Marveling at the heavens

[bigcahuna]

Greetings to the astronomers here

When I was in primary school, I'd borrow loads of books on astronomy and digested them by the dozens. Planets, stars, moons... Name me one and I used to be able to tell you facts about them! I was even the youngest contestant in an astronomy quiz, which my team ended up winning. A few years have gone by now and that flair died down... Until recently.

I used to have a telescope when I was younger, which I spent countless hours viewing the heavens on it. Alas, now it's in another country hence I cannot access it easily.

I am on the lookout for an affordable telescope (<S$200) to stare into the skies above. Please recommend me some!

Thank you so very much!

PS. I won't get a pair of binoculars for personal reasons, it's hard to explain here. So please don't ask me to get a pair!

[weixing]

Hi,
Welcome to SingAstro!

Your budget is a bit too low to get a non-toy telescope with decent optics quality. Most low cost package will be at the range of S$500. There are few low cost packages that you might consider from Astro-Bargains. Do check their website: http://www.astrobargains.com/Telescopes-EPs.htm

Although I always recommend at least 4" for Refractors or 5" for scope with central obstruction (SCT/MCT/Reflectors) as your first telescope to be use in Singapore due to the light pollution, but if you have patient and willing to travel to the darkest area in Singapore for observation, a smaller scope will also do.

Anyway, do join some of the observation to look through a real scope before you buy. Our next SingAstro public observation session should be on 28 Aug 2009 (will post later), so do turn up to look through the real scope.

Have a nice day.

[jermng]

If u absolutely MUST get a scope, the Celestron IYA 76mm scope should be a good one for less than $200.

But you;re gonna hear many pple tell u to wait, join star parties and get a feel of diff. scopes + save up more before u jump in. I'll tell u the same thing.

[bigcahuna]

Hi, thanks for replying.

jermng: The one you're reffering to is the Celestron FirstScope right? Saw it selling for $199 on astrobargains. Wow the local markup is quite high huh?

weixing: I've always read about light pollution, but have never experienced for myself how bad it is actually! Err sorry for sounding ignorant here. Generally speaking, a larger scope would increase the light intake, hence increasing the viewing capabilities is that right?

Btw would $200 be a realistic budget if the equipment is pre-used?

[Tachyon]

One thing about astro equipment is it is usually big and heavy, which adds significantly to the cost of the shipping. It's not so much of a markup but the price includes shipping as well.

However, if you would like to save a bit you could use 3rd party services like VPOST, etc. It requires more work, takes longer, and increases the risk as the package will be handled by more agents.

Do your sums and see what is acceptable for you. I personally do both - if the savings is less than $100 for a large scope, I will buy locally.

Cheers!

[weixing]

Hi,

weixing: I've always read about light pollution, but have never experienced for myself how bad it is actually! Err sorry for sounding ignorant here.

You usually won't see the light pollution when you are in it unless the cloud is low... did you wonder why you can see the cloud on Moonless night when there is no Sun and the cloud colour is orangish?? That's cause by light pollution. Go to any beach with a dark surrounding and look at the sky towards the city centre. You'll see something like a layer of whitish/orangish silk become thicker nearer to the city's sky... that's cause by light pollution. The best way to experience the effect of light pollution is to go to a dark site (not in Singapore) and look at the sky when the sky is clear and cloudless. You'll see thousands of stars and the milky way... you can't see that in Singapore even the sky is clear... thanks to light pollution.

Generally speaking, a larger scope would increase the light intake, hence increasing the viewing capabilities is that right?

Yes... the larger the scope aperture, the larger the light gathering power and resolution, so you can see dimmer stars (provided dark adaptation) and more details (limited by sky condition).

Btw would $200 be a realistic budget if the equipment is pre-used?

$200 is too low even for a pre-used scope. I won't say it's impossible, but usually you'll need to wait for a long time. Also, it might only be the OTA (Optical Tube Unit) and not a complete setup.

Have a nice day.

[bigcahuna]

Hi, again, thanks for replying.

Oic, I was convinced by a book I read last time that Singapore is unable to see stars clearly due to equatorial conditions being very cloudy. I didn't realize it was due to light pollution!

Perhaps I'll save up first and wait *sigh*