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We used the 8" in my old college astronomy class (pretty disgusting that that was the first time in my life I had seen Saturn's Rings... thanks for nothing APS/Moriarty!).
Fairfax county schools wound up with a total of 9 planetariums in high schools.
Some of those schools have been renamed and reoriented over the years
so that a couple are now middle schools but the facilities are still there.
I have to admit, it is only now, many years later, that I really appreciate
the benefits that came from growing up in a well funded, high quality,
public school system.
> I'm looking into a new Meade 8"... what are your thoughts on this?
The current equatorial diameter of Saturn in is 19.1 arc seconds
which is about .3 arc minutes which is about 1/2 of 1% of a degree.
For reference, the diameter of the moon is about 1/2 degree
or 30 minutes of arc <or> 188 times that of Saturn.
Therefore, if you have a telescope that can deliver about 200x
power, you can view Saturn through it at a slightly larger
apparent diameter than you can the moon with your naked eye.
The 8" Meade will give you 200x usable power on plantary objects
- even in the city - maybe a little more in "great" conditions.
Can I come over and drool on your telescope after you get it?
> > I'm looking into a new Meade 8"... what are your thoughts on this?
I thought my description of what an 8" scope could do for you
would help ( those were my "thoughts" ).
Do you currently have a smaller Meade scope ( or something else ) and
are wondering about upgrading?
My thinking is that if you know what a better scope or car or computer
can do for you and you have the ability to afford it and you want it and
your priorities lean in that direction, you should do it.
Judging from your willingness to post your thoughts here in the forum,
I'm really confused by what you are asking.
I would think you would either say " seeing Saturn so big would be great " or
nah, ... I'll pass and wait till I can afford to see it at 400x <--- or something
like that. This indecision, it seems, .... seems, .... so not-rybert-ish.
Thanks for the link and information, mortimer and ZiaAirmac. I'm just a total newbie at astronomy, but it's something I could see myself getting more into over the years. My dad's a real astronomy buff, I'm going to relay this info to him. Nice to know about TAAS. In any case, I think you're right that even just a little bit out of Albuquerque has got to blow away the night skies in the middle of suburban Denver. And right now where I'm temporarily residing (the middle of LA), you can't see ANY stars at night.
Yeah... not very me-ish. I'm just debating the cost vs. use. Maybe just looking for an external push toward an object that I may not "need," but "want."
I've had an 8" Celestron SchmIdt-Cassegrain for almost 30 years that has given me many hours of pleasure. It works on bright stuff like planets here in the city, but to get the most out of it, I have to take it out of the light pollution. I've taken it to the Texas Star Party a couple of times and was amazed by what I could see. It works well up to around 300x on a good night.
Before that, I had a 10" reflector that I could see Pluto with, but it weighed about 120 pounds and was such a pain to take out and set up that I didn't use it all that much. The C-8 only weighs 1/3rd as much.
The department-store refractors just aren't big enough to support the magnifications they claim. They will make them, but they'll be dim, fuzzy and useless. Light-gathering power is what matters most. I wouldn't mind having a 4" or larger refractor to use on planets, though, since their unobstructed light path gives great resolution and contrast.
Another point: Having a mountain range between you and a big city like Albuquerque, will block the direct light from it, but it won't do anything about the light being scattered in the atmosphere above.
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