Telescope parts

"phenotyp" (phenotyp) 08/03/2020 at 21:38 • Filed to: Spacelopnik, assembly, shit the bed

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Here’s a thing I’m building

Apparently kinja doesn’t like mobile uploads?

Anyway. Trying to build a telescope.

Seems pretty damn-well engineered, so far. Comically-bad packaging, but I’m the weirdo who’s good with that. It’s a bunch of pieces in cardboard, that I have to assemble, and there’s a huge, heavy counterweight to contend with.

TheRealBicycleBuck > phenotyp 08/03/2020 at 22:01

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My son said the other day that he would like to get a telescope. I know nothing about them. What made you select that particular model?

Bylan - Hoarder of LS400's > phenotyp 08/03/2020 at 22:04

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I appreciate your “author” source for the pics. Together, we can tell Kinja to go fuck themselves 

wafflesnfalafel > phenotyp 08/03/2020 at 22:06

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V ery cool - looks just big enough to be addicting. I’ve been playing with my old DSLR recently, been able to get a few decent moon shots and pics of the four, big Jupiter moons but the comet was basically a bust...

Aremmes > phenotyp 08/03/2020 at 22:12

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Oooh, equatorial mount. Definitely not something from Celestron.

phenotyp > TheRealBicycleBuck 08/03/2020 at 22:12

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I had a little telescope when I was like 7, and spent some amazing time in a real observatory (like the concrete-and-giant-gears-kind) when I was a kid.

This was a gift from a parent, who knows how much space stuff means to me, and how much I want my kid to learn, and it arrived unannouced, and I’m trying to figure out how to build it. It’s obviously very well-made, built to last.

Putting it together is kinda like holding relics, and I honestly don’t know what to do with it.

phenotyp > Aremmes 08/03/2020 at 22:14

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Orion.

I have no idea what I’m doing.

phenotyp > Bylan - Hoarder of LS400's 08/03/2020 at 22:19

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I’m sure you know that Oppo is the best. Can’t fight Kinja more now than 10 years ago, but as long as we’re all able to say hello and whatever, that’s pretty great.

Aremmes > phenotyp 08/03/2020 at 22:20

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Beyond the definition of declination and right ascension, and their relationship to equatorial mounts, I have no idea either.

FWIW, Celestron does make manual eq-mount telescopes, but I prefer to make fun of the cheap models that pop up at Costco.

phenotyp > Aremmes 08/03/2020 at 22:24

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Well, that’s resa suring.

Bylan - Hoarder of LS400's > phenotyp 08/03/2020 at 22:25

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I have no idea how I stumbled upon this wonderful corner of brown-wagons and M iata everything, but I’ m glad I did. OPPO is the best. A nd I’ll still poke fun at Kinja because it’s terribad at times.

Roadkilled > TheRealBicycleBuck 08/03/2020 at 22:32

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I’ve got an ode Meade 4" reflector with a couple eye pieces. The current version is only $150.

https://www.meade.com/telescopes/newtonian-reflector/polaris-114mm-german-equatorial-reflector.html

It’s something I can recommend as an entry-level telescope that is just good enough for a casual use. I can see the rings of Saturn and the four Galilean moons of Jupiter. You can’t see any detail on any planets, but that’s a lot to ask for something at this level. However, the moon is something else. It’s amazing the detail you can see.

Your location and light pollution will have big effect, but even in a city a 4" telescope will let you explore many of the planets of the solar system. That’s often enough to get a kid hooked on ama teur  astronomy.

phenotyp > Bylan - Hoarder of LS400's 08/03/2020 at 22:36

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Word.

HammerheadFistpunch > phenotyp 08/03/2020 at 23:29

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