Starwatcher2001

Hi Junare. Welcome aboard SGL. That's a good scope. Look forward to hearing from you. Cheers, Mark

If it restarts part way through you might want to check the power is good.

If you're unfamiliar with telescopes and optics, before you start attacking that poor neglected scope with a scrubbing brush, you might want to read this page about cleaning the optics. This includes the eyepiece at the top, which looks very grubby. http://www.televue.com/engine/TV3b_page.asp?id=103 Hopefully a good find for you! Cheers, Mark

Seeing is an atmospheric problem which will show up in any scope. It's more obvious at higher powers. Is your Skymax getting the time to equalise with the outside temperature? If not, that can give rise to turbulance in the tube which causes poor viewing. Are you observing across the top of buildings or other concrete structures? Those collect heat during the daytime and radiate it back out at night, again causing disturbance in the air. If you have the opportunity to observe over a grassy area that would help. How are your skies, whispy clouds or very clear? Ours are pretty poor at the moment. I use a C9.25 and it's the biggest I'd like to go with a scope that requires taking outside to observe. The C11 is a lot bigger and heavier - something to consider, depending on your circumstances.

Welcome aboard. A 10" dob is a good sized telescope, you're going to have a blast.

Hi Greg, you seem to have hit the ground running. Very nice images. Welcome aboard SGL.

Hi Chris. Welcome to SGL and AP. Look forward to reading your posts and seeing your pictures. AP is a dark art to me 🙂

This is my (home built) 8.75" f/7.3 from 1998. Sorry for the picture quality, but it does show the length of the tube. The main issue is getting it in a car, which requires the seats down and the passenger seat moving as forward as it will go. Cracking on planets, but quite reasonable on DSO. I spent a good few years enjoying the views though this.

Thanks for that. I've had the focus motor on order since mid July. When it finally arrives, your post may well be invaluable. I'll let you know how I get on with it.

If you know the time of the event at your location, wouldn't an ordinary alarm of some sort do? I used to watch occulations of stars by asteroids, and used a normal alarm clock to get up for them, then a radio clock and dictaphone to record the exact time of the event as it happened. It's unbelievable that people can predict such events with high precision and you can be watching the star through your telescope and watch it wink out of view and reappear a few seconds later.

Welcome back. The universe has missed you looking at it. I had a 17 year absence from astronomy, but it's exciting to be back.

Welcome aboard SLG Jeff. 🙂

Welcome to SGL Simon. Gotta love that enthusiasm, man!

Contacting a local astro clue is a great move Roger. They are a great place to learn more, swap ideas and make like-minded friends. Looking through different scopes and eyepieces, at various types of objects, can help you decide what type of observing you prefer (if any), and what equipment will work well for that. You might find some objects are a bit underwhelming, but others blow your socks off. Do remember as you get more experience observering you'll learn the skills to see more with the same equipment. Looking through other scopes lets you see first hand how all those things you've read about: field of view, eye-relief, exit pupil, tracking... actually work in practice with your model of eyeballs, and how comfortable you are looking through certain eyepieces. Experiencing these for yourself will guide you to buying the right kit for you, first time. The best thing though is the camaraderie, the "hey, what you looking at?", "how do I find that?", "anyone wanna see Saturn though a 16 inch dob?"... and comparing the same object through different scopes, eyepieces and filters. Some people are there just to quietly observe, but many will be more than happy to give you a tour of their scope, show off it's capabilities and the night sky, and answer questions. If you take your scope with you, there's usually someone who will help you get the best from it, let you borrow eyepieces to try, etc. Observing in a group is more secure, and a lot more fun in my opinion. SGL, books, youtube, etc are all great resources, but they can't give you the experience that going to a club can. All the best, Mark

Welcome aboard SGL.

If you're still struggling, please let me know and I'll have a go at digging a bit deeper. Can't have a scope gathering dust 🙂

A common issue is the date being in USA format, but at this time of the month that's unlikely as entering a month=19 would be invalid. I'm sure there'll be someone who knows that scope along in a minute. Meanwhile, here's a previous thead on the same topic that might be helpful: https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/348560-national-geographic-goto-70350/ Oh, welcome aboard SGL, sleepy.

Welcome aboard SGL. There's always more toys to buy 🙂 . . . but there can be a delay getting hold of them at the moment. 🙁

What's the focal length of that particular eyepiece Andy?

Hi, welcome aboard SGL.

This is a useful article. It reads like a small novel, but the TL;DR is that: - his problem was backlash, which is a known problem with the NexStar, particularly in Azimuth. (I've got lots of play in mine). - finishing each alignment with UP and RIGHT is vital - The UP and RIGHT refers to what the OTA is doing, not the view through the eyepiece - The buttons on the controller can be set to swap RIGHT/LEFT and/or UP/DOWN, depending on the motorspeed. This can confuse matters somewhat and may lead a person to think they are finishing the alignment movement on UP RIGHT, when in fact they aren't. (Telescope | Setup | Direction Buttons). - He doesn't mention it, but newer handset software also has an option called "Goto direction", which further muddies the water. Hope this helps. Mark https://polywogg.ca/solving-alignment-problems-with-the-celestron-nexstar-8se/

Those all look like great resources, looks like I'll be busy for a while. Thanks very much folks 🙂

Welcome to SGL Mat 🙂 If I had my time again, knowing what I know now, I'd get the biggest dob that I could afford and take outside easily. You'll see so much more than you would if a portion of your budget goes on motors and electronics. You'll also spend a lot more time observing and less time setting up and messing on. In my opinion, edging your bets between visual and AP will always be a compromise. All the best, Mark

I agree with Swoop1, and you might also highlight the benefits of having an amateur astronomer outside during the night, keeping a quiet and watchful eye on the neighbourhood. That's also a good card to play with neighbours who are worried about security.

Hi Colin, I've just watched your video on the double cluster and there's a couple of things that I particularly like. The first is your enthusiasm. You're telling the viewer why they should bother with that object and encouraging them to go find it for themselves. I think that's your best asset. Secondly, I kinda like the "Blue Peter" props such as the card you use to show finder size against the map. It makes astronomy a bit more approachable, and "hey, I could do that." It's not all about shiny expensive equipment. I like the idea of using your hand to roughly estimate angular sizes, but I suggest when you tell people about that, show them too. Stretch out your hand and show them what you mean. All in all, great start and a good resource for new astronomers. 🙂 Mark