Compact Astronomy

[josephusminimus]

CrazyBill: I just noticed you'd posted an embedded link where pictures illustrate what you described. Not at all what I'd imagined. With a few modifications I'm going to have me one of those. Love that counter-balance of weight.

 

[Spirituallifetime]

I was just looking at some compact telescopes.<br><br><a href="http://www.scientificsonline.com/astroscan-plus-telescope.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.scientificsonline.com/astroscan-plus-telescope.html</a><br><br><a href="http://store.meade.com/etx-80at-tc-bb-achromatic-refractor-with-backpack.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://store.meade.com/etx-80at-tc-bb-achromatic-refractor-with-backpack.html</a>

 

[Seraphim]

Have had the AstroScan for many years. As a wide angle 'scope, it will not be great for telephoto, but is excellent for star fields. No need for a tripod. Good travel 'scope, though a bit bulky.

 

[Spirituallifetime]

My current telescope is a 10" Mead its about 4'6" long so any thing smaller than that would be compact to me. I knew a guy that had a telescope that about filled up the bed of his truck!

 

[StarEcho]

I was just looking at some compact telescopes.<br><br><a href="http://www.scientificsonline.com/astroscan-plus-telescope.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.scientificsonline.com/astroscan-plus-telescope.html</a><br><br><a href="http://store.meade.com/etx-80at-tc-bb-achromatic-refractor-with-backpack.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://store.meade.com/etx-80at-tc-bb-achromatic-refractor-with-backpack.html</a>

<br><br>I have the meade ext and I found it to be very frustrating since it doesn't include any type of finderscope, like a red dot finder -- that's a pretty basic need. &nbsp;There's no way to easily attach one, either. Sure, it's a goto, but those have to be calibrated before you start for the night and to do that you need to center several stars in the eyepiece one after the other. &nbsp;If you can't tell where the scope is pointing precisely, that becomes a big problem. &nbsp;<br><br>And you just can't see much with a little 3"&nbsp;aperture. &nbsp;Only the very bright objects. &nbsp; So the go to is sort of a joke..Yeah, supposedly it'll point you to the whirlpool galaxy, but you're not going to be able to see it with the little 3". &nbsp;Just not going to happen. &nbsp;You need more light gathering capability than that. &nbsp;After many years, I've just come to the conclusion that if I want portable, binoculars are the best thing..maybe with a lightweight tripod. &nbsp;<br><br>

 

[Spirituallifetime]

And you just can't see much with a little 3"&nbsp;aperture. &nbsp;Only the very bright objects. &nbsp; So the go to is sort of a joke..Yeah, supposedly it'll point you to the whirlpool galaxy, but you're not going to be able to see it with the little 3". &nbsp;Just not going to happen. &nbsp;You need more light gathering capability than that. &nbsp;After many years, I've just come to the conclusion that if I want portable, binoculars are the best thing..maybe with a lightweight tripod.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<br><br><br>I have to agree, the fainter objects can be&nbsp;very difficult or&nbsp;impossible with&nbsp;small aperture telescopes.&nbsp;Most of the&nbsp;galaxies are impossible to see and&nbsp;can be a challenge even with the larger scopes. I have been able to find some of the galaxies with 8" and 10" scopes. The disadvantage is that the larger scopes are bulky and heavy and would take up a lot of room in a van unless you put it in a trailer. I had seen a 24" scope it had its own dedicated trailer, wow and those deep sky objects looked great (had to use a ladder to look through this one).