Question
Hi, I have Sony F707 digital camera that takes beatiful pictures and I’m wondering about buying a telescope. Could I get some advise on what kind of telescope will be the best/will work with the camera. My budget is about 1000-1500$. I plan mainly to shoot the moon and planets plus maybe some nebulae’s and galaxies (far space). I know it may not be possible as my camera’s CCD is not cooled. What’s the longest exposure I can get anyway? Thanks
Anwser
Your longest exposure will depend mainly on your camera features and the mounting of the telescope that you choose. According to Digital Photography Review your camera can do 30 second exposures. That is enough time to make great images. First get or build a setup with a solid eq mount. Also larger aperture is nice if you can afford it. This is because of the effect of aperture on resolution. Chromatic aberration (large achros) is a sharpness robbing no-no. I suggest that you first look at the equipment others use to take pictures with digicams. Try these groups and sites. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/digital_astro/ http://www.scopetronix.com/digitalcam.htm http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TeleVue/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ScopeMounts/ http://www.dpreview.com/ and of course the gallery for the Yahoo Groups Digital_Astro forum: http://velatron.com/dca/gallery/ One path to making astrophotos with your camera could be with a solid mount such as a Vixen GP/SP and a moderate or even small aperture scope like a used TV76 or TV 85 on the GEM. Perhaps a better plan within your budget would be to get a used SCT (lots of cheap aperture!) on a SOLID MOUNT with or without goto. Keep in mind that almost any sharp color free OTA on a quality mount will get you started. You need an eq mount or wedge for timed exposures because of field rotation with alt-az mounts. Camera attachment strategies and image processing techniques such as stacking are discussed on the websites listed above. Have fun!
Associated Buying Telescope Question:I want to buy a telescope for stargazing. Any suggestions on what features to look for are appreciated. How much can I expect to spend on a “good enough” telescope? I want this one to last and sustain interest until middle school age (next 6 years). After that we will get a really good one if the kids want. Right now, it’s really for fun and some education.

• Anwser: If you have an interest in astronomy, buy a telescope that is appropriate for you and teach your children to use it as you would any other instrument. If you do not already have an interest in astronomy, buying a telescope and trying to interest your young children in it might be a fruitless effort. Look into joining local stargazing and astronomy clubs which meet periodically in dark places to point their telescopes at the sky. If your daughters are into that, pursue it. Your children are now aged four and three? Middle school might be different where you are, but here it’s generally 7th-9th grade (ages 12-13-14-15 ) , so buying equipment that they’ll grow into isn’t very practical.
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Question
for looking at stars,the moon and Mars etc… How much would a decent one cost?? anyone with an astronomical knowledge please help me… and also what are the guidelines to choosing a right telescope?? cheers
Anwser
A couple of telescope buying tips. There are two basic types of optical telescope. Refractor and Reflector. Refractors have a primary LENS and you look through the opposite end (traditional telescope). Reflectors have a big concave MIRROR and the eyepiece is mounted near the end of the tube that you point at the stars. Don’t get caught up in the whole “300x magnification!!” business. Magnification is way down the list of features of a “good” telescope. Generally speaking for, the larger diameter the primary lens/mirror is, the better the scope will be. For local solar system object viewing I would not recommend less than 90mm lens/3.5 inch mirror. With this you will have great views of the moon, you will be able to make out the rings of Saturn and the larger Jovian moons. With a high power eyepiece you might see the polar caps on Mars as a bright blob. Telescopes with a standard 1.25 inch interchangeable eyepiece mount have the most scope (ha-ha!) for expansion with different types of eyepieces and even CCD imaging systems available. Also there are three basic mounting systems for telescopes. Alt/Azimuth – The standard gimbal type with two axes of motion on a tripod. Good for smaller refractor scopes. Makes it easy to use but hard to find objects from astronomical publications and star-charts and astronomical photography is really hard. Dobsonian – More advanced ground mounted alt-azimuth. Good for large reflectors. No good for refractors. The most advanced ones are computer controlled and can simulate the next mount type. Astronomical/Equatorial – Tripod mounted on angle to match the earth’s tilt. Moves in two dimesions aligned with Declination/Right Ascension (equivalent of Latitude and Longitude for sky objects) This way you can track objects as they move due to the earth’s rotation. Essential for simple astronomical photography. Useful for both refractor and smaller reflector scopes (up to about 6 inch mirror) My advice for newbies is to look at products from companies like Meade. They have a wide range of basic scopes aimed at amateur stargazers. They are widely known and are available from a lot of camera shops in NZ. New, they cost about $700 for a 60mm refractor (a bit on the low power side) and about $1200 for a 4.5 inch reflector (gets some respect at star parties). An extra medium power eyepiece might cost another $150. Of course you might be able to pick up a second hand one a bit cheaper. Beyond that, the sky really is the limit. If you want computer controlled, CCD imaging you can spend tens of thousands of dollars easy as. Hope this helps.

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