Amateur Astronomy
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I do. I sorta taught it for years with my Scouts. One of the things I loved about being stationed out West was the skies at night..I still get a charge out of watching Jupiter and his moons...that is so cool....someday I would love to have a much better telescope, maybe one I couild take picture from.
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12,990 Posts
My equipment is pretty basic. I have an 8" reflector and a 3 1/2" refractor. Even without scopes a person looking in the right places can see a lot with just a pair of binoculars.
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197 Posts
Yessir. Along with shooting and photography, astronomy is one of my most prized obsessions. I would also love to be able to get a really nice telescope with a great tracking mount and do some deep sky imagery.
Alas, amateur astronomy is pretty expensive, and I have other competing interests that end up getting in the way. Either way, the vastness of the our universe never fails to be awe inspiring. I am a part of a amateur astronomy group here in MN, and have attended many of their dark sky events, although not in the past couple of years. 2 kids under 3 seems to use up alot of my time these days!
Alas, amateur astronomy is pretty expensive, and I have other competing interests that end up getting in the way. Either way, the vastness of the our universe never fails to be awe inspiring. I am a part of a amateur astronomy group here in MN, and have attended many of their dark sky events, although not in the past couple of years. 2 kids under 3 seems to use up alot of my time these days!
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1,064 Posts
My favorite constellation, actually a star cluster is the Pleiades,
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I use binoculars a lot for satellites, meteors, etc,,,also, they are able to give you the big picture before you start looking through the big telescope.
I've found that my 25X spotting scope is pretty cool also for some applications, esp. the Moon.
I use binoculars a lot for satellites, meteors, etc,,,also, they are able to give you the big picture before you start looking through the big telescope.
I've found that my 25X spotting scope is pretty cool also for some applications, esp. the Moon.
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56 Posts
Wish I had more time for astronomy. Beware though, telescopes are like .22s - they multiply like rabbits (but are a lot more expensive).
Let's see:
Now, this makes sense why, since I live in an area that has only 60 clear nights per year...???
Let's see:
- 8" Schmidt Cassegrain
- 6" Maksutov Cassegrain
- 13" Dobsonian
- 4" RFT
- 3" Refractor
- 90mm Maksutov Cassegrain
Now, this makes sense why, since I live in an area that has only 60 clear nights per year...???
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12,990 Posts
Very nice collection. Any deep sky astrophotography?
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4,978 Posts
Count me in as an amateur astronomer. Been doing it for over forty years. own five telescopes from 80mm up to a 12.5" Obsession, plus three astronomy binoculars. Astronomy is one of the big reasons we moved north out of the city when we retired.
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32,418 Posts
I wish I could spend more time looking at the sky but am limited with city lights. Goldendale Observatory is a Washington State Park and has one of the largest telescope anyone can walk up to and see through. There are of course much larger but they are not open to the general public.
I've visited it many times.
Goldendale Observatory
I've visited it many times.
Goldendale Observatory
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32,418 Posts
I don't remember it but do Halley's Comet which was sometime in the mid-80's If I remember right.
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5,458 Posts
Why yes I do. My primary scope has been a Celestron 1100XLT Cat on a CGE mount, Moonlite focuser, Astrozap frost tube and cap, Orion 85mm refractor and Starshooter guide scope piggy-backed on the 11" tube. I've owned this for a couple years, but I'm in the process of listing it for sale since I want to get a lighter setup for field use.
I also use a Meade 12" Lightbridge that I haul to star parties. It might go up for sale too depending on what I decide to replace a 1100 with.
Oh yeah, I'm a star geek.
I also use a Meade 12" Lightbridge that I haul to star parties. It might go up for sale too depending on what I decide to replace a 1100 with.
Oh yeah, I'm a star geek.
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4,978 Posts
Remember it very well, indeed. That was a beauty.
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947 Posts
I went to a newly built High school in the early 70s that had a nice observatory and a planetarium (which was almost unheard of in a HS). I spent a lot of freezing cold early morning in that observatory shivering at the eyepiece. I still have interest, but I'm fascinated more now by the photos coming out of the Mars rovers...That is so cool!
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3,158 Posts
I grew up with a Questar!
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1,510 Posts
My dream home (after I either win a big lottery or invent an anti-gravity device, or something) will be out in the country far enough to get away from city lights where I could have a small observatory with a nice big scope. Oh, and a shooting range as well.
In the real world I have toyed at times with splurging and getting a good portable Schmidt-Cassagrain rig that I could tote out away from the city and do some gazing, and maybe even try some photography. It would be so cool to be able to have one of my astro-photos as my desktop background on my 'puter.
Alas, both money and time for such a hobby are lacking, so it will probably just still be a "someday" fantasy for quite a while.
And I too watched Jupiter and Venus and the moon doing their extended jostling in the evening sky not too long ago. Was that this Spring? It was fascinating. Each evening offered a different view.
In the real world I have toyed at times with splurging and getting a good portable Schmidt-Cassagrain rig that I could tote out away from the city and do some gazing, and maybe even try some photography. It would be so cool to be able to have one of my astro-photos as my desktop background on my 'puter.
Alas, both money and time for such a hobby are lacking, so it will probably just still be a "someday" fantasy for quite a while.
And I too watched Jupiter and Venus and the moon doing their extended jostling in the evening sky not too long ago. Was that this Spring? It was fascinating. Each evening offered a different view.
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12,990 Posts
Halley's last appearance was in fact in the mid 80's. Given that it's next perihelion will be 76 years from then, it will be back around 2060.
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