Off Topic Telescope question

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The trouble with astronomical telescopes is that we are all used to looking at Hubble pictures etc and it can be a bit disappointing in reality especially if you live in a city with dusty atmosphere and loads of street lights etc. but anyway:
Choosing a telescope – a beginner’s guide (astronomyweek.org.uk)
Seems a good place to start
The one you have selected seems reasonable for the money but read the article about types of mounts as the sky moves with time (as the earth rotates) so you have to keep repositioning the telescope and can't do long exposure photo's, unless you use an equatorial mount (see link).
Hope this helps
 
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dennisboothstash said:
Anyone know anything about telescopes?
Thinking of getting one for Father in Law for his 80th
It would be mainly looking at moon and stars etc.
Quick research and thought this looked a good option, at around about the right price, but thought I’d ask here in case anyone actually knows anything about them?!

https://www.bresseruk.com/Astronomy/Telescopes/BRESSER-NANO-AR-70-700-AZ-Telescope.html


Cheers
Click to expand...

I think you just put your eye up to the lens and look through it.
 
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highpeak tiger said:
The trouble with astronomical telescopes is that we are all used to looking at Hubble pictures etc and it can be a bit disappointing in reality especially if you live in a city with dusty atmosphere and loads of street lights etc. but anyway:
Choosing a telescope – a beginner’s guide (astronomyweek.org.uk)
Seems a good place to start
The one you have selected seems reasonable for the money but read the article about types of mounts as the sky moves with time (as the earth rotates) so you have to keep repositioning the telescope and can't do long exposure photo's, unless you use an equatorial mount (see link).
Hope this helps
Click to expand...
That is helpful.
I'd read up on mounts but ones that can track what you're reviewing make it pricy.
I think he'd just want to look at stuff rather than photograph it.
Thanks
 
The cost of telescopes can get very expensive, very quickly. The one you have picked seems good value and versatile but I'm not current with prices. It would make a great present. Also remember purely astronomical telescopes (usually reflectors) show the image upside down (see link) so are harder to use.
 
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highpeak tiger said:
The cost of telescopes can get very expensive, very quickly. The one you have picked seems good value and versatile but I'm not current with prices. It would make a great present. Also remember purely astronomical telescopes (usually reflectors) show the image upside down (see link) so are harder to use.
Click to expand...
I was looking for a refractor (I think!) as I'd read they are easier to keep working correctly (collimation?)
 
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dennisboothstash said:
Anyone know anything about telescopes?
Thinking of getting one for Father in Law for his 80th
It would be mainly looking at moon and stars etc.
Quick research and thought this looked a good option, at around about the right price, but thought I’d ask here in case anyone actually knows anything about them?!

https://www.bresseruk.com/Astronomy/Telescopes/BRESSER-NANO-AR-70-700-AZ-Telescope.html


Cheers
Click to expand...

This is mine. Easy to set up and can auto locate objects. Great for looking at the moon and the classical planets. Well built piece of kit.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0036GNNCC/?tag=not606-21

You must log in or register to see images
 
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dennisboothstash said:
I was looking for a refractor (I think!) as I'd read they are easier to keep working correctly (collimation?)
Click to expand...

The problem with refractors is the placement of the eyepiece, which is rarely in a comfortable position (unless one is using the scope to spy on one's neighbors). The Celestron reflector above is more convenient to use, and has the additional advantage of more "light gathering" capability. The larger the primary element, the more light is gathered, the better the quality of the image.

I built my first telescope, a 4.25" reflector, when I was 12 years old. It was a piece of junk, but at least I had the satisfaction of building it.
 
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I had one that was similar to the one posted above. Was a glorified toy I suppose I think it was about £200 maybe 15ish years ago?

Being a bit bare and basic it would have been cumbersome for most 80 year olds to use unless they were sprightly and agile. As mentioned constant repositioning, twatting about with various knobs, adjusting mirrors and focus and much bending over. When you’re zoomed in a gazillion times the sky moves much, much faster than you might expect it to.

It was also a bag of **** trying to look at anything other than the moon and I lived at the edge of a small village surrounded by fields with very little light pollution.

Could be a fantastic gift in the right circumstances or equally could turn out to be a bit of a stinker so proper consideration is necessary. I reckon potential for enjoyment will be directly related 1st by location and 2nd by the spend.

For instance if you lived in the north of Scotland with bugger all light pollution and had some proper decent armchair astronaut gear you’d probably have a grand time but if you lived in the middle of London with a £50 eBay special probably not so much.

Apparently from a decent location you can see the rings on Jupiter or Saturn with some fairly rudimentary gear but it was never anything more than just a bright orangey star for me.
 
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Amin Yapusi said:
I had one that was similar to the one posted above. Was a glorified toy I suppose I think it was about £200 maybe 15ish years ago?

Being a bit bare and basic it would have been cumbersome for most 80 year olds to use unless they were sprightly and agile. As mentioned constant repositioning, twatting about with various knobs, adjusting mirrors and focus and much bending over. When you’re zoomed in a gazillion times the sky moves much, much faster than you might expect it to.

It was also a bag of **** trying to look at anything other than the moon and I lived at the edge of a small village surrounded by fields with very little light pollution.

Could be a fantastic gift in the right circumstances or equally could turn out to be a bit of a stinker so proper consideration is necessary. I reckon potential for enjoyment will be directly related 1st by location and 2nd by the spend.

For instance if you lived in the north of Scotland with bugger all light pollution and had some proper decent armchair astronaut gear you’d probably have a grand time but if you lived in the middle of London with a £50 eBay special probably not so much.

Apparently from a decent location you can see the rings on Jupiter or Saturn with some fairly rudimentary gear but it was never anything more than just a bright orangey star for me.
Click to expand...


If you lived in the north of Scotland, long johns n gloves would be a better gift!
 
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