Stars and planets and other bright celestial objects will exhibit striking colors in the eyepiece. But with very few exceptions, deep space objects (i.e. - galaxies and nebulae) will appear colorless in the eyepiece of any telescope. They will look grayish, with some brighter areas, but generally without any color whatsoever (have a look at our drawings pages). Although photographic film and CCD equipment can easily detect color in dim objects, the human eye cannot.     To some newcomers this is a grave disappointment. However, the mere sight of a galaxy, millions of light years away, sitting there in the eyepiece of your first telescope, is a hair-raising thrill even if it only seems a ghostly grayish apparition. Our drawings at left show the double star Albireo, and the galaxy M-51.  Our illustrations below depict a nebula as seen by the human eye and by film.   As seen by the human eye As seen by photographic film Drawings/illustrations © The Belmont Society

   As much as we try to dispel it, the misconception still persists among newcomers that celestial treasures like the Great Orion Nebula and countless others are presented in 'living color' in the eyepiece of a telescope. And though everyone of course eventually learns the truth, there is a fundamental reason why this false notion endures within the ranks of newcomers and budding enthusiasts.

   The real culprits are the telescope manufacturers themselves, who repeatedly insist on displaying their scopes and eyepieces along with color photographs of deep space objects, thereby indoctrinating the uninitiated with a major misunderstanding. This is done in such a way as to give newcomers and novices (potential new customers) the false impression that they will see that object in the same way if they purchase that product. 

   Ferocious competition and marketing paranoia have seduced the corporate mindset into adopting a clever code of reckless indifference which is seemingly irreversible. They each apparently believe that addressing this issue will somehow permit the others to jump ahead in sales. In other words, "truth in advertising" can be considered parallel to suicide! 

Going too far

   To include a color photo in the same ad with the product is a time-worn gimmick that's been utilized by most manufacturers since the advent of color astrophotography. But to actually use it as paste-up art, to represent how it actually looks in their equipment is a cardinal sin of blatant misinformation. It's going too far.

   There can be only one reason for displaying an ad such as this: To deceive the unsuspecting and the uninitiated newcomer. It's a device to advance the notion that using their products will enable deep space objects to be viewed in color at the eyepiece. We find this not only objectionable, but inexcusable, and downright reprehensible.

   Deep space objects do not appear in living color in the eyepiece of a telescope. Photographs show color because they gather light over longer periods of time. The human eye is not capable of discerning color in dim objects. Stars show their colors because they are bright. Nebulae and galaxies don't because they're dim. Here are some examples from our drawings:

Double star  Eta Cassiopeiae	Double star  95 Herculis	Double star  Beta Cygni
The Whirlpool Galaxy	Galaxy in Sculptor	The Pinwheel Galaxy
The Swan Nebula	The Rosette Nebula	The Iris Nebula
Globular cluster  in Aquarius	Globular cluster  in Hercules	Globular cluster  in Sagittarius
Double cluster  in Perseus	Open cluster  in Orion	Open cluster  in Auriga

   Light pollution is basically everywhere. It's worse in the cities and in urban neighborhoods, and not as bad in outlying districts and suburbs, but it's just about everywhere. If you're fortunate enough to live in a remote area isolated from city lights, street lights, porch lights, headlights, etc, then you are lucky indeed, and the views you have of the night sky are about as good as it gets. But even under a dark sky, there is still junk up there that will keep you from seeing things clearly. 

As an example: 

    The Andromeda Galaxy (M-31) is roughly 3 million light years distant. That's 3 million times 6 trillion miles. It sounds very far away (and it certainly is!) but by astronomical standards it's really just up the street. To give you an idea of how close it is, and how polluted the sky is, consider this:

Illustration by The Belmont Society

If it weren't for light pollution, atmospheric turbulence, and the diminishing effect of interstellar junk, your telescope would reveal the Andromeda Galaxy as plainly as the Goodyear Blimp. In fact, it would be too big to fit in the eyepiece. In its entirety, M-31 takes up 3 degrees of apparent field. The full moon takes up only half a degree. Thus, the Andromeda Galaxy is the width of six full moons in apparent field.

   Allow us to introduce you to someone you should know about. You may not have heard of him before, but if you spend any time at all browsing the annals of contemporary amateur astronomy, you will find him at the forefront of development and evolution of computerized telescopes. In fact, he is considered by many to be the "Godfather of GO-TO".

   Born in 1954, Mel Bartels works as a Systems Manager and Senior Analyst/Programmer in the Eugene, Oregon area. He says that his hobby is "Writing real-time control-code for computerized motor driven telescopes". Some hobby! It's because of his ideas, his enthusiasm, and his work that many of us enjoy OUR hobby so much today. It is because of Mel Bartels that we (as a collective society-at-large of amateur astronomers) have telescopes that can easily find any known celestial objects of our choosing. The road of achievement however, was not a very smooth one. 

   In the early days of his enthusiasm, while touting the virtues of computerized telescopes, he was met by a wall of critics and doubters (whom we affectionately refer to as traditional-die-hards and Grinch-types). Can you imagine that there was a time when he was either banned, or asked several times to set up his telescope on the outer perimeter at star parties? Lesser folks might have caved-in under such a repressive strain. But through perseverance and a single-minded determination, he fostered his innovative brainchild into a virtual epiphany of astounding logic and artificial intelligence. The result is what we call "GO-TO", and it enables even the most casual part-time amateur astronomer, without so much as a sliver of celestial knowledge, to cruise the sky and find things. Things that were once entrusted to only the elite, the accomplished, and the fortunate.

   Published author, and guest speaker at many astronomy functions and Society gatherings, Mel is well equipped to address or lecture on various subjects.

   In 1992 the International Astronomical Union honored him for his contributions to amateur astronomy by naming an asteroid after him – "17823 Bartels".

   Meade was the first of the major manufacturers to be recognized with a bonafide go-to system. They opened the GO-TO market to the average consumer with the AutoStar system. They also currently produce the Autostar II available on select telescopes. It's an excellent performer and very popular. Autostar is available on almost every one of Meade's better scopes including the ETX, DS,LX90, LX200, and LXD Series. It comes with between 12,000 and 145,000 objects in its database (depending on which scope it comes with). The system is sometimes an extra-cost option on their lower-priced models, but is very affordable. Not adaptable to other brands of scopes.

   With some Meade scopes, you also get access to Autostar Suite - which controls all telescope functions from your PC. It includes a really cool planetarium program, custom files and a lunar/planetary imager.

   The "Gemini" system is available from Losmandy – manufacturers of World Class equatorial mounts. The system replaces Losmandy's GM-8, G-11 and HGM-200 stepper motor drives with high torque servo motors, which can produce a maximum 10-degree-per-second slew rate on the GM-8.

   Gemini's database contains over 41,000 objects and it can be adapted or retro-fitted to anyLosmandy mount with simple pliers and hex keys. It's well-engineered and very flexible. With a little more do-it-yourself engineering and some know-how it might also be adapted to other mounts. It is compatible with 'TheSky' software. Photo at left demonstrates controlling the scope with a palm PC. Just touch an object on the Palm PC display and slew to it. A real time internal clock allows system shutdown without losing positional data.

   We consider the Losmandy GM-8 w/Gemini and G-11 w/Gemini mounts to be the finest equatorials we have used. Any system that enriches their capacity would naturally serve to improve an already excellent product. In use, the Gemini system operates and functions with ease. Set-up and 'alignment' is allowed to get as sophisticated as you wish. Its utilitarian appearance belies the elegance and finesse with which it performs. If you have a Losmandy mount, there should be no question about your choice of go-to control. And if you're equipped with the resources to tackle the conversion of another brand, then we can highly recommend the Gemini system for that as well.

   Sky Commander is primarily a "manual" go-to system, in that you key-in an object and then move the telescope (by hand) in the direction it tells you, stopping when the LCD display reads "zero". It's not motor-driven, but it's easy and inexpensive. Paired-up with an inexpensive Right Ascension drive motor, (or an Alt-Az drive for a Dob) the two would make a cool system to find stuff and track it for you.  The new Sky Commander XP4 computer allows approx. 30,000 objects to be stored in its memory. It's adaptable to most telescope mounts, and it makes a very good entry-level tool for the beginner. It also works fine for veteran users. It is both user-friendly and sophisticated enough to be the controller we use on our club's 24-inch Newtonian. Highly recommended for the budget-minded amateur.

   One of the great features of Sky Commander is the Search and Identify Mode, whereby it continuously searches its database for any object that is close to where the scope is pointing. When an object is found to be within half a degree of the telescope's position, the name of that object appears on the display.

   The actual number of objects that can be located with Sky Commander is limitless, because the coordinates of ANY known object can be entered, and the object can then be found by the same method – just move the scope until the display reads "zero".

   TeleVue manufactures refractor telescopes of legendary quality. Their computer-control is called "Sky Tour". It's a manual system, tailored to their Gibraltar mount which is unequaled among Alt-Az configurations. It's also available for their Panoramic Alt-Az mount, and can be easily adapted to almost any other type of mount including fork and equatorial (do-it-yourselfers take note!). Sky Tour is similar to Sky Commander, whereby the object is entered to a display, and the scope is moved by hand until the display reads "zero". The Gibraltar is so smooth and glides so positively that manual tracking is utterly effortless (there are no RA and DEC knobs to turn or tweak). One of the system's best features is simplicity. It is extremely easy to set up and use.

   Sky Tour's database contains over 2,000 objects with room for 250 user-defined targets. Later versions can interface with TheSky software to enable an astounding database of objects, and utilize a Mac or PC-based planetarium program (the scope's aimpoint is displayed on a star-chart background). Normal system set-up involves lining up two points on the Tele-Pod head, then a simple two-star alignment and you're ready to rock-n-roll. The control-pad has a smooth-scrolling display which shows RA and DEC, and a nice "Identify" mode that lets you inquire about nearby objects. Virtually ANY object viewable with the telescope, and with known RA and DEC can be found.

   The price is very good for a very slick system, and we highly recommend it for anyone who likes the casual convenience of an Alt-Az mount, specifically one as smooth as the Gibraltar. We have used this set-up with both the TV-NP101 and TV-85, and each experience was a thrilling enterprise in observational astronomy, as it so closely parallels the whimsical spontaneity of "star-hopping". There is something about a fine refractor on a silky-smooth Alt-Az mount that enables Sky Tour to exploit the "adventurer" in us.

   NGC Max is a JMI brand name. When we first began looking at go-to systems back in the late 90's, the NGC MAX kept popping up in our field of view. They offered a workable system for a ton of different scopes and mounts, and at a very reasonable price. Since then they've added more versions to the product line, and their reputation for support and service has grown also. 

   Their computers are available in microMAX, miniMAX, MAX, superMAX and SGT-MAX. They vary in capability from manual to motorized, and from 245 objects to software dependent (infinite). They will adapt to almost every major telescope brand, model and type. Great for the budget-minded or entry-level do-it-yourselfer's. The systems are designed to work without leveling or polar alignment. They are marketed for 26 brands of telescopes and mounts (including most popular brands). Custom applications are available at extra cost. The JMIwebsite (click on the link) has an extensive list of scopes it adapts to.

   "NGC" is JMI's designation for Next Generation Computer. "SGT" is an abbreviation for Software Guided Telescope. The SGT-MAX is essentially engineered to be an extension of your PC and 'TheSky' or many other software programs. The aimpoint of your telescope is represented by a graphics-generated star-chart on the screen of your PC. You type the name or catalog number of an object, and SGT-MAX guides you to it, and shows your progress against the star background on the screen. The real-time link between PC and telescope makes finding an unlimited number of objects fairly simple. Combining it with a compatible Go-To telescope (such as the Meade LX200) and imaging software, will give you a fully automated imaging system. Without a motor-driven telescope, the SGT system is operated manually, but is economical and still extremely useful. The system is both PC and Apple compatible.

Pictured at left: (1): NGC MAX control box; (2): JMI RA motor-drive on an equatorial mount; (3): SGT-MAX interfacing a laptop with a Meade 2045.

   The passion that some of us have for astronomy can become far too expensive if we allow it to be. On the other hand, if we don't succumb to the temptations or obsessions that we are sometimes capable of, amateur astronomy can be rewarding enough on a fairly simple budget. Passion on a budget?

   Of course the need or desire for basic accessories like eyepieces, although they are certainly necessary accouterments, can cloud our vision somewhat and make us crazy at times. After all, who can resist the sexy allure of a fine and hefty ocular. The world may not be the same without a Panoptic or an Ethos in our collection. There's something about a World Class eyepiece that makes us feel good, even if our telescope is middle-class.

   On a budget, some folks will shell-out a few hundred on a scope, and then go over the top on accessories. It must be normal to do that, because we see it so often. Advertising works. A good photo of a great product will get us every time. First we want it. Then we need it. Then we have to have it. And suddenly we can't do without it. A friend was heard to say once, "If all the accessories that we really COULD live without were dumped into the sea, Manhattan and Brooklyn would be under thirty feet of water."

   So what is the cost of astronomy? For a poor kid in the Bronx, it may be the price of a subscription to Sky & Telescope magazine, which might take months to save up for. Or perhaps just the subway fare and the price of admission to a planetarium. Passion knows no minimum, and the money we spend on it is purely what we find 'comfortable'. Those who find comfort in the simple basics are the truly devoted; the spiritual essence; the purists; and the determined. The 'Ones', without whom we might find a vacuum in the 'somewhere' of the fun we seek.

   Each time we see a new face with an inexpensive telescope, and that 'look' of eagerness that shouts for the sun to set, we simply have to go up to them and offer a smile and encouragement. It doesn't take a genius (or even very long) to figure out that they might have saved for years to get the equipment they brought along. But you can tell right away by the care they take of it, that they appreciate it all the more. And even if there's not much knowledge, there's a certain identifiable sparkle. A passion.

   The cost of amateur astronomy is universal. There is a price of admission we all pay just to step up to our own eyepieces. Whoever you are, your heart and soul is the fare for liberating your mind. We know of no amateur astronomers – either rich or poor – who's hearts don't beat as loudly at the eyepiece. Or at a planetarium. Or even when all we have are the pages of an open wrinkled magazine.