Tiny Clanger

Just double checked to make sure shotcut can deal with a sequence of timed still frames (I only used a couple as titles ) and found this :

https://forum.shotcut.org/t/how-to-assemble-jpegs-into-a-movie-and-set-image-duration/16728/6

so it definitely can .

I've used shotcut

https://www.shotcut.org/

in the past , but I was editing video from an action cam with a waterproof housing ( film from a boating adventure) so had no sound to edit and didn't add any, so I don't know how easy that is . I'm sure you can do it though

What I liked about shotcut, was it had good reviews , is open source and from a .org, and, of  course, it is the ideal price : free.

There may be newer, better offerings out there but if I had a similar task to  do I'd use shotcut again.

6 minutes ago, Matthew Ansell said:

Thanks you lot! Does the heritage model have the same spec as the other one?

Easy to compare the two spec.s on vendor's websites like https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes.html

or the manufacturer's own site here : https://skywatcher.com/series/dobsonians/

I believe the mirrors are the same in the two, but don't take that as gospel ...

6 hours ago, Jilly said:

Thanks all.

I’ve been outside to view (not looking through a window) and have already put pfte tape around the focusser thank you.

Yes, I’ve also tried Mars for a while and this appears fuzzy also- I can go through the whole range of focusing without it becoming a ‘crisp’ disk like shape, not remotely close really.

Thank you for the advice and for the links, I will tKe a good look at these later on today. 
I will leave the scope cool down for longer, although my father did say he left it for around an hour the other night and it was the same.

I was thinking myself that it can’t be the optics if I can focus on the moon. Maybe then it is an atmospheric issue, I will keep trying.

Thanks for all suggestions, with much gratitude.

 

If the 'seeing' is poor, any planet will appear fuzzy whatever your focus , I've found that for me, the best way to try to get focus and find out if the view will still be fuzzy anyway is to concentrate not on expecting the planet to snap into sharp detail (as you might expect in a camera lens) but to concentrate on the apparent size of the fuzzy ball : that apparent size is smallest when in focus, so watch the size decrease , and then as you pass the point of focus it begins to increase again, so stop and slowly & gently reverse your turning direction.

Repeat , making finer and finer adjustments until  you find the spot where the apparent size is least, and then decide if it seems atmospheric conditions make it worth continuing.

One of the surprising * things to me as a beginner in this hobby has been finding that as well as how to use the bought equipment , I've had to start to learn how to get eyes and brain trained to make sense of what I'm seeing. For me, this sort of learning is fascinating and rewarding, well worth the time and persistence,

I hope you keep  at it, the rewards are great.

*Surprising to me, but I imagine every experienced visual astronomer knows it, but has forgotten they had to learn it for themselves. A bit like how difficult it is to recall back before you learned to read, seeing those black squiggles on the page, but not understanding that each in some mysterious way sort of represents a sound .

My first scope is a 150 heritage,and I can assure you that it will give you images similar to the simulations John has posted above. It's not a problem with the optics or your fucussing if you can see the Moon looking really sharp , so although checking the collimation , sorting a 'shroud' for the open part of the 'scope , and adding some PFTE tape to smooth the action of the somewhat industrial focusser (I got 2 rolls of PFTE for under £2 P&P included from an amazon 3rd party seller, its something plumbers use loads of , so it's easy to get ) are all good ideas, However, I think  your problem is the atmosphere .

Jupiter and Saturn are both very low in the sky now, compared with back in the summer, which means the light from them to our telescopes has to travel  through a greater thickness of air , and the image is therefore less steady. Even worse if  you have to view above houses where warm air will be rising adding extra turbulence. Plus over the last couple of weeks for me here in Leicestershire the night sky has not been steady, or clear of cloud and mist very often, and when it has it's been so windy the telescope has been battered around . You don't say where you are, but it seems much of the UK has had only short periods of good 'seeing' recently.

I bookmarked this page https://medium.com/@phpdevster/help-i-cant-see-detail-on-the-planets-ac27ee82800   as having a good clear explanation of the problems we are facing..

Have you tried looking at Mars ? It is higher in the sky, so should in theory be less affected by atmospheric factors, and it is visible for hours after Saturn and Jupiter have both set, so you have a greater window of opportunity. Some evenings I've gone out to spend time looking at Mars, seen it bouncing around like a little orange ball in the eyepiece, and given up . Other times when it appeared a bit less lively I've spent two hours just looking , and caught some steady views for a few minutes . It seems like a long time for a short glimpse of surface features, but when you do get to see some detail it feels worth it.

Don't give in, be patient, let the 'scope cool down outside before you use it for at least 15 minutes to avoid swirling air currents inside the tube adding to the problem, and have some alternative targets in mind to look at if the planets are not working out:  for instance, a free enormously detailed PDF book about the Moon can be downloaded here http://alanchuhk.com/

The seller who lists the Meade 82mm on amazon has the scope on their own website too. It's no cheaper than via amazon (once you factor in the extra delivery which is free from amazon) and it does say it's a time limited offer until Monday ... 'while stocks last'. There's more info on their own site though, including a downloadable instruction manual.

https://www.astroshop.eu/telescopes/meade-dobson-telescope-n-82-300-lightbridge-mini-82-dob/p,54294#tab_bar_0_select

The 82 means 82mm, which would make it slightly better than the 76  as far as mirror size goes.

https://www.meade.com/lightbridge-mini-82.html

suggests it may be discontinued, which would explain the reduced price. From that it appears to come with a couple of eyepieces , you can see it has a red dot finder,.

There's an old mention of it in a thread on here : https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/260219-have-anyone-tries-this-scope/

To be honest, the way things are with availability at the moment,  I'd have it in my Amazon basket immediately, then check out any reviews ...

A good starting point : https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes.html

But ... whilst your budget would get you a  telescope, it would not be one well suited to astro photography , which is an expensive pursuit.

And (as you can see from many recent threads asking for similar advice on here) telescopes are difficult to buy at the moment, deliveries have been badly affected by the current situation, and it may be difficult to buy any worthwhile instrument (i.e. one which is not a toy)  before Christmas. Maybe think about

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/first-light-optics-gift-vouchers/first-light-optics-gift-voucher.html

25 minutes ago, Kev25 said:

Hi,. Hope you don't mind me cutting in on this topic.  I too am a complete beginner in astronomy, and looking for a first telescope, after reading the posts in this topic I think the 130p flexitube would be a good start.  My question is, would I gain much by going for the Skywatcher 150p flexitube over the 130p ?.

Thanks

After the thread has been silent for 2 years, I don't think anyone would see a new post is a rude interruption 😀

I was in a similar position, £200 to spend, back in the summer, and I went for the heritage150 (which had only just arrived as a new addition to the range, so could't have been mentioned in the discussion above.). I've found it very good, I like basic, simple, robust and faff free things, and enjoy the learning process of finding out how to best use them, and amateurish tinkering to improve things, so the dob is ideal for me.

I can't compare it directly with the 130, I've never used one, but the 150 is an appreciable step up from a 114 eq, which I have.

2 hours ago, Alexiaqq2 said:

Thank you!

So now I'm thinking maybe we could get him both? A pair of 8x42s and maybe a cheaper tabletop telescope for now and as he gets older we can invest in a better scope.

Would something like this be of any use? https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/celestron-firstscope-signature-series-moon-by-robert-reeves.html

My thoughts would be that any binoculars (as long as they can be adjusted so the distance between the eyes is small enough for a child) will give at least a somewhat enhanced view : you probably know the first number (the 8 in 8x42s) is the magnification .Apart from showing a bit more detail when looking at the Moon, the main thing increased magnification is going to do is increase the jiggling around of the view when held by an excited small person, so low magnification is no bad thing. Greater magnification for handheld binoculars won't affect views of planets (which will always be little featureless blobs whatever the mag.) and stars (which will be bright points) .

The advantage binoculars give for stargazing are to do with the size of the front lens, the 42 in the 8x42, a 42mm diameter lens. It is bigger than your eye pupil, so improves your view of faint stars etc.However, as those front lenses get bigger, the whole instrument gets heavier. I have a pair of the opticron 10x50s ,  and they weigh just over 800g, whilst the 8x30s I inherited from my dad come in at 510g. The 8x30s are less good for looking at the night sky than the 10x50s, but they are significantly better than the naked eye !

I think that putting heavier binoculars on the meade tripod would be a faff, awkward for you to set up at a height where junior can see through ... you'd have to be sat or kneeling or on all fours . I suppose you could get the binoculars lined up at adult height (if the tripod is tall enough, I have no idea !) then have the little one stand on a box or something to see through it, but that sounds a dodgy dangerous thing to do in the dark ...

My suggestion : lightweight cheap binoculars for junior to feel he owns, light enough for independent use (including taking along on daytime walks to the park to spy on squirrels , ducks etc) .Don't worry too much about high quality, think about practicalities of holding, eye spacing and weight, discard any that boast about high magnification  then consider what would most please him as far as colour and design go . 

Then either hang on to the 'scope you already have ( Alan64 is obviously your best source of information on if that's a good idea) or think about one of the tabletop dob.s , where instead of the cost being spread between a 'looks the part' metal tripod and a complicated mount (head) and a telescope , most of your cash goes just to the telescope, with just a simple wood base. The firstscope you linked to has the drawback of no aiming device , so I'd be more inclined to go for one of the 'Heritage'series. which do have finders on them.

Whatever you do, make sure you can get an in stock telescope before you return the one you have : old Chinese proverb (which I've just made up)

Confucius he say, a telescope in the hand on Christmas day is superior to a better telescope on a container ship on its way from China ...

6 minutes ago, Girders said:

Hi Alexiaqq2,  As I've got a recently turned 7 year old who was the reason I bought my first telescope a couple of years back I thought my experience may be helpful...

First, a few words on your telescope.  I wouldn't comment on the optics etc without doing more googling, but I'd worry about it's usability for children just based on the size and shape of it.  When on the tripod and looking high in the sky, the eyepiece is going to be locate at the top of the scope - likely to require kids to e standing on a stool etc to view. It's tricky for kids to look through an eyepiece at the best of times without adding having to balance into the mix.  I'd echo Scooot's recommendation of a tabletop dobsonian scope which should be in a similar budget to your Meade.  We started with the Heritage 114p and virtuoso mount which adds motorised tracking - a big plus when swapping between people looking through the telescope.

As for binoculars, I've stuck a pair of standard 10x50s on a £20 photographic tripod using a bracket and it works fine but as Scoot says, the benefit of binoculars is the fact they are handheld and you can scan the sky.  My wee one has a cheap set of binoculars described as 30*60 but are 7 or 8x magnification.  There are various versions on Amazon and they are fine for £10ish.  She loves that they are hers, she can wander around with them and hold them without any difficulty because they are so light.  And at £10 I'm not precious about them (although she knows to look after them and has been well warned about the sun!).  

I'd also pass on my biggest lesson.  Depending on where you live and weather, don't overestimate how often you will be able to get out in the garden with a telescope.  Admittedly we're in Glasgow so weather is a big issue, but so are the locations of the planets.  In 3 years, although I've had plenty of fun in the middle of the night, there have probably only been half a dozen times when weather and planet positions have worked out at a sensible time for a young kid.  Even without a scope there are great ways to feed a kid's interest in space - Maddie & Greg's Space Week on Lets Go Live on YouTube, Cambridge Astronomy's talks on Youtube etc.  You can also pick up fragments of meteorites for under £10 which is a magical thing for kids to hold in their hands.

Whatever you decide to do - good luck with it.  My wee one is still going strong with her interest after 3 years and had a quick look tonight at a very small and very wobbly Mars tonight. 

Wise words, and a realistic approach..

I taught the  7-11 year old age range for many years, and would absolutely go down the cheap kid's binos route , children generally like to own and control something themselves. Imagine being given an Xmas gift, then told don't touch it, someone else must do all the setting up for you, and you can just look through it without having any input  ... Having their own instrument to role play with while someone gets a 'scope set up though, that would be less frustrating.

I have a relative whose first words were 'Mine !' (directed at his older sister who was about to try and play with the toy which was the subject of his second word 'tractor' !)

1 hour ago, Jasonb said:

Yep, I'll be giddy on Tuesday opening the box alright!

 

Will be giddy ? 😀 You sound so excited already I think you may explode !

Fingers crossed for you to get some nice clear skies for that first light !

Heather

I think amazon pack stuff they dispatch from their own warehouses. I've had things (small ) inside boxes ( large) with twists of brown paper filling the spaces. My cat likes those. She is less keen on the little plastic pillows of air .

Amazon delivery around here seems to be done by self employed folk in white vans one guy (Romanian I think) who has delivered my orders a few times actually runs from van to door, rings the bell and once he sees movement through the glass of my door, runs off, but still manages a cheery wave when I shout 'thank you' at his receding figure ... He looked so stressed in the height of summer that I gave him a bottle of chilled water , they must be under terrific time pressure to fulfill the round amazon gives them for the day.

I've had many small items (both breakable and not) dispatched from China through the post, they inevitably come in a grey plastic bag, occasionally with a single layer of bubble wrap inside, and if you're lucky a flimsy white card box or plastic bag inside that. Remarkably nothing has ever arrived broken .

I bought my second 'scope from FLO, it was out of stock but expected in a similar time frame to yours. I contacted them by email asking what happens if you order before it's in stock . The answer was, payment is taken immediately , but if you have to change your mind for some reason , they will refund you. They prioritize orders by date, so by ordering and paying, you secure your place in the queue for whatever arrives.

I also asked if they'd be able to give me some idea of how likely I was to get my order from the delivery that was scheduled, making it clear that I understood they couldn't be absolutely sure until the delivery arrived at their warehouse. I was told they only had a few orders already for what I wanted, so I was likely to get it. I ordered, I saw the delivery estimate roll up to 30-40 days a few days later, but sure enough, the estimated date from when I pushed the 'buy' button was when my order arrived.

If I was you, I'd trust FLO , make my order very soon, maybe after making an email inquiry about your specific item as I did, then keep my fingers crossed !

Heather

To me (and bear in mind I'm pretty much a beginner myself ) that sounds like the sort of out of focus view I get when swapping from plossls to my 8mm BST, or adding in the barlow to any of them. Have a look and make sure nothing bad has happened to the focus device on your 'scope, and it still has full travel in and out .

It's another 'I never realized that' thing which surprised me when I found I had to re focus when changing between some eyepieces. Now I know why some eyepiece adverts boast the range is 'parfocal' , and why it is a good feature !

As far as I know, tripod to binocular mounts usually use a standard photographic tripod screw thread. The telescope you have already purchased may or may not have a standard photographic screw, probably not if it has an eq mount. I doubt anyone here will have one of those telescopes to check it for you, maybe do an online search for the instruction manual to find out without opening the box.

6 hours ago, Steve Clay said:

I've got the same one. Works a treat with the setting circles on the sky tee.

Used this to create the circle

https://www.blocklayer.com/protractor-printeng.aspx

Steve

Brilliant, thanks.

I keep mine in the house , partly because the shed is a disaster area of garden tools, bags of compost and spare bits of timber, but mostly because it's convenient to take them outside through the back door and plonk them close to it to cool down. If the weather changes, it only takes a moment to bring them back in.

I put waterproof covers over them while they cool , just in case . The covers are the ones that came with my Lowe Alpine 35L and 45L rucsacs , I don't need them for the 'sacs because I use roll top drybags inside instead, but I knew those  rectangles of waterproof orange material with elastic shock - cord around the perimeter seam would come in useful one day !

Yesterday, an unexpected delivery by the postie of a little far eastern thingummy I ordered 10 days ago which had an expected delivery date in January ...

Now I need to think about making a setting circle ...

Just now, Zermelo said:

Yes, that was the one I was trying to find.
I did contacting Bristol Cameras previously but they don't keep any stock of that item, and they didn't seem certain that they would be able to source it.
I see it does say "available to order" now, so I might give it a punt.

It can't hurt to ask them what 'available to order' actually means for this specific item at the moment. 

I'm afraid I don't recall if the listing said that when I bought mine, or if it actually said 'in stock'. Good luck  !

Heather

5 minutes ago, Jasonb said:

By the way @Tiny Clanger, it is wrong that I keep humming Tiny Dancer by Elton John whenever I see your username? 😀

Yes, it's wrong 😀

This is the proper sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OvefhhMbbg

18 hours ago, George Sinanis said:

I just pressed the buy button!

Bought though FLO a Bresser Messier 6" Planetary Dobsonian + BST 8mm.

it is supposed to be delivered within a few days and i hope it will keep (mainly) my daughter interested into space!

Cannot wait to get our first telescope!

 

Thank you all for your help and advice.....the real research is about to start 😉 

 

Good choices, the 8mm BST is great in my 150 dob. should work really well for you too.

Getting the hang of observing takes a bit of practice and perseverance, and there is a huge amount of information around to take in, get your daughter to do some of the research too, it's all useful exercise of her academic skills (don't tell her that though !)

Heather

You need an observatory spider (one specifically trained not to spin webs across tempting metal tubes)

6 hours ago, Zermelo said:

A challenge for M31 in particular is that it's just so big. You may have it centred perfectly, and it will fill the FOV. But with a modest scope it may not show any obvious detail, so it seems you're just looking at space. You can try nudging off in some direction and you may then see a distinction between the galaxy and background (or possibly you can see the difference between the central and outer areas, as it extends some way). Selecting a long focus eyepiece with low magnification and wider field of view might help, if you can then see the shape more clearly against the background. The possibly difficulty there is that if you have to contend with light pollution, you often need a certain level of magnification to reduce the exit pupil and darken the background, to improve the contrast with the target object.

Oh, and congratulations on finding a RACI finder - I've been looking for weeks!

I found mine at Bristol Cameras, they seem a decent outfit :

https://www.bristolcameras.co.uk/p-sky-watcher-6x30-right-angle-erect-image-finderscope.htm

only a 6x30, not the larger one generally seen as ideal, but I'm cheap and it was in stock  ...

2 minutes ago, Moonshed said:

As you have already discovered an RDF is not particularly helpful when trying to locate feint DSOs such as M31, you really need a Finder scope and I see that you have already ordered one. Happy hunting!

Thank you.

Experience is a great, but often annoying,  teacher. The need for more than one sort of finder hadn't really occurred to me until that moment, I'd not properly appreciated the practicalities . It took quite a lot of searching to locate an RACI finder during lockdown #1 , much that was available seemed to be close to the outlay I'd made on the entire heritage dob itself ! Eventually I tracked down a reasonably priced 6x30 in stock at an obscure camera shop's website.  It was almost as elusive as Andromeda .😀

So, a happy ending to the tale, I now find M31 is easy to line up on. It is indeed a good target, and an amazing thing to be able to see with your own eyes .However, checking FLO's site, it looks as if the 130p the OP has ordered comes with the RDF ...