h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I got an 800mm telescope with full tripod, kit & case at the boot sale this morning for £20. 800mm + 4mm eyepiece + 3x Barlow Lens = 600Xzorz!!!01! So weather permitting, I may have some cool pictures to put up soon of space and that.

I think the guy next to me was Scottish, he said it would be good for looking at the stairs.

Maybe the tripod's gone funny and only tilts downwards? That would explain the insanely good bargain.

Seriously... what a find! I never find stuff like that at yard/garage sales.

Woah! I got a 400mm one for the same price. (In an actual Scottish car boot sale) It'll be great to have a photo attachment, too.

Take some photos of the moon. The moon looks spectacular even in a low-powered telescope.

Okay, it's not top-of-the-range gear, but it does what it says on the tin. This morning I was up at 5 (just as some asshat in the street below decided to put on his garden lights) and got a nice chunk of the Pleiades at 40x. Neither camera nor mobile wanted to see anything, but I'm going to contrive some sort of mount which will hopefully fix things.

Will give the moon a go at the soonest opportunity, maybe tonight - though it'll mean actually leaving the house.

I'll expect a photo of Copernicus crater soonest.

Too late for that Ed - it's close to new moon, there's not much more than a sliver to catch. Copernicus won't show up for a couple of weeks by the look of it.

It shows how much in touch with the natural rhythms I am.

Harumph. Well, I went out this morning and got a nice look at the moon, some good detail - but despite best intentions the camera wasn't having any of it. Hopefully I'll get my friend Tom round soon with his massive lens.