When I got started in astronomy I bought Terence Dickinson’s book called Nightwatch. I think that it is an excellent introduction to astronomy. It is spiral bound, has laminated pages that stand up to dew, a few star charts to help you find some of the brighter deep sky objects, a nice explanation of the different types of telescopes and binoculars and eyepieces, and lots of color pictures. In the book he explains why he thinks that the 6" Dobsonian mounted reflecting telescope is the perfect beginners telescope. Boarder’s book stores carries this book.
A book for people with small telescopes by Guy Consolmagno and Dan M. Davis. This book tells you a little bit about telescopes and how to take care of them. It is basically a list of about 100 things to point your telescope at. It is designed for smaller telescopes: 60 mm to 4 inches of aperture. This is good, as this is the type of telescope that most beginners have. There are finder charts to help you locate each object. There are descriptions of each object. Each time a new object type is introduced (say globular cluster), there is a section describing that class of objects. Each individual object is described as well. The authors also rated each object. The more interesting or spectacular the object is the higher the rating (1 to 5 telescopes). This is a great book if: you are new to astronomy, want to know what to look at, and want to learn a little about what you are looking at. This is also carried by Boarders book store.
Ah, The Night Sky Observer’s Guide, this two volume work by Kepple and Sanner is a compilation of observing reports and photographs from many different people. It also has a section of general astronomy information. It lists, by constellation, first selected double and multiple stars and then the deep sky objects which can be found in that constellation. All of the objects have descriptions. As you get more advanced and start looking at more things in and outside of our galaxy, it is nice to have a reference such as this to help guide you in choosing what to look at, as well as to help confirm that what you saw was what you thought you were looking at. If you are seriously into the hobby, I’d get these books.
There aren’t that many star atlases to choose from. This is by Tirion and Sinnot. It is a magnitude 8 star atlas. You need this when you get into the hobby to help find things (if you don’t know where an object is, how can you find it? That is if you don’t have a working computerized scope.). I’d get the laminated version. If you observe here in the east, everything gets covered with dew. The appendix on the Virgo cluster of galaxies is a must for the successful Messier hunter. This atlas is helpful to me when I try to "star hop" with my 80mm finder. It helps to identify stars and asterisms.
Also by Tirion, this is a magnitude 6 atlas. In much of the country this is as dim a star as you can see. I got this as a beginner and when I got it, it was too much for me. It had too many stars too close together (8x11 inch format). Now I use it when I’m looking at brighter objects, as it is less bulky than Sky Atlas 2000. This is my quick look Star Atlas. It’s cheap, about $10. If I was a beginner I might look at Clarence Dickinson’s magnitude 6 star atlas, as I liked the star charts in his book Nightwatch. But I’ve never seen his atlas so I can’t comment on it. I use this atlas with the telrad as from a dark sky site the atlas matches what I see in the sky. And as a bonus it fits inbetween the rungs of my 6’ ladder that I use with my telescope. The more I use it, the more comfortable I am with it. Each page lists the bright DSO’s and some multiple (double, triple, quadruple) star systems. This may be appealing to the double star observer.
I have started to use this a lot. It is a good travel atlas. It is basically a whole sky, magnitude 5 star atlas the shows 600 of the brightest deep space objects. I use this with the telrad as from a not so dark site it matches the view in the sky. As it is only a mag 5 atlas it is not too helpful for star hopping with the finder. But it is the size of a car map and travels light. If the DSO is near a bright star, this will help you to "nail" the object. It does show some projection related distortion near the map edges. I got this this winter and I use it a lot.
A computer program, I have version 1.5. I bought this at Kemmer’s recommendation. If you want a detailed review take the link to his site and read his. This is planning software. It lets you find out what objects are "up" and visible at the time that you observe. You can search for objects by type (example galaxy). Once the search is in you can list objects by magnitude, or by when they are visible to view. You choose objects from your searches to build an observing list. I usually rank my searches by object brightness to choose what to look at. Then I order my list by the optimal time to view each object. That is a nice feature, for each object the program lists when it becomes visible, when it is no longer visible, and the optimal time to view the object. There is a graph at the top of the page that shows where the moon is (i.e. is it up) and how dark the sky is. If you know when the sky is maximally dark, you can plan when to observe. An astronomer wrote the program. The interface is clunky, but improving. Version 2.0 is due out soon. This link goes to his site the sky hound He continues to update the product. Currently he is working on things such as lists of the Hickson galaxy clusters. Multiple observing lists of this type can be downloaded from his site. I use this to plot the locations of currently visible comets. He updates the comet list at least monthly.
In the book Nightwatch there is a nice description of the different types of eyepieces. This link to Astronomics will take you to their eyepiece information pages. Now I assume that you’ve read all 10 or 11 pages on eyepieces.
What I learned is that all other things being equal, I like more eye relief (this is the distance between your eye and the lens, if the eye relief is short you have to get your eye close to the lens. I don’t like that. I have long eyelashes and I end up painting the eyepiece with grease.). About 1.8-2.0cm is good for me. Also the newer wide field designs: Pentax, Radian (Televue), Nagler (Televue), Superwide (Meade), Pentax, etc. are sharper to the edge of the field then for older designs (ex: Konig).
My first eyepieces were Meade series 4000 plossls. I have a 26 mm and a 9.7mm. My Next EP was a Meade 18mm Super wide. This has an apparent field of view of about 65-67 degrees vs. 52-54 for the plossls. Of these I like the 26 and the 18mm. The 9.7 does not have enough eye relief for me so I rarely use it. All of these have rubber eyecups that help block out local stray light which makes then superior (in my mind) to the house brand plossls (25mm and 40mm) that came with my 10" Dobsonian telescope. As a result, these house brand plossls don’t see much use.
My next purchase was a University Optics 16mm Konig. This has an apparent fov of about 60 degrees. But its eye relief is short so it does not get used much. Also the Konigs are not as sharp in the outer ½ of the field of view as are the newer designs such as the Meade Superwides and Ultrawides or the Televue Naglers and radians. I think these work better in longer focal length scopes then short focal length scopes. I also think that if you have the $, I’d avoid Konigs and go right to Radians , Pentax or Naglers.
Then I got a 7 mm Nagler. This is an older Nagler with less eye relief then the newer ones. When the sky is steady enough to support the magnification that this eyepiece can generate, it is a nice eyepiece. I like this in the 10” f5.6 Dob where it gives me 200x.
I got a University Optics 32mm and a 40mm 2" Konig for my 10". I like the 32mm a lot. At $130 it is cheap for a 2" EP. It’s soft at the edges but all in all not bad. I use it for low power views. I’ve had good luck with this EP on objects like the double cluster and (from a dark sky site with a OIII filter) the veil nebula. Other big open clusters are nice in this EP as well. I like it for low power views of all deep sky objects, but it does somewhat better on diffuse objects such as nebulae. I have more comments on this EP in my observing report from the Black Water Falls Star Party (see the link in the paragraph below). This is my favorite Konig and a great value for a 2” EP.
I got the 40mm Konig as with its 70 degree apparent field of view it gives me a nearly 2 degree FOV in the 10" scope. I thought that with this FOV it would be like having a 10" finder scope for the 10" telescope. However, this EP did not meet my expectations. It is soft around the edges (i.e. not sharp). And many faint objects are easier to see at higher magnifications because of improved contrast against the background sky, so the 10” finder was not such a good idea. Also the exit pupil is large for a "fast" (small focal ratio) telescope. With my f5.6 10" telescope the exit pupil produced by the EP is 7mm, which boarders on being too big (i.e. if the cone of light produced by the eyepiece is bigger than your pupil you are wasting light and making your telescope act like a smaller instrument). It has much too large an exit pupil for the Obsession (8mm). I’d considered a 50-55 mm Plossl, but that would give me an exit pupil of 9(+)mm with the 10" or 10(+)mm with the 20" and this is way too big of an exit pupil. {A 50-55mm EP is a valid choice for those with a f10 scope such as a SCT.}
I have found uses for the 40mm Konig. It is nice to use with the 10” to look at large open clusters. I can nearly fit the entire Pleiades into the FOV of this EP on the 10". I have used it to observe large nebulae such as the North American Nebula with an OIII filter from a dark sky site with success. I like this EP more for diffuse objects than for star clusters as the softness near the edge of the EP is less apparent with extended objects. To learn more about this EP, see my observing report from the Black Water Falls Star Party.
The Obsession came with 12mm and 22mm Nagler type 4 eyepieces (well - ok, they were extra, just don’t tell my wife). I like the 22mm a lot. I use this for locating things, looking at nebulae,and clusters. I’m using the 12mm more and more. I use this on the 20” to get around 200x; this is nice for GC’s and PN. I now have a 31mm Nagler which “blows the doors off” my 40mm Konig in performance at only 3x the cost. Balance can be an issue with this EP. I use it for OC and nebulae. It is my favorite EP to use with an OIII filter to observe the veil.
I have a "star bound chair." It is basically an adjustable seat. This is key when you observe with a normal sized telescope as the chair’s seat adjusts from inches off the ground to nearly 4 feet off the ground (I’m guessing here). A good chair goes a long way towards saving your back and making observing more comfortable (I like comfort). I got mine from Pocono Mountain Optics.
by Rodger Blake (an old review, here for historical purposes)
I recently purchased one of Tom Osypowski's compact equatorial platforms for my 10" f5.6 Discovery telescope's Dob. I must say that it is very well made. When well aligned (for visual use I usually use a compass), it tracks very well. This makes high power viewing more of a pleasure. It was a challenge at 250x before. I enjoy being able to leave my hands off the scope and just sit there and look through the eyepiece. I use my high power oculars much more often now.
One thing that was a surprise to me was that the platform replaces the bottom half of the lazy Susan and becomes the ground plate. I had to take some screws out of the bottom of the upper half of the lazy Susan, rout them out with the router so as to sink the screw heads beneath its surface, but you wouldn't want them to scratch that beautiful top surface of the equatorial platform.
The platform is easy to reset, you just grab the handle and pull it toward you. Tom provides you with a bolt to bolt the top rocker platform to the ground plate. This allows you to pick the platform up by its handle (it has two) and carry it in one hand. A nice feature. Even though I don't do astrophotography, this has been a nice upgrade.
However as it replaces the bottom of the lazy Susan it has complicated my set up as before I had a base and an OTA. Now I have: the platform, the top of the lazy Susan (OTA support), and the OTA. And I have to line the pin of the equatorial platform up with the hole in the plastic bearing in the center of the upper half of the lazy Susan. This adds a trip to set up and the whole aligning base to north and putting the top half on the bottom half thing.
All in all its added 3-5 min. to set up but has made observing more enjoyable. I'd recommend this product to any one with out hesitation. It works
Update:
I’ve had this for over a year now. It has become a part of the scope. Except for quick looks, I always use it. At star parties or public star gazes, it allows me to stand around and chat rather than constantly "recenter" the scope (at least until someone bumps the scope off of the object). It is nice to know that you can leave the scope and run to the bathroom or find someone else to look at what you’ve found and know that it will still be in the field of view when you return. This is especially true when you’ve spent a long time tracking down the object. When conditions allow you to push the magnification to the limit (406x in the 10" with the EP that I have), it makes high power observing a pleasure.
I think that the dobsonian telescope mounted on an equatorial platform is the easiest type of telescope to use. Yee Hah!
update
I recently obtained a Aluminum Eq platform from Tom O for my 20” dob. WOW. It is nice to track with the dob. This has freed me to use high power. It makes star parties and public star gazes less of a chore. Great for trips down the ladder to the EP/filter case.
By Rodger Blake
February, 2001
I got a 6" DHQ to use as a "teaching scope" for cub scouts. What follows are my impressions. My bias is that I've used a 10" DHQ scope for about 3 years now.
Packaging: good
Instructions: very good, vastly improved from a few years ago.
Construction: good, unlike the 10", no holes on base mis-drilled, I countersunk the screws on the bottom of the lazy-susan part of the base. I used a drill to make starter holes of the "feet" on the bottom of the ground board.
Altitude friction: looks like they use magic sliders now. A little easy to move but no slipping when changing from a 10mm to 32mm 1.25' Plossl.
Included EP's: I wanted to swap out the standard EP for others, they did this a few years ago but not now. Also the EP's I got with the 10" were well blacked in the inside. These have broad areas of bare metal at the level of the screw threads and don't look as nice as the old ones.
Inside: looks well blacked. But they painted over the secondary mirror's collimating screws. These had to be worked until loose before i could collimate. Frustrating in the dark.
Mirror: looks nice, too unsteady to star test. They pre "center dotted" the mirror with a black ring reinforcer. A very nice touch. I liked that! Also one side was marked with a dot that matched a dot on the OTA to guide mirror placement. There seems to be a lot of metal behind the mirror. I hope this does not delay cooling.
Aside: laser collimator - though I like my laser for my f5.6 10" and my f5.0 20", I found it hard to use on the 6" partially because of the small size of the secondary mirror. I used the laser to center the secondary on the primary and then tweaked the primary with standard collimating tools.
Motion: smooth in both axes. A little easy to move in altitude relative to the 10".
Weight: base is as heavy as the 10" but the OTA is MUCH lighter, so overall this is much easier to move. A real treat! And as a bonus, the diameter of the base plate of the lazy-susan is the same size as on my 10". This means I can use equatorial platform that I have for my 10" for the 6" too. The position of the Teflon pads is the same for both. Bonus.
Finder scope: appears to be cheap plastic. I have not focused mine. That may require reading the instructions. I plan to replace it with a "Rigel QuikFinder".
First light: Looked at Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Pleiades, Orion Nebula. Views were ok. (viewed from driveway with 4 of 4 of next door neighbor's side house/garage lights on).
Overall impression: Not bad for $299. And two EPs too. (No longer get a moon filter with the 6" base model.) A little easy in the altitude direction. (I guess that's why Orion has those springs) I think that the difficulty getting the secondary screws unstuck could frustrate a beginner with no experience. I'm concerned about the amount of metal behind the mirror and the effect that would have on cooling of the mirror. The finder scope is significantly less than ideal - perhaps plastic junk. A QuikFinder would be better but would boost scope cost. I like a scope with more aperture ... but this may fit in the car with the 20" and I got it to teach kids anyway. It's lighter, shorter, and not too expensive for an educational aid. A nice starter scope - save for the finder which I feel is probably junk.
Rodger Blake
Huntington, WV
I now have a 7’ “astronomers ladder” from Tallman Ladders . This tripod ladder is for use on open ground (not concrete or pavement). It is very stable and has replaced my 6’ ladder. They custom made a 7’ ladder for me which I thought was nice. The steps are closer together then on a conventional ladder. With my previous ladder the steps were always too far apart. I like this ladder a lot. I can’t say how much safer I feel using this ladder. Recommended.