Expert: Tom Whiting - 8/13/2006

Question
Would you happen to know anything about Telescopes because I recently got one 2 months ago its the type that reflects upside down Its a Celestron 76 Power Seeker the only thing I can see is the moon and it gets boring after a while I have never attempted to look at the sun because I think only an idiot would try that with out a solar filter but anyway  can this telescope see galaxies and star clusters and all that other fun stuff or am I out of luck I live in an area where there are street lights and I am going to take it up to my relatives place where it is darker would I be able to see more there or again am I out of luck?

Answer
Hi Meg,
Welcome to our wonderful world of astronomy and the night
sky...unfortunately....you made the same mistake we almost all made.....you figured that equipment comes FIRST,  so you ran out and bought the first "good looking " inexpensive scope that caught your eye, a children's 3 inch  (76mm) mirror.
(I had never even heard of a Celestron 76 Powerseeker and had to Google it to read about it)....see
http://www.telescopes.com/products/celestron-powerseeker-76-33264.html#reviews
and read the reviews on it at the bottom of the page.
Cost is about $78 bucks.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way...... ours is a
knowledge hobby, and not a "flashy visuals" hobby, so equipment  (scopes) come LAST, not first.  Knowledge of the night sky comes first.  Plus, the scope you purchased has
a very small field of view, (that f9 focal ratio) so it's suitable only for young people specializing in lunar/planetary details and perhaps for splitting some of the wider, brighter double stars, like Mizar up in the Big Dipper handle.   It is not made
for DSO's..... scopes are like airplanes; all airplanes fly, but
you don't send a bomber to do a fighter's job....otherwise,
we'd all have the exact SAME scope wouldn't we?  
But we don't....you first decide with a little experience what
your major interest is in...Lunar/planetary detail, Deep Sky
Objects, variable stars, comet hunting, asteroid viewing,
splitting double/multiple stars, Nova hunting, etc etc. then
you go out and buy a telescope that maximizes your particular favorite activity above....and you WILL specialize eventually, because there is so much out there...you're forced to.

We who go in for galaxies, clusters, and nebulae
(specializing in Deep Sky Objects) want a much
shorter focal length (smaller focal ratio)  to maximize field
of view at the sacrifice of magnification) AND at least a
6, 8, or 10 inch mirror (or even bigger) to bring in much more light than a 3 inch glass.  But even your 3 inch would bring in the brighter naked eye Messier objects like the Andromeda Galaxy (M-31)  the Pleiades open star cluster (M-45), the Beehive (M-44) in Cancer, and perhaps the Lagoon Nebula (M-8) in Sagittarius....IF you know exactly where they are in the night sky....Do You?.....

Which is my whole point....if you can't point your finger to
these objects, all naked-eye in a dark sky, then a telescope is worthless to you because you don't know your night sky...remember above?  That's like me giving you a
Corvette car and setting you down in the middle of Russia,
and say, "Go to it...." and you say, "But I don't even know
where I am at, or the region....where can I go and what can
I do"?  Telescopes are exactly the same way.

Knowledge comes FIRST....you have to take 3-6 months
to learn your naked-eye night sky FIRST.  This is not
that difficult (how long did it take you to learn the states
of the USA?)  About the same time.  And if you can learn
and memorize the 4 adjoining states PA, OHIO, IND, and ILLINOIS,....then you can also learn and memorize
(self-teach yourself) the area's (constellations) of say,
Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, and Sagittarius...again, 4 adjoining
areas of the sky.  That's all constellations are...areas of the
sky for identification purposes and there is only about
40 of them as seen from the N. Hemisphere....long gone are the days of visualizing men and animals...constellations are simply unchanging, well defined areas now, since 1930.
But you have to know and learn them...they represent the
basic foundation of identification in the night sky...you can't
build a house without a foundation, and constellation
learning is your.....OUR,  foundation.

Oh, By the way, ALL astronomical telescopes show an
inverted view, by definition.  (If you want to use it for
terrestrial objects, like distant birds and such, you can
purchase an "erector lens" which you insert in front of an
eyepiece)....with an additional 10% loss of light.  In astronomy,  light is very precious, so we simply accept the
inverted image in a standard astronomical scope because
we don't want to lose that additional 10% of light.  And
2 mirror surfaces always give an inverted view of the sky....
but you simply get used to it with time.  Actually the only
object that it is noticeable on, is the moon.

No, you're not out of luck....you just have to change your
thinking of the hobby,  somewhat.  Naturally any light polluted area is not as good as a dark sky site.  (IN fact, that's why EVERY New Moon weekend, I (and several dozen others from all over eastern USA)  travel nearly 200  miles to Cherry Springs State Park in Potter County PA....to get away from the lights of Erie, PA.  (Free camping, but no white lights allowed at the park from sunset to sunrise because it's a state
designated dark sky park for astronomers only.)

But rather than list the proper steps to get into the hobby,
I suggest you punch up our club website and punch on
Tom Whiting's Sound Advice to the Novice,  at
http://www.velocity.net/~bwhiting

I don't know your location..but if you're near a decent sized
town, no doubt they have an astronomy club....join, go to
their star parties, learn what scopes they have..what a
particular scope can do (and can't do)...see what THEY
specialize in....take your time, because the investment into
a decent 6 or 8 inch scope will set you back from $400 - 700.
But unfortunately, that is the minimum level for a decent view
of the objects you are thinking about.
{Hey, how much is a motorcycle, airplane, boat?
Any new hobby is going to set you back a few bucks....
And all that other stuff requires maintenance, licensing, insurance, registration, gasoline, expensive storage, inspections, did I mention maintenance?  What do WE need
with a good scope?  A few extra eyepieces and a good star chart or atlas of the night sky!  Now, which is the cheaper hobby, cost-averaged over a 10-20 year period?  Plus those 3 above can kill you....an 8 inch telescope won't.  Plus motorcycles and boats can't be used in the northern winters, but we can still go out and observe, even in the wintertime!  So which is the better, cheaper hobby in the long run?}

So perhaps your first task is to raid the library and read all
you can about astronomy...remember, a knowledge hobby?
Next, get yourself an inexpensive pair of binoculars and
a star chart, go outside at night, and self-teach yourself
the night sky and constellations for the next 3-6 months...
put the scope in the attic or basement, and do all of the above
first, while you also want to join a local club, if available.
There is your proper first steps...
And if I can be of any further help, or questions,...fortunately
I am a retired Air Force Pilot so feel free to contact me anytime directly at :
bwhiting@velocity.net

Hope all this helps,
Clear Skies,
Tom Whiting
President...ECMOG
Erie, PA

PS...while on our website, punch up pictures of my
new 30 inch portable scope, and pictures of club members
at our local cemetery observing site.

FOLLOW UP:
Oh, never look at the sun with ANY optical aid, or even
with the unaided naked-eye...UNLESS you use the proper
Full Aperture filter  {eyepiece filters that you screw into the
eyepiece are dangerous, and illegal...as they might  fracture (crack)  from the heat and you can damage your eye.}  Solar astronomy is a highly specialized field, and those people who go into solar astronomy observing spend the big bucks to buy what is called a "solar telescope" only....as you said, never use your scope, or any optical telescope, on the sun.
There should be a big WARNING on your scope that
tells you that.