Meet my telescope and best friend. The Meade ETX-80 is 80mm (3.1") refracting type telescope with a focal length of 400mm (f/5). Tiny by most standards but good enough to see Jupiter's moons and Saturn's rings. It has an internal flip function Barlow lens to increase the magnification of the eyepiece in use, and an internal flip mirror for mounting optics at the rear of the telescope. Also comes with the Meade AutoStar computer controller handset, which automatically guides your telescope. Bought online from Harrison Telescopes for the princely sum of £289.
The bear essentials ......
Make sure you are well-prepared for your night out - here are some fashion tips for the amateur stargazer!
A standard visual observing setup - a 25mm eyepiece at the bottom for wide field views and spotting, a 10mm eyepiece and Barlow lens at the top for zooming in on the action.
A close-up of the eyepieces. That big knob next to the eyepiece at the top is the telescopes focuser.
Using special attachments, you can attach a camera to the eyepiece. Make sure you connect your camera to a remote control or laptop to take pictures, zoom or change exposure settings. At high magnifications, touching the camera even slightly will make you lose your target image on the scope.
You can even completely do away with the eyepiece and just use your telescope as a guided camera mount - especially for wide view shots of constellations. Just use the lower wide view eyepiece to locate the target constellation and take your picture!
Stargazing isn't just restricted to night -time hours. There's one really big star you can't miss seeing during daylight hours - the Sun! You can attach a solar filter to view the sun and features such as sunspots - just as you would with a telescope at night. Never, ever, ever look at the sun through a telescope without solar filter - you'll fry your eyeballs out.
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