New to observing

[jonmiller]

Hi all from southeast Iowa.  I am new to this and decided to buy a starter telescope to do some observing with my 6 yr old daughter.  (And admittedly always wanted to have a telescope myself as a child but never did.)  Got the Orion 09882 70mm/700mm length with EQ tripod.  Has 25mm & 10mm eyepieces and 2x barlow.  Also go the T-Mount pieces needed to use my Canon Rebel.

Got the EZ Finder fairly well lined up.  Need to do some learning on lining up and how to use EQ mount.  For starters have a few programs on my iPad to get ideas of what I am looking at in the sky and see when the ISS is in view (hasn't been at a decent hour yet).

Would certainly take any advice on places to start and any best ways you all know of to start with my child's interest.

Unfortunately have had mostly coudy nights since I got it this week.  Moon has been below the horizon when I have been out and if I am correct Jupiter has not been above the horizon at night right now either.  Saturn and Mars are to my southwest.  I live on the edge of a small town and wouldn't you know, there is a street light to my southwest.  So I can see Saturn visibly, but through the scope it's just a spot of light.  I assume that is because of teh street light being nearby?

Basically just waiting for a time where I can have the kiddo out and a good view of the moon as a starting place.

So just introducing myself and will take any comments or suggestions you all have.

[Schorhr]

Hello Jon,

welcome to the Forum!

Unfortunately most of these telescope kits are not great, and lack of good accessories.

With the 10mm eyepiece and 2x barlow you will reach 140x, the maximum the 70mm refractor should be used for - else contrast gets lower and the image darker.

With the 10mm with and without the barlow, Saturn should be obviously Saturn :-) A smal dot with rings;

Cheap accessories may have bad coatings and are not blackened well, so reflections can cause problems. Avoid light sources or try to shield your telescope a bit. Here on my balcony there is a lamp that annoys me, sometimes I just shield the telescope with one hand.

This

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/196278-what-can-i-expect-to-see/

is for 4" telescopes and a bit more magnification, but it should give you the idea of what you could expect.

Even with larger telescopes the planets will not be poster-sized, but once you accepted that there can be a lot of details if you keep observing for a while.

Also make sure you really are looking at Saturn and not a nearby star. Start with the lowest magnification - 25mm - and switch to 10mm if you centered it in the view. Even in the 25mm Saturn should look differently then stars.

Good luck :-) 

[O-RICH]

Hi, im a newbie too but slowly getting better with each session. I would recommend getting the book 'Turn left at orion', this helped me a lot, as well as the free software 'stellarium' which shows me what is visible at the current time. M13 is the 'goto' Deep Sky Object for me, easy to find, just find the top right (north western) star in Hercules and its just south of that. I have a list of the Messier's that i use to track what I've seen. I find any artificial light that is near the lens is really distracting. Best view of saturn I've had is using a Barlow with a 16mm super wide plossl, can see the ring clearly and some of its moons.  Another easy one is the Ring Nebula. This means finding Vega. Just south of Vega is a double star (one has a yellow tint, the other more white), and just below this is the Ring Nebula. Bizarre thing to see, requires a dark sky. 

Cant off any advice on an EQ mount as I'm using a dobsonian, but i will say that the best way to get a young mind interested is to set challenges in finding the Messier's and achieving the best image possible. Sometimes this will be with lots of magnification, sometimes it won't be. 

Have fun

[ronin]

The 70/700 may not be the best but it isn't the worst, and actually matched the diameter of the first scope I got, and I still have.

The supplied eyepieces may not be great, although both "should" be workable in the scope. Usually the 25mm is acceptable, the 10mm not so brilliant.

What you really need to do is work out a target (well actually 20 or so). That means a book or guide of some sort.

How well do you know the constellations?

Can you identify the Plough (dipper in US terms), Casseopia, Cygnus, Orion (when it returns), Lyra.

If not then get out and figure out which is which, take your daughter - just expect her to work them out quicker then you do (kids are like that).

Scope - Moon shopuld be good on that. Planets, Saturn is around but you may not see the rings - the 10mm may not give enough magnification, 70x, but if you can find it and get it in view give it a go.

If you can find or work out how to find the faint fuzzy patch called Andromeda use binoculars to look at it. Not a scope.

A lot depends on knowing the constellations.

Books, that depends on what you like. I use the monthly sky guide by Ridpath and Tirion. I simply prefer the way it gives me information. Get a simple one for your daughter.

If you can find Cygnus then locate the opposite end to Deneb, the "star" there is a double star, Alberio, and is 2 contrasting colours - should be OK with the 25mm EP.

A bit right (clockwise) of Alberio is the constellation Lyra, has a bright star at the "top" (Vega). Locate the lower 2 stars in Lyra, (Lyra is a bit like a trapesium in basic shape) then aim the scope at the middle of these 2 lower stars. If dark you might see a bit of a "patch". This is the Ring Nebula. If the barlow is OK then perhaps try the 25mm and the barlow in this.

Playing around in Lyra still, up to the bright star Vega, go up a little more and "left", the "star" there is the "double-double". It is another "double" where each of what at first seem to be a single star is actually a double.

An easy double is the central star in the handle of the Plough (Dipper).

If you know the constellations off by heart, I apologise for the basic approach.

Unfortunately things do not magically appear in the view of the scope, you have to plan a little bit.

You may eventually need to consider a few more eyepieces, if so get plossl's, they will be OK in your scope.

Get out there and enjoy the scope.

[jonmiller]

Thank you for the replies.  I should have included a couple things.  I did do just enough research to understand what views to expect, so I think I have reasonable expectations.    I also do realize that this scope isn't the best, but figured it was a good starting point for the price. So figured this was about the best way to get started for me and my budget.

No, I don't know many of the constellations, but the iPad sky charts are helping.  Your posts are a big help too.  So thanks again and will be hoping for clear skies!

[jonmiller]

Just came inside from one more test.  FINALLY SAW SATURN!  That was very cool.  I had been looking at Mars previously thinking it was Saturn.  That's all it take to be hooked, huh?

[laudropb]

Well done and yes Saturn is the site which many of us hooked on astronomy. Once the Moon is visible Your daughter and you will get another wow factor.

All the best from another John Miller

[pepitoz]

Congratulations on your first telescope!

I recommend you get a good book like Nightwatch-a great explaination of this great hobby-with it you will learn the best constellations and the brightest objects within them.

Remember to find objects with your lowest power and then steadily increase-this way you will find them more easily.

The best objects for beginners are the planets and the moon. Try Saturn again, but in a place where there are no light lamps between you and it. Moon will be visible high in the south and west the following days, so check it out!

Good luck!

[jonmiller]

Was able to show Saturn to my daughter last night.  She thought that was pretty cool.  Very small in my scope, but very bright and can focus in on it to what I consider a very sharp image.  Showed her Mars, though it's just a reddish dot on my scope (assuming I have Mars correct).  Showed and explained the double star to her (using the dipper handle) so she understood that.  Looks like we'll have a good view of a half moon at decent times of the evening here at the start of August.  So looking forward to that.

On another note, tried hooking up my Canon Rebel XT and taking pics of Saturn.  Total bust.  Tried with an eyepiece in the adapter and without.  Either way I could see a light ball in the view finder, but could not focus on it in any way shape or form.  Basically planning on waiting for moon viewing to retry taking pics.