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Written by David Carton
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Wednesday, 22 July 2009 17:26 |
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The society would of course not be complete without its telescopes, which on a clear night our Obs Officers swing in to action. The society owns three telescopes and currently has a fourth on loan from the Physics Department. Click to learn more about telescopes. Celestron Firstscope 114EQ ShortNickname: "The 114"
Design: Newtonian Reflector
Focal Length: 1000mm
Aperture: 114mm
Focal Ratio: f/8.77
Mount: German Equatorial
Finder: Red dot |  | Introducing the society's workhorse. The 144 is an easy scope to carry and can be quickly set up to view planets and reveal a decent selection of deep sky objects. If you want to get hands on with a telescope then the 114 is great. With the use of the setting circles many more objects can be hunted down. |
Celestron Nexstar 5Nickname: "Nexie"
Design: Schmidt Cassegrain
Focal Length: 1270mm
Aperture: 127mm
Focal Ratio: f/10
Mount: GoTo
Finder: Red dot |  | The society is proud to own a GoTo telescope, which once aligned can slew to over 18,000 objects in its database. The Nexie can track an object, so no problems with objects drifting out of the field of view and perfect for astrophotography. Whilst the Nexie takes a little time to align, the time is certainly well spent. |
12" Meade LightbridgeNickname: "The Dob"
Design: Dobsonian
Focal Length: 1524mm
Aperture: 304.8mm
Focal Ratio: f/5
Mount: Alt-azimuth
Finder: Red dot |  | The Dob offers the Society unrivalled views of deep sky objects. Even on stary patches of sky, this scope gives a thrill to the most experienced members. The Dob has been best described as a beast that needs to be ridden. To top it all, its collapsible design makes it is the perfect scope for galaxy hunting at the Obs Field.
CAUTION: Looking at the full moon with this scope is blinding. |
The Brass Refractor - Out of ActionNickname: "The Brass"
Design: Refractor
Aperture: 4.5"
Mount: German Equitorial
Finder: Finderscope |  | The Brass is easily the oldest (and some say the best) telescope the society has at its disposal. Mounted on a sturdy column in the field, it is protected by the fabulous moveable Shed which means it is always ready to catch a break in the clouds. As a refractor it is eminently suitable for looking in awe at the moon and planets, however with its large aperture and good focal range it is equally up to the task of looking further into space and resolving many deep sky objects. Apparently it was used for studying sun spots in the 70's. |
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Last Updated on Thursday, 26 November 2009 22:50 |
Telescopes
