TRG – Telescope Review Guide

Yes, it’s only July but it’s not too early to start thinking about what to buy for that astronomer on your Christmas list! But what would be the best telescope to get? The choices are almost endless! Here then is a short list. You can’t go wrong with any of these:

Orion Skyquest XT4.5

Celestron CGEM 800

Orion Skyview Pro 127

Orion SpaceProbe 130

Orion SkyQuest XT8

Keep checking back as I’ll be continuing my research into great Christmas telescopes and publishing my findings here!

Orion’s Skyquest XT4.5 is the smallest in their Dobsonian line of telescopes that includes the XT6 , XT8 , and XT10. Newcomers to the hobby are always surprised at how large amateur telescopes are, but to experienced observers, this XT4.5 is considered a very small scope. Tiny, in fact (It’s so small, astronomers are buying them just because they think they’re so cute). Make no mistake, though–the XT4.5 is a full-fledged telescope, and is a serious observing tool that could last you for years.

Your money buys you a lot in this case. Included are a good-quality 4.5″ f/8 primary mirror, two eyepieces, a finder, and a CD-ROM with a stripped-down version of The Sky, a software guide to the sky. The scope comes in two cartons. One contains the optical tube, and the other is a flat-packed box containing the base, which you assemble yourself. Orion includes all the hardware and tools you need, and the instructions are well written. Allocate about 30 minutes to assemble and align everything.

There are a couple of cost-cutting measures. The primary mirror is spherical, not parabolic (this is not likely to affect the views, however). Also, the focuser is plastic. Plastic focusers are naturally less robust than metal ones. Finally (and this may be the most serious concern of all), the scope is a little short for an adult. The eyepiece is only 3 feet off the ground, which may force you to stoop over (hint: try sitting on a short chair or stool while observing). On the other hand, the height is ideal for a child, making this a great telescope for kids.

Under the stars, the XT4.5 exhibits excellent performance. Once properly collimated (aligned), the optics give clear, sharp, contrasty views.  Jupiter’s cloud band and four moons are no problem to see, nor are Saturn’s rings. The Orion Nebula is a glowing fan of green gas, with a quartet of tiny stars at its core. Under dark skies (and with some diligence) the XT4.5 can even pull in some of the fainter deep sky objects, like the brighter galaxies in the Virgo Cluster.

As recently as a few years ago, the old adage regarding telescopes was that you must spend at least $300 to avoid buying junk. While this is still mostly true, Orion’s little XT4.5 breaks the price barrier in a big way. As long as you can deal with the short eyepiece height, it’s a great starter scope.

Could the Celestron CGEM 800 be the best telescope for you?

For long-exposure, deep-sky astrophotography, the most important things to look for in a DSLR camera are low noise, high sensitivity and a good signal-to-noise ratio in the final output data.

Usability features, like live-view focusing, dust-reduction technology, and single-cable operation are also very attractive features to consider for astrophotography when choosing a camera.

I recommend Canon DSLR cameras over Nikon because of Canon’s proven performance, low-noise characteristics, and ease of use.

The Canon 50D is my top rated camera for it’s balance between performance and usability. It offers good signal-to-noise, live view focusing, one-cable operation, no amp glow and 14 bits of tonal depth.

The best entry-level DSLR for astrophotography is the Canon 1000D (Digital Rebel XS). It hits a very sweet spot in terms of its price-performance ratio.

In making your decision, you will have to choose between price, performance, and features. Older cameras have excellent price-performance ratios and larger pixels that yield better signal-to-noise ratios, but many suffer from amp glow, a red glow in the corners and edges of a long exposure image caused by electronics associated with the camera’s sensor. Canon now turns these off during long exposures in their latest cameras (Canon 400D, 450D, 40D, 50D, 1000D). Amp glow can be removed in older cameras, however, with proper dark-frame calibration.

Newer cameras have reasonably good signal-to-noise ratios and also have very attractive features like live focus, but are more expensive.

Both Canon and Nikon offer very inexpensive entry-level DSLR cameras such as the Canon 1000D and the Nikon D40 that work remarkably well for astrophotography.

For general daytime photography and some fun astrophotography, try an unmodified stock camera. If you get really serious later about long-exposure deep-sky astrophotography of red emission nebulae, you can have your camera modified then.

Based on this analysis, if price is your primary consideration, the Canon 1000D is the camera you want. If you can afford the Canon 50D, it is an excellent camera with great usability features. If you want a Nikon system, then pick up a Nikon D40, or, if money is no object, a Nikon D3 or D300.

What can you see this month? A lot! So get out your best telescope or best binoculars and get to viewing!

May Sky on YouTube

Jupiter becomes more easily visible this month as its elevation in the pre-dawn sky is getting higher – about 23 degrees above the horizon by month’s end.   During May its separation from the Sun increases from 77 degrees to 101 degrees, and its magnitude slowly increases from -2.3 to -2.5.   It will lie just below the the last quarter Moon on the 17th in the pre-dawn sky.

Mars still remains low in the pre-dawn sky this month, but as it rises increasingly earlier than the Sun as the month progresses will become easier to spot.   It has a magnitude of +1.2.   By the end of the month, the angular separation from the Sun has increased to 40 degrees. We will have to wait a month or so until it will be seen easily in the pre-dawn sky.

Venus passed betwen the Earth and Sun in March so is now visible in the pre-dawn sky.   It will only lie 12 degrees above the horizon as the Sun rises on the first of May, so will be easier to spot later in the month.   It is at magnitude -4.4 at mid month, up and to the right of Mars.   In the middle of May, a small telescope will show a crescent phase equivalent to just before a first quarter Moon.   An interesting fact about its brightness is that it stays pretty constant at about -4.4 for most of the time that it is visible even though the apparent phase changes greatly.   When the phase is thin, Venus is nearer to us and the effective reflecting area of Venus as seen from Earth remains pretty constant.

Saturn is now high in the southern sky after nightfall in the constellation of Leo.  It lies well below the body of Leo.   It starts the month at magnitude +0.8 with an angular size of ~18.8 arc seconds and these fall to +0.9 and 18.1 as the month progresses.  Saturn is significantly less bright this year than it sometimes is: the rings are very close to edge on (as shown in the Hubble image of Saturn) and thus there is less apparent reflecting area.   During May they are at an angle of ~4 degrees from the line of sight.   The rings will be seen (or rather – not seen) edge-on later this year and it will not be until 2016 that they will be at their widest again.  A small telescope will easily show its largest moon, Titan, and show some bands around the surface.

Orion SkyView Pro 127 GoTo Mak-Cass Telescope
Here’s a telescope for the enthusiast who appreciates the practicality of a compact scope, yet wants the best features and performance available for the money. The Orion SkyView Pro 127 GoTo Mak-Cass Telescope comes with fully motorized GoTo computer control! After a simple alignment, a push of a button or two on the GoTo hand controller automatically points the telescope to one of 13,400+ celestial objects in its database. Dual stepper motors on the mount slew the telescope at a brisk 3.4° per second, centering your target right in the eyepiece. Easy!

The GoTo system consists of a computerized hand controller and two stepper motors that attach to the SkyView Pro telescope mount. What can you see with your Orion SkyView Pro 127 telescope? With intuitive menus and easy-to-use pushbutton controls, the GoTo system allows you to locate and track any object in its database of 13,400+ celestial objects including the entire Messier and NGC catalogs. You can use the GoTo controller to take a guided tour of the night sky or to pinpoint celestial highlights for the month. The GoTo hand controller requires an external 12-volt power source.

The SkyView Pro (SVP) 127’s high-resolution 5″ optics and 1540mm focal length (f/12.1) excel for high-magnification study of the lunar surface and planets. And it’s got enough aperture to display excellent astroimages of a wide variety of deep-sky jewels. The optical tube assembly is just 14.5″ long, making it wonderfully portable and easy to stow.

The Orion SkyView Pro 127 EQ mount provides fluid motion and a solid stance. 

If you are new to astronomy and aren’t familiar with where things are in the sky, then this is the best telescope for you! And the best part? You get to show others just how much of an astronomy expert you are when you can tell them the name of the object being viewed!

We have yet another new comet coming into view! Jointly discovered by amateur astronomers in South Korea and the United States, this comet is named Yi-SWAN; for the South Korean amateur astronomer who found it March 26 and the SWAN instrument aboard NASA’s solar satellite SOHO. It is not yet known whether Yi-SWAN will be a recurring comet or if it’s one and done.

Cassiopeia

Where can you find Yi-SWAN? Right now it’s flying through Cassiopeia. It’s still small and dim but you should be able to spot it with a backyard telescope such as the Orion SkyQuest XT8.

Orion SkyQuest XT8

It should appear as a small fuzzy green ball. It has not been observed to have a tail but that should change as the wanderer nears the Sun. After April 20, look for Yi-SWAN to be in Perseus. Yi-SWAN should be visible until mid-May when it will be too close to the sun to be seen by most observers.

My last article reviewed my second five most amazing sights in the night sky. This article will conclude with the Top 5!

5. The Andromeda Galaxy

The Andromeda Galaxy

The Andromeda Galaxy is a sister galaxy to our own Milky Way Galaxy. The light you see coming from it took 2.5 MILLION years to get here! It’s one of the most distant object most folks can see with the naked eye. Another reason it makes such a good target for binoculars is that it is orbited by 14 dwarf galaxies so there’s a lot to look at in the Andromeda Galaxy.

4. The Pleiades

The Pleiades

The Pleiades is a small star cluster that is also known as the Seven Sisters, probably because it looks like seven stars to the unaided eye. Train your binoculars on them though, and you can easily see many, many more than seven stars! It is indeed a sight worth seeing.

3. The Lagoon Nebula

The Lagoon Nebula

Nebulas are  star nurseries, places where gas is condensing under the force of gravity to form stars. The Lagoon Nebula is one of the most amazing nebulas visible from Earth. Look for it during summer in the constellation Sagittarius.

2. The Orion Nebula

The Orion Nebula

The Orion Nebula is located in the Hunter’s Sword of the Orion constellation. It is only 1270 light-years from Earth making it our nearest nebula.

1. The Milky Way Galaxy

The Milky Way Galaxy

Yes, our own home is so big that we can actually see part of the spiral arm where our own Earth is located! May be tough to spot behind city lights but get out away from them and the Milky Way is a visual treat not to be missed nor soon forgotten.

Bonus Sight

There is one other reason many amateur astronomers get into the field and use binoculars as their observation tool of choice – COMETS! Yes, astronomy is one of the view sciences where amateurs can make significant contributions and where amateur astronomers really excel is finding new comets. Many new comets are discovered by amateur astronomers and many of those discoveries are made using binoculars. So get your observation binoculars and get out away from city lights and start studying the night sky. Who knows? The next comet you see may be named for you!

So now you have a brand spanking new pair of Bushnell or Zhumell binoculars. Now what? Just what can you expect to see with them? You’d be surprised! What follows is sights 10-6 of my Top 10 list of things to see.

10. Meteors and Satellites

Find someplace where you have an unobstructed view of the sky. Try to pick a night with a new or crescent moon. Lay on a chaise lounge or even the ground. Be comfortable! Scan the sky with your binoculars. Before too long you should be rewarded by the flash of a shooting star! Most months have at least a minor meteor shower. April has the Lyrids which, as I pointed out in me last article, could put on a good show this year since the moon will be crescent during the peak of the shower.

Satellites are perhaps even more fun to view with your binocular than meteors since they don’t flash across the sky in an instant as meteors do. I will never forget the first time I saw the International Space Station fly over, Space Shuttle attached! Sure I could see it with my unaided eye but when I trained my Bushnell on them, I swear I could count the rivets! Simply breathtaking. Satellite hunting doesn’t have to be a hit or miss proposition either. Sebastian Stoff has a wonderful cardware program called Orbitron that will tell you when you’ll have a satellite viewable from your location.

9. The Beehive Cluster

The Beehive Cluster

The Beehive Cluster is an open star cluster found in the constellation Cancer. It should be on your list of must sees because it was one of the first things Galileo viewed with his telescope.

8. The Double Cluster

The Double Cluster is two clusters located close together. Located in the constellation Perseus, the Double Cluster makes an attractive target because it’s fairly large and telescopes have a hard time imaging both clusters at once. With your binoculars, you won’t have any trouble seeing both clusters!

7. Jupiter

Jupiter and the Galilean moons as you might see them with your binoculars

Sure, your friend with the telescope might be momentarily miffed at your ability to simultaneously image both clusters of the Double Cluster but he will soon turn his ’scope to Jupiter and challenge you to beat him. Of course, you probably won’t be able to but you will be able to reproduce Galileo’s efforts and watch the four largest moons of Jupiter, the so-called Galilean moon’s, in their nightly waltz around that gas giant!

6. The Moon

The Moon

Sure you can see the Moon, and plenty of it, without any aids at all. You haven’t really seen it though, until you’ve seen it through binoculars! Don’t try to view when the Moon is full, or nearly full, as the brightness will wash out the fine details and may be too bright to be comfortable for your eyes. Instead, view when the Moon is half or smaller. The shadows will reveal mountains and valleys like you’ve never dreamed! Look at the Sea of Tranquillity and imagine Neal Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walking across that dusty surface. Has it really been 40 years since that amazing feat?

 Check back soon for my Top 5 list of things to see with your Bushnell or Zhumell binoculars!

What is in the night sky during April? The Moon, planets and even a meteor shower are on tap this month.
The Moon is especially noteworthy this month. It passes near all five of the naked-eye planets — Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn plus as well as the stars Regulus and Antares. On the 22nd it will eclipse Venus as seen from most of the continental United States. 

Regulus, the brightest star of Leo, stands a little to the left or upper left of the Moon at nightfall on the 5th. The planet Saturn is below them.

Saturn aligns quite close to the Moon on the evening of the 6th, with Regulus above them.

Moon and Saturn by spaceritual

Antares, the brightest star of Scorpius, is close to the Moon on the 12th. It is close to the Moon’s lower left as they rise after midnight, and even closer at first light. As seen from Hawaii, the Moon will briefly eclipse Antares on the morning of the 13th.

 Jupiter stands a little to the lower left of the Moon at first light on the 18th. They are low in the southeast.

 The Lyrid meteor shower is at its best on the night of the 21st, especially with the Moon appearing as a thin crescent.

The Moon, Venus, and Mars congregate low in the east the morning of the 22nd. The Moon will eclipse Venus, briefly hiding the planet from view.

The Moon, the Pleiades, and the planet Mercury align low in the west-northwest as night falls on the 26th. The Pleiades star cluster is a little below the Moon, with Mercury about the same distance below the Pleiades. Mercury looks like a fairly bright star. Binoculars will enhance the view.