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2023-11: Warosu is now out of extended maintenance.

/sci/ - Science & Math

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4819255 No.4819255 [Reply] [Original]

Hey /sci/, I won a telescope from my local Astronomy club. It just arrived today and I have a few questions before opening it if you all don't mind.

1) Is there anything I need to know before opening the box? Temperature? Exposure to sunlight? It's pretty bright and toasty warm in my house.

2) What maintenance do I need to perform on it? Any adjustments? What about while in use, should I wipe/avoid wiping anything during use?

3) How best to store it? I don't really have much cupboard space and it's frigging huge (value of the prize was $1,200, so it's an expensive bitch). It keeping it in my study with its caps on and a big blanket over it ok? Also general storage tips. Where to keep the lenses, do I put the caps on immediately after bringing it inside, etc.

4) Lastly: where do I begin? I've been to two viewing nights so I'm vaguely aware of what I should be able to see, but no idea where to look for it in the sky - they handled that part. How can I begin to familiarise myself with the sky?

>> No.4819260
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4819260

Astronomy isn't science. It's a whack ass hobby like stamp collecting. Try 420chan.

>> No.4819274

>>4819260
>Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects
>science

>> No.4819279

>>4819260
Confirmed for uneducated faggot with a lack of intellectual curiosity.

OP as with most technical equipment drier and colder is better, but unless you live on the equator or in a jungle it probably won't be a problem.

Don't touch the glass. Your storage location sounds fine. As far as maintenance, with a piece that pricey, don't try to DIY it find someone who does that at least as a hobbyist.

Where to start? Where do you want? The best way to get a "sense" of the night sky is to just start looking at it. You should know the whole light pollution deal I'm sure. Look up some objects that interest you in a guidebook or on the internets. Wait for a good viewing time and enjoy. The moon, planets, pleiades, are all good starters.

Oh and also, bitches love stargazing.

Enjoy!

>> No.4819286

>>4819279
Thanks for the info.

>As far as maintenance, with a piece that pricey, don't try to DIY it find someone who does that at least as a hobbyist.
Just so I know what to look out for, what maintenance is actually required?

>bitches love stargazing.
I would be lying if I said I hadn't already thought about this.

>> No.4819289

Isn't dust a big problem with telescopes?

Also make sure to let it 'cool down' before expecting to see anything each viewing session.

>> No.4819298

>>4819255

If you have a CCD camera you can make expolanet observations.

Open-source photometry software for generating transit curves from raw data:
https://code.google.com/p/oscaar/

You can also publish your results here:
http://var2.astro.cz/ETD/

Scientists WANT amateurs to publish their own transit curves, it helps improve accuracy of orbital periods for the community as a whole. You'd be surprised how easy it is to make transit curves, even in light-polluted areas. The reason nobody discovered exoplanets until 1995 wasn't telescope-related but the lack of software capabilities.

>> No.4819367
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4819367

>>4819279
>Confirmed for uneducated faggot with a lack of intellectual curiosity.

Confirmed for a faggot who thinks he is smart just because he looks at things irl instead of pictures that already exist.