(no subject)
I bought the kids a $40.00 telescope (50 mm refractor) for Christmas from Toys R Us. Af ter trying to set it up for them, I realize that it's only good for the moon. Very unstable. Since then, I have figured out a way to attach it to one of my tripods, and now it's not so bad.
It got me hooked. I wanted to see the rings of Saturn with the toy etlsecope, and I'll be damned if I did see them. So I bought a used Meade 230 60 mm refractor off eBAy for a mere $25.00 including shipping. It's still very small, but I could't beat the price. The mount is sturdy, and I can center an object in a matter of seconds some times. Eventually, I want to find an 8" or larger Dobsonian.
This morning, I tried out a 6mm Antares eyepiece that I just got yesterday, which was really stretching it. I could make out 3 of Jupiter's moons, but had trouble focusing. No detail. I have no filters, and severe light pollution.
I'm hoping that the kids really get into this and it should help them with school. Aubrey loves science, so I think he will get the most of it.
What we've seen so far:
The moon
Betelgeuse
M2 Orion nebula
Saturn visibe rings (no cassini division yet)
Venus visible phase
Praesepe Cluster Galaxy
Maia Nebula
Jupiter and 3 moons:
Erupoa
Ganymede
Callisto
It got me hooked. I wanted to see the rings of Saturn with the toy etlsecope, and I'll be damned if I did see them. So I bought a used Meade 230 60 mm refractor off eBAy for a mere $25.00 including shipping. It's still very small, but I could't beat the price. The mount is sturdy, and I can center an object in a matter of seconds some times. Eventually, I want to find an 8" or larger Dobsonian.
This morning, I tried out a 6mm Antares eyepiece that I just got yesterday, which was really stretching it. I could make out 3 of Jupiter's moons, but had trouble focusing. No detail. I have no filters, and severe light pollution.
I'm hoping that the kids really get into this and it should help them with school. Aubrey loves science, so I think he will get the most of it.
What we've seen so far:
The moon
Betelgeuse
M2 Orion nebula
Saturn visibe rings (no cassini division yet)
Venus visible phase
Praesepe Cluster Galaxy
Maia Nebula
Jupiter and 3 moons:
Erupoa
Ganymede
Callisto