Buying a first telescope

I have started or resumed this hobby four times, so in a way I have had four "starter" telescopes.

The first one was when I was a child, about ten years old. It was a Gilbert 2.5" Newtonian--which explains the sig line I use in my astro club's forum. Shoddy mount, shoddy tripod, shoddy finder, shoddy eyepiece, shoddy focuser, etc. In all ways it was inferior, but I loved it; I was a patient little kid, and was willing to fight that telescope for every view I could wrestle from it. For the astronomy-interested child with the right temperment, any telescope is like a piece of heaven on earth. Even the much-maligned department store scopes will serve. But I would advise buying something better.

Teenager: 6" f/8 Edmund Newtonian on a GEM. Darned good scope.

Graduate Student: 8" f/6 Meade Newtonian on a GEM. Also a darned good scope.

Adult (at least chronologically): ST80 Refractor on a GEM. Then a 6" f/12 Mak-Cass followed by a 10" Dob, then a 4" apo, and last a 72mm ED.

Lesson: Don't sweat the decision on the first telescope too much, as you will soon decide it is not completely adequate for your needs. It's good to start with a general purpose scope. Using it you will learn about telescopes, and about yourself: What you like to see, What you're willing to put up with, What you want in terms of bells and whistles. Then when it's time you'll better know what you want in The Next Scope.

My 6 and 8" Newts were close to being perfect general purpose scopes. Both had 48" focal lengths, which made them useful for planetary observing without having to resort to really short focal length eyepieces. They were at what seems like a nice balance point between fast and slow, so faint fuzzies were OK in them. Which one to get depends on the subjective factor of portability. The 6" was much lighter than the 8".

All that said, I agree with the advice of a 6" or 8" Dob. If you're thinking you really like looking at solar system objects go with a GEM that has a drive for right ascension. If instead your heart beats faster thinking of the faint fuzzies, get yourself an erect-image finder. That really helps with star hopping.

Speaking of star hopping, I'm old school. I think that Go-To drives are are appropriate in many situations, but not on a first telescope.

Telescopes are tools you can use to extend your senses to a cosmic scale. When you learn how to use your telescope and get to know how it reacts--what it can do and how you can get the most out of it and yourself--you become a craftsperson versed in its use. That's when the connection between you and the cosmos becomes direct in a special way. This will sound a little metaphysical, but I think that's when the telescope becomes a part of you and no longer is an artificial interface between you and the sky. The joy of that sensation is one of the reasons I love astronomy.

We Interrupt our Regular Programming

In August of 2010 I had a stroke. It was my own doing. Against my wife's advice I tried to let time heal a bad cough. My coughing was so energetic that I managed to put a rip in my carotid artery and a small clot formed. A bit of the clot broke off and decided to get chummy with my brain.

Apparently if coughing were an Olympic event I could be a medalist.

It was a mild stroke by almost any measure. Mostly it affected my cognitive ability.  The day after the stroke I struggled to put words into alphabetical order, I repeatedly failed to make correct change, and my speech was a little unclear. But the vision problem that had signaled the stroke's beginning was gone, and the weakness on my left side was gone in only a couple of days. Most importantly, my memories were still completely intact. As I said, a mild stroke. The emotional aspects were the worst parts: The shock of knowing my brain was damaged, realizing the pain I'd put my family through.

In five days I was home. In 9 days I attended the state fair, although I only had enough energy to stay for a few hours. As I've learned, stroke recovery demands an insanely large amount of energy. A couple of months of rehab brought my cognitive skills close to what they had been. I was driving again in October, and shoveling snow by December. I've gradually continued my recovery in the months since . I may never be 100% again, but I'm darn close. In some respects, I may be better than I was. (My sense of smell has become rather acute since the stroke.)

Astronomy played a role in my recovery.  I needed to work my mind, stretching it to grow. My body needed strengthening and my spirits some lifting.  I decided to plunge back into astrophotography.  Less than a month after the stroke I resumed. 

If you've read earlier posts you know what goes into imaging.  In my case it's a lot of carrying things from house to back yard. The heaviest piece is the CGEM mount which weighs in at 41 pounds. At first this was a struggle, but it seemed to get a little lighter with each trip.

Then there's imaging itself. With so many ways to mess up, it's a challenge to a healthy person's mental capacity.  I was using a DSLR at that point which is not all that much easier to use than a CCD. Night after night I imaged, taking advantage of the pleasant fall.

It was gratifying to know that I could still make images, and I'm convinced that it helped speed my recovery.

There may be some truth to the advice to get back in the saddle as soon as you can. It seemed to work for me.

Oh, and listen to your wife when she tells you to see the doctor. Don' be a dummy like I was. I got off easy, you may not!

Become aware of stroke symptoms. The sooner you get help (don't hesitate to call 911) the better the damage can be minimized. Read more about strokes here.