Things to note when buying a telescope

carlogambino · Post by **carlogambino** » Fri Jul 16, 2004 11:19 pm

oh yes, one very important thing: do NOT get apeture fever, unless you have a car... otherwise youll end up with a scope that you cant carry and will never use

gwenyi · Post by **gwenyi** » Fri Jul 16, 2004 11:36 pm

well... different people have different criteria when choosing a scope. Astrophotographers in particular, would try settling for a fast scope(f/3) + parabloid mirrors.(that's why the tak epsilons are that expensive. haha) Apo seekers usually do planetary observation , while mct and sct users usually are all rounded people. Dobs are for hardcore aperture fever people(we have a 16" dob here as a joint project). haha. ^.^

Well, it's true that u shouldn't get a big scope unless u have transportation as all the heavy baggage might put people off.

cheers,
wenyi

luke5v8 · Post by **luke5v8** » Sat Jul 17, 2004 1:41 am

ariefm71 wrote: see here: http://www.singastro.org/viewtopic.php?t=1127
Aperture rules!

Ariefm, that must be the one you were using last Sat Ob at tampines.

luke5v8 · Post by **luke5v8** » Sat Jul 17, 2004 2:02 am

carlogambino wrote: 1.Not really. If you really love dsos, i suggest getting a wide field(fast) scope. Personally, I'm a planetary and "splitting binaries" guy. Slow scopes dont do as well in dsos. Otherwise, follow what harlequin says.

2.a 6" f/5 newtonian will get you what you want(all round)

3.yes.

Thks, will keep that in mind. I think that will most probably be what I would want when I get more "serious" into astronomy

BTW, talking abt "fast scopes", i guess it's those neat motorised gaget (what do u call them???) that help keep your target object in constant view???

Post by **weixing** » Sat Jul 17, 2004 2:54 am

Hi,
A "fast" scope is a scope that has a smaller focal ratio. For example, a 100mm aperture with 500mm focal length has a focal ratio (f-ratio) of 5 (500/100=5)... or F5. A 100mm aperture with 1000mm focal length has a focal ratio of 10 (1000/100=10)... or F10. Normally, a f-ratio smaller than F6 is consider a "fast" scope and a f-ratio larger than F10 is consider as a "slow" scope.

Those scope like the Meade LX200 that you saw is what we call a "GOTO" scope... it is actually the mount that is "GOTO", not the scope. It mean that the mount's computer will point the telescope at the object that you select on it controller pad... that why we call it "GOTO"... goto the object

Have a nice day.

luke5v8 · Post by **luke5v8** » Sat Jul 17, 2004 4:21 am

IC, got it!