Hello All,

I have an unusual satellite tracking telescope question. It is a result of my unusual health situation (which I'll explain below).

I'm sure you are familiar with the 1950s-vintage "Project Moonwatch" telescopes that most of the volunteer satellite trackers used. The most common type appeared to be a wide-field refractor that was pointed *downward* at an angle to view an attached, small flat mirror that reflected the sky scene above; this arrangement permitted the observers to sit at outdoor tables while comfortably looking downward, much as one would look through a microscope while seated. Here (see: http://www.google.com/search?q=Proj...biw=792&bih=377 ) are photographs of this type of satellite tracking telescope. Now:

I have a severe, advanced case of the spine-damaging disease called Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS), which has bent my body into a capital letter "C" shape as viewed from the side. As a result of this, I can no longer look up to view satellites, either through binoculars or with my unaided eyes. However, I could do it if I had one of the downward-angled "Project Moonwatch" telescopes (as could other people with AS and with other similar spinal infirmities). Unfortunately, I have been unable to find any of these telescopes. Edmund Scientific and other such vendors used to offer them, but no more. Do you all know of any suppliers of this type of telescope (or kits of them, or even parts for them)? Also:

I am not the only person who would benefit from this type of telescope, as there are many other people in my situation who could again enjoy satellite tracking if they could obtain such telescopes; they would serve this niche market very well.

I would be most grateful to you for your help.

__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

Sorry to hear about your AS. My wife has AS. Terrible disease

Thank you. Indeed it is--before I was put on morphine pills, I was terrified to inhale too deeply because the pain was so intense that I had to stifle a scream. Also:

This article (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankylosing_Spondylitis ) includes an illustration of the first diagnosed AS patient, Leonard Trask, who was shown on the cover (you can see it in the article) of David Tucker's 1858 book "Leonard Trask: The Wonderful Invalid." His chin was down on his chest due to the curvature of his neck! I would rather die than live in such a state, and hopefully that won't happen to me.

__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

It's hard to view satellites in a telescope because of the fairly narrow field of view and the need to mount on a tripod for stability and to handle the weight.

There are astronomical binoculars that use diagonal prisms just like telescopes, but they are pretty bulky and need tripods too. However, their field of view might be large enough to make it easier to track than with the average celestial telescope.

http://www.telescope.com/Binoculars...72/p/102415.uts

As for telescopes, pretty much all decent celestial telescopes are set up for easy viewing these days. Newtonians have the eyepiece on their sides, allowing you to look down. Cassegrain variations and refractors usually come with diagonal prisms allowing you to look down.

Just remember that these diagonal prisms flip the image and make it an exercise in patting your head and rubbing your belly to track stuff.

Oh, and you get what you pay for. Anything that comes from a department store is pretty much crap. Meade had some ETX-90 Cassegrain tabletop models that were sold in stores a few years ago, which weren't bad, but to get much out of them, people had to buy heavy stable tripods, defeating the only perk of being inexpensive.

__________________
I love sanding.

That depends on the telescope. The Project Moonwatch telescopes were low-magnification, wide-field 'scopes. The ones we used at the Weintraub public observatory at the Miami Museum of Science and Miami Space Transit Planetarium (a Meade 12.5" Newtonian Reflector [on an electric clockwork-driven equatorial mount] and a 17" or 19" Dobsonian Reflector with an altazimuth mount [also made by Meade, if memory serves]), however, did have very narrow fields of view. Also:

We seldom used the Dobsonian 'scope for that reason, as the Earth's rotation carried any celestial object out of its field of view--from the center to beyond its edge--in under a minute! We therefore usually lined up an object on the far "leading edge" of the field, but even then we still had to check it every minute or so and nudge the axes to re-position the object in the field. (The Project Moonwatch telescopes were more like the small, wide-field "finder 'scopes" mounted on our big reflector telescopes to help us "zero-in" on celestial objects.) Trying to find even the Moon again in the Dobsonian, after a visitor accidentally bumped it, took a couple of minutes *without* using its rather hard-to-access finder 'scope--I wouldn't have tried that had I not been in a hurry and if the Dob's bay in the observatory hadn't been so crowded that night!*WHISTLES* Those are undoubtedly great 'binocs,' but whew--the price! Another firm (see: http://www.tricomachine.com/skywindow/ ) offers a set of astronomical binoculars and their "Sky Window" flat portable observing mirror (which allows downward viewing, like the Project Moonwatch telescopes) for under $400. That's still quite pricey for me (the Project Moonwatch 'scopes were small--and cheaper--Galilean Refractors [having a convex or double-convex objective lens and a concave ocular <eyepiece> lens]), but not impossible to save up for. In addition:

Binoculars are much less known as astronomical instruments than they should be, for they can and do produce top-notch results. For example, the Japanese amateur astronomer who in 1996 discovered Comet Hyakutake (which passed very close to Earth and was very conspicuous in the northern sky--it was a particularly wonderful sight from Everglades National Park, away from the lights of Miami!) found it while scanning the sky with his large binoculars, which he proudly (and rightfully so!) showed off during a news interview.That is all true, but I didn't mention that [1] the good ones (I liked the Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain 'scopes) and their accessories are heavier than I can now handle without often regretting it the next day (my joints "remind me..."), and [2] they take up more space than my downtown Tokyo-size apartment (and moving isn't an option, for financial reasons) can comfortably accommodate. A tabletop Project Skywatch 'scope would be ideal on both counts, but the binoculars/Sky Window portable mirror might be a workable solution.My planetarium and public observatory experience--and Patrick Moore's books--have helped me move (relatively) effortlessly between the astronomers' and the spacecraft flight controllers' views of the other worlds... :-)Any telescope--particularly one capable of high magnification--that sells for under ~$100 is of questionable quality (unless it's a kit--maybe). It just isn't possible to have a good-quality mirror (or objective lens) -and- a good-quality focusing mechanism -and- a good-quality mounting all in one telescope for less than that; the cheaper ones (Celestron even offers a $49.95 "FirstScope" [see: http://10minuteastronomy.wordpress....ron-firstscope/ ]) all have one or more deficiences that make them frustrating or otherwise unenjoyable to use.

__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

Sounds like you already know what you want. IMHO, there's no point in having anything more than your eyes for satellite watching. I've laid out in the grass many times, counting satellites in both equatorial and occasionally polar orbits. In order to see anything more than a brighter point of light from anything smaller than the ISS, you will need considerable magnification, which means you will need significant light gathering ability.

__________________
I love sanding.

Thank you. I'm in an unusual and disadvantaged situation (in terms of my range of motion and my local climate) which necessitates unusual arrangements for astronomical observing. I can no longer lie down (I've had to sleep in a chair for six years) because once my spine is un-compressed upon lying down, the intense pain that getting up and re-compressing it causes--even with the morphine--makes me want to scream. Also:

When our skies are dark here, it's winter, and the temperatures are from 20 to 60 degrees below zero outside. I have a good view of the northern sky through my windows, which is why a downward-angled telescope or set of binoculars, aimed at a flat mirror and used to view the sky through a window, would enable me to track artificial satellites as well as view the Moon, planets, and other celestial objects that appear in the northern sky.

__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR