Hi Gary, Judging from your story it looks like we may have an up coming coming astro-imager amongst us. On 22 Sep 2008, at 20:23, Gary Logan wrote:

So a couple questions:

1) Any recommendations on a first telescope?

It's hard to go wrong with a Dobsonian, especially for a first "real" scope. Relatively cheap (as scopes go), easy to set up and easy to operate. Something of a problem for taking pictures but great as a "look-see" scope. If you have not done so already you might want to attend a star party or two (http://slas.us/calendar.asp?list=Yes&Year=2008&StarParty=1) so you can get some firsthand experience before deciding what to buy. Another option would be to consider joining the Salt Lake Astronomical Society and borrowing various telescopes to try out on your own (http://slas.us/membership_benefits.asp ).

2) What are good things to look at in a very light polluted SLC sky?

Bright skies pretty much limit you to bright objects. You've already spotted Jupiter, you might also want to try for Venus, low in the west just after sunset (Mars and Mercury are also out there but probably too dim and too close to the Sun). And the Moon is always a favorite. Good luck, patrick

Welcome Gary! You've definitely been bitten by the "bug" Try the Moon you'll love how it looks! easy to take pics of since it's so bright - nice short exposures and easy to focus. We lost our gallery but you can see one of my Lunar images on my flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/27963332@N06/ Good luck in Committee I've been denied for 10 years now. Howard --- On Mon, 9/22/08, Gary Logan <garybulk@the-logans.net> wrote:

From: Gary Logan <garybulk@the-logans.net> Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Advantures of a newbie To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Date: Monday, September 22, 2008, 8:23 PM Hi All, I am a newbie, just discovering the world of astronomy, and what looks interesting, fun, and doable.

It all started when ... I was out in my backyard a couple of weeks ago after dark, and on a whim I put my dSLR on my tripod an took a few pictures of the stars. A couple years ago a friend had told me that the planets were easy to see, and that was in the back of my mind when I zoomed into a bright southern star with my 300mm telephoto. After I downloaded the pictures onto my laptop I was very excited to see 4 little blobs next to the larger blob. I knew it must be a planet and it's moons, and after finding a star chart, I determined that it was Jupiter and 3 of it's moons. That was soo!! exciting. (I eventually figured out that the last blob was a star, but it remained classified as a UFO until that time.)

Then after my fuzzy Jupiter pictures I ran across a tracking device for SLRs on the web that really got me excited about the astrophotography potential (at: <http://www.astrotrac.com/> http://www.astrotrac.com/) Looking at the pictures taken with the tracker indicate that the camera equipment that I have (normal/wide and standard telephoto lenses) and a decent tracker (and a dark sky), can provide the potential for some great photos.

I am now lobbying the family budget committee for a grant for additional equipment to both better see, and to take better pictures of astronomical sights. (Telescope, tracking mount, camera attachments, better lenses, eye-pieces, magazine subscription, stacking software, Photoshop, hmm what other basics do I need.)

While my grant request langishes in committee, I have been working on a Barn Door tracker. I just finished the third revision of my prototype last night (and it was cloudy - bummer). My first attempt was too heavy and make my tripod fall over. So, I cut it to half the length, and the weight was okay, but pointing it at the North Star by shortening one leg of the tripod made the tripod fall over again. My third try was to add a block/shim between the tracker and the tripod that set the natural angle at 41 degrees, so it ought to point pretty close to the proper elevation of Polaris to start with. It looks like I will be able to try it again tonight.

If I can get the basic thing working, then adding a polar alignment scope will be the next improvement on the list. Adding a stepper motor would be after that, but that appears to be a much more complicated thing to attempt. At any opportune time in this process, showing my wife my sorry looking leftover-parts contraption and eliciting a sympathetic response will be employed.

I'm not sure what I want to begin with as far as a telescope. As I look at telescopes, it appears that the Dobsonian mounted Newtonian Reflectors are easily the cheapest way to get good viewing ability. But they do not easily include or add tracking for Astrophotography. It appears that if I get a telescope with a tracking mount, I can mount my camera as the eyepiece, or attach/mount the camera on top of the telescope to track with it. I am thinking (but not certain) that I could still take 1 second or shorter shots on a Dob. using my camera as the eyepiece.

I was thinking of maybe getting a used Dobsionian first for $200-300 and forget about tracking, then figure on replacing it when I decided what I really want (next). But Meade has a Truss tube Dob. that appears easy to break down, and fit in the Minivan with our 3 kids on camping trips. Still no tracking though unless I build something custom.

So a couple questions:

1) Any recommendations on a first telescope? 2) What are good things to look at in a very light polluted SLC sky? - I have found: Andromeda Galaxy & Jupiter - I'm going to look for Uranus & Neptune (Nepture is at the edge of my ability with my current equipment shortage). - Recognizable pictures of a galaxy or Nebula are my current dream (so I will be continuing to attempt Andromeda) - ... or pointing to a random place in the sky and finding an uncharted asteriod would be okay too.

Best Regards, Gary Logan. _____

-----Original Message----- From: Patrick Wiggins [mailto:paw@???] Sent: Sunday, September 21, 2008 3:30 PM To: garybulk@??? Subject: Welcome to Utah Astronomy

Hello,

Just a quick note to welcome you to Utah Astronomy.

If you get a moment what's say you post a message to the group (use utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com ) introducing yourself and letting everyone know why you signed on?

Also, I'd appreciate knowing how you heard about us.

As with everyone who signs on to Utah-Astronomy your first post or two will be moderated (alas, in this day and age we have to do that to keep out the spammers) but after we're sure you're a real person the moderation will be quickly removed.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions or comments.

Clear skies!

Patrick UA Co-administrator

_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com

Gary, Welcome to a great avocation. I hope you'll have a wonderful time getting to know the science, the hobby, and all the great folks who share your new-found interest. I'm a bit old-school but I'm sure you'll find others who will share my first recommendation: learn the night sky before you invest a lot of money in any equipment. I spent almost a whole year with a modest pair of 7x50 binos (under $100 - but you don't even have to spend that much) and a planisphere (David Chandler’s “The Night Sky” is the best – about $10) to learn the sky. Binoculars can reveal hundreds of objects and will whet your appetite for larger optics. You’ll learn to “star hop” to locate objects, a skill that go-to gizmos just can’t replace. (What do you do if your battery runs down at 10:00 PM and you have until dawn to observe?) Also during that time you can go to club meetings and star parties, see a lot of homemade and commercial equipment, and when you are ready to make a larger investment you'll be able to make an informed decision. The bottom line is, go slow so that you won’t regret your choices. My recommendation for a first scope is to build it yourself. I built a 10-inch F5 Newtonian alt-az for about $500 and I’ve never regretted the decision. I purchased high-end commercial optics and some commercial hardware, and then made the rest. It’s still my favorite. Don’t be intimidated by building a scope – they just aren’t that complicated or difficult. And, with your kids, it’s a great family project. Sky & Telescope published an article about building an accurate barn-door-type camera tracker a few months back. It may have been in May or June. I built one based on that design and I’ve been very happy with it. I can’t see spending hundreds of dollars for a commercial tracker when you can build one that is just as serviceable for under $100. You may want to look into that as an alternative to the commercial unit that you’ve been considering. It sounds like the problems that you’re having with the tracker you now have are more related to the type of tripod that you use. I’ve found that a heavy-duty tripod with a fluid head such as one would use for making videos works OK. My brother recently purchased a pair of Bogen tripods with fluid heads on eBay for about $75 each. You should be able to get a good deal on a similar used tripod. Finally, there’s still a lot to see in light-polluted skies. I really enjoy observing double stars, and that kind of observing is rarely limited by light pollution. Filters are available that are very effective in reducing light pollution and allowing one to observe faint objects in polluted skies. I don’t know how effective they are for imaging. Hope this helps. Good luck with the family budget committee. Hope to meet you soon. Kim -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Gary Logan Sent: Monday, September 22, 2008 8:24 PM To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Advantures of a newbie Hi All, I am a newbie, just discovering the world of astronomy, and what looks interesting, fun, and doable. It all started when ... I was out in my backyard a couple of weeks ago after dark, and on a whim I put my dSLR on my tripod an took a few pictures of the stars. A couple years ago a friend had told me that the planets were easy to see, and that was in the back of my mind when I zoomed into a bright southern star with my 300mm telephoto. After I downloaded the pictures onto my laptop I was very excited to see 4 little blobs next to the larger blob. I knew it must be a planet and it's moons, and after finding a star chart, I determined that it was Jupiter and 3 of it's moons. That was soo!! exciting. (I eventually figured out that the last blob was a star, but it remained classified as a UFO until that time.) Then after my fuzzy Jupiter pictures I ran across a tracking device for SLRs on the web that really got me excited about the astrophotography potential (at: <http://www.astrotrac.com/> http://www.astrotrac.com/) Looking at the pictures taken with the tracker indicate that the camera equipment that I have (normal/wide and standard telephoto lenses) and a decent tracker (and a dark sky), can provide the potential for some great photos. I am now lobbying the family budget committee for a grant for additional equipment to both better see, and to take better pictures of astronomical sights. (Telescope, tracking mount, camera attachments, better lenses, eye-pieces, magazine subscription, stacking software, Photoshop, hmm what other basics do I need.) While my grant request languishes in committee, I have been working on a Barn Door tracker. I just finished the third revision of my prototype last night (and it was cloudy - bummer). My first attempt was too heavy and make my tripod fall over. So, I cut it to half the length, and the weight was okay, but pointing it at the North Star by shortening one leg of the tripod made the tripod fall over again. My third try was to add a block/shim between the tracker and the tripod that set the natural angle at 41 degrees, so it ought to point pretty close to the proper elevation of Polaris to start with. It looks like I will be able to try it again tonight. If I can get the basic thing working, then adding a polar alignment scope will be the next improvement on the list. Adding a stepper motor would be after that, but that appears to be a much more complicated thing to attempt. At any opportune time in this process, showing my wife my sorry looking leftover-parts contraption and eliciting a sympathetic response will be employed. I'm not sure what I want to begin with as far as a telescope. As I look at telescopes, it appears that the Dobsonian mounted Newtonian Reflectors are easily the cheapest way to get good viewing ability. But they do not easily include or add tracking for Astrophotography. It appears that if I get a telescope with a tracking mount, I can mount my camera as the eyepiece, or attach/mount the camera on top of the telescope to track with it. I am thinking (but not certain) that I could still take 1 second or shorter shots on a Dob. using my camera as the eyepiece. I was thinking of maybe getting a used Dobsionian first for $200-300 and forget about tracking, then figure on replacing it when I decided what I really want (next). But Meade has a Truss tube Dob. that appears easy to break down, and fit in the Minivan with our 3 kids on camping trips. Still no tracking though unless I build something custom. So a couple questions: 1) Any recommendations on a first telescope? 2) What are good things to look at in a very light polluted SLC sky? - I have found: Andromeda Galaxy & Jupiter - I'm going to look for Uranus & Neptune (Nepture is at the edge of my ability with my current equipment shortage). - Recognizable pictures of a galaxy or Nebula are my current dream (so I will be continuing to attempt Andromeda) - ... or pointing to a random place in the sky and finding an uncharted asteriod would be okay too. Best Regards, Gary Logan No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 270.7.1/1686 - Release Date: 9/23/2008 7:38 AM