oscar_camilleri

Jupiter and Saturn are also visible at the moment, but currently they are early morning planets, Best viewing time will be between 3.30am to around 4.30 am , where they will be well clear of the horizon and its still a bit dark. Just look for the very bright yellow star in the SE direction and you've located Jupiter. Saturn will be in the 2 o' clock position from Jupiter by around 30 to 40 degrees to the right. Look for a prominent blueish star. Depending on the scope you have and viewing conditions, you should be able to clearly see Jupiter and its 4 moons, maybe even some banding and the red spot. Same on Saturn, you should be able to resolve the shape and rings, not sure about the Cassini Division at this time. Myself I couldn't resolve it with my 8" SC , but weather conditions haven't been that good and I have street lights blaring full on from my view point.

Lol. Yep

First time I saw the moon i had Pink Floyd playing in the background, so got the best of both.

I agree a planisphere is a must have tool and the time it takes to master one ( which is not that long) will prove invaluable. Like it was mentioned before , the sphere does not require batteries and will not let you down. It is not meant to replace a detailed star chart, but it is helpful in getting you familiar with the night sky at different times of the year, until you master the constellations and can distinguish them at a glance. The planisphere can also be used to track where the planets are supposed to be in the sky, most of the good ones will have a set of time codes on the back ( usually covering a period of 10 years from publication) which you can then line up to the elliptical to get a very good idea of where you should be looking. Another useful use is to calculate sun down and sun up . Not sure if it is allowed here ( mods please delete if not allowed) , but here is a link for a youtube video which goes on the ins and out of using a planisphere.

I had my mount in for servicing for 4 weeks ( remember when we had those 3 nice weeks of absolutely clear weather). got it back around a couple of weeks ago and it has been miserable ever since.

postcode is HA5 , i've just about given up on observing any galaxies or nebulae from my area. sky is a dull grey from all the light pollution over here, you can literally see the sky glow at night as if someone is projecting a movie on it

After a few nights of searching I managed to locate m13. That is when I realised that I need to move to the middle of nowhere. In my se8 it was barely discernable, so I quickly realised that any dso above 6mag are not accessible to me where I live.

Thanks for the input. Will invest in an F/r and see how that goes.

Hi all I have an 8 inch sct. I'm trying to get the pleiades in the whole field of view. Was wondering which would be the best way to go about it? Get a wide field eyepiece like a 32 or 40 with an 85% fov or get a reducer. Or combination of both?

Quick update for everyone, Spoke to Tring Astro again who advised the issue is to do with celestron. They are in process of centralising their repair network , so they are limiting parts and licences to a limited number of authorised dealers in order to keep a tight control on quality. Tring advised that they should be able to start servicing these in a couple of months.

Tried him already, unfortunately he is no longer taking orders

You were right, the HC does come off, im feeling pretty stupid now

The reason it needs a service is that the mount is jamming at the lower speeds an as a result its throwing the whole goto out of alignment. It starts out fine and quite precise, but after trying to use the low speeds , it will jam and go out of alignment. I inherited it from a relative , i estimate that its 10+ years old and doubt that it ever has been opened and had a good clean and re-grease. For example half way through a session, i try to point to the orion nebula and it will go way off and point in the general direction of M45 or some other part of the sky.

Hi I have a Celestron 8se ( 1st Gen model - The HC is permanently connected to the mount and doesn't come off). Anyone know of someone in or around London who is able to service these ( clearing , re-grease, check goto accuracy, etc). Already tried Tring Astro, and they dont service these.

while looking in the Perseus region, i'm surprised no one mentioned m34. First time i saw this i couldn't help myself and mouth wow to myself.