I built a telescope - pictures

[HiTech]

I've been busy lately, preoccupied with longstanding projects that have been on the drawing board for years. I finally resolved myself to get out from behind this monitor and complete some of them... one being a small telescope. It's a mix of parts I already had on hand plus some of my own engineered pieces. It's a 600mm x 60mm refractor on a modified altazimuth mount w/zoom eyepiece tube, erector assembly, and right-angle eye tube. I focused (excuse the pun) my efforts on the optics and the smooth dampening of the mount's movement. I opted for optical resolution and a smooth, sturdy mechanism over that of higher magnification and sloppy mechanics. The results have been very satisfying for me. Images are certainly not Hubble like, but they are very crisp. I figured if I needed greater magnification and resolution, I can use my keys to the campus observatories that house 16" Schmitts w/ imagers and software (afterall it's free for me!). This little scope is something I (gently) throw in the truck and head to a dark field or the forest. I hope to soon view the I.S.S. but that's tricky, manually following such a fast paced object a mere 220 mi away without a synchronized mount. My next telescopr version is to be a larger one, 8" or 10" Newtonian reflector with an German equatorial mount on a heavy and massive, finely adjustable tripod. That, I will spend some money on towards its construction.

JUPITER and 3 moons (too lazy to look up their names- likely Europa, Io & Ganymede)
**broken link removed**
The Moon
**broken link removed**

Black Hole (just joking on this one!!)
**broken link removed**

 

[picbits]

Very nice pictures

 

[justDIY]

the picture of Jupiter is awesome for a backyard scope! great work!

try to snag us one of Saturn next time it's around. oh and share some details about your imaging setup.

here's one a took a few years back of Jupiter, using nothing but the full 40x zoom (10x optical * 4x digital) of my nikon 5700, it's really poor in comparison to yours, but I was impressed at the time

http://www.myaquaria.com/albums/gordonsky/res61867.jpg

 

[HiTech]

Tonight's evening sky has Saturn, Jupiter, Venus, and Regulus all on display, but it's very overcast here -- it figures!
I've got some stunning photos of the twin-tailed comet Hale-Bopp from way back. I remember the very eerie feeling that came over me as I gazed at it for long periods through a 16" reflector on the shoreline of Lake Erie at midnight.... feeling miniscule amidst the big picture of the cosmos on one hand, yet fortunate that I as an advanced lifeform, had the technology infront of me to view and record a celestial object up close. I remember the tripod stuck deep into the sand, as the waves pounded the shoreline on a cold night with cold hands, trying not to shiver, yet enjoying the capturing of photos on 35mm film.
Like I mentioned, I have keys to a couple of nicely outfitted observatories, but there's something to be said for building your own telescope and the thrill of looking through it. Another project on my drawing board is to make a radio telescope using a discarded DISH TV dish, mainly for listening to solar system signals and slightly beyond.

 

[jrz126]

Wow, those are some nice pics.

I messed around with the father in law's telescope once. It was in a box in the garage, I guess he won it from somewhere. It took alittle too long to assemble that by the time it was assembled I was starting to lose interest in it. Plus I had no clue as to what I was doing

You still near lake erie?

 

[HiTech]

I'm in the general vicinity of it. The national forest is closeby and that provides for excellent viewing with its very dark nights. The drive to the lakeshore is good for viewing northen sky objects since it's quite dark with most man-made lighting behind me from the high bluffs. Forcast calls for plenty of overcast evenings so I'm taking some time to fashion up a new eyepiece or two. I have a container full of various lenses of which I can experiment with.

 

[Sceadwian]

This guy takes the cake with home built equipment. His telescope is a bit bigger than yours (20" according to the text) but it might have some more resources for you to refine your image takeing methods. Really some beautiful images.

I am still in awe that a hobbyist can photograph distant galaxies.

**broken link removed**
**broken link removed**

 

[bananasiong]

Nice pictures HiTech! The links sent by Sceadwian are nice too!!
Can you post up the pictures of your telescope? Just want to see, I do not have one
BTW, do you guys believe that the space has no end?

 

[HiTech]

Wow, that Gary Honis is a serious amateur astronomer!

My scope is very similar to the one pictured below; in fact the objective is from a Bushnell scope of many years back when they produced decent stuff. The twin lenses are air separated ones. The project has been an experiment dealing with viscous dampening fluid, springs, metal fabrication and threading, etc.
**broken link removed**

The tripod pictured below is set aside for my next telescope project (someday). I think it weighs in around 36 lbs. without the head assy.