Can you give me an idea of how good my images will look?

Question

I've recently bought a telescope with a 1200mm focal length and a 254mm aperture. I plan on getting a 35mm eyepiece for deep space and a 6.3 for planetary objects.

I was just wondering how well my images will look, more specifically I want to know how close the image will be when I look through the eyepiece.

Maybe I could get a few tips from the more experienced star-gazers??

Hey Camp, how do I get images as good as yours?

Answer 1

I have a telescope with 1200mm focal length and 150mm aperture, which is smaller than your telescope. I have taken the photographs in the source with it. But seeing small detail at high power is tough. You need high quality optics, not just big optics; and you need good "seeing" which means steady air with no twinkling or shimmering.

The 6.3mm eyepiece will give you 190 power, which will show the planets smaller that my pictures, but you should be able to see just as much detail. Try looking at my pictures on the computer screen from about 5 or 10 feet away to get an idea of how big they will appear in a telescope at 190 power.

The 35mm eyepiece will give you 34 power, which is OK for large deep space objects, but you might want a 20mm or 15mm for the smaller deep space objects.

Answer 2

What kind of scope is it?

There are a lot of junk scopes out there sold by costco, walmart, target, toysrus and other discount stores and there is nothing that can be done to make them perform well.

I can only hope that you bought your scope from a reputable dealer such as Orion (my favorite) or Williams Optics. If you got one of these, then you should expect to be pleased for years.

I am an Orion fan. oriontelescopes.com
They have very nice eyepieces that are very reasonable plus lots more in their accessory catalog to offer you.

I suggest that you join a local astronomy club or astronomical society. They will help you get the most out of your new scope.

These are some of my favorite sites:

This is a calendar for all of the predicted meteor showers for the whole year.

http://www.imo.net/calendar/2007

http://www.imo.net/calendar/2008
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CalSky will send you alerts when the space station flies over you or when you can see irridium flares and things like that.

http://www.calsky.com/
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http://tonightssky.com/
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http://www.heavens-above.com/
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These are sites with star charts:

http://www.stellarium.org/


http://www.skymaps.com/


http://www.stargazing.net/astropc/

Answer 3

"Hey Camp, how do I get images as good as yours?"

Old joke. Someone stops a guy on the streets of New York and asks "How do I get to Carnegie Hall?" "Practice."

Those pictures are great. You'll need good equipment, a whole lot of practice, good steady skies, and some skill.