Any star gazers and amateur astronomers ?

The Moon occults Mars tonight. Here’s to seeing it in your location and clear skies
https://twitter.com/nasajpl/status/1600540724595855360?s=46&t=zBatpcCHiL5VLpwtJUo3-A

 

https://twitter.com/ajamesmccarthy/status/1600749501664612353?s=46&t=-_TYnBGitqtG6KslHKmZMA

 

What's a good telescope for around $1500?

 

I’d start here:
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-equipment/how-to-choose-a-telescope/

Once you get your desired features nailed down, stick with well known name brands. Research, research then research some more, then buy.

Good Luck! Let us know what you decide

 

There are a lot of good scopes in that price range. Orion, Celestron, and Meade are good choices (and all the same company now), William Optics, . You can talk to companies like OPT Corp or High Point Scientific who can guide you. Celestron have a couple of options in that range that include the scope and mount. Don't forget that the used market is worth looking at too.

Something you probably want to know is at that price range, you won't necessarily get something with an equatorial mount which opens up another option for you. If you area already a camera owner with a lens near the 200mm mark, you can get a reasonably priced equatorial mount like the Sky Watcher Star Adventurer GTi and use a dSLR and make some photographs.

 

I have an ASIAIR Pro which I've been using to run my telescope. It's based upon a Raspberry Pi and a power management board. Software consists of public domain software that's been pre-installed and can do guiding (more accurately control the mount), plate solve (figure out where it is pointed in the sky), goto and a number of other things. You run it from an app.

It's got a couple of USB 3 ports that are pretty fragile--and I broke one. So I emailed ZWO to see if there was a US repair center, there is. But, there's a bit of a backlog and offered a manual to make the repair myself. I thought that was a pretty good option. Just whip out the old Pi and install a new one. The cost of a Pi used to be around $30 but the shortages have driven the prices up to between $70 and $209! The good news is I have a Pi!

Anyway, most of these tools have been available for some time and running on a Windows/Mac platform for a while. As a user, you navigated around them as needed. Sometimes, not as obvious as you would expect but there is more control. The ASI AIR Pro/Plus is a pretty cheap way to achieve Electronically Assisted Astronomy (aka remote control). I love that I can set the telescope up and polar align it, then go inside and setup the rest of my session before hitting the pillows. The AIR controls the cameras, dew heaters (power), and most other devices (like electronic focusing or filter wheels). Since I'm in a not so dark area, I mostly image using a camera that is based on a Sony image sensor. The key to success is stacking or the taking of multiple images then carefully assembling by layering them together before editing for the final product. I have a lot more to learn to be successful but damn, it's a ton of fun. My current setup consists of a William Optics RedCat 71, ASI294MC (color camera), ASI AIR Pro and maybe very soon, electronic focuser for the telescope (everything in the Astro world seems to come from China or small venders in Slovenia) all mounted on a Skywatcher EQ-6R.

I started with an iOptron mount and my DSLR and some times, a trip to the desert for photography--this is still a viable option and one that's very portable works in places where you're most likely to camp

 

https://twitter.com/spacedotcom/status/1601291428319170567?s=46&t=V0YQMt3YWa8vPiWxOegzSg

 

Any opinions on the Celestron Next Star 8se? There's one in my local craigslist

 

They're great starter scopes. Some of the newer models came with a GPS option to make polar alignment easier, it's a GOTO model as well. Updates to the hand controller are also available. They take maybe 8 batteries. They are not super accurate guiding but it's a good starter scope. You'd be able to upgrade the mount by adding a rail to the Optical Tube Assembly (OTA) to adapt to another mount.

 

This might provide some additional guidance on buying a ‘scope:
https://twitter.com/skyandtelescope/status/1601338401151717382?s=46&t=V0YQMt3YWa8vPiWxOegzSg

 

Meteor during the Geminid shower. Taken 12-14-22

 

https://twitter.com/spacedotcom/status/1608085948704727040?s=46&t=OG0tkOPY2JFOW2_pWFn67A

 

https://twitter.com/spacedotcom/status/1609175724627304448?s=46&t=WEFE10OLqgwde4SnNQuUew

 

William Optic Red Cat 71 with a William Optic 50/200 guide scope. On the mounting rail, ASIAirPlus to control the cameras, mount, and focuser (which is located just under the scope).

 

Yours?

 

https://twitter.com/spacedotcom/status/1609926103820271619?s=46&t=Ex95dzHlvDHCnZe5L7nvsg

 

Yes.

 

Sweet! Thanks

 

https://twitter.com/skyandtelescope/status/1610760490912780310?s=46&t=iG1bPmRJ4tRMtKtrBJ7gJQ

 

https://youtu.be/H9sqPHiCypE