JamesM

Hi and welcome to the forum

Clear skies

Hi Paul and welcome to the forum

Clear skies

Hi John and welcome to the forum.

Clear skies

Hi Nagarajan an welcome to the forum. You will be more than welcome to participate in the DIY section as there are some great ideas in there!

Clear skies and enjoy the forum

James

Hi Jason and welcome to the forum

Clear skies

James

Well you have certainly come to the right place for advice as there is plenty of experience here for you to draw upon. Regarding eyepieces, I would recommend the BST brand as they are relatively inexpensive (£43-47 each) compared to some of the choices out there. It is certainly worth thinking towards the longer term with eyepieces as they generally out last various upgraded scope purchases that you might make in the future. You can take a closer look here at these eyepieces and in particular you need to look at the top middle box and the bottom left hand corner box with regards to the sizes available. Generally no matter what scope you have, the quality of our skies means that on average you cannot use more than around x180 magnification. Set against this figure is the theoretical maximum that an individual scope can magnify from the amount of light that it can collect. A general rule to calculate the scope's maximum magnification is take the aperture and multiply by 2 (76 x 2 = 152) so in your case you should only buy eyepieces that provide no more than x152 magnification. So what is the range of eyepiece sizes available for your scope? The answer can be found by dividing the scope's length (700mm) by the focal length of any given eyepiece ensuring that we don't exceed the total magnification available (x152). So taking the 20mm eyepiece that came with your scope, we can calculate that 700mm divided by 20mm gives us a magnification of x35 which is well within the limits of your scope. This size of eyepiece is very good in providing a wide view of the night sky and can be helpful in either locating objects such as planets, or it can help provide a wide enough view to contain the target object such as with the pleiades (...or seven sisters as its more popularly termed), being a constellation of very bright stars that are impressive to look at. Now if we want to take a closer look at a planet that we were able to locate with the 20mm then we will need a little more magnification. So we take the figure of 700mm and divide this time by say a 6mm eyepiece, then we can get a magnification of x116 which will get you a lot closer. If we then went further, say using a 5mm eyepiece which would generate magnification of x140, we might have a problem, because here we are getting close to the theoretical maximum of the scope and this where the quality of the mirror comes into play. The Sebens is a modestly priced scope and my guess would be that this level of magnification might be demanding too much from such an inexpensively produced mirror. Personally I would keep to the 6mm eyepiece as a maximum but clearly with the BST range in the lower left hand corner of the above link, there are many sizes in between those mentioned above that could be used. A good wide view in addition to a magnified view would certainly help you to enjoy the moon, planets, clusters and the brighter deep sky objects. Of course there are many other sizes available and purchasing a better quality 'barlow' lens can help extend separate eyepieces further but perhaps that might be food for thought later down the line.

I hope the above helps with your understanding but please come back to us with any questions.

Clear skies

James.

Yes a very sad day for sure and he will always remain a legend in my books with regards to his contribution to astronomy to both professionals and amateurs alike. I met him briefly when he came to Bristol to give a presentation and found him to be a man of great humility and patience as he found the time to chat with everyone who queued up for an autograph or for him to sign his new book. I think it was clear to most of us that he has been very ill for sometime and sadly the inevitable has arrived - will be deeply missed.

James

I agree with OP's point of the deception induced by advertisers using hubble images to illustrate the 'performance' of cheap scopes and is in my view similar to the use of small print to convey terms and conditions - unacceptable. Mind you, this ploy is not restricted to just the cheaper scopes as great astro images can be seen behind almost any astro related product. Although it is unlikely that astro magazines can help make representations against manufacturers using this practice of false advertising, they certainly can make a difference by not using uncredited astro images in their monthly star guides, when the use of drawings would be more appropriate and accurate too.

Having said that, adults aren't children and common sense has to be allowed to play its part too. The public have now seen so many Hubble pictures which they must know have ( in real terms) cost thousands of millions to produce, that to think that this could be obtained for a couple of hundred quid is a little naive to say the least. I have always recommended that as part of any research, people should at least get a couple of viewing sessions under their belt by attending local public outreach events so that can see for themselves what they will be able to observe.

I am a great fan of astrophotography and I am constantly amazed at the quality of images that are being produce with relatively modest equipment but I would like there to be clear water between the results gained by this method with those that can be viewed with the naked eye whilst observing as raising false expectations with inappropriate use of false images will only prove counterproductive in the longer term.

James

Of all the things to spend money on in astronomy, GPS would come way down the list for me. It very much depends on what your budget is and if you want all the bells and whistles. If you intend using your kit from one location then GPS would represent poor value for money and as others have already said, there are plenty of sources out there to advise you of the co-ordinates of your observing site. Astronomy isn't the cheapest interest to pursue and so any savings you can make early on will help fund another aspect (imaging?) later on.

James

It sounds like you might be better to leave the objective for now as the contamination doesn't sound to bad to be honest. However, if in the future you feel that it is worth a clean, you might like to read these instruction from Astro-Physics on the best way to go about it. In addition, you might want to watch

video for a visual instruction on how to perform the actually cleaning but hopefully your scope isn't as bad as the one in the video!

Lastly, the Baader fluid mentioned here and above by others can be purchased from here at a modest cost and it lasts for ages. Hope that helps.

Clear skies

James

Hi and welcome to the forum

Clear skies

James

Lidls do sell them fairly frequently (about 4/5 times a year @£15) and appear similar to the bresser/meade models. It sounds like a lot of pairs but we're also into bird watching which means that two pairs are always upstairs to get the best view of our bird feeders in the trees (...honestly officer I wasn't looking ). Two pairs are downstairs for astronomy in the garden, another pair with Baader solar film taped on and the other pair stored with the astro kit for observing from dark sites - otherwise I always forget to take them.

I would always recommend taking them out of their box and inspecting them before buying - you can get some dodgy pairs.

James

I have about six pairs of Lidl specials (10x50's) all dotted around the house, ready to grab at a moments notice. Should get myself a proper pair of binos but I have found that these cheap things actually pretty good and I don't have to worry about dropping them, standing on them or even losing them - all of which sums up my general observing method!

James

Many thanks for that report which made very interesting reading. John, the first picture got me a bit worried as I thought you were burying someone in your garden! I have to say I would now be a bit hesitant at getting one of these. I don't mind the welding or the rough paint as in a way it kind of adds to the charm especially if what's in the tube makes up for it but reading between the lines I sensed you were a shade underwhelmed by the view? If you add in the focuser issue perhaps the price is a little high which is a shame because for some strange reason, I really wanted this to be a 'dribble' scope, one in which everyone was itching to get hold of one and perhaps there would be a small waiting list all helping to build up that sense of anticipation. I shall have to find something else to dribble over now!

Again many thanks for the review John as it was very well put together.

James

Hi Claire and welcome to the forum.

Must start creating a nice shopping list for your husband as he has been so generous I wonder if we can pursuade him that a nice pair of shoes is an important essential when observing. :D

Clear skies

James

Hi Paul and welcome to the forum.

Clear skies

james

Hi Revs and welcome to the forum

Clear skies for your new scope!

James

Thanks Peter (Billy) for coming back to me so quickly.

I thought I had seen it before some place. I thought the "FAQ" button was to do with the forum itself rather than the content within it.

Again thanks for your reply.

James

Hi there!

Would again like to confirm my appreciation for all those responsible for an excellent site. Good people, generous responses and in a style that is very welcoming

My only suggestions would be the following:

- Is it possible that the style of using an emboldened page number to indicate which page I am looking is changed. At the moment there are two indicators side by side. One tells me which page I'm on out a number of possible pages and the other emboldens (very faintly) the actual page I'm on out of a string of page numbers. What I would like to suggest is that just the string of numbers option is kept, with the page viewed indicated by a different colour? It just seems a little over confusing to have both side by side.

- Is it possible to have a search box inserted at the top of 'Equipment Help' and 'Beginners Help and Advice' pages. I'm sure there is a search engine somewhere but I have yet to find it. I think this would help people avoid feeling that they are asking the same old questions if they were able to look up some past comments. More importantly, this would help give confidence to new people if they knew their questions were a little more specific (having read earlier answers) and therefore the new responses from the forum experts would be of additional benefit to others viewing. I would add that the forum is very generous in reminding people that they needn't feel daft if they ask questions that might appear basic, but I'm sure there are still some out there who would like to join in if they felt they knew a little bit more. The 'stickies' of course go a long way towards what I'm asking for but it took me some time to know what they were. Maybe change the word 'sticky' to 'Hot Tip' or ask the forum for ideas on a new label?

I hope you don't mind me putting forward some ideas about this forum as I know it's almost perfect as it is!

Kind regards

James

Hi Pozdrav

A big warm welcome from me too. I don't have any kit just yet but doesn't stop my enjoyment at working out the night sky to see where it all is (...or should be ) with my pair of binos. Everybody here is very friendly and supportive so if you need any good solid advice - here's the place!

I hope you have dark skies in your part of Serbia as it does make a difference.

Wishing you clear skies

James