140 FAQs about Telescopes and Photography(The Astronomy Cafe)

Telescope designer

Biggest Optical Telescopes

Amateur Telescope Making lists


  1. I Have a 10-inch reflector and can see the 9th magnitude stars near the cluster M68, but cannot see this 8th magnitude cluster. How Come?
  2. Why are newtonian reflectors more popular than other kinds of telescope designs?
  3. How do you calculate the field illumination for a given optical system?
  4. Why does the Hubble Space Telescope show green and yellow pictures of Saturn?
  5. Where can I get a digital camera that exposes for longer than 1/4 seconds?
  6. Can you network telescopes together to make one big telescope?
  7. I don't understand how to use Right Ascension can you help?
  8. How do you find an object with just its Right Ascension?
  9. Where can I get a list of radio telescope manufacturers?
  10. Is there a Bed and Breakfast in Santa Fe that has telescopes for the public to use?
  11. What should I expect to see from a rooftop in Manhattan?
  12. Will counterweights distort the optics of a telescope for astrophotography?
  13. Does the size of a secondary mirror determine how big images are at the eyepiece?
  14. What is meant by blue and visible filters?
  15. The filter in the new HST NICMOS camera includes the HCO2 molecule .What is that?
  16. How do you photograph the Moon with an 8-inch telescope and ASA 400 film?
  17. Why can't we see more of the universe with a more powerful telescope?
  18. Would an airport X-ray machine 'pre-flash' my film to make it more sensitive?
  19. What causes the lines of stars I see in photographs of M39?
  20. Can you see planets orbiting nearby stars with the new CCD cameras?
  21. What advantage would a telescope on the Moon or Mars have over one on the Earth?
  22. Are there any good books on astronomical photography?
  23. How do you polar align a telescope in the southern hemisphere?
  24. What is the difference between a reflector, a refractor and a catadioptric telescope?
  25. Where can I get a Questor-brand telescope?
  26. What should you do with reflecting telescopes to keep them in good working condition?
  27. What is the most significant picture taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in relation to Big bang cosmology?
  28. How do you determine the focal length of a telescope mirror?
  29. Can we see any of the Apollo artifacts left on the Moon from the Earth?
  30. How does the Hubble Space Telescope lock onto a particular direction without running out of steering gases?
  31. Is there an updated version of Polgreen's book 'The Stars Tonight'?
  32. What other optical designs have been tried for telescopes other than lenses and mirrors?
  33. During multi-day exposures, how does the Hubble Space Telescope remain pointed, and what do they do about the Earth getting in the way?
  34. How much of the sky do you actually see each night?
  35. Where can I find out which observatories have public viewing programs at night?
  36. How do the best modern spy satellites compare with the Hubble Space Telescope?
  37. How do I set up a 10-inch telescope to hunt for comets?
  38. How do you use Right Ascension and Declination to find objects in the sky?
  39. Could we ever see a planet 1 billion light years away?
  40. How much has the Hubble Space Telescope really expanded our understanding of the universe?
  41. What basic things would you look for in buying a telescope for a beginner?
  42. How can I align my telescope if I can't see Polaris because of a mountain?
  43. Why don't astronomers make optical array telescopes like they do with radio telescopes to sharpen their resolving power?
  44. Do smaller telescopes get displaced by bigger ones after they are built?
  45. Should telescopes be located in space or on the ground?
  46. Why do X-ray telescopes have to be made the way they are, and not like an ordinary optical telescope?
  47. Are X-ray telescopes more important than other kinds?
  48. What do X-ray telescopes do?
  49. Can the sky maps in 'Skywatch '97' be used in Ireland?
  50. With a 12-inch Dobsonian, will I see the dust lanes in M31 and planetary detail?
  51. I have a 4.5-inch 900 mm reflector. What eyepieces do I also need?
  52. What will NASA eventually replace the Hubble Space Telescope with in the next century?
  53. What is the address for the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory where the COAST telescope is being built?
  54. I have three different star charts showing different versions of constellations. Which should I believe?
  55. How do astronomers decide where to put an observatory?
  56. What size telescope would I need to see objects the way they appear in magazine articles?
  57. How big a telescope do you need to see a 500-foot ship, 1 mile at sea?
  58. Where can I buy a Meade LX-200 10-inch telescope?
  59. Why does a lens make an object look bigger?
  60. Why do some photographs show stars with crosses?
  61. Can you see a quasar in a 10-inch telescope?
  62. What lens material is used in instruments that operate in the infrared?
  63. What is a good book for naked eye and binocular observing of the sky?
  64. Can you recommend a good 'starter' telescope under $400.00?
  65. What do I need in order to set up a 10 - 12 inch CCD telescope for a High School observatory?
  66. Is there a web site that discusses buying telescope eyepieces and equipment?
  67. What role does magnification play in binocular performance?
  68. What is the star-like object near the nucleus of NGC 7320 in my photograph taken with a 25-inch telescope?
  69. Can you warp a spherical mirror into a paraboloid?
  70. What exposure speed with ASA-400 film should I use to capture the September, 1996 lunar eclipse?
  71. Can you recommend a good book for naked-eye observing?
  72. What does it cost to get a 30-inch telescope re-silvered?
  73. Why don't you see stars in the sky in pictures taken from the Moon or outer space?
  74. Why is there such a long delay between Hubble Space Telescope photographs?
  75. What would be a good weekend in November, 1996 to have a Star party?
  76. What is an airy disk?
  77. How do you measure right ascension and declination?
  78. Is a Maksutov-Cassegrain telescope better than a Schmidt-Cassegrain?
  79. How do you determine where to put the secondary mirror in a Newtonian reflector?
  80. Would you buy an Orion Deep Space Explorer, or a Meade Starfinder?
  81. Is it best to view the sky with binoculars before purchasing a telescope?
  82. Where can I get a 'periodic error corrector'?
  83. What can I see with a 90 mm telescope at 90 power?
  84. Does there exist a CCD camera for amateurs that works between 0.9 and 2.5 microns in the infrared?
  85. In Jean Texerau's book 'How to make a telescope' he mentions "sleeks". What are they?
  86. My second-hand telescope gives blurry images off center and upside down even in daytime viewing. What's wrong?
  87. If I were to look at a 10th magnitude star with a big enough telescope, would I be blinded?
  88. Do astronomers have instruments that can look back in time?
  89. What is the best way to clean an old telescope mirror?
  90. Why are Dobsonian telescopes so much cheaper than other telescopes of the same size?
  91. Could I cover a 72-inch parabolic reflector with 3-inch mirrors to make a big optical telescope?
  92. Would a telescope let me see more stars in the city and make the view closer to what I see at night in the country?
  93. Is there an Earth-based telescope that can see the things left behind by the Apollo astronauts on the Moon?
  94. What was the world's greatest observatory between 1400 and 1450 A.D.?
  95. Where can I get CCD images in .tif format?
  96. Is everything you see in a small telescope a part of our Milky Way galaxy?
  97. Is a Meade 4.5 inch telescope a good buy for $90.00?
  98. What is a 'dewar' and how do you build one?
  99. What filter should I use to see the moon better in the daytime?
  100. How do you set up an equatorial mount?
  101. Where can I get information on the various kinds of CCD cameras for amateur astronomers?
  102. What naked-eye objects can you see in the Southern Hemisphere?
  103. Where can I get a planisphere that works in the Southern Hemisphere?
  104. What is a good telescope to use to get a clear look at the Andromeda Galaxy?
  105. My setting circles give answers that are backwards from my sky charts. What should I do?
  106. What would you recommend as a good set of eyepieces?
  107. Are filters useful for observing the Moon and planets?
  108. Do you think an 8-inch telescope is a good choice for general observing?
  109. Are narrow-band 'light pollution' filters very effective?
  110. How safe are Mylar filters for observing the Sun?
  111. What is the smallest distance you can see on the Moon with a telescope?
  112. Why do some commercial telescopes have long tubes while others are short and stubby?
  113. How can I tell what telescope size is best for me?
  114. What is a good, small telescope to buy for a long stay in Africa?
  115. Where can I get information about different kinds of telescopes including Hubble?
  116. Where can I find a public observatory to go to and look at the stars?
  117. Should a new amateur astronomer buy or build their first telescope?
  118. What size telescope do you recommend for a new amateur astronomer?
  119. If you look at a photo taken from space, the sky is always pitch black. Where did all of the stars go?
  120. What equipment besides a camera and a tripod do you need to take photos of the night sky?
  121. Why do you need a 'wedge' to do astrophotography?
  122. How do you build a telescope?
  123. What is an illuminated reticle?
  124. What is the difference between Alt-Az and Ra-Dec?
  125. What can I see with a 60 mm refractor?
  126. Are there any interesting things to see with a pair of 10x70 binoculars?
  127. How do you orient a telescope so that you can use its setting circles?
  128. For an optical telescope the size of the Earth, how far away could a human face bee discerned?
  129. Could the Hubble Space Telescope see a human face from orbit?
  130. Do you have any good suggestions for choosing telescope eyepieces to improve telescope performance?
  131. What is the angular resolution of the interferometer being built in Chile?
  132. Where can I get more information about interferometers?
  133. How faint can 8x55 binoculars and a 4.5 inch telescope see compared to the naked eye?
  134. How do prisms work inside binoculars and what does 7x50 mean?
  135. How do I go about buying a telescope?
  136. Should the amount of light pollution in my area influence my choice of telescope?
  137. I just purchased a small telescope. Now what do I do?
  138. What is the best way to take photographs of astronomical objects?
  139. What does the angular resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope correspond to in feet or miles?
  140. What are epoxy mirrors?


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