fullmoon

Sorry for the late reply, mad busy yesterday. Brilliant, thank you for all that info, it really helps. I actually quite like the idea of Barlow free but obviously not experienced enough to make a good informed decision. I've just had a look at the starguider eyepieces. And not sure I want to take the plunge on £165 worth of eyepieces for a £200 scope....... just yet anyway. But, if you're saying the cheaper 1's are a bit of a waste of money then I may just invest in 1 for now. Failing that, if you could recommend anything around £60-£80 Mark for a 2-3 eyepiece set that could work well, that would be great. But I also don't want to waste money on something if its not going to be that great, so if that's the case I may have to slowly build up my eyepiece collection. Happy to hear your thoughts. Cheers

So a stargazer 5mm and 3.2 would be a recommendation? I have a day off on Friday, so fingers crossed I can get outside and try the telescope properly. Good tip about the focus knob as I seem to shake the whole setup when adjusting it. Thanks for the reply

Yeah, I'm viewing it from my lounge through a bay window. Not ideal. But the image was just to show what I'm seeing through my eyepieces. Just to see if it was what I should be expecting really. I just held my phone to the eyepiece, not even thought about imaging yet, still struggling find polaris haha.

Brilliant, thanks. I thought it might be but I wasn't 100% sure. Still getting used to the app and planisphere. Think I was expecting hubble images through my scope haha. Just tried to view it again but I'm struggling to focus on it. Best I can get is the same as the image above I took.

Hi all. So I caught some of the moon earlier(which was great) before it disappeared behind some houses. Then I focused on a star to the SW. I've added some pics. I'm guessing it's Jupiter... what do you think? I just held my phone up to the lens and snapped. Also, is this the type of view I would expect with my eyepieces? And are there any recommendations for any eyepieces? I struggled to focus it a bit and I had to be delicate when focusing, as it seemed quite wobbly. But then I suppose it only takes a small amount to remove from the view. The telescope came with a 10x and 25x lens and a 2x Barlow. I was using a 25x with a 2x Barlow. Edit. Sorry should have said its a skywatcher explorer 130. All advice welcome. Cheers

Thanks all for the replies. I feel slightly out of my depth. Like I've just bought a telescope and then I'm stood here scratching my head as how to use it haha. I'm going have a look at some of the beginner stuff here. I think I've sort of aligned my finder. But working this weekend so difficult to do during the day as its dark when I leave and get back. Think the balance is now spot on. Just not 100% sure how to operate it. Do I tighten the main handle on the underside of the top of the tripod? Or do I leave that with a bit of play so it can spin? Got a star in the 25x eye piece with the 2x Barlow but it was very difficult to see and was moving quite quick! The star was pretty much to the West and quite bright, no idea but it struggled to focus on it. Took it out in the back yard to try and look at orion as garden is south facing and I couldn't see anything haha. So I've still a bit to go yet! Will do some research and when I have some time next weekend, I can hopefully set up properly. Cheers again Rich

Hi all, just to let you know I am a complete beginner. My Wife got me a telescope for a late Christmas present. I have the skywatcher explorer 130 eq2. I am (A) struggling how to balance it correctly. It seems balanced but I'm not sure I've done it right and can't find a YouTube video explaining the balancing. (B) Struggling to find Polaris. Yes you heard it right! So, I go outside with the telescope point it north, but no idea where polaris is. I've got my planisphere out, and according to todays date and time, polaris is behind me...... when I'm facing north🤷‍♂️. I just need a bit of direction and maybe a pointer to some good beginner resources. Hope you can help. Thanks Rich