Any ametuer astronomers on these here forums?

Live forum: http://forum.freeipodguide.com/viewtopic.php?t=78851

J4320

31-05-2009 16:39:51

I'm trying to get one of these badboys -

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Meade ETX-70

It has heavenly body info programmed into it so after you set it on a flat surface, align it north, and enter in the time and date, you'll be able to go through menus of categories such as planets then click Saturn or whatever. After that, the telescope will automatically slur to Saturn. Pretty cool. And you can attach it to a camera and take pictures. It works for terrestrial stuff too. D The reviews on them are pretty good except for one I found where I guy was bitching about how unnatural it was with the electronic motor noises it made and etc. Whatever... I'm not an expert astronomer and I think the autostar feature can help me find a lot of stuff that I would otherwise miss out on unless I [i5a871b67bd]really[/i5a871b67bd] got into this hobby and could use star charts pretty well. I may end up learning all that stuff anyway though. You can use the scope manually and what not. I love how it's nice and portable for camping trips and stuff.

I found a used one on craigslist for $100 and jumped all over it only to find it was sold a few hours ago. (

akalic

02-06-2009 02:49:12

I've always been into stars, constellations and whatnot, but with the heavy lighting in my area, I don't know how well I would be able to see them. I've actually built an interest in this stuff after signing up for a year's subscription for scientific america..they talk about all this stuff..black holes...etc....

JennyWren

02-06-2009 14:02:48

Nice....I have a Meade 4.5" reflector. Unfortunately no motor drive for it. I definitely wish I had autostar, finding and tracking stuff is hard even if you know where you are looking.

Good luck with the hunt!

J4320

02-06-2009 16:12:49

Thanks. )

I ended up finding one on ebay for $150 + $30 shipping. I submitted a best offer for $130 and the seller accepted. Then I noticed the seller was in Portland. I asked for a local pickup, and she said it would be fine. So $130 for that thang with the tripod + bag. Not bad.

Summer needs to start so I can take this on camping trips. And for all yaaaall non-stargazers... at least spend 1 night with some friends or the gf/bf under the stars. It's an awesome experience.

ajasax

03-06-2009 05:46:39

^^ I'll hafta try that. I have a telescope sitting around somewhere. It's not a fancy pants electromotorized one, but it does the job I guess. Definitely wanna go camping this summer 8)