12th February 2011, 23:45 to 02:00 hrs

Was not getting sleep today. Although had not planned any observing session for today, it happened. The telescope was pulled out and planted, polar aligned and i was ready to go. The moon setting at western horizon looked beautiful. Saw Moon, M42 and Saturn today.

Luckily, today camera was able to focus at the eyepieces. So i took a few pictures and few videos. Here they are. The best video was of Saturn. I could clearly make out the rings. See yourself.

In the video it appears slightly blurry. Actually viewing through the eyepiece gives a sharper image. But still its nice that only with the 20mm eyepiece Saturn is visible with its rings. 20mm = 33x magnification in my scope. Planning to get low mm eyepieces. The view will become better.


The moon Video:

Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ with moon setting on western horizon.

This image is taken by mounting camera on the piggyback mount of the telescope. Let me see if you can find out moon in the picture. Huge amount of light pollution.

Moon from Canon SX 120 IS, 10x zoom, ISO 200, Exp:10s, f=5.6, No Post Processing.

M42 Nebula in the Orion. Canon SX 120 IS mounted on Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ no post processing

M42 Orion Nebula. Some post processing on the same picture.

Notice the star in the center sorrounded by a cloudy patch. Thats the M42 Nebula. Which actually looks like the inset image through the telescope. One of the easiest to find nebulae in the sky. Quite bright too.


Moon through 20mm eyepiece. Notice the orange tint of the setting moon.






Few other images of the moon taken today.

Moon through 20mm Eyepiece

Moon through 20mm Eyepiece, Camera zoomed in.

Finally the Celestron Astromaster 130 arrives.

After the long wait the telescope arrived at home. Here is the Celestron Astromaster 130 (used) Unboxing.









Also few images of my first telescope.

Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ

Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ Parts

Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ

Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ

Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ

Dream come true.

Flowchart | How to choose a telescope.

A picture is worth a thousand words indeed. Check out the latest telescope choosing flowchart.

How to choose a Telescope flowchart

Having problems in viewing ? See high resolution image HERE

Here is a flowchart which i have made after 2-3 months of research going through websites of various manufacturers like Celestron, Meade, Skywatcher, Orion, Bushnell, Canon, Zhumell and others. A thorough comparison was made considering the specifications of each scope. While Celestron firstscope has other alternatives too like the Skywatcher HERITAGE 76 or HERITAGE P130 the Celestron firstscope has been chosen in the particular subcategory of the flowchart as it suits that category best. Also various features of a certain scope are more likeable than the others. The choice placing Celestron Astromaster 130EQ instead of similar others like the Celestron Powerseeker 127EQ was made  after careful analysis. I also went through a lot of reviews reading various customer feedbacks on a certain product and it was considered while making selections. So if you have the questions like "Which telescope should i buy?" or "How to choose first telescope?" or "Celestron or Meade?" "Binocular or telescope?", i feel they will be answered by this flowchart.

And read related text HERE

How you should choose your first telescope.

There are a lot of things to consider before buying your first telescope. Many may vary person to person. But few parameters can be considered common to all. We will look at these parameters and try to develop a method to buy your first telescope. Some of these parameters are:

1. Are you a geeky\technical\scientific\probing person: If this condition is true then you are one of those people who will make the most out of your telescope. As you venture into astronomy you will like to keep logs and track objects in the night sky taking data and keeping a record. You expect more out of your telescope than just point and watch. for such types i would advise an Equatorial mount.(Types of mounts). An equatorial mount is more complex to set up. It offers more challenge than the altazimuth or the dobsonian. Fixing the mount, Counterweight bar, weights, balancing and stabilizing the mount will be few things which you will enjoy. If you read the disadvantages of Equatorial mount at this link, one of the disadvantages is you need to 'polar align' it and 'Less intuitive for beginning amateurs' both these points are ruled out. In fact what is stated as a disadvantage appears as advantage as these things provide more things to learn and greater challenge inusage initially. You can keep a time based log while tracking an object in the sky keeping track of its RA and DEC values at all times. Yes do not forget to write coordinates of your observation position. You can use google earth for it. Point it to your position and note down Latitude, longitude and elevation. Google earth will prove to be a good tool in astronomy, we'll see how as we progress.

Telescope Mounts, The Alt-azimuth (left) and the Equatorial (right).

However, if this parameter (You being a technical guy/gal) is not true the definitely you should go for the alt azimuth as it is simpler to point and assemble. Also no need of polar alignment, and also it is cheaper than the equatorial. No counter weights so easy to carry and more portable. However you are loosing the ability to track objects correctly and loosing some data too if you plan tracking objects.

2. Whats your budget\ Where are you located ? Budget is big factor when you consider buying a telescope. Fix a budget range and browse products on websites which lie in your range. Make a list of those products for analysis later.
Now about where you are located. This might not seem like an issue to you if you are in the United States or UK or other bigger nations but quite a problem if you are in less developed countries. I am in one. And i have ordered two telescopes till now from ebay. One of them did not get shipped, and as of today i am waiting for the other one to get shipped as three days have passed since i purchased. Also your budget will give you an inferior scope compared to what you could have got if you were in the US. Disappointing. So make sure you have searched thoroughly for authorized dealers of Celestron, Meade, Orion etc in your country, or ebay for a good deal.


3. Future plans for upgrades: If you wish to upgrade to a higher power scope in future then i would suggest a refractor scope. As it will serve as finder scope for you future high power scope.

Low power high FOV refractor as finderscope

4. Portability: If you live in high density city with Light Pollution you might wish to go out on weekends for a good view. If this is the case opt for a more portable scope.


5, Binoculars ? Many people suggest to buy a good binocular first before buying a telescope. Because a binocular gives you a wider view of the sky and its easy to locate objects. This is a good suggestion as a binocular can be good companion always with a good telescope. So why not buy a binocular first. However if you have done sufficient preparation and know enough about the objects in the sky, no harm in buying a telescope first too, make sure you have the resources ready in your head before you get a telescope or else even the best scope won't be half as useful.


6. Bigger aperture is better: Yes more light gathering capacity, better is the view and magnification. In the list you made in step 2 mark one star in front of all the scopes that have high apertures. Usually more than 4" is considered good. Refractors get very costly as their aperture increases, but they render sharper images giving more detail. So apertures above or equal to 90mm in refractors can be considered good.


7. The first telescope should come with basic accessories.


Good Starter Scopes List:
1. Orion XT8 Classic Dobsonian
2. Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ
3. Celestron Astromaster 90 EQ
4. Meade DS-2130AT-TC
5. Meade 90AZ-ADR

The Orion XT8 is a very large aperture on dobsonian mount. Very simple to operate and gives you large power at you disposal. However the dobsonian mount is another variant of the altazimuth mount. So tracking and data collection won't be possible, also the XT8 is very bulky. Moving it from backyard to house will also be troublesome. 
Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ is a good scope but has less aperture compared to Orion XT8.




LATEST and UNIQUE one of its kind.
FLOWCHART TO HELP YOU CHOOSE THE RIGHT SCOPE, a picture is worth a thousand words.

How i chose my first telescope

From what i remember, i started off browsing products lists of various telescope manufacturers like Meade, Celestron, Orion etc. It was helpful as i got to know about all of their products. I had studied about the three types of telescopes before i.e. The Refractor, Reflector and Cassegrain.

The Refractor Telescope

Its called the refractor telescope because it achieves magnification by refraction. This was what was earlier known as the 'spyglass' and was invented by Hans Lippershey, to whom the credit of inventing the telescope is awarded. These are the oldest type of telescopes, used by Galileo and others, till Sir Issac Newton invented the newtonian reflector. Well a lot can be written about the construction and working of refractor here but it is out of the scope of this journal. I studied them for information and better understanding and concluded that they have these advantages and disadvantages, well summarized at this link: Advantages and disadvantages of refracting telescope.

So refractors are rugged, more weather proof, easy to maintain and give more steady and sharper images. But, i was a buyer of limited resources. If i could i would have bought the best schimdt cassegarin telescope worth many grands. This brought me to consider the next type of telescopes, the reflectors.

The Reflecting Telescope 

Yes, it achieves magnification by reflecting, and for reflection we need a mirror. So it has a concave mirror (primary mirror) in one end which collects the light and focues on a secondary mirror which reflects it to the eyepiece. I studied about them too and made the following conclusions, summarized at this link: Advantages and disadvantages of reflecting telescope.

So reflectors are without chromatic aberration, and are cheaper than refractors of the same size and can be made bigger. 

Considering the above aspects a reflector was a more suited choice for me. Notice that i have not even considered Schimdt Cassegrain Type here beacuse the cheapest of them are unaffordably costly for me in India right now.

Celestron Powerseeker 70 EQ - The Telescope i chose, but then...

Now the search began for a telescope on ebay. Due to the limited budget and shipping and availability constraints i settled for a 'Celestron Powerseeker 70 EQ', price 7142/- INR. Free shipping. Yes it is a refractor, but you need to read the second sentence of this paragraph again. Yes, i had chosen and ordered my telescope, who new something else was in store for me. Find out in the next post.