Telescopes - NF

[jedimaster]

Just wondering if you have a telecope and use a cmoputer to point i at a star that you can't see wheil in the city if you can see it? Like I was thinking of buying a telescope but I live in Toronto and can' see any stars. I am wondering if the extra magnification and light gathering abilities of the telescope would let me see the stars?

[Dave Bailey]

Just wondering if you have a telecope and use a cmoputer to point i at a star that you can't see wheil in the city if you can see it? Like I was thinking of buying a telescope but I live in Toronto and can' see any stars. I am wondering if the extra magnification and light gathering abilities of the telescope would let me see the stars?

 

I haven't kept up on the latest developments, but I believe that there are filters available that will cut through smog pretty well. That isn't the major problem however. The biggest issue with urban astronomy is that the light pollution illuminates the dust particles in the atmosphere, and I doubt that any filter will cut through that. Extra light gathering capability will help pick out stars, go for the width of the objective end over magnification. Magnification is no good if there isn't a lot of light to work with.

[woodenboater]

My wife and friends observe from the city and you should be able to see the major objects in the sky. Orion, Summer Triangle both Dippers etc..Venus was up near the moon recently and it looked great. Take a look at joining the local club ( RASC or North York AA) Not sure where you are but many go to Bayview Village Park to observe.

 

If you want to learn more, look up the David Dunlap Observatory in Richmond Hill. The Toronto centre of RASC operates the big boy there and they have public and members nights where on clear nights, members bring their scopes so this would be a good opportunity to pick brains

 

What you might try is, if you have a good pair of binos, use those to look at the sky before investing in a telescope. Something in the 10x50 range is pretty ideal.

 

Good luck !

 

WB

[adempsey]

As mentioned, light pollution is a big problem. However, you should be able to see some brighter objects as long as you can find them. Not sure how bad it is for you, but I live in London and can see the typical bright objects (you can see these with the naked eye). My telescope is nothing special though.

 

The one way that people have been able to circumvent the light pollution to some degree is to use a CCD video camera. Basically, a CCD camera can capture a lot more of the light over a short period of time compared to the eye. So people hook a CCD camera up to their telescopes and display the output onto a computer screen or TV. With this setup you would be amazed what you can "see". There are some people in Toronto doing this and broadcast on the Night Skies Network. I don't necessarily recommend doing this as a first set-up, but it's not so complicated that you couldn't.

 

Keep in mind, you can always drive a short distance to darker skies.

[jedimaster]

thanks I think I'll head down to that telescope store and ask around a bit more to get an idea of what the deal is.

[woodenboater]

do yourself a favour and hit Efstonscience and not Kahnscope. Better service at Efston, a friend had a credit at Khanscope but they kept stalling, something about can't find the paper that listed the credit...stinking tools. wasn't much but suffice it to say that place is not getting any of mine or my friend's money.

 

marc or bruce are two good guys to ask for help at efston

Edited May 1, 2012 by woodenboater

[jedimaster]

Will do, I always appreciate word of mouth.

[DRIFTER_016]

Another vote for Efston Science here.

Good peeps to deal with and some cool stuff too boot!!! :good:

I used to work just down the street a few lifetimes ago and would spend a lot of time in that place.