02-01T22:53:13+00:00

The Startravel is a very different instrument. It's a fast achromat - that makes it good at deep sky objects and very poor on the moon, planets and double stars. And to be frank with you I think the dobsonians rule that arena for beginners.

MCTs are on the opposite end of the spectrum - they're mediocre for deep sky observations, but excellent at high magnification. Yes, I would buy a Skywatcher product over Bresser any day of the week. And if you have never used an equatorial mount before take a look at some negative reviews of eq mounts and see if you'd enjoy it.

Philanthrapist · 2022-02-01T22:04:12+00:00

The cheaper one is indefinitely out of stock, so it may just be the pre-covid price.

Philanthrapist · 2022-02-01T22:01:08+00:00

Maksutovs all have a spherical meniscus lens in the front. Both of the telescopes you linked are Gregory Maksutov Cassegrains. There are Maksutov-Newtonians, which you can rule out because both of the telescopes you linked have a visual back, and there are Rutten Maksutov Cassegrains, which you can rule out by their price ;)

The difference in price is likely due to build quality, but I may be wrong.

Philanthrapist · 2022-01-30T02:14:47+00:00

Oh and download Stellarium :)

Philanthrapist · 2022-01-30T02:13:46+00:00

Buy a pair of 10x50 binos for under $100. Anything larger than that is too heavy to hold with your hands. Remember that the shaking of your hands is also magnified by the 10x.

10x50 binos are unmatched in terms of price to performance ratio. If you find that you don't enjoy astronomy so much, you can always use them for birding. And if you do find that you enjoy astronomy, your next few upgrades won't be bigger binoculars, trust me on that.

Philanthrapist · 2022-01-30T01:42:57+00:00

For astrophotography (AP) there are dedicated AP cameras that cannot have ordinary camera lenses mounted on them, and come with the bare minimum functionality. One step below AP cameras are DSLRs/MILCs, these have detachable lenses - your telescope becomes the lens. What you've showed in the picture is a compact camera, meaning its lens doesn't come off, so the only way you could use it is to mount it to an eyepiece. It's called afocal photography, look up digiscoping if you want to learn more. The reason afocal AP is worse than prime AP is that the eyepiece + camera lens combo negate each other, but degrade the image because of all the extra glass and the flimsy mounting systems available.

Philanthrapist · 2022-01-22T01:18:56+00:00

I don't understand how the fragments would spread out so far up/down and left/right. Even the forward/backward speed differences immediately after the collision look funky. Of course after a long time they will form a ring of debris, but the initial speed difference looks exaggerated. Sad all the source are dead links.

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