Astronomy

I recently bought my first telescope as I have always been fascinated by the universe.  I have not been able to use it yet as the weather has been terrible but I have managed to assemble it and align the red dot finder scope with the telescope so a big journey of learning and discovery now awaits!  Here are the specs of the telescope as per the site I bought it from:

  • Model: Skyhawk 1145PM
  • 114mm f/500 Motorised Parabolic Newtonian Reflector
  • Magnification (with supplied optics):
    x20, x40, x80 & x100
  • Highest practical power (potential): x228
  • Diameter of primary mirror: 114mm
  • Telescope focal length: 500mm
  • Eyepieces supplied: 10mm & 25mm
  • X2 Barlow lens
  • RA motor drive (DC)
  • Parabolic primary mirror
  • 0.5mm ultra-thin secondary mirror supports
  • Red dot finder
  • EQ1 equatorial mount
  • Aluminium tripod with accessory tray
  • 125% more light gathering than 76mm

Apparently this type of telescope is mainly for viewing galaxies, nebulae and star clusters but with the addition of a x2 barlow lens you can get greater magnification but with a shortened FOV (field of view), this could be used to observe planets.  I did a little bit of research before buying this beast, and this model was best buy in sky at night magazine with endorsements from Sir Patrick Moore.  A very welcome addition to the standard package is the inclusion of an RA motor which rotates along the RA axis at the rate of rotation of the earth, enabling automatic tracking of celestial objects during an observing session, this would otherwise have been tweaked manually by the observer.

Only time will tell whether this was a worthy purchase, I think that even though we live on the 13th floor the direction of our balcony is pointing in the wrong direction to align the telescope with the North Celestial Pole which is located very close to the star Polaris and is commonly used as a reference point in the sky to locate other objects.  I expect that I will use the telescope mostly when we plan breaks camping during the summer months or I could actually plan journeys outside the city for an observing session.

And here are some pics of the assembled starbeast!



I expect to report my whole journey into the cosmos on my blog, so check back for updates or subscribe to the RSS feed.