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Observing in Thailand with a Heritage 130p


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Hi,

Great forum you have here.  Based on previous posts I found I've just ordered myself a Heritage 130p scope.  I am currently in the UK but I'm heading back to Thailand next week where I live and taking the scope with me.  I live on a small island in the gulf of Thailand called Koh Tao.  The stars are very beautiful there, not a whole lot of light polution, and I have a roof top patio which should be perfect for observing.  I just have a few questions as everything I've read is very much tailored to people in Europe/North America getting started in Astronomy.

I believe I will need some more eye pieces to get the most out of my scope.  I think I can only really afford to get 1 extra good quality one, so which would be best.  I know the scope comes with 25mm and 10mm.  I'd like something else to give me nice views of Jupiter, Saturn and some DSOs.  I was thinking maybe a good quality 4mm?  From what I understand, as there isn't a whole lot of light polution where I am this should be a good one to let me see the planets up close and would be better quality than buying a barlow 2x to use with the supplied lenses.  Any suggestions?

I read a lot of about scope cool down time.  The scope will be kept in my house, but the windows are all always open, there is no heating and I try not to use the aircon.  With this in mind does it mean my scope will have no cool down time?  Are the scopes calibrated to work at a particular temperature?  The night time temperature is usually around 25 degrees, which is much warmer than the UK at night time.  Will I have to take this into account?

I have the book Turn Left at Orion which I was hoping to use to get me started finding things to look at and learning about them.  It seems this is written for people in the US.  What is the best way to adapt this for Thailand?  I was thinking of getting an android application which lets me point the phone at the sky and it tells me what to see.  Any better ways of doing it?

How delicate are these scopes?  I am planning on removing the base and putting it in my luggage for the hold, then carrying the scope with me and wrapping it in my jacket in the overhead bag storage.  Does this sound safe enough?

Any other tips much appreciated, thanks :)

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Hi

1 - I get must use or of my 16mm even on Jupiter so I would if me lean towards something sat between 14-16 for general and DSO, the 25mm is fine works fine in the scope.

The 10mm let me see Saturn had a ring clearly.

What is your eyepiece budget?

You need a colimation cap at least either buy one or make one.

2 don't worry about cool down take it outside use your 25mm for 15 minutes or so then progress, if the scope is above ambient temperature you will see heat shimmer in the eyepiece as you increase magnification. Though the quality of the seeing cab do that as well.

3 the base does not naturally come apart so can't help there.

Turn left at Orion is for northern hemisphere. I use Google sky maps free, stelarrium mobile not free (don't forget the free PC install).

Sounds a lovely location.

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I wouldn't go with a 4mm, a 5 will give you x130 which should be within the scopes capabilities and will show some detail on Jupiter. The 25 will be useful as a low power

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Hi and welcome from your neighbor in far Isaan. Don't worry about cool down at all. Scopes work fine over a wide range of temps far exceeding the narrow range we get here, and Ko Tao even more narrow.

I have a BST flat field 27mm on my 150/750 which I like very much, and just ordered a Starguider 5mm (also a BST, but under the Agena brand). I recon this will be ok for Jupiter and Saturn under average conditions. Best deal going for the modest price the quality is remarkable.

This scope is low, so maybe haul on of the cement tables up for a solid and convenient view.

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Thanks for all the reples.  So I am thinking of buying a 5mm BST eyepiece as my only addition to the scope.  Does this sound wise?  This will exhaust my budget, but it sounds like it will be better than buying a couple of cheap plossis or a barlow.  Does that sounds correct?

Thanks

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The scope is f/5 so that is perfect for a 5mm Starguider, as far as getting the scope home,

as long as you wrap it well, it should be ok,give it a star test before observing.

Hope all goes well.

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Ok, change of plan.. I did some more reasearch and decided to go for the 8mm BST plus a 2x Barlow so I have a few more options.  It's a fairly cheap Barlow but we'll se ehow it goes.  Eitherway the 8mm should give me a good range of things to look at and should be much nicer than the supplied 10mm. :)

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Good idea, a decent barlow allows a good selection of magnifications and effectively doubles your ep's range.

I wish we could observe in a balmy 25C temperature?

The Stellarium sw is good and can be tailored to your location.

Welcome to SGL, sawadikat!

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I use a colimation cap on mine, it was £5 when I bought it, but equally you can make your own colimation cap from a suitable sized plastic cap and drill a very small hole through it dead centre.

I used a ruler to crudely measure and feel happy with the secondary mirror placement and there is a free peice of software that using a photo you take through your focuser to show you if the mirrors are aligned too. Sorry I haven't got the link to it with me.

EDIT: The tool is called Al's colimation aid.

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/136286-als-collaid-sct-collimating-assistant/

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Hi Beakster, I'm pretty new to stargazing so by no means an expert but I bought a Heritage 76 and Explorer 130 to start off with a couple of months ago and I've just bought the Bst 5mm. I've used it on the 76 a few times just to look at the moon and only once with my 130 due to bad weather. I'm pretty impressed with it in the 76 and had it in the 130 the other night to look at Saturn but as I started observing a massive cloud came and spoiled my session :( I'm sure you'll be happy with the 5 or 8mm version and if you can afford a decent barlow as well then happy days. I'm not sure if the heritage 130 comes with a barlow but the one I had with my explorer is terrible, even to the point where it's unusable. The 25mm ep that comes with the scope is pretty decent, at least I don't have a problem using it. The 10mm is quite hard on the eye but usable. I bought my Heritage on the way to the airport when I was going to Crete on holiday and put it in my hand luggage, it just about fit with the mount attached. Not sure if you could fit the 130 in your hand luggage if you take the mount off but they seem pretty robust so I would think it will be ok in your suitcase if you wrap some clothes or towels around it but I would take the finder scope off tho. Hope I was able to help.

One other thing, I'm planning on getting a zoom ep next, probably a 24-7mm. I've seen a few for about £50 and even one for about £20 with good reviews on amazon, I can't comment on how good they are as I've never used one but if your on a budget these might suit you better. Good luck :)

Don't concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that Heavenly glory!

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Beakster, Hi there.......the 8mm Starguider would be a better idea over the 5mm,  even the 12mm would be a good choice. 

The 5mm BST Starguider will put the telescope at its maxim  and that's not always the best option. The 8mm gives you an option to Barlow down to 4mm, which is still an extreme to avoid. The 12mm BST Starguider ED will give you a good view, and can safely Barlow to 6mm, still within the capabilities of that scope. I have a 200mm scope and even my 5mm  is encroaching  the limits for most observations,  except the Moon. Often its best to start at low power, then just move to a higher power EP until the image fills the eyepiece, yet remains comfortable and sharp, any more magnification will destroy what your trying to achieve!

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mosquito repellent will also be handy in Thailand :D those blooming pests will eat you alive. 

Repellants applied to the skin go through to the blood, as they are oil based. There is no perfect solution, but after 25 years between Hawaii and Thailand, I rely on the mosquito coils.

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