I started out collecting info a bit at a time... hesitantly. To be honest, I didn't really know what I should be looking for first. After finding some less-than-helpful sites I began to come across links that were actually taking me somewhere. Wikipedia is a great place to start for many things. They won't have everything you're looking for on the subject, but you can get a good overview, as well as a few good links from the References and See Also at the bottom of the page.
Wikipedia entry.
Another good way to learn about stuff is to go online "window shopping". I spend a lot of time on ebay just searching for items to see what the description has to say about it. The thing about ebay is that the seller wants to give as much info as possible (usually) in order to increase the likelihood of sales. It also means you learn more about what is actually available for you to purchase toward your project, and how much you can expect to spend.
The single best way to learn anything is to immerse yourself in the culture. I am the sort who likes to join forums. Forums tend to have collections of seasoned enthusiasts, as well as lots of active discussions that you can learn from. The other great advantage is that you can actually get involved. You can not only partake in a discussion, you can start your own. Here is a site I found:
Telescope Junkies.
From there, I also learned about a really cool surplus supply site where one can occasionally find fantastic deals on telescope equipment.
Surplus Shed.
Not to get ahead of ourselves, but, again, just knowing what is out there helps to learn more about the project. After a bit more absorption of info it will be time to plan the actual purchasing of parts.
It will also soon be time to decide exactly what will be constructed from scratch and what will be purchased. If you plan to take on such a project you will need to decide that for yourself. I've pretty much decided that I will purchase the parts that require precision for good results - the mirrors and the eyepiece(s) - and build the rest.
Next time, I'll go into planning and designing elements of the actual scope.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Great project! Good Luck! You'll be wanting to move your telescope around, I guess, after you've built it, so 6" or an 8", what'll it be? I'd go for as large a mirror as possible up until the limit of transportation comes up (and of economics, tools and work). And, where do you have the best possible viewing conditions? As I wrote at the The Brights Forum I had a telescope once but I really had nowheres to go for to use it, no car and so. From the living room? Now way. Too much turbulence in the house-hot air. But I did get it to project a one an' a half meter sun on my living room wall, complete with unspots and all (and the turbulence generated some fantastic psychedelia). You but take the ocular away and allow the image to form on a screen, or wall. (Remember 'no eyes', no eyes close to the ocular when working with the sun). One gotta get out into nature, the domain of wildebeast and other strangies, yeah, uppa the forest hillytops you'd have to go, or maybe you have a local mountainrange, of some accessibility, close by. Yes. The larger the mirror the better, up unto the limit of practicality. Good luck again.
ReplyDeleteAlbatross
Albatross, I love the way you express yourself. I always smile when I read what you've posted. I love the phrase "uppa the forest hillytops". Can I use that?
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be able to use the scope well from where I am, but there is a "mountain" not far from here where local telescope enthusiasts like to go... it's not a mountain by most standards, but the elevation is quite high relative to most areas here, and the ambient light from the city is very low. It's actually on the eastern most edge of the upper limits of the Appalachian Mountain Range. People think of the Appalachians as being a United States thing, which it is for the most part, but it actually reaches quite far into Canada on the northern end.
One of the first things I read about handling a primary mirror was to be careful about reflecting the sun into your eyes. That makes sense, as you are essentially condensing the sunlight into a pin point, which is the same thing as focusing the sun through a lens to start a fire (yeah, we've all done that as kids, even though we shouldn't have).
At this time, I'm leaning toward an 8" mirror, but if budget constraints are more than I would like then I will probably go for a 6".
Thanks for the input.