jrkirkham

I do not know the quality of the eyepiece kit that you suggested, but the sizes of the eyepieces offer a good range of options. To me, a 5X barlow seems like a bit of overkill, but a 2X or 3X would be useful. My EPs are as follows: 6.3 mm / 10 mm / 25 mm / 35 mm(2"). If given a chance I would quickly add a 14-17 mm to that. I also have a 2X barlow.

Dobs are not good for astrophotography. I am not sure about the "goto" dobs, but when I looked at the ads for them, they don't mention photography. The people who get into photography spend as much or more on their mounts as they do on their scopes. I imagine that you could get some good moon and planitary shots with a goto dob. You can probably also get some of the brighter Messiers. I'm not sure you could do what some of the people on the forum are doing. Their equipment costs up in the thousands.

Hi jrkirkham;

Thank you for the reply to my question. It was really helpful; I definitely will upgrade my equipment, and can’t wait to see what the heavens have to offer. I was looking around for eyepieces set and so far the Meade Series 5000 5-Element Plossl Eyepiece Set - 4 Eyepieces & Hard Case (Sizes 5.5mm /14mm /20mm /32mm), and either a 1.25in. 3x or a 5x Orion HighLight 5-Element Barlow, please let me know what you think. Lastly, I would like to know if it is possible to do astrophotography with a Meade DSI II Color CCD Camera on the Orion XT12g since the telescope has the ability to track the object and keep it on FOV.

Hello jrkirkham,

I'm new to the forum. Right now I own a Tasco Model 17TR refractor which I think has an 80mm aperture and 675mm focal length. I'm looking into upgrading soon into an Orion XT12g or maybe XX14i, but I would like to know what would be the big difference between them in amount of what you can see compare to my current scope. Also what would be a nice reasonable price set of eyepieces and filters?

Thanks much, jrkirkham. We have plenty of Lowes, Menards, Home Depot, etc. around here. So, I'm sure I won't have any problem finding it. And it'll be great to have something to carry my charts and extras in too!

Hi Eric,

My wife just picked it up at a home and garden store. It was some store like Lowes, Menards, Home Depot, etc. I can't remember which. The sides fold down when I am viewing. After I got my bigger scope I noticed that I wasn't using it as much. I switched to a 50mm reflector, just because I didn't want to lug the big one around. After I got the cart I put away the little refractor and went back to the larger scope. It does have some vibration, but it doesn't bother me much. One thing I like is I can keep all my charts and extras in it also. I just wheel it out of my garage to the viewing site.

I could see how it could be useful on the third floopr with an elevator. You could carry everything in one haul on wheels. The store had a couple of different sizes.

Hi jrkirkham,

I wanted to ask you about the yellow wagon in which you have your Dob sitting in the photo for your avatar. Living on the 3rd floor in an apartment building, even with an elevator, I sure could use something like that. Is that something you built yourself or is it something that you purchased? And if you purchased it, where can I get one? Thanks much!

Clear skies,
Eric

wow, thanks, that's nuts - 100!

p.s have posted up the first ammended passage, you may recognise your own poetic flare in it!

It sounds like fun. I'll do my best.

By the way, Sky & Telescopes monthly web page today highlighted a paper just released that estimates 100 people will die this year from cosmic impact. After your post about satelittesd, I thought that was interesting. I think the article was mostly focused on the possibility of a future asteroid impact that could cause major devastation. The odds are rare, but they do have a lot of people watching.

if it's ok with you, i might email you all the sky related bits, it's only maybe 6 or 7 short passages, and you could have a think about them, point out anything blatantly erroneous and, if you fancy it, suggest alternatives, that's if you wanted to be 'The Mysterious Mind of Walter's Hubble' s official astronomer source. My agent Darley Anderson, has an office in LA and the US rights are to sold in the london and bologna book fairs in april/may, so it might get onto a book shelf near you!

thanks for your message and for sparing me some of your time and sharing your vast knowledge!
miranda