Hobbies And Pastimes

Don’t you wish you could sit down and look through a large telescope? The Hobby-Eberle telescope at the McDonald Observatory with a clear aperture of 9.5 meters built in 1997 with an M1 F# of 1.8 made of Zerodur on a Comsat/MERO mount would be great.

But, don’t think you can’t get some good views or get good views of stars or even asteroids with a good home telescope.

Courtney May of San Francisco, California got a Schmidt-Newton for graduation. She found that it was easy to set up. With the motor drive it could follow a planet.

However, she found out that she had trouble keeping track of what she was looking at.

Probably the quickest way to get up to speed using your Schmidt-Newton is to join an astronomy club. There are many astronomy clubs in most countries of the world and in most states of the USA. Here are a few in the US: Shoals Astronomical Society, Inc. in Florence, AL; University of Arizona Astronomy Club in Tucson, AZ; Southwest Washington Astronomical Society in Olympia, WA; Astronomical Institute of the Rockies in Helena, MT; “Eyes on the Sky” (Lapeer County I.S.D.) in Attica, Mi.

In fact, it would be a better idea to start attending an astronomy club before you go out and buy a telescope. They will not only recomend some good scopes to you but can recommend some good references. To really get your teeth into star gazing attend a few star gazing parties. A good way to start would be to buy a pair of 7×50 binoculars. Take them with you to the star gazing party. They will let you see anything from the craters on the moon to the closer planets.

When you go to your first planet viewing party, you will be surprised at how eager people are to let you look through their scopes. However, there are a few thinsg to consider. Their equipment is expensive, so be careful. If you have children with you, make sure that they are careful as well. A small child running around will make people nervous very quickly. You may need a flashlight to make sure you don’t trip over things. But, you will want to put a red filter over the end. Red light lets you see around you while protecting your night vision. Be sure to dress warmly. Sitting still at night can be chilly - even in the summer.

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