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    Starting Out with Amateur Astronomy: Equipment and Software
    Starting Out with Amateur Astronomy: Equipment and Software
    Starting Out with Amateur Astronomy: Equipment and Software
    Ebook212 pages2 hours

    Starting Out with Amateur Astronomy: Equipment and Software

    By Seng Cheong Loke

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    About this ebook

    Getting started on a new hobby can be a daunting challenge when there are so many possibilities to consider. Although the internet offers a lot of information on the subject, much of it is disorganised and occasionally contradictory. This is especially important for astronomy where equipment purchases can be quite expensive and a wrong decision leads to much regret and wasted time.
    The local astronomy club is a decent source of information, and the more experienced members can often point you in the right direction. For those who are able, I would strongly encourage you to join one as sharing a hobby multiplies the enjoyment of it. Not everyone however has the time or temperament to join a club, and this book aims to guide the budding amateur astronomer in making an informed choice in equipment and software purchasing.
    A list of recommended items for each section is given along with estimated street prices for mid-2014. The main criteria used in my evaluation are cost-effectiveness, quality, and user-friendliness. I avoided listing cheap department store items as they often lack the precision necessary for serious astronomy. I also did not include very high end equipment as most amateurs will be unable to fully utilise their capabilities.
    The recommendations made are based on the author’s experience and not meant to be exhaustive. Alternatives will be pointed out where present and the reader is encouraged to check the internet for user reviews, especially for expensive purchases. Keep in mind that everyone has their own preferences and priorities, along with budget constraints and other circumstances. So what is an ideal setup for one person, may be totally inappropriate for another.
    As astrophotography is more demanding in terms of equipment and technical skill, this will be the book’s main focus. However, much of what is written is still applicable to visual astronomy albeit with a few caveats. Solar astronomy though is not covered as much of the equipment and techniques used are fundamentally different from astronomy of the night sky.
    The appendix contains a detailed glossary with a selection of commonly used technical terms. The appendix also contains write-ups on certain topics which give an insight into some of the issues which astronomers face.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSeng Cheong Loke
    Release dateMar 30, 2014
    ISBN9781310464966
    Starting Out with Amateur Astronomy: Equipment and Software
    Author

    Seng Cheong Loke

    Dr Loke grew up in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia where rapid urbanisation has obscured the night sky with city lights. He moved to Singapore for his high school education at St Andrew’s Secondary School and the National Junior College, and subsequently underwent medical training at the University of Melbourne, Australia. He worked in the United Kingdom and Singapore for many years and qualified as a consultant physician and endocrinologist. In 2007, he returned home and joined Universiti Putra Malaysia where he served as the head of the Internal Medicine and Endocrinology units, before moving to the Institute of Gerontology as its deputy director. Subsequently, he transferred to the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences where he is currently serving as a clinical professor. Dr Loke has published over 40 scientific articles, chapters, and abstracts in academic endocrinology and gerontology, and speaks regularly at major conferences in the region. His interest in amateur astronomy was kindled during his family holidays overseas where he encountered truly dark skies for the first time in his life. As the observation site in his garden yard is heavily light polluted, he chose to pursue astrophotography rather than visual astronomy due to the greater flexibility that it offers. His goal has been to show that amateur astronomers even within an urban landscape can still produce good results provided that they have the right mix of equipment, software, and technical skills for the job.

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    Book preview

    Starting Out with Amateur Astronomy - Seng Cheong Loke

    Starting Out with

    Amateur Astronomy

    Equipment and Software

    By Seng Cheong Loke

    Starting Out with Amateur Astronomy: Equipment and Software

    By Seng Cheong Loke

    Copyright 2014 Seng Cheong Loke

    Smashwords Edition

    All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any way or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder.

    Frontmatter

    Table of Contents

    FRONTMATTER

    Table of Contents

    Preface

    Acknowledgements

    Introduction

    SECTION I - EQUIPMENT AND ACCESSORIES

    Chapter 1 - Mount

    Mount Recommendations

    Chapter 2 - Telescope

    Telescope Recommendations

    Chapter 3 - Camera

    Digital Camera

    Astronomical Camera

    Webcam

    Chapter 4 - Eyepiece

    Eyepiece Recommendations

    Chapter 5 - Filters

    Visual Filters

    Photographic Filters

    Filter Recommendations

    Chapter 6 - Guiders

    Guide Cameras

    Guidescopes

    Off-Axis Guiders

    Adaptive Optics and Mount Drivers

    Field Rotators and X-Y Finders

    Guider Recommendations

    Chapter 7 - Other Accessories

    Anti-Dew

    Field Flatteners and Coma Correctors

    Finderscopes

    Flat Field Panels

    Focusing

    Power

    Star Diagonals

    Chapter 8 - Recommended Equipment Setups

    The Visual Astronomer

    The Astrophotographer

    Suggested Upgrade Path

    Protecting Your Equipment

    SECTION II - SOFTWARE

    Chapter 9 - Observation Planners and Planetarium Software

    Chapter 10 - Post-Processing Software

    Chapter 11 - Automation Software

    Autoguiding Programs

    Automation Software Suites

    SECTION III - THE FIXED INSTALLATION

    Chapter 12 - Garden Pier

    Pier

    Wiring

    Weather Protection

    Costs

    Chapter 13 - Dedicated Observatory

    Pier

    Wiring

    Weather Protection

    Costs

    BACKMATTER

    About the Author

    Optical Aberrations and Atmospheric Effects

    Light Pollution

    Image Details

    Copyright Permissions

    GLOSSARY

    General Glossary

    Celestial Coordinates

    Astronomical Camera Specifications

    INDEX

    Tables

    Figures

    Glossary Terms

    Preface

    Having lived in a big city all my life, I never grew to appreciate the beauty of the heavens at night. Looking at the sky only meant checking for rain, and clouds were always a welcome sight as they brought relief from the harsh tropical sun. There was really nothing much to see as even on the clearest nights, there would only be a scattering of the brightest stars visible amidst the glow of the city lights.

    All this changed when I went to the United States for a family holiday. As I was driving late at night on a remote highway somewhere between Yellowstone National Park and Salt Lake City, I caught a glimpse of the Milky Way for the first time. To a city boy who had never seen it, this was indeed an amazing sight easily on par with anything I had encountered during the rest of the trip. Of course, my instinctive reaction was to whip out my camera, but the old thing was just not up to the task of night photography.

    Some years later, I had an opportunity to return and this time I planned a side trip to a known dark sky site in Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah. First stop was a star party at the park centre, where the local astronomy club guys brought out their telescopes. While some of the scopes were huge, the views through them were somewhat disappointing as the planets and galaxies looked dim and washed out. Perhaps I was expecting something like the Hubble Space Telescope images which I checked out earlier.

    One of the park rangers noticed my disappointment and advised me to take a short drive up to Paria View. When I got there, the place was pitch black and deserted as most people were still at the star party. The lack of light however meant that the stars looked more brilliant and numerous than I had ever seen before. This time I came prepared with a new camera that I bought especially for this trip, and thus took my first baby steps on the long road of an astrophotographer (Fig. 1).

    Psalm 19:1, Holy Bible

    New International Version

    Fig. 1 The summer Milky Way over Bryce Canyon.

    During the day, Paria View overlooks the slot canyons and castle-like hoodoos of Bryce Canyon. At night however, the whole area is pitch dark with a limiting magnitude of 7+ and no major obstructing features all the way to the horizon. The photo in Fig. 1 was taken facing east and shows the Milky Way stretching all the way across the sky. The large and small Sagittarius star clouds are located on the right side and a faint reddish light dome from the nearby village of Tropic can be seen.

    Acknowledgements

    Writing your first book is an undertaking that takes a huge toll on you mentally, physically, and emotionally. As such, I would like to call attention to people who were instrumental in supporting me during this difficult period and helping to make this enterprise a success.

    First, there is my wife Peck Hoon who was ever patient in tolerating my late nights and ‘absent presence’. My children Ariel and Rachel who pulled me away from my computer whenever I got too lost in work. Both my parents who cheered me on, proofread the book for me, and gave valuable feedback. Trinity Methodist Church and my small bible study group who have always been a source of spiritual encouragement.

    My thanks to Audrey Ong and the Swan Foundation which provided a monetary grant. Peter Lake and iTelescope.com which gave a grant-in-kind that let me use their robotic telescope system to capture some of the images in this book. My employer, Universiti Putra Malaysia for allowing me to go on sabbatical leave, and the Institute of Gerontology which has been a home for me these past few years.

    God bless you all; words cannot express how grateful I am.

    Seng Cheong Loke

    Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    April 2014

    Introduction

    Getting started on a new hobby can be a daunting challenge when there are so many possibilities to consider. Although the internet offers a lot of information on the subject, much of it is disorganised and occasionally contradictory. This is especially important for astronomy where equipment purchases can be quite expensive and a wrong decision leads to much regret and wasted time.

    The local astronomy club is a decent source of information, and the more experienced members can often point you in the right direction. For me however, the demands of work, family, and church, meant that most of my weekends were booked out and I could never find the time to commit to one of these clubs. For those who are able, I would strongly encourage you to join one as sharing a hobby multiplies the enjoyment of it.

    This book aims to guide the budding amateur astronomer in making an informed choice in equipment and software purchasing. A list of recommended items for each section is given along with estimated street prices for mid-2014. The main criteria used in my evaluation are cost-effectiveness, quality, and user-friendliness. I avoided listing cheap department store items as they often lack the precision necessary for serious astronomy. I also did not include very high end equipment as most amateurs will be unable to fully utilise their capabilities.

    The recommendations made are based on the author’s experience and not meant to be exhaustive. Alternatives will be pointed out where present and the reader is encouraged to check the internet for user reviews, especially for expensive purchases. Keep in mind that everyone has their own preferences and priorities, along with budget constraints and other circumstances. So what is an ideal setup for one person, may be totally inappropriate for another.

    As astrophotography is more demanding in terms of equipment and technical skill, this will be the book’s main focus. However, much of what is written is still applicable to visual astronomy albeit with a few caveats. Solar astronomy though is not covered as much of the equipment and techniques used are fundamentally different from astronomy of the night sky.

    Due to the fluid nature of the internet, web references will not be provided as the links frequently become outdated. However, a simple search will usually find the requisite website. The appendix contains a glossary with a selection of common technical terms. If there is anything that you do not understand in the text, this is the place to find a more detailed explanation. The appendix also contains write-ups on certain topics which give an insight into some of the issues which astronomers face.

    Section I - Equipment and Accessories

    For an amateur astronomer, purchasing your first telescope is like getting your first car. Just because your father gave you a BMW sports car for your eighteenth birthday, does not mean that you can drive it well. However, starting out in an old jalopy would really rob you of any enjoyment that comes out of driving. Hence, it is best to get one which enables you to learn the basics of astronomy and hone your skills for at least one to two years, before needing to upgrade.

    Fig. 2 Basic components of a telescope system.

    The essentials for starting out in astronomy are a mount and telescope (Fig. 2). A good pair of binoculars can also be used, but this is limited to

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