SingAstro

guangwei wrote:Today i went to science centre's astro scientific PTE LTD shop. I heard that the price there is overpriced? I wonder if it's true. It looks true as i can see a 25x100 bino selling for 1k? The cheapest telescope i saw was $300+ so i was wondering if the prices there are reasonable. And also, spotting scopes are use for astronomy also is it? I was wondering how far the distance can be seen from a spotting scope and a telescope. Example, a normal bino maximum distance to view is only 1km. I wonder if all bino can only see 1km? And how far can a spotting scope see and also a telescope. Cos i ask the person at astro scientific pte ltd he didnt tell me. He just ask me to look into it -.-

Regarding prices.. overpriced or not, it's based on individual perspectives. As consumers, we can definitely take advantages of the competition between various vendors in getting a cheaper priced item. But you'd have to do your own price comparision between various vendors as there's no one who can tell you that "oh, this website or store offers the best price!".

For the binoculars, the varying prices can be due to many reasons. A few of many could be due to coatings, or the glass used in the optical design itself. You should Google for more information, because there are binoculars which can cost over US$10k. I've once heard that there's an optical design for a bino that neutralises most of the shake due to the high magnification, so you can actually use it without a tripod. Such designs are considered an art by itself, and so the price can be go really high.

Spotting scopes are not intended for Astronomy (please click link for more information). They are more for daytime observing, such as birdwatching or more. And unlike telescopes, they usually have a fixed magnification or range. The magnification of a telescope varies as it's determined by the focal length of the scope divided by the focal length of the eyepiece. Different match-up between scopes and eyepieces can give you different magnifications. Most of the time when it comes to telescopes, we don't talk about far you can see or how magnified you can get, but rather, we are more concerned about the aperture/light gathering power of the scope. Answers to many of your questions can actually be found on SingastroWiki, so please spend some time reading by yourself. I picked up most of my knowledge on Astronomy off the internet too. You'd be surprised how far Googling can get you.

Oh yeah, please do read up on the FAQ regarding telescopes here: http://www.opticsplanet.net/how-to-buy-a-telescope.html
They have a comprehensive FAQ which will answer almost all your questions (even questions you're about to ask).

Regards,
Zane

Hi,

guangwei wrote:Today i went to science centre's astro scientific PTE LTD shop. I heard that the price there is overpriced? I wonder if it's true. It looks true as i can see a 25x100 bino selling for 1k? The cheapest telescope i saw was $300+ so i was wondering if the prices there are reasonable. And also, spotting scopes are use for astronomy also is it?

There are some scope packages that they sell are quite reasonable price... you just need to do your own research before your purchase.

I was wondering how far the distance can be seen from a spotting scope and a telescope. Example, a normal bino maximum distance to view is only 1km. I wonder if all bino can only see 1km? And how far can a spotting scope see and also a telescope. Cos i ask the person at astro scientific pte ltd he didnt tell me. He just ask me to look into it -.-

Err... You can basically see any object of any distance as long as the line of sight is not block and the object is bright enough. Whether you can see any details of the object is another story. For example, stars are all very far away and yet you can see them with you naked eye... that's because they are bright enough.

Have a nice day.

Where did you get the "Bino can see 1km" theory? First time I've heard it ...

I always find it hard to answer, 这个东西可以看得多远？ It just takes too much time ....

uh-oh i screw everything up.

guangwei wrote:uh-oh i screw everything up.

No worries. You are not alone. The 3 most common questions at Public Events are:

1. "How far can you see with this?" (My standard response: "Very far. Depends on the sky condition.")

2. "How many times magnification?" (My standard response: "Depends on the eyepiece - usually between 100-300 x.")

3. "How much does it cost?" (My standard response: "Oh, a few thousand dollars.")

(On a side note, the 3 most common warnings are:

a. "Do not look at the sun with the telescope!"

b. "Do not touch the telescope - just look!"

c. "No food near the telescope!")

Oh yeah, I noticed OpticsPlanet has a lot of good articles. I found another one regarding eyepieces incase you ever ask about them and how they work out. It also tells you why magnification is less significant as compared to a telescope's aperture in Astronomy.

http://www.opticsplanet.net/telescope-e ... tions.html

When you have found all the answers to your questions, you may proceed to join me or anyone else in an observation session. If you join me, I'll be able to show you the reason why magnification does not matters. If you join others with larger aperture scopes like 8" or 12.5", you'll be able to enjoy viewing many faint objects much more than on mine.

Meanwhile, since you already have a pair of bino, get a planisphere that you can bring along on your observations so as to familiarize yourself with the night sky. When I went for my first observation session, even when I was viewing magnificant objects like the Jewel Box through NUS's scope, I wasn't as estatic as when I found the Omega Centauri globular cluster by myself in the scope. You'd best enjoy Astronomy by learning how to find dim objects by yourself, and when you succeed in finding the object you were looking for, you'll be over the moon (pun intended)!

Regards,
Zane