Last year, I had written a post about taking a telescope up to college. The telescope was a Celestron NexStar 5SE Schmidt-cassegrain. It operates on twenty double A batteries, weighs less than thirty pounds, and, with the tripod legs raised, occupies minimal space, making the scope an ideal choice for a college environment. When not in use, I had it stored safely in a corner, where it wouldn't get knocked over or damaged. And due to its light weight, it can be carried by one person. Getting through doors--manual or automatic--was no trouble; no help was required. Furthermore, lowering the tripod leg extensions alone was possible, given the small size and low weight of the scope.
To get an idea of how the telescope fits inside a college dorm room, here's an image from my dorm room the last two semesters:
In this entry, I'll be covering three subjects: on-campus ambient light, reactions of classmates and passersby, and a telescope upgrade.
Ambient Light
One problem I had not considered was ambient light. The Susquehanna University campus lighting is set to turn on before sunset, and the lampposts are not designed with the astronomer in mind. Light floods at least 90% the campus, a figure unsatisfying to the astronomer. I compared the light situation on campus similar to what is observed in the average suburban community. Observing deep-space objects was nearly impossible; the lights made it difficult for the eyes to adapt to the dark. I tried observing the Orion Nebula and Andromeda Galaxy, in spite of the ambient light, and I had moderate success with the nebula; all I could observe in the Orion Nebula were a few bright, young stars. I couldn't get the Andromeda Galaxy, due to the flood of light, and poor alignments on my part.
When observing the Andromeda Galaxy, the eyes must be adapted to the dark skies. This means that the nearest light bulb has to be a mile away, a fact that is evident at Cherry Springs State Park; and even there, more distant galaxies can be observed.
The ambient light issue wasn't an issue when observing the moon and the planets, however. Of the planets that interest the amateur astronomer, I observed the planets Jupiter and Saturn, although I should have made efforts to observe Venus and Mars. Mercury was out of the question, due to there being many obstructions: buildings, trees, hills, cars, the Sun, etc. Jupiter was my main interest while observing up at Susquehanna, in addition to the Earth's moon and Jupiter's moons; it was possible to observe Jupiter's four largest moons through the 5-inch scope.
Reactions from Passersby
As I would set up the telescope, there were a select few who would stop and ask what I'd be looking at or to have a quick view in the eyepiece. Most of my potential classmates most likely hadn't grown up with a telescope in their family's house, and it was no surprise to me that they'd be in awe at the sights of the Moon or Jupiter through the eyepiece, for what might have been the first time.
It was as though the telescope had brought much child-like excitement out of those who looked through. On that notion, I look back to a distant past when I personally got a first glimpse through a telescope, when I too was stimulated with excitement over the most commonly viewed objects in the night sky. Yet, unlike most of my fellow classmates of Susquehanna University, I did grow up with telescopes in the house.
My classmates were amazed over the details of the lunar craters and observing the Galilean Moons of Jupiter; few knew observing Jupiter's moons was possible. They were also astounded to notice one of Jupiter's moons--the volcanic moon of Io--was moving slightly in the field of view. Most astronomers state the moon travels once around Jupiter every two days approximately. The exact figure is close to every 1.8 days. As far as the Earth's moon is concerned, I doubt my classmates had a chance to see it through an eyepiece. The craters and mountains, if to be observed properly, requires a telescope; and with the telescope, my classmates were in awe over the magnified sights of the Moon.
Upgrade
While the Celestron NexStar 5SE served me well these last two semesters, and like most astronomers, the first telescope just isn't enough for the hobby and desires of the astronomer. For the next two semesters, I'm considering an upgrade to a Celestron SkyProdigy 6 Schmidt-cassegrain. This telescope also aligns itself, saving the astronomer time. This is accomplished using a camera and a database of the star patterns. The telescope is also larger than the previous model. Why a larger scope? It's quite simple: a larger scope allows for a larger mirror; a larger mirror means more light is collected, which, in turn, allows the astronomer to observe objects in greater detail.
However, given the tight spaces in college dorms, it isn't recommended going with anything larger than a 6-inch scope. Another concern is increased weight; carrying the scope, opening doors, and lowering the tripod legs, all alone, would be a difficult task. Again, the largest scope college students should consider, if getting into the hobby, would be a 6-inch scope.
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