Just got a new scope...
Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 3:21 pm
Edwin just bought an ETX90, he asks
Size
The size, or aperture of this telescope is 90 mm. That is the size of its lens and indicative of its light gathering power.
Type
The design of the Meade ETX90 is known as a Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope (MCT). This type of design uses both lens and mirrors to achieve a large focal length in a short tube.
Focal length
The focal length is related to how much magnification you get in the eyepiece. For this scope it is about 1025 mm. The eyepiece that comes with the scope is a 27mm, so the magnification you get with this eyepiece is about 47x (1025 / 27). Different eyepieces will give you different magnifications.
What can I see?
With a 90mm aperture, the light gathering power allows you to see many of the brighter objects from Singapore. Easiest to start with are the moon and the planets. At the moment you can catch Jupiter and Saturn. At this magnification, the planets are rather tiny but some detail can be seen, while many other beautiful clusters will fit in to the field-of-view (FOV). Explore websites such as space.com and you can learn more about the sky and what things to see from them.
Cheers
Here is an example of some things I saw they first time out with this scope:
(Second) light, 24th December morning:
Condition – clear sky, no cloud, good transparency.
Mars - too small to make out features. Limited by eyepiece.
Saturn - ring and moons clear. too small to see division
Jupiter - two bands noticeable. Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto visible
M93,41,46,47,50,31(andromeda),36,37,38,44(beehive),67 - pretty.Limiting mag ~ 6
M42-Orion Neb - Shape distinct,able to split tight cluster of four stars in middle.
M45 - Pleiades - breathtaking
First, congrats on getting your first scope! Hope you don’t mind that I share my answer here for the benefit of other beginners and also that others can help as well."hi...sorry...still a beginner...may i know whats the size of this telescope? and...what type of stuff can i see? cos i heard that diff focal length let you view diff stuff rite? "
Size
The size, or aperture of this telescope is 90 mm. That is the size of its lens and indicative of its light gathering power.
Type
The design of the Meade ETX90 is known as a Maksutov-Cassegrain Telescope (MCT). This type of design uses both lens and mirrors to achieve a large focal length in a short tube.
Focal length
The focal length is related to how much magnification you get in the eyepiece. For this scope it is about 1025 mm. The eyepiece that comes with the scope is a 27mm, so the magnification you get with this eyepiece is about 47x (1025 / 27). Different eyepieces will give you different magnifications.
What can I see?
With a 90mm aperture, the light gathering power allows you to see many of the brighter objects from Singapore. Easiest to start with are the moon and the planets. At the moment you can catch Jupiter and Saturn. At this magnification, the planets are rather tiny but some detail can be seen, while many other beautiful clusters will fit in to the field-of-view (FOV). Explore websites such as space.com and you can learn more about the sky and what things to see from them.
Cheers
Here is an example of some things I saw they first time out with this scope:
(Second) light, 24th December morning:
Condition – clear sky, no cloud, good transparency.
Mars - too small to make out features. Limited by eyepiece.
Saturn - ring and moons clear. too small to see division
Jupiter - two bands noticeable. Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto visible
M93,41,46,47,50,31(andromeda),36,37,38,44(beehive),67 - pretty.Limiting mag ~ 6
M42-Orion Neb - Shape distinct,able to split tight cluster of four stars in middle.
M45 - Pleiades - breathtaking