Expert: Tom Whiting - 8/7/2010

Question
I live in Louisiana and tried to go view the stars in a park last weekend and it
was just a tease. Over the week I planned a trip to Texas, although not very
well planned, borrowed a 1985 Tasco 17TR telescope (never used) from my
friend and headed west. I am now in Winnie, Texas in a motel room trying
to figure out how to work this telescope properly. I plan to go to my best to
find an empty lot to try it out in, but I'm at a loss for how to use it exactly.
Any help, any help at all, would be beneficial. Also, I am in Winnie, Texas
tonight, but plan on going to Round Top, Texas tomorrow - the furthest I
can afford - tomorrow night. I was wondering if you know of any amazing
non light polluted place to go to in between there or around there or
anything. If you could be of any assistance it would be greatly appreciated. I
have been wanting to do this for a very long time, turns out the time I get I
am very broke and got the telescope on short notice and can't figure it out.
Thank you so very much,
Caroline

Answer
Hi Caroline,
Never heard of it, had to look it up at
http://www.smarter.com/se--qq-tasco+telescope+80mm+17tr.html

That's a high powered spotting scope, not a telescope. So it's really not made for the night sky. Plus the front lens (the light-gathering objective) is only 80 mm.  Why not just get a pair of
binoculars to start with?  Easy to carry, easy to use, the image is
right in front of your face (most real telescopes the image is inverted and you're eyepieces are at right angles to what you are viewing) and relatively inexpensive.
So sorry, I have no idea how to work it.  If you're fairly new to astronomy, don't get a telescope... in our great hobby, equipment comes LAST, not first.  Your first job is to learn the naked-eye night sky... so make your "first scope" a pair of binoculars.
For if you can't point your finger to the Andromeda Galaxy, the Lagoon Nebula, the pretty double star Albireo, the planet Saturn,
All naked-eye objects in a dark rural sky, how are you going to point a small 1/2 degree field of view scope at them?  You can't. So take 6 months with a decent star chart and learn your night sky first.  
Plus, what do you want to specialize in?  Deep sky objects, lunar/planetary detail, variable stars, comet hunting, double stars,
etc?  There is a scope out there that maximizes each of these actvities.  But until you in the hobby a while, You don't know what kind of scope to get or use. Scopes are like airplanes... all planes fly but you don't send a bomber to do a fighter's job. Scopes are exactly the same way.  Otherwise, wouldn't we astronomers all have the same kind of scope?  Yes.... But we don't... depends on your specialization; and you WILL specialize because there is just too much out there to look at.  That's why there are different scopes for different folks. (different interests in the night sky).

Sorry, I'm not from Texas, but being out west, I'm sure there are remote dark skies away from city lights, especially in West Texas,
as the Texas Star Party is held out in West Texas every year, so they must have dark skies.
So pack the scope away, break out the binoculars and star chart, and start to learn your night sky. It ain't that difficult... Constellations are simply area's of the sky. If you can learn and memorize 4 adjoining states... Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, then you can also learn and memorize Gemini, Cancer, Leo,
and Virgo. It's that simple.
Once you get back home to Louisana, find an astronomy club to join.
Go out observing with them... see what equipment they use, listen to their advice... this is the correct way to start into observational
astronomy, not taking off on your own not knowing anything about the night sky. We all work better as a group in this hobby, at least initially.
Good Luck and Clear Skies,
Tom Whiting
Erie, PA

FOLLOW UP:
Being on an extended vacation right now, you are very lucky. The 3 week long Perseid Meteor shower reaches it's maximum activity this
Thursday night, August 12 at about 60-100 meteors per hour with no
moon and away from city lights.  Even now we see up to 10 per hour,
like tonight.  We don't use a scope (In fact we don't even let club members set up a scope during a meteor shower maximum night)  to watch meteors as they streak all over the entire sky, just a lounge chair and a blanket and a hot cup of coffee to stay awake all night long.  So at least now you can enjoy watching the Perseids while in a dark sky location.  They all come from the constellation Perseus,
which is just below Cassiopeia (the Big W) in the Northeastern sky
beginning around 10-11 pm. and lasting all night long.
The nights of Aug 11 and 13 aren't too bad either, at about 1/4 to
1/2 strength, so that's about 20-30 per hour on each nights before
and after the night of maximum activity.  Just thought you'd like to know all this... it's something all us astronomers already know about.
Clear Skies,
Tom