Woo hoo look at my new toy!!!

I finally got a new Telescope!!!! A Celestron Astromaster 114EQ Newtonian. Not the top of the line but perfect for me and my budget right now. I'm going to look through it tonight if its clear. Instead of me taking a picture and uploading it and all that, my laziness wins, here you go




I'm friggin stoked. I'm a total newb with a telescope but i do no my constelations pretty well and i spend a lot of time staring at the sky everynight any way.... Maybe i'll be able to dial in on one of the starlike UFO's thers a couple threads about!!!!

All right i'll stop babbling i'm excited about it though and thought i would share with my friends on ATS!!!!!

::::: Drools::::::: Way to go! That looks sweeet! I am sooo jealous Well you will have to keep us updated on what all you see and stuff

I have 'scope envy

[edit on 28-7-2008 by LateApexer313]

Whoa, that looks pretty sweet.

Are there any Girls College Dorms by your back yard?

reply to post by seawolf197


Typical guy response seawolf....when you get sick of spying on women, show us some pictures of REAL stuff lol.

You got yourself a nice scope. Post some pics when you get a chance of stars, nebulae, and galaxies; of course.

Now you need a camera.....

but does it fire?





















just kidding.. when i clicked this thread i swear I was going to see some gun obsessed guy bein' like check out my new AK yo!!!

nice though.
that reminds me.. i need to head up to this mesa near me.. it's incredible for star gazing. they had telescopes there one night, and I saw Jupiter and it's moons up close.. was awe inspiring.
kept having to move the scope, as Jupiter moved across the sky though.

cool toy!

-

I definately will post some cool pics. I dont have a sweet camera yet but i've seen some pics taken with digital cams held up to the eyepiece of the scope... i'll play with things and let you guys know what i find......

P.s. there is some coed dorms over at fresno state.... which is about 5 minutes away.... i'll keep that in mind for cloudy nights!!!! j/k j/k

That is simply divine! Are you planning on hooking up an infrared camera to it? We can't afford to just go out and buy the kind of telescope I'd like, but I have the plans for a dobsonian.
Though I'm wondering which plans are the best: pages.sbcglobal.net...

Do you think these plans are any good? I was thinking of starting to save up and get parts a
bit at time, even if it takes a few years.

I've always wanted to buy myself a telescope but I live in a pretty populated area with lots of steet lights and stuff. I always wonder what you could see aswell with a telescope like the ops for example. Can you see the planets in decent detail and other galaxies perhaps?

Also could any of you recommend a beginners telescope and about how much money it would set me back? Thank and sorry for hijacking thread somewhat.

To the OP: It looks great and I would love it if I could get my hands on one of these myself, I hope at somepoint you can upload some pictures!

reply to post by W3RLIED2


I am sooo freaking jealous right now....LMAO! Sorry for the one liner mods.

I've got one of those, good deal huh? It sucks to collimate it but if you take the time and get it right you should see some definition on jupiter's surface.

try some daytime viewing of Objects a few miles away

oh i meant to ask did you get a set of good lens with it or do you have to buy them
I had to buy extra lens for meade
it came with a 25mm only

I look forward to any pics you get to post. I would suggest getting a DSLR camera. Whatever camera you end up using, keep in mind that the sensors on digital cameras don't pick up the hydrogen part of the spectrum - and you should look for a modified camera made especially for DSLR astrophotographty. They usually remove the IR cut filter inside the camera, and replace it with clear glass, or a specialized UV/IR cut filter that's made to show the hydrogen spectrum.

Here is a good example of the difference:
www.hapg.org...

Dude. I am so jealous. That is so Rad.

The scope came with a 20mm and i also purchased a 10mm for it. the next purchase will be a 6 and a 4mm so i can get up close and personal with jupiter. The last two nights were clear enough for me to look at the big planet and i counted 4 visable moons!!! I'm still working with my digital camera and i think with either the 4 or 6 mm lens pictures may come out a little better. With the 10 mm i can see the color of jupiters atmosphere and if i get the focus dialed in just right i can see the red spot for a moment before i have to adjust again. Pictures just dont turn out great through the 10 or the 20 though.

Also have been pricing out some IR capable cameras that are set up for taking pictures of deep space. Only problem is finances... its gonna be easy to dump money into this stuff but on a carpenters wages i have to save up before i can get really fancy. Thanks for the information on DSLR cameras scientist!

reply to post by W3RLIED2

If you are going to buy a 6 and a 4, have you thought about saving a couple extra weeks and getting a kit? I just got the Zhummel 4 piece + 2xBarlow and filters for $90 from telescopes.com.

Now all I need is a rrrrrreally big friggen fan to get the damn clouds out of here !!!

reply to post by Misfit


yeah actually now that i think about it a kit is a better idea. In the very back of my owners book there is a half page catalogue that sells a kit with a 4,6,9,and a 12.5 and also has a 2x barlow. thanks for the suggestion you just saved me some scratch Misfit

reply to post by W3RLIED2


Link for your gazing pleasure:

Eyepiece and Filter Kits at telescopes.com

I really wanted that Celestron kit, to match my tele, but damn, that $60 is a good spread from the Zhumell, so the latter is what I got last week.

Hey, you got a big friggen fan I can borrow? lolol

Totally great!

Please do post pictures when you get the chance. I love space.

Also if you do ever see a starlight object try your best to take a shot, so we get to find out what the hell they are!! Of course some are satallittes probably, but they can't all be. Good luck.

I'm jealous.