Houston Astronomical Society
Loaner Scope Program
One benefit of membership in the Houston
Astronomical Society is access to the variety of telescopes that are part of the
HAS Loaner Scope Program. The only qualification needed to borrow one of these
telescopes is a minimum two month membership in HAS. The HAS Loaner Scope
Program allows members who don't own or have access to a telescope to borrow one
for touring the night sky.
The loaner scope program can be particularly beneficial to novices, who not only
want to become familiar with the night sky but would also like to learn
something about the different amateur telescopes available today. Through the
HAS Loaner Scope program, you can borrow a number of different types of amateur
telescopes and compare them before making that difficult decision about what to
purchase for your first telescope.
The HAS Loaner Scope program works something like a library book loan. You can
check out a telescope for a two month period. At the end of two months, you are
obligated to return the telescope. If no one else has reserved the telescope,
you may renew your loan for an additional two months. As with a library book
loan, you are of course responsible for the equipment while it is in your
possession.
Typically the telescopes are borrowed and returned at the HAS monthly General
Membership Meetings. If you are interested in the HAS Loaner Scope Program,
contact:
Loaner Scopes |
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Please read the HAS Telescope Loaner Agreement that you must sign before
borrowing a loaner scope. Click here.
Here are the different telescopes that are currently
available:
- Celestron 80mm Short
Tube refractor
- Coulter 8" f/4.5 Dobsonian
(Castor)
- Coulter 8" f/4.5 Dosonian (Pollux)
- Coulter 10" Dobsonian
- Celestron C-11 11" f/10 Schmidt Cassegrain
- Meade 8" f/6 Newtonian (black pier)
- Meade 8' f/6 Newtonian (silver pier)
- Meade 4" f/10 Schmidt Cassegrain
- Orion XT6 6" f/7.9 Dobsonian
- Meade 4.5" f/8 Reflector
- Orion 5" f/14 Maksutov-Cassegrain
- Celestron NexStar 114- 4 1/2" f/9 Reflecting telescope
- Celestron C-6 f 4.5 "Avanti" Dob mounted Reflecting telescope
- Orion premium 10 X 70mm binoculars
- Celestron 8" “Ultima” SCT
Celestron 80mm Short Tube Refractor
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Celestron 80mm "Short tube" refractor on a Celestron Super Polaris
German equatorial mount. The mount includes slow motion controls for tracking.
This is a wonderful "Rich Field" telescope that really shows off open star
clusters (Pleadies, The Double, etc.), the Moon, and lot's of nebula. Very
portable and simple to use.
It includes the following accessories:
- 17mm. TeleVue Plossl
- 20mm. Celestron Plossl
- 6X30mm. finder scope
- Tote box
- Polar alignment scope with alignment chart
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Coulter 8" f/4.5 Dobsonian (Castor)
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A good all purpose, portable,
rugged telescope. A Newtonian telescope
on a very simple to use Dobsonian mount. Just point and shoot. A
good telescope for the beginner. This telescope will provide good
planetary and deep sky viewing.
It includes the following accessories:
- 25mm and 12mm Eyepieces
- Telrad Finder
- Tote Box
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Coulter 8" f/4.5 Dobsonian (Pollux)
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The twin to the telescope above
(hence the names Castor and Pollux).
This telescope is a good all purpose, portable, rugged telescope. The telescope
is a Newtonian design on a very simple to use Dobsonian mount. A good telescope
for the beginner. This scope will provide good planetary and deep
sky viewing.
It includes the following accessories:
- 17mm and 26mm Eyepieces
- 8 x 50 Finder Scope
- Telrad Finder
- Tirion Star Atlas
- Tote Box
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Coulter 10" f/4.5 Dobsonian
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A larger version of the two Coulter 8" Dobsonians
described above.
Same rugged, simple to use Dobsonian style mount. The extra light
gathering ability of 10" mirror will provide brighter views of the deep
sky objects when compared to the 8". A little heavier and harder
to transport that the 8".
It includes the following accessories:
- 2 Eyepieces
- 8 x 50 Finder Scope
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Celestron C-11 11" f/11 Schmidt-Cassegrain - w/
superwedge
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A fine 11" SCT on a fork style
mounting. Comes with a superwedge
which provides an equatorial platform for the telescope. A good all
purpose scope. More difficult to use compared to the Dobsonian scopes
but can be used for celestial photography. The user should be familiar
with the operation of a fork mounted equatorial telescope.
It includes the following accessories:
- 25mm Eyepiece
- 2x Barlow Lens
- 8 x 50 Finder Scope
- Telrad Finder
- 1 1/4" Star Diagonal
- Instruction Book
- Power Cord
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Meade 8" f/6 Newtonian (black pier)
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One of the old original "standard" amateur
telescopes designs.
Comes on a German equatorial mount. A good all purpose telescope
that will provide both good lunar and planetary views. Has enough
"light grasp" to allow you to begin some serious work on deep sky objects.
The mount includes a motorized clock drive that tracks the motion of the
stars during the night. The user should be familiar with or have some knowledge
of how to operate a German equatorial mount.
It includes the following accessories:
- 25mm and 9mm Eyepieces
- Barlow Lens
- 8 x 50 Finder Scope
- Tote Box
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Meade 8" f/6 Newtonian (silver pier)
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Similar to the "black pier" model above.
Comes on a German equatorial
mount. A good all purpose telescope that will provide both good lunar and
planetary views. Has enough "light grasp" to allow you to begin some
serious work on deep sky objects. The mount includes hand controls that
allow you to quickly center objects and manually track the motion of the
stars during the night. The user should be familiar with or have some knowledge
of how to operate a German equatorial mount.
It includes the following accessories:
- 40mm, 25mm and 9mm Eyepieces
- Barlow Lens
- Telrad Finder
- Star Chart
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Meade 4" f/10 Schmidt Cassegrain (SCT)
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A great compact, portable 4" telescope.
Comes with table top legs that
allow it to be used on any sturdy table. Great fun on a picnic table after
the sun goes down.
It includes the following accessories:
- 25mm and 9mm Eyepieces
- 6 x 30 Finder Scope
- Power Cord
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Orion XT6 6" f/7.9 Dobsonian
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An excellent, portable, rugged telescope. The 6" aperture provides
good views of the moon, planets and deep sky objects. A Newtonian telescope
on a very simple to use Dobsonian mount. A good telescope for the
beginner to get started on their Messier certificate.
It includes the following accessories:
- 2 Eyepieces
- Tote Box
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Meade 4 1/2" f/8 Reflector on a GEM
 .
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This is a nice small reflector on a German equatorial mount (GEM).
It will provide nice lunar and planetary views from most any urban location.
Take it to the country and enjoy scanning for some of the brighter deep
sky objects. The user should be familiar with or have some knowledge of
how to operate a German equatorial mount.
It includes the following accessories:
- Instruction manual
- 6 X 30 mm. finderscope
- Meade MA25 mm. eyepiece (36X)
- Accessory tripod shelf
- Slow motion controls (2ea.)
- Front dust cover
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Orion 5" f/14 Maksutov-Cassegrain
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"Orion" 5" f/14 Maksutov-Cassegrain
on "Tiffen" ST-600 German
equatorial mount with "Astro Physics" electric controller.
It includes the following accessories:
- 25 mm. Plossl eyepiece
- 6 X 26 mm. finderscope
- DC. adapter
- 45 degree erecting prism.
NOTE: This telescope shall only
be operated by club member that has knowledge with use of German equatorial
mount systems or instructed in use by telescope loaner chairperson. Back to List |
Celestron NexStar 114, 4 1/2" f/9 Reflecting
telescope
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Celestron NexStar 114, 4 1/2" f/9 Reflecting telescope.
Go-to telescope with tripod, operating instruction booklet, handheld
computer control,and battery pack (uses 8 AA batteries)
It includes the following accessories:
- 10mm Plossl
- 25mm Plossl
- dust cover
- accessory box.
Total weight: 15 lbs.
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Celestron C-6 f 4.5 "Avanti" Dob
mounted Reflecting
telescope
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Celestron C-6 "Avanti" Dob mounted reflector.
This highly portable 6" f 4.5 "go-anywhere" RFT scope is the perfect night
sky weekend instrument.
It includes the following accessories:
- 3 premium eyepieces
- Rigel reflex finderscope
- dust cover
- handy totebox.
This Celestron also can be converted to a German equatorial mount....your
choice of mounting options. Need a portable scope.... this is it!
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"Orion" premium 10 X 70mm binoculars
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A beautiful pair of "Orion" premium 10 X 70mm. binoculars for your pleasurable
evening viewing. These fully multicoated optics (MAK-4), with a field of view of
five degrees, are the perfect companion for your tour through our Milky Way.
Separate eye focus, rubber eyeguards, and carrying case are included.
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Celestron 8 “Ultima” SCT
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This telescope does it all. With digital setting circles, it’s a real pleasure
to locate objects that are up during your observing session ….day or night. Want
to take astro photos, again…this scope comes with accessories that you’ll need.
Here’s a partial list of items that are included in this wonderful loaner
telescope:
• Celestron Ultima C-8 w/ Starbright Coatings and DC Servo Quartz
Drive
• Travel Case
• Wedge and Tripod
• 30mm Ocular, 7 mm Ocular
• 7x50 mm Polaris Finder w/ Illuminator
• Star Diagonal
• Telrad
• Electric Focuser
• Celestron Hand Controller
• Sky Vector II Controller
• Optical Encoder for Sky Vector
• Barlow
• Losmandy Counterweight and Rail
• Visual Back
• Celestron 8 Instruction Manual
• Lumicon Sky Vector II Version 2.70 (Operations)
• Lumicon Sky Vector II Installation Instructions for Celestron Ultima 8
• Celestron Brochure
To view the accessories, click here.
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HAS Loaner Scope Agreement
This is the agreement that you must
sign in order to borrow a loaner scope.
Last updated 8/22/2004
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HAS home Page
