Size15's
Flashaholic
What brand of tower cranes are they? They look like Liebherr...
Al
Al
Testing my new telescope. :)
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txwest
Flashlight Enthusiast
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by The LED Museum:
[QBWonder what "power" (magnification factor) this telescope & eyepiece combination is. It doesn't say on the scope or the eyepiece.[/QB]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Craig, to find your "power", you need to divide the focal length of your telescope by the focal length of the lens. TX
[QBWonder what "power" (magnification factor) this telescope & eyepiece combination is. It doesn't say on the scope or the eyepiece.[/QB]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Craig, to find your "power", you need to divide the focal length of your telescope by the focal length of the lens. TX
The_LED_Museum
*Retired*
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by txwest:
I don't know both parameters. The only numbers I can find go like this:
D=60mm F=700mm f/11.7
I assume this to be:
D=objective lens diameter
F=objective lens focal length.
I don't know what the small 'f/11.7' means.
There is also the marking "H25mm" embossed in the rubber eyecup of the removeable eyepiece.
The telescope is labelled as a Meade TeleStar DS-60. It is mounted to an insanely large tripod with some type of computer connections on it; presumably to allow the telescope to aim itself at various celestial objects as directed by an astrometrics chart loaded in your laptop or in a dedicated "box" that may have originally come with the telescope.
The instrument itself appears Galilean(sp). Long tube with a single apparently DCX objective, and no mirrors except inside the eyepiece.
The removeable 90° multiple element achromatic eyepiece has no markings other than "Meade" on the side and "H25mm" embossed on the rubber eyecup. The image as viewed through it is erect, but flipped horizontally. By removing the 90° adapter and affixing the eyepiece directly to the end of the telescope, the image is inverted vertically, and (as I just now found out) is noticeably cleaner. The mirror in this adapter is definitely filthy, so I'll probably end up leaving that off until I can have it cleaned. The lenses themselves appear to be pretty close to immaculate. Nothing that the stinky stuff in the brown eyedropper bottle Jahn sent awhile back can't take care of anyway.
Still, not bad for a flea market find, and my first telescope large enough to be useful for viewing planets, comets, nebulae, Borg cubes, moons, the Argus array, and other assorted large space junk.
I don't know both parameters. The only numbers I can find go like this:
D=60mm F=700mm f/11.7
I assume this to be:
D=objective lens diameter
F=objective lens focal length.
I don't know what the small 'f/11.7' means.
There is also the marking "H25mm" embossed in the rubber eyecup of the removeable eyepiece.
The telescope is labelled as a Meade TeleStar DS-60. It is mounted to an insanely large tripod with some type of computer connections on it; presumably to allow the telescope to aim itself at various celestial objects as directed by an astrometrics chart loaded in your laptop or in a dedicated "box" that may have originally come with the telescope.
The instrument itself appears Galilean(sp). Long tube with a single apparently DCX objective, and no mirrors except inside the eyepiece.
The removeable 90° multiple element achromatic eyepiece has no markings other than "Meade" on the side and "H25mm" embossed on the rubber eyecup. The image as viewed through it is erect, but flipped horizontally. By removing the 90° adapter and affixing the eyepiece directly to the end of the telescope, the image is inverted vertically, and (as I just now found out) is noticeably cleaner. The mirror in this adapter is definitely filthy, so I'll probably end up leaving that off until I can have it cleaned. The lenses themselves appear to be pretty close to immaculate. Nothing that the stinky stuff in the brown eyedropper bottle Jahn sent awhile back can't take care of anyway.
Still, not bad for a flea market find, and my first telescope large enough to be useful for viewing planets, comets, nebulae, Borg cubes, moons, the Argus array, and other assorted large space junk.
The_LED_Museum
*Retired*
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Size15s:
What brand of tower cranes are they? They look like Liebherr...
Al<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I'm pretty sure at least the big one is. It has that name above a window on its white control cab. The one I photographed was a smaller crane with a yellow cab, and I didn't see any labelling on it.
(Edit) The red arrow in the first picture points to the cab I took this picture of.
I still can't get the focus quite right, as the camera sees the world differently than my eyeballs do. Still, this isn't bad for shooting something almost two miles away and being able to see the seperate parts of a windshield wiper or a little wire running down the corner or the screws holding the thing together.
If the guy inside flicked a cigarette out the window, I would have been able to pick that up too.
What brand of tower cranes are they? They look like Liebherr...
Al<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I'm pretty sure at least the big one is. It has that name above a window on its white control cab. The one I photographed was a smaller crane with a yellow cab, and I didn't see any labelling on it.
(Edit) The red arrow in the first picture points to the cab I took this picture of.
I still can't get the focus quite right, as the camera sees the world differently than my eyeballs do. Still, this isn't bad for shooting something almost two miles away and being able to see the seperate parts of a windshield wiper or a little wire running down the corner or the screws holding the thing together.
If the guy inside flicked a cigarette out the window, I would have been able to pick that up too.
Graham
Flashlight Enthusiast
Craig, if you look around a bit you may be able to find a camera adapter/eyepiece replacement for the telescope. I've seen them at various times when looking at telescopes..
They seem to be a lot more common now..
Edit: Probably obvious, but I just tried a quick search on Google for 'telescope camera adapters', and sure enough lots of stuff came up, including quite a few about Nikon Coolpix cameras. So you might be able to find something...
Graham
They seem to be a lot more common now..
Edit: Probably obvious, but I just tried a quick search on Google for 'telescope camera adapters', and sure enough lots of stuff came up, including quite a few about Nikon Coolpix cameras. So you might be able to find something...
Graham
txwest
Flashlight Enthusiast
Craig,
With the 700mm fl & the 25mm ep, you're looking @ X28 power. With the light gathering ability of the 60mm objective, if you push the power more than that, it'll start falling off in brightness. The f11.7 has to do with the fastness of the lens. Most telescopes you would use for taking pictures would be a "widefield" telescope in the f5-6 range. If you're going to use it for terrestrial viewing, you might look for an errecting 45 degree diagonal. Easier to view with & makes everything "correct" viewing. Be careful when you clean the mirror in the diagonal as they are easy to scratch. TX
With the 700mm fl & the 25mm ep, you're looking @ X28 power. With the light gathering ability of the 60mm objective, if you push the power more than that, it'll start falling off in brightness. The f11.7 has to do with the fastness of the lens. Most telescopes you would use for taking pictures would be a "widefield" telescope in the f5-6 range. If you're going to use it for terrestrial viewing, you might look for an errecting 45 degree diagonal. Easier to view with & makes everything "correct" viewing. Be careful when you clean the mirror in the diagonal as they are easy to scratch. TX
TrevorNasko
Flashlight Enthusiast
my site is itching for a rainer pic. where is it. wait- it only apears on a new moon right?
btw now you need to afix a green laser to the thing so you see those who you harrass 2 miles away. theyll never find you as they will not see you - only the laser
btw now you need to afix a green laser to the thing so you see those who you harrass 2 miles away. theyll never find you as they will not see you - only the laser
papasan
Enlightened
it may be vibrations causing the bluriness, not focus...with that much of a zoom even the most slightest of movements will cause it to blur...even more if the camera and telescope are not solidly attached to one another...
The_LED_Museum
*Retired*
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by txwest:
Craig,
With the 700mm fl & the 25mm ep, you're looking @ X28 power. With the light gathering ability of the 60mm objective, if you push the power more than that, it'll start falling off in brightness.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
28x?!? That's it?!?
Damn, I thought I really had something. 28x is definitely not enough for astronomical usage; it probably wouldn't even be enough for one to resolve the disk of Mars or Jupiter; or see the rings of Saturn or the pulsar inside the Crab Nebula.
What a waste.
Anybody want a POS telescope that's useless for viewing the night sky? Works fine for terrestrial viewing. Anybody know where I can find a 3x or 4x barlow for it? That might be enough to make it useful for looking at brighter night sky objects.
Craig,
With the 700mm fl & the 25mm ep, you're looking @ X28 power. With the light gathering ability of the 60mm objective, if you push the power more than that, it'll start falling off in brightness.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
28x?!? That's it?!?
Damn, I thought I really had something. 28x is definitely not enough for astronomical usage; it probably wouldn't even be enough for one to resolve the disk of Mars or Jupiter; or see the rings of Saturn or the pulsar inside the Crab Nebula.
What a waste.
Anybody want a POS telescope that's useless for viewing the night sky? Works fine for terrestrial viewing. Anybody know where I can find a 3x or 4x barlow for it? That might be enough to make it useful for looking at brighter night sky objects.
The_LED_Museum
*Retired*
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by papasan:
it may be vibrations causing the bluriness, not focus...with that much of a zoom even the most slightest of movements will cause it to blur...even more if the camera and telescope are not solidly attached to one another...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
The telescope and camera were on seperate tripods. There's no way to mount them to the same one, or attach anything to the camera's lens because it's one of those kinds with the motor. As soon as the camera tries to engage autofocus or if the battery died and it turned off, the lens would be destroyed.
Guess I'll just have to stick to looking through it with my own eyes.
it may be vibrations causing the bluriness, not focus...with that much of a zoom even the most slightest of movements will cause it to blur...even more if the camera and telescope are not solidly attached to one another...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
The telescope and camera were on seperate tripods. There's no way to mount them to the same one, or attach anything to the camera's lens because it's one of those kinds with the motor. As soon as the camera tries to engage autofocus or if the battery died and it turned off, the lens would be destroyed.
Guess I'll just have to stick to looking through it with my own eyes.
The_LED_Museum
*Retired*
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Aragorn:
my site is itching for a rainer pic. where is it<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Sorry, I haven't been away from the downtown core area lately. The skyscrapers I share real-estate with completely occlude my view, not to mention my window faces the wrong way. You'll just have to wait some more.
my site is itching for a rainer pic. where is it<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Sorry, I haven't been away from the downtown core area lately. The skyscrapers I share real-estate with completely occlude my view, not to mention my window faces the wrong way. You'll just have to wait some more.
The_LED_Museum
*Retired*
Testing the new telescope I picked up yesterday (or was it the day before).
A construction crane a mile or so away. Arrow points to the operator's cab that I tried aiming the bulky telescope at.
I know it's out of focus, but it's my first time trying to take a picture through the eyepiece of a telescope of this size. This is part of the crane's cab where the arrow in the last picture was pointed.
Wonder what "power" (magnification factor) this telescope & eyepiece combination is. It doesn't say on the scope or the eyepiece.
A construction crane a mile or so away. Arrow points to the operator's cab that I tried aiming the bulky telescope at.
I know it's out of focus, but it's my first time trying to take a picture through the eyepiece of a telescope of this size. This is part of the crane's cab where the arrow in the last picture was pointed.
Wonder what "power" (magnification factor) this telescope & eyepiece combination is. It doesn't say on the scope or the eyepiece.
The_LED_Museum
*Retired*
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Aragorn:
my site is itching for a rainer pic. where is it. wait- it only apears on a new moon right?
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
This is gonna have to be it for the time being. It's just too smoggy to get a clear picture of something 100+ miles away.
my site is itching for a rainer pic. where is it. wait- it only apears on a new moon right?
This is gonna have to be it for the time being. It's just too smoggy to get a clear picture of something 100+ miles away.
txwest
Flashlight Enthusiast
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by The LED Museum:
28x?!? That's it?!?
Damn, I thought I really had something. 28x is definitely not enough for astronomical usage; it probably wouldn't even be enough for one to resolve the disk of Mars or Jupiter; or see the rings of Saturn or the pulsar inside the Crab Nebula.
What a waste.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Craig,
It's not actually the 28X that is going to limit what you see. I've done some very good viewing at that power or less (10X). What's going to kill you is #1- The not too good "seeing" conditions of Seattle #2- The lack of light gathering ability of a 60mm lens. That's less than 2 1/2". I had most of my best views at less than 30X, but that was with 8" of light gathering ability. If you can get some clear, stable nights, Saturn & it's moons and Jupiter & it's rings will be easy to see. Any nebuela, other than maybe Orion, will be tough. TX
28x?!? That's it?!?
Damn, I thought I really had something. 28x is definitely not enough for astronomical usage; it probably wouldn't even be enough for one to resolve the disk of Mars or Jupiter; or see the rings of Saturn or the pulsar inside the Crab Nebula.
What a waste.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Craig,
It's not actually the 28X that is going to limit what you see. I've done some very good viewing at that power or less (10X). What's going to kill you is #1- The not too good "seeing" conditions of Seattle #2- The lack of light gathering ability of a 60mm lens. That's less than 2 1/2". I had most of my best views at less than 30X, but that was with 8" of light gathering ability. If you can get some clear, stable nights, Saturn & it's moons and Jupiter & it's rings will be easy to see. Any nebuela, other than maybe Orion, will be tough. TX
The_LED_Museum
*Retired*
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by txwest:
txwest
Flashlight Enthusiast
Craig,
Me thinks your 40X telescope didst have bad optics..... Really...besides the 5 or 6 telescopes I have, I also have 3 sets of binoculars. 20X, 11X & 7X. The 7X50mm are my favorite & I've had some of my best observations with them. Besides that, they're much more portable & easier to set up than the 8" Dob. As far as the sky charts go, you can print them monthly off the internet at www.skycharts.com . TX
edit:
The above sight is actually skymaps.com, but "edit" won't change the letters on the page, but it does take you to the sight.
Me thinks your 40X telescope didst have bad optics..... Really...besides the 5 or 6 telescopes I have, I also have 3 sets of binoculars. 20X, 11X & 7X. The 7X50mm are my favorite & I've had some of my best observations with them. Besides that, they're much more portable & easier to set up than the 8" Dob. As far as the sky charts go, you can print them monthly off the internet at www.skycharts.com . TX
edit:
The above sight is actually skymaps.com, but "edit" won't change the letters on the page, but it does take you to the sight.
The_LED_Museum
*Retired*
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by txwest:
Craig,
Me thinks your 40X telescope didst have bad optics..... <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Maybe you're right. I just noticed Jupiter getting ready to set to the NNW, so I set up my 28x scope and I can definitely make out the disk (about the apparent size of a lowercase "o") and three of its moons. It's still just a bright white circle though; I cannot make out any features in its cloud deck. And the top half of it looks like it's on fire because of thermal distortion in the atmosphere over Seattle. Still, it's substantially better than the view I had of it as a kid. (Maybe it's closer to us now than it was back then - that would make a difference I'm sure).
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by txwest:
As far as the sky charts go, you can print them monthly off the internet at www.skycharts.com<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I'll just have to view them online, as I don't have a printer.
Craig,
Me thinks your 40X telescope didst have bad optics..... <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Maybe you're right. I just noticed Jupiter getting ready to set to the NNW, so I set up my 28x scope and I can definitely make out the disk (about the apparent size of a lowercase "o") and three of its moons. It's still just a bright white circle though; I cannot make out any features in its cloud deck. And the top half of it looks like it's on fire because of thermal distortion in the atmosphere over Seattle. Still, it's substantially better than the view I had of it as a kid. (Maybe it's closer to us now than it was back then - that would make a difference I'm sure).
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by txwest:
As far as the sky charts go, you can print them monthly off the internet at www.skycharts.com<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I'll just have to view them online, as I don't have a printer.
Alchemist
Newly Enlightened
Craig.
How did you take those pictures through your telescope?(manual camera settings or automatic etc..)
I bought some expensive 35mm gear for astrophotography, but I can never be bothered to set it all up.
All the pictures I have taken by holding my digicam against the eyepiece have been worthless. In comparison, yours look very professional when compared with my efforts.
also, I have an old telescope with terrible optics (60mm objective lens) and on nights with good "seeing" I can make out Saturns ring(s) so dont give up just yet.
Alan...
How did you take those pictures through your telescope?(manual camera settings or automatic etc..)
I bought some expensive 35mm gear for astrophotography, but I can never be bothered to set it all up.
All the pictures I have taken by holding my digicam against the eyepiece have been worthless. In comparison, yours look very professional when compared with my efforts.
also, I have an old telescope with terrible optics (60mm objective lens) and on nights with good "seeing" I can make out Saturns ring(s) so dont give up just yet.
Alan...
txwest
Flashlight Enthusiast
Craig,
Viewing on the horizon is about the worst condition with the exception of viewing in the rain. ;> ) The best "seeing" is generally acheived close to the zenith (overhead). Saturn is a very interesting planet to watch. The movement of it's 4 major moons can keep your attention. Once, I saw all 4 on the same side. This may not be unsual, but I've only viewed it once. TX
Viewing on the horizon is about the worst condition with the exception of viewing in the rain. ;> ) The best "seeing" is generally acheived close to the zenith (overhead). Saturn is a very interesting planet to watch. The movement of it's 4 major moons can keep your attention. Once, I saw all 4 on the same side. This may not be unsual, but I've only viewed it once. TX
The_LED_Museum
*Retired*
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by alchemist:
Craig.
How did you take those pictures through your telescope?(manual camera settings or automatic etc..)
I have an old telescope with terrible optics (60mm objective lens) and on nights with good "seeing" I can make out Saturns ring(s) so dont give up just yet.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
All I did was aim the telescope at the crane, and set up another tripod in front of the eyepiece with the camera on it. I tried automatic focus and manually setting the lens to infinity focus, and got virtually identical results. Photshop was used to flip the picture afterwards.
I tried looking for Saturn tonight, but it has moved too far south and is no longer visible from my north-facing windows. So I'm screwed until it moves back to the north/northwest again. Jupiter still sets to the northwest after 2am, so I still have a few more chances to view it.
Unfortunately, there is nowhere safe here I can go after dark to set up this telescope outdoors, so I'm limited to what I can see by sticking the business end of it out my window. Jupiter just happens to be in the right part of the sky between around 11pm and 1am.
The telescope is a bit large and unwieldy to transport via wheelchair, but not impossibly so. I know that because that's how I brought the thing home in the first place. And I have plenty of headlight power to see where I'm going. It just simply isn't safe to be in gang /drug dealer territory with a huge $600 programmable telescope after dark. Yeah, it sucks, but what can you do.
Craig.
How did you take those pictures through your telescope?(manual camera settings or automatic etc..)
I have an old telescope with terrible optics (60mm objective lens) and on nights with good "seeing" I can make out Saturns ring(s) so dont give up just yet.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
All I did was aim the telescope at the crane, and set up another tripod in front of the eyepiece with the camera on it. I tried automatic focus and manually setting the lens to infinity focus, and got virtually identical results. Photshop was used to flip the picture afterwards.
I tried looking for Saturn tonight, but it has moved too far south and is no longer visible from my north-facing windows. So I'm screwed until it moves back to the north/northwest again. Jupiter still sets to the northwest after 2am, so I still have a few more chances to view it.
Unfortunately, there is nowhere safe here I can go after dark to set up this telescope outdoors, so I'm limited to what I can see by sticking the business end of it out my window. Jupiter just happens to be in the right part of the sky between around 11pm and 1am.
The telescope is a bit large and unwieldy to transport via wheelchair, but not impossibly so. I know that because that's how I brought the thing home in the first place. And I have plenty of headlight power to see where I'm going. It just simply isn't safe to be in gang /drug dealer territory with a huge $600 programmable telescope after dark. Yeah, it sucks, but what can you do.
