I am a newbie to astro

Grievous · Post by **Grievous** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 1:33 am

I'll recommend the Peterson Field Guild Series : Stars And Planets.
It basically starts everything on a newbie entry level. No tedious words to struggle with, easy to understand with sky charts, or else get the Idiot's Guide to Astronomy or Dummy's Guide to Astronomy, dun get intimidated by the titles, they are basically...well... Idiot/Dummy-proof.

If you like mid-blogging literature, try The Five Ages of the Universe.
It Blew me away.

Charlie

IceAngel · Post by **IceAngel** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 9:06 am

Grievous wrote:I'll recommend the Peterson Field Guild Series : Stars And Planets.
It basically starts everything on a newbie entry level. No tedious words to struggle with, easy to understand with sky charts, or else get the Idiot's Guide to Astronomy or Dummy's Guide to Astronomy, dun get intimidated by the titles, they are basically...well... Idiot/Dummy-proof.

If you like mid-blogging literature, try The Five Ages of the Universe.
It Blew me away.

Charlie

oh.. Thanks~ n0tEd! 8)

IceAngel · Post by **IceAngel** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 2:58 pm

itz me again..

Harlequin.. i got confused about eyepieces in ur website.. there are 1.25" and 2" EPs.. inside them, there are standard, high contrast, wide angle, zoom, guiding and etc etc... wat's the difference between them?? usually how many and which types of EPs are needed for a basic usage like seeing moon, mars, venus all those?? :? :? :?

harlequin2902 · Post by **harlequin2902** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 3:03 pm

Wow wow wow. For a good answer to your question, I will have to take up maybe 1.5 pages of space just for that one single post to explain the advantages/disadvantages/differences of each and every one of them !

I'll explain to you slowly with references to *live samples* when you come over ok ? Anybody wants to come over for a free crash course too ?

It'll be fun.

IceAngel · Post by **IceAngel** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 3:03 pm

for diagonals.. is a 45 deg more comfortable than 90 deg or the other way round?? how does a 45 deg diagonal look?? there is 0.965"-1.25" diagonal, wat's the difference?? sorry for asking so much :oops: :oops:

IceAngel · Post by **IceAngel** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 3:05 pm

harlequin2902 wrote:Wow wow wow. For a good answer to your question, I will have to take up maybe 1.5 pages of space just for that one single post to explain the advantages/disadvantages/differences of each and every one of them !

I'll explain to you slowly with references to *live samples* when you come over ok ? Anybody wants to come over for a free crash course too ? It'll be fun.

hmmm.. alright.. sorry to ask u here..

harlequin2902 · Post by **harlequin2902** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 3:13 pm

No worries Leslie.

Ok, for the diagonal one, I can settle the answer here

The diagonals each have their own purpose.

45 deg is more comfortable for daytime viewing e.g for birdwatching
because your scope will almost always be parallel to the ground and the 45 deg viewing angle will be just nice for most people of average height without causing too much neck strain. For astronomy, 45 deg diagonals are a no-no because your scope will be at higher inclinations most of the time, and if you use a 45 deg diagonal , you will have to position your body and neck at a really weird angle to be able to view through the eyepiece. So for astronomy, it's always the 90 deg for greater comfort.

The 0.965"-1.25" diagonals are not commonly used nowadays, and they are meant more for scopeowners whose scope can strictly only accept the older 0.965" eyepieces and accessories. The current industry standard is 1.25", and 0.965" eyepieces are becoming quite difficult to come by.
So for those scopeowners, the 0.965"-1.25" diagonal has a 0.965" barrel which goes into the rear of the scope, while the top opening of the diagonal where the eyepiece goes in is 1.25" to allow him/her to use the current 1.25" eyepieces and accessories.

Hope this helps.

IceAngel · Post by **IceAngel** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 3:29 pm

ooh.. icic.. so last time the EPs were 0.965"?? now commonly use is 1.25"?? so 45 deg is usually used for bird watching whereas 90 deg is usually used for astro?? hmm... alright..

then u got sell field chair?? hehehe

or need to go Ikea and buy??

for the skyaltas, how come so expensive?? $185??

Kamikazer · Post by **Kamikazer** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 3:45 pm

hi people....
i know only a little on astronomy, so i'm definitely a newbie....
can someone enlighten me on the following:
1. any good reflectors with a high f-ratio (portability is important)
2. how do we align our telescopes when we are at the equator?

thanks

harlequin2902 · Post by **harlequin2902** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 3:46 pm

ooh.. icic.. so last time the EPs were 0.965"?? now commonly use is 1.25"?? so 45 deg is usually used for bird watching whereas 90 deg is usually used for astro?? hmm... alright..

then u got sell field chair?? hehehe
or need to go Ikea and buy??

Yup, I think you now get the general idea for the diagonals.

Field chairs can be bought anywhere actually. Singastro members have field chairs of all shapes, sizes and colours. you should come to one of our observing sessions and see

Those "designed" for astronomy and sold by US dealers all come with really crazy price tags
( > US$100 )