Team-BHP - The Astronomy Thread: FAQs, News & Trivia
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Quote:

Originally Posted by Dieselritzer (Post 3357601)
wow. What a thread. On countless night treks i have slept in the open staring at the amazing sky. I stay in Mumbai, so i have to get far from the city to see the stars, i usually go towards Lonavala, Nashik for Star Gazing activities. I wish to buy a telescope for this reason :

http://spotthestation.nasa.gov/sight...i#.Up1z3dIW2Ck

If you have the time and passion, then I suggest you attend the telescope making workshop at IUCAA, Pune. They have a workshop every now and then and it takes about 10-12 days to make your own telescope and that too of your choice of glass diameter. Maximum time is required in grinding the glass. The more the better. The clearer the glass, the better is absorption of light and lesser chances of developing chromatic aberrations and distortions.

The single biggest advantage of this workshop is that you learn in and out of a telescope.

Quote:

Originally Posted by saket77 (Post 3357617)
Yummy wedding gift! (BTW, you want your buddy to observe the night sky after this transition??lol:)
=================
Trust this post helps!

Regards,
Saket

I really wanted to give this to him from a long time, because as school kids I remember us both borrowing telescope from library and struggling to see the moon and stars, He is very much interested in astronomy and celestial observations as a kid. And I consider this gift as the "Practical key to his real honeyMOON" :uncontrol

BTW, that's a wonderful information on technical stuffs about telescopes from you, thanks a lot for that.

I'm relieved after you confirmed it as something worthy, I sure did a lot of research before buying it but wanted a confirmation from someone who has practical experience.

My friend is a geeky lad when it comes to having patience in calibrating and
researching stuffs so he will surely find ways to improvise things like filters you have mentioned, I just wanted to make sure he gets a very good starting kit for that

Regards.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajay_satpute (Post 3357625)
If you have the time and passion, then I suggest you attend the telescope making workshop at IUCAA, Pune.
=============
The single biggest advantage of this workshop is that you learn in and out of a telescope.

Hi Ajay, arre with my current schedule this seems difficult. I wish to buy a telescope which can help me do things i have stated. Something i can carry in the car, go to a nice location, set it up and enjoy. Any help is appreciated.

Wonderful thread.
Sorry if this appears very naive.

My father is always amused by the night sky. He has never observed it through a telescope but very much wants to. Now can I get a decent(very subjective, but I m not sure about requirements as well) telescope for somewhere around 5-8k?
What all should I look for when buying one?

I am interested in knowing how detailed can we see a planet, say Venus or Mars with such an equipment? if someone can point to a photo it would be helpful for me to understand

Will ISS be visible as Dieselritzer posted some posts above ?

^ check http://www.tejraj.com/ for a lot of good products (thats the site I have been lurking on for ages...)

I think ISS should be "visible"..most things are easily visible with any small telescope, how clear, that's a different story ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fraz33r (Post 3357574)
2) We all know that our planets revolve around the sun in circular fashion. But most asteroids do not. We are very much in the path of the giant asteroids and at constant risk of striking. Dinosaurs were extinct because of one such explosion.The craters on the moon are believed to be from the many asteroids that have been hit.

Fraz33r, I do not want to nit-pick but I do believe that we should post as accurate information as possible whenever we can.
So a slight modification to your post - the planets are in an "elliptical" orbit around the Sun and not circular. Also ALL bodies in the solar system DO revolve around the Sun (which is the body exerting the biggest gravitational pull on them), Why would they not revolve around the Sun?

I think you meant that they are in very odd/irregular orbits (some out of the plane of the other planets' orbits) and highly elliptical or oblong..also due to their low mass they are easily displaced by other forces e.g Jupiter etc) Hence the comets and asteroids often stray from their orbits and smash into other planets (which ever happens to be close enough to pull them in towards themselves)

Quote:

Originally Posted by rajesh1868 (Post 3357736)
Wonderful thread.
Sorry if this appears very naive.

I am interested in knowing how detailed can we see a planet, say Venus or Mars with such an equipment? if someone can point to a photo it would be helpful for me to understand

Will ISS be visible as Dieselritzer posted some posts above ?

Celestron is a reputed brand when it comes to telescopes, binoculars and optics in general. You can go through this link: http://www.flipkart.com/camera-acces...7-4981afbe1a5c

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajay_satpute (Post 3357759)
Celestron is a reputed brand when it comes to telescopes, binoculars and optics in general. You can go through this link: http://www.flipkart.com/camera-acces...7-4981afbe1a5c

Thanks Ajay!
I was checking this - http://www.flipkart.com/celestron-po...b-c37465c63fa2

As per comments, this seems to be pretty decent with even Cassini division visible. I was under the impression that you need some giant observatory type ones to see those stupid:

Also there are comments which indicate that this is overpriced. If so any other sources that you suggest to get them?

Also is the eyepiece being small as mentioned in some comments a big issue?

Quote:

Originally Posted by rajesh1868 (Post 3357774)
Also there are comments which indicate that this is overpriced. If so any other sources that you suggest to get them?

Hey rajesh, I posted another site www.tejraj.com in an earlier post, did yoou check that? It has a decent amount of scopes with some fairly decent scopes in your budget too.

e.g this 70mm Bresser refractor for 6.6k
http://www.tejraj.com/sirius.html

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abhay (Post 3357825)
Hey rajesh, I posted another site www.tejraj.com in an earlier post, did yoou check that? It has a decent amount of scopes with some fairly decent scopes in your budget too.

e.g this 70mm Bresser refractor for 6.6k
http://www.tejraj.com/sirius.html

Somehow missed your post. seeing lots of options listed here.
Anyone with buying experience from them?

Quote:

Originally Posted by rajesh1868 (Post 3357736)

What all should I look for when buying one?

I am interested in knowing how detailed can we see a planet, say Venus or Mars with such an equipment? if someone can point to a photo it would be helpful for me to understand

Will ISS be visible as Dieselritzer posted some posts above ?

Look for telescopes with larger aperture size. For any degree of serious thrill, at least 4.5 inches of aperture (or 114 mm/11.4 cm) is recommended.

Do not expect to see colorful planets and all like we often get to see in magazine prints else you will be disappointed. Those pictures are captured by telescopes like the Hubble and by highly advanced cameras which can alter shutter speeds in excess. The normal human eye is simply not capable of seeing in so much detail.
However, if you watch with an open mind, you can be thrilled by the craters and surfaces of the moon in fairly great detail. TIP: moon is best viewed at when it is about 40-60% visible. Contrary to what most will believe, the full moon day is the worst time (after no moon day!) to observe the moon.

Apart from the moon, I can see the giant red spot on the Jupiter with its 3-4 (out of 67!) moons most of the times. No moons are visible to the naked eye. But this needs patience and some experience in 'looking' from a telescope. It will come with time.

Coming to one of the most interesting objects, the Saturn; the Saturn rings are visible at as less as 45X. At anything over 160-170X the Cassini division should be visible. (This is my calculated guess).

I will look for the pictures of Saturn which I clicked. However, it looks so much better live. The picture of Saturn did not turned out as good as what it really looks like.

For the ISS, it is visible to the naked eye too. I have never gave that a try but I have a feeling that it is moving too quickly to lock it on a telescope. A pair of binos should be better at that work.

Hope this helps!

Regards,
Saket

Quote:

Originally Posted by saket77 (Post 3357973)
Look for telescopes with larger aperture size. For any degree of serious thrill, at least 4.5 inches of aperture (or 114 mm/11.4 cm) is recommended.

Hope this helps!

Regards,
Saket

Thanks a lot Saket. That was informative

I am a novice and got fascinated in astronomy very recently. To start with have downloaded few carl sagan videos. Also going through Brief history of time pdf whenever i find time. One thing that always fascinated me, but couldnt grasp is the Twins paradox. Watched multiple videos and read various articles about that but still couldnt understand how Time slows down when you travel fast. What if both twins start couting numbers? Wont they match? I know its difficult to explain in an online forum, but any references would help. Thanks.

A wonderful and informative thread on team bhp.

Though I myself am not much into astronomy, it has always piqued my interest.

The information being shared here has got me hooked to the thread. I shall be following it with interest. Thanks a lot all.

Ps: maybe its time to invest in a decent telescope for beginners

Quote:

Originally Posted by sukhoi30 (Post 3356203)
One of the strongest inspiration for me would be the movie Gravity. The effect of space is so well taken that you really feel like being in space.

agree:

The movie has done more than just win award nominations and accolades. It has simulated the layperson to start looking at space again with a much renewed outlook.

Oh and here's the famous Pale Blue Dot pic if anyone hasn't looked it up yet:

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Quote:

Originally Posted by ajay_satpute (Post 3356700)
For all beginners, I would really recommend the most famous book called 'BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME' by Stephen Hawking.

Cheers!

Oh man! That is one helluva book to read. I have lost count of the times I must've gone through it and yet it manages to thrill me even today.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dieselritzer (Post 3357601)
url]http://spotthestation.nasa.gov/sightings/view.cfm?country=India&region=None&city=Mumbai#.Up 1z3dIW2Ck[/url]

This is a website run by NASA which tells you when and for how long you will see the ISS pass over the sky. Mention your location and it will give you co-ordinates and i know people have track ISS passing by and with telescopes have seen it in its full actual form ( and not just like a star passing by ) with its Solar Panels open and other few details.

I looked up the website and found the timings that I could spot the ISS. However, I could not deduce what the other parameters stand for. Could you help me out? Sorry but I'm really a novice in this regard.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajay_satpute (Post 3357625)
If you have the time and passion, then I suggest you attend the telescope making workshop at IUCAA, Pune. They have a workshop every now and then and it takes about 10-12 days to make your own telescope and that too of your choice of glass diameter.

The single biggest advantage of this workshop is that you learn in and out of a telescope.

Can you post some more info, like a website or something, Ajay?

Edit - Never mind. Got it! :thumbs up

Quote:

Originally Posted by saket77 (Post 3357973)
However, if you watch with an open mind, you can be thrilled by the craters and surfaces of the moon in fairly great detail. TIP: moon is best viewed at when it is about 40-60% visible. Contrary to what most will believe, the full moon day is the worst time (after no moon day!) to observe the moon.

+1. I tried photographing the moon in phase and I was quite pleased with what I got. Enthusiastically, I shot it on full moon day and honestly, it did not turn out as expected. It wasn't as visually impacting as the phased one.

The Astronomy Thread: FAQs, News & Trivia-2.jpg

The Astronomy Thread: FAQs, News & Trivia-1.jpg

Hi, about that website, I really dont know. I have personally never used that site, I am just aware of the link. I will still try and find out. I think the co=ordinates are for the use of telescope.


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