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Showing results for tags 'beginner'.
Found 79 results
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Managed to get this Telescope as my first (second-hand for £40, hardly used). Just wondering best objects to aim to see (I got a cheap moon filter which is all I have really had a chance to spot in the night sky so far). Hoping as the hobby goes to invest in a more expensive one (any thoughts on next step up also welcome). I have only had a few goes with it so far and found the Azimuth mount to be easy to use, but there is a metal rod which you can turn to slightly alter (don't think this is moving across the equatorial) however you can only turn it so far before the thread at the top falls out (is that normal?). Any other random tips also welcome! https://www.astroshop.eu/telescopes/skywatcher-telescope-n-76-700-astrolux-az-1/p,5010#tab_bar_1_select -
Hi everyone, I'm looking to get a reasonably portable astrophotography set-up, using a 60-100mm refractor, with a suitable goto mount. I spotted the Explore Scientifice exos2-gt with pmc-eight goto system, which looks like quite an elegant solution, and wondered if anybody in the forum owns this mount, and what they think of it's performance & usability? -
Hi everyone, My partner bought me a second-hand Tasco 302911 and I'm keen to get out and use it. I have read that these are not the best scopes but as I am a complete and utter beginner I'm not too worried about that right now. Can anyone point me in the right direction (to articles, YouTube videos etc) which can help me to understand the absolute basics of setting up and using a telescope like this? I have no clue what any of it does and any instructions I've found are all in a foreign language to me (all the jargon is difficult to wade through rather than the instructions being in French!). Any pointers for a total beginner would be gratefully received. Thank you in advance -
Which telescope for 15 yr old son
Jenova posted a topic in Getting Started Equipment Help and Advice
My son has said he would love to look at the stars and planets. ive looked at local sales but not sure which would be best for him to see planets & stars any advice would be greatly appreciated £200 budget and happy to buy secondhand to get him a telescope with stronger focus. 2 for sale locally that look good but I know nothing !! -
Hi everyone, Can anyone confirm (or refute) - have I imaged Ganymede and Europa in orbit around Jupiter or is that just wishful thinking? (Only equipment used was a Lumix G7 with 150mm zoom lens - effectively 300mm with 2x crop factor - and of course a tripod). It appears to be the case and yet I can't quite allow myself to believe it... Thanks from an old newbie.
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Hello, I noticed the sky was clear enough to get the telescope out for the first time tonight since getting it for Christmas (newbie), my phone mount to take images properly hasn't arrived yet but with my Note 9 pointing straight upwards I took a few photos (max 10 second exposure, F1.5 and ISO 800) and believe I have captured M45/Pleiades and California Nebula, please correct me if I am wrong though. Thought the second photo was also cool. Feedback and tips would be greatly appreciated. Spencer
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Hey guys. After many years of waiting, I've decided to finally go for my first telescope. Yet, today find myself stuck between two excellent entry-level options, so I'm looking for some help. Before I get straight to my questions, I'd like to share some information about what I'm expecting to do with the equipment (among other stuff). - Objectives: Deep Sky, and some planetary observation. No interest in astrophotography, GoTo, or any other device (maybe/eventually in the future). - Budget: Given complementary I'll be getting a 2x Barlow (SkyWatcher; achromatic), and a starguider laser collimator (1.25-2), these are my two best available options to fit on its range. - Light pollution: Low-Med. Being that said, here are my questions: - Mount: After days of heavy research, so far hardly found a review about it; What do you guys think about the AZEQ AVANT type of mount?; Could it beat Dobsonians?; Would it be a better option in my case? and if so, why? - Conventional Tube vs Heritage's Compact Flex Tube: What are the differences (pros-cons) I can expect from one and the other? (despite no difference between mirrors and diameter). - Explorer 130P AZEQ AVANT (newbie question): Would it be possible to transport the whole structure armed from one spot to the other in my yard? Any help/opinion welcomed. Happy 2019! -
I'm new to astronomy, I got my first telescope in November (StarMax 90mm f/13), I was really happy with the view of the moon and double stars, but disappointed I could see but barely make out nebula (initially the ring nebula). I also tried to take a photo of the moon with my phone but trying to get a stable shot was too difficult, even with a basic smartphone adapter. I did a bit of research, found about about Video Astronomy/Electronically Assisted Astronomy (EAA) and decided I needed a better mount and took the opportunity to get a faster telescope (StarTravel 102 f5/). I really like the Sky-Watcher -102 AZ GTe with the ZWO ASI 224MC. I've only used it for 4 nights as there is so much cloud about but it's allowed me to take images of things my eyeball wouldn't see. Although my setup is below the minimum specification most would consider for imaging and entry level for visual observations I think I've found a setup that seems to work for me. I like that with SharpCap I can get instant results and the day after when it's back to cloudy I can get a bit more out of the images with Deep Sky Stacker and Gimp. I have tried looking through the eyepiece at the Pleiades, that was a pleasure as well. I can see how observing with a big Dobsonian and amazing eyepieces would be great, but many objects seem better with a camera than eyeballs. The Horsehead nebula wasn't found until astrophotography came into being. The photo above was taken on my first night with the setup. The January 2019 issue of Sky at Night Magazine has a review of the Sky-Watcher StarTravel-102 AZ GTe and they give it 4.5 / 5. Combining it with an Explore Scientific UHC filter seems to reduce most of the chromatic aberration and increases contrast relative to the stars, and light pollution. Video Astronomy/EAA seems to offer a great window into both the visual and imaging worlds of astronomy. As First Light Optics say "Your first telescope is arguably the most important because if the views do not amaze and delight, your interest in astronomy will crash and burn on the runway!" I understand cost could be an issue, but if the beginner had a suitable camera Video Astronomy could be as accessible as a Go-To visual setup, and seems more likely to amaze (especially in the skies of a typical house). My question is why is video astronomy not the first suggestion for beginners interested in both visual and imaging?
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polar alignment Polar Alignment
Ariasyhari posted a topic in Getting Started Equipment Help and Advice
So i just got my first telescope as a gift for my birthday which is celestron powerseeker 114EQ, and what i want to ask is do i have to do the polar alignment before i use it and what is the purpose of polar alignment? -
Hi all, First post on here looking for some telescope buying advise. I've searched and seen some similar topics which have been very useful but thought i'd summarise and see what the experts think. I'm looking at getting myself and my girlfriend a telescope as an anniversary gift. She's not scientifically minded at all but she really likes the aesthetic of the moon. The house is filled with 3D printed moon lamps, jewelry, cushion covers etc.. We're about to move into a new house in Forest Hill in SE London and the new house has a really large garden backing onto more gardens so quite sheltered from all street lights. We both said to eachother a telescope might be a nice thing to have in the new house and something we can enjoy together in the new garden. I've got a budget of up to £200 but by no means want to spend that much if I'm paying for features we don't need or will use. I've got some experience with a reflector scope that was my brothers. He got it years ago and we both obsessed over it for about a month and then once we'd seen the big planets and a few blurry distant clusters we got bored and it never got touched again. That was a 130mm DIA reflector (skywatcher I think). After the initial excitement, my overriding feeling towards it was it was not worth the faff! This was in dark Northumberland as well, not London. I've tried to explain this to my girlfriend when we've talked about it and said if we don't want the faff we might have to invest in a Go to electric telescope. The logic being if its quicker and easier to see stuff, we'll use it more. I did get then quite excited reading reviews and trying to find second-hand goto scopes and it seems like something in my budget (or slightly pushed budget) is something like a Celestron SLT 127. (have seen second hand ones go for £250). However having then done a bit of reading on here I think i've worked out that those cheaper Go-to's are still not that quick and simple to use, ultimately i'm I'm still only going to see fairly blurry planets and smudges of deep space clusters. I honestly don't think the girlfriend will be impressed and I'll probably get bored after a while too. So I think I've come to the conclusion that I want to get a much smaller refractor that would be much more accessible for viewing the moon and would allow us to see a smudgy Saturn and Jupiter on clear nights. A smartphone camera holder would be a bonus too as it adds a simple feature that would keep us entertained for longer. Do you think that's a fair approach or am I being a little too pessimistic about what I'm going to see? If so then what scopes could anyone recommend? Stepping down to a slightly lower budget there are so many more options and it's a bit bewildering. Thanks -
Hi All, So I am new to astrophotography and was looking for some advice on what to buy, mainly the mount as I don't have a huge budget. I am currently using a SkyWatcher 102mm Telescope (500mm Focal Length) with a Canon 550d along with a EQ2 mount, so no motors as of yet. Any advice on what mounts to get would be great. Thanks
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Hi guys, I have Skywatcher DOB 250 Flexitube GOTO and recently noticed HD webcam in my friend's place... (AUSDOM AW615 1080P Full HD 12.0M USB2.0) So I received it for few of beers and managed to place it into 1.25' EP holder without any struggle. I haven't removed any filters from webcam, just wanted to see if it will fit in and it did, so I was really happy, but... (unfortunately word "but" always comes after word "happy"), but... the only thing I can see on the screen is my Primary and Secondary mirrors I think, this webcam would be perfect for collimation however, what to do next? I want to see something more than just mirrors, - Moon and Jupiter maybe... I tried to attach 2'' adaptor which comes by default with the telescope to increase the distance between mirrors and webcam... the result is the same. I also used flexitube ability to shorten the tube and reduce Focal length, - no result, just the size of the image is different. Should I try Barlow?
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So guys, I would like to know what objects you guys think, are a good place to start when getting into astrophotography, others than the obvious ones of course. By those I mean the Planets, Orion Nebula, Pleidies, The Andromeda Galaxy. Not that they are necessarily easy, as you could keep improving on them and pull out more data. Just that they are the well know obvious go-to ones. I've just acquired my first equatorial mount, a Celestron AVX mount, and I will be doing a lot of practice, getting used to the mount, the sky, and my limitations in terms of visibility, before I go deeper into actually doing guided shots. I am not necessarily looking for objects that will look great at short exposures, but probably more in the vain of being able to distinguish them. Star trails to some extend doesn't bother me. So instead of me just trying a lot of different objects that might actually be "out of my league", and not knowing if I have them actually centered in the image, or simple not long enough exposed. Sure I could keep shooting at the ones that I KNOW I can at least catch to some extend, and improve on those, but I fell that I would rather experience more parts of the sky Right now the OTA I am using is the Celestron 130SLT OTA, with the 1.3x barlow element from a Baader to achieve focus (Waiting on some screws and bolts, to make a modification that allows for proper prime focus). So anything that will fit in a focal length around 850. Any globular clusters you guys are fond of, or some high surface brightness galaxies? So far I've managed to get the "Black Eye Galaxy" on the sensor (Which was with my SLT mount), so ones with characteristics like that would be of interest too Cheers! -Mathias
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Hi everyone! I am a new amateur astronomer, but absolutely loving it and am fascinated by everything I am seeing and learning. I read about sketching the views in my telescope some time ago, but I never really felt that interested. However, as I learn more and get more time at the scope, I am quickly seeing the benefits and how rewarding sketching can be. I just got my first sketching kit, I have a notebook, and I also have printed some blank sketch templates. As the moon is getting so big in the sky, I think I will make some of my first sketches in the near future of the moon (as soon as this rain stops, geez!). My question to those veteran sketchers out there is this: if you could give one or two pieces of advice to a beginner, what would they be? I have watched some sketching videos and read some articles, and am not looking for "How to sketch" advice so much as I am looking for advice on some nuances that might just make life easier. What would you tell somebody who has never put pencils to paper? Does anything come to mind? P.S.-- I really love looking at the new sketch posts, thanks to everyone who puts their time and effort into sharing those!
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Hello SGL , this is my first new topic and it is in relation to M57 in Lyra ... I have tried to see this Nebula in different scopes since starting " telescope astronomy " a couple of months ago but to no avail so far ... Might it just be the time of year with no truly dark skies in Midsummer ? I have had much more luck with DSOs in the form of star clusters , like for example the M29 in Cygnus last night while trying to find the Nebula near by ( again to no avail ) ... The equipment used last night was a Meade Infinity refractor 90mm 600mm f/6.7 and a 40mm Plossl for wide field views .
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The struggles of a beginner learning how to use the equipment. :-) Pointed mount North and Levelled EQ6 pro mount 8:30 pm Attached wireless release, 2" nose and UHC filter to Nikon DSLR Attached scope and camera, balanced scope for camera use Collimated the telescope -took 40 minutes of messing around Waited until dark. Took the dogs for a walk around the field to pass the time Polar aligned using the mobile app and sighting against Ursa major. Rebalanced DEC for eyepiece rather than camera 3 star alignment. 1st star was way off and took ages to get it in the eyepiece Restarted 3 star alignment. - Selected a star behind a house. Restarted 3 star alignment -complete. Checked collimation using a bright star - perfect (should bloody be after 40 minutes!) Tried to fine adjust polar alignment using a method discovered online (not drift- I don't think I have the patience.) Didn't work. Restarted 3 star alignment then used the polar alignment on SynScan Took a look at Jupiter was great to look at but not what I set out to do, I want DS images... Attached camera Used live view (LV) to try to focus stars Pointed the scope at M3 and took a 2 minute exposure Tried again with a 4 minute exposure SD card failed. Lost some family pics, grrr Now I have to explain to my partner that it wasn't because of Astronomy, these things just happen. Replaced SD card Took some cautious 1 minute exposures of M90 expecting the camera to explode Pictures were faint so moved to 4 minute with a little more confidence telling myself SD card failures can just happen. Noticed star trails Located a bright star Decided to give PEC training a try. Couldn't do it with an eyepiece. Tried with the camera in LV but noticed some gradual movement in the DEC axis. Hoped PEC training would sort this. Moved onto the Spiral Galaxy Took some 2 minute exposures of the whirlpool galaxy. Wireless timer worked flawlessly. Still a little faint so up'd the ISO and took some more. More detail but more noise. Took some darks with the same settings. Packed away while the camera did its thing. Viewed the pics briefly on laptop. There was star trails (DEC axis again and blurring) Went to bed 1:30 am Summary: So what have I learned? Well DEC error was probably due to the balance of the scope being off. I never did re-balance for the camera. I've also learnt today that I should bias the balance slightly East so the gears engage better. PEC training is a waste of time without an illuminated reticule which I don't have the desire to buy. I'd rather save for a guide scope and guide camera. I've learned I can refine the polar alignment after the 3 start alignment process. I've also read on forums that perhaps I should manually move the scope to the first alignment start then continue with the usual process. I've also seen that two star may be the way forward for EQ6. So perhaps next time I'll start with a 2 star, polar align using the SynScan handset then back to 3 star with the first manual adjustment. I should also purchase a few SD cards that are dedicated for Astrophotography and upload them ASAP after the session. The Astronomik UHC Deep Sky Filter worked wonders with the images for where I live. I can now take longer exposures. Assuming I sort out DEC errors and invest in guiding rig.
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Hello. So i am very new to the world of astronomy and i just want to stargaze. I would like a telescope to look at the Moon in decent detail and maybe some other planets too and some stars too. I type this to get some help. Below i have multiple options for telescopes. I am on a strict budget, under $50 and i want a telescope that just does the job. i do not need any extreme scope just one that'll do the things mentioned above. Here are the options: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360-x-50mm-Reflective-Monocular-Astronomical-Telescope-Space-Spot-Scope-Tripod/132194688993?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D555018%26algo%3DPL.SIM%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D43781%26meid%3D9616727f6af84b67ad88a06df4fed9bb%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D152515267398 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Performance-700-76-Reflector-Astronomical-Telescope-NEW-UK-FAST-DELIVERY-/191464648175?hash=item2c942eadef:g:6gEAAOSwBahVaDII http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/900-60-Reflector-Astronomical-Newtonian-Performance-Telescope-60x900mm-Silver-/262966529588?hash=item3d3a06ce34:g:QRMAAOSwurZZNgwR Which one of those will be the most suitable for me and which one would you recommend. BTW, i live in Birmingham, UK. -
Hello all, Currently contemplating dabbling in AP and before you ask I have ordered "Making Every Photon Count - Steve Richards". I was just wanting to do some prelim research and I was wondering about scopes. I have in mind the SW Explorer 200P and the SW 80ED, I understand the mount is the most important bit but for now I want to talk scopes. Ideally I would like an allrounder, but I realise there's no such thing. I have seen some great images from the SW 200P and was wondering whether it would serve me well as a scope for both 'having a look see' and AP. Or whether I should go with the SW 80ED and focus on AP?
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I got some cracking single exposure shots of Deep Sky objects today after a decent polar alignment. The culmination of everything I’ve learnt so far; a lot of reading and practice. I was totally blown away by the colours in the Orion Nebula which looks like a grey whisp in the eyepiece. 30 seconds of the DSLR sensor sucking in photons made a big difference. All taken using ISO 200 (apart from the double cluster) and 30 second exposures. My questions: Most of the stars are smudged, I tried my best with alignment, is there anything else I can do to minimise this?Are the settings ok? I noticed more detail but also more light pollution using ISO 400 in the double cluster.Will the shots get better and less smudged when I start stacking?Thanks in advance. P.S. The full size shots can be found on my blog - http://astromartian.wordpress.com/ -
Hi. I am looking at buying a new scope. I am VERY limited for time. With a 60hour a week job and three kids, I do not have time for a full time hobby but i really want to do some of my own viewing but with as limited input and as much output as possible. I go to my local astro club but I want my own scope that will go in the boot of the car that I can take out and set up easily and see whats out there without too much trouble or having to spend lots of time learning. I know this sounds like lazyness but it really is time that limits me. I have recently found the Celestron Skyprodigy 6inch which initially sounded like the absolute perfect option for me. I have since read a few negative comments on here about the auto align being a 'gimmick' and a waste of money but it seems it would allow me to drive out somewhere and get going straight away and have it find objects for me with its auto tour funtions, after it has auto aligned. The other option would be the nexstar8 but I have had no experience with a goto before and do not know how to manually align and how long it takes and then how to find the objects. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Are the sky prodigy really no good? Or do you think they might actually have a use for people such as myself? Thank you Richard -
So you've bought a big scope, more than likely been taken in by the Dob brigade (we are pretty persuasive ;-) ) and after a couple of sessions in the garden looking at Jupiter, Orion, and the moon you're scratching your head trying to find other targets??! Is that decision to favour a manual 'better' scope over GOTO starting to haunt you? Don't despair, star hopping is about practice and it becomes easy quite quickly. When I started I went through the same contrasting emotions and thought I might of bitten off more than I could chew, when I started star hopping I'd end up wandering off in the wrong direction and spending ages looking at the wrong object. I think one of the most confusing things for the new telescope owners is matching up sky maps with the inverted (and sometimes horizontally) flipped views through the telescope. The 30 min you spend now reading this and setting up Stellarium and learning the technique will make life easier for you (hopefully) in the long run. It will be a little awkward/time consuming the first time while you set everything up, but once that's done it won't need to be done again and this (imo) becomes a very quick and efficient method. So to star hop easily you'll need the following: Stellarium (Newest version 0.11.4 - download for free) Clear skies Patience Telescope Method The method I use is to draw a line in Stellarium (using the angle measure tool - we'll get to that in a min) from the nearest naked eye object to my target I can find through my telescope. I then use the 'Ocular' plugin on Stellarium to simulate exactly what I should be seeing through my EP, I then 'walk' along the drawn line counting off the stars until I get to my target...it's that simple! No more wandering off in the wrong direction! For this demonstration I'll use M42 in Orion as our a target, as it’s something that’s easy to find, but this technique will work for any object Preparation The first thing is a one off setup of your 'virtual' scope in Stellarium (if you've already done this then skip onto the next section). In Stellarium go to the 'configuration settings' (or press F2) and select 'plugins', you should see an option for the 'Ocular’ plugin, click on that. This is where you store all the info about your scope and EP's. Make sure you have 'load at startup' selected on the front screen of ocular plugin before we proceed. Next we'll input our telescope information, click on 'telescope', in here enter in the specs of your scope, the aperture is the diameter of your mirror, and focal length is how 'long' your scope is (we'll skip over the technical definitions for now). If you haven't a scope or are unsure and want some figures to use, we'll use my Dob as an example test scope. Aperture – 254 mm Focal Length – 1200 mm Make sure you have mirror flip 'vertically' selected and depending on your scope also select 'horizontally', you can easily change the horizontal option if it turns out you don't need it. This is done to ensure the view through the virtual scope is orientated the same as your scope. Next we move onto EP's, click on the 'Eyepieces' tab and enter in the information for you EP's in there, if you're unsure what your 'aFOV' (actual field of view) is then Google your EP and a retailer will likely have specifications listed. Entry level plossls and 'kit' EP's tend to have an aFOV of approx. 50-55 degree, you won't go far wrong putting in a value between them if you can't find your EP's aFOV specification. The focal length will be written on the side of your EP, It may be just a number written on its own. List all your EP's into here; it saves time adding them in future. Don’t worry about at this point entering a value for ‘Field Stop’. I tend to name my EP's by the manufacturer and EP size...as before a couple of examples to use if you need: Name - Skywatcher 38 mm Focal length - 38 aFOV - 70 Name -Celestron X-Cel Lx 7mm Focal length - 7 aFOV – 60 That's all your scope and EP's set up….. still with me?? Go back to the front of the plugins page and make sure the ‘angle measuring’ tool is configured to load at startup. Close off Stellarium and reload it up (sometimes it needs to do this to register changes you've made). Now we can finally get onto the star hopping. Bring up M42 on screen, either via the search box (F3) or zoom onto it manually. Zoom out enough that you can see Orion’s Belt. Make sure you have M42 selected by clicking on it, press 'spacebar' to centre the object; do not click on any other object (whatever you click the simulated view will go straight to). Now select the 'angle measuring' tool from the bottom task bar: 'Draw' a line from the nearest bright star that you can see with a naked eye - in this case go for the left star (Alnitak) in Orion’s Belt. With your 'real' telescope locate this star through your viewfinder, telrad etc, and using your lowest powered EP (i.e. a 32 mm, 38mm etc...not 5mm!!) get this star in view, focused and central. Back to Stellarium, (making sure M42 is still selected) press Ctrl-O to bring up your 'virtual' scope, you should see it zoomed in on M42, cycle through the eyepiece tab at the top right until you get to the one you're using in your 'real' telescope. Now using your keyboard arrow keys 'walk' along the drawn line in Stellarium from M42 until you reach Alnitak, this is your starting star for the real thing. Now compare this virtual view with the view through your telescope, you should see the stars all roughly match up in view, if the orientation is wrong bring up your telescope configuration (as detailed earlier) and select/deselect the horizontal or vertical flips as required, after each change shut down and startup Stellarium (once you've got it right you'll never need to do it again), it can be a little trial and error but eventually you'll have everything roughly orientated the same way (I can never get it bang on 100%). If you can see more than appears in the image first check to make sure you have the right EP selected, or go back and increase the aFOV value in increments of 1 degree until matched, again save. If the stars look too bright in Stellarium or there's too many bring up the 'Sky & Viewing' options (F4) and reduce absolute/relative scale options (top left) until you find the closest match, also try and try and get your light pollution level set, start off with a value of around 3 and work from there. Now you are fully configured between scope and Stellarium, the overwhelming majority (i.e. 90%) of what you've just read will not be applicable next time you go out. Star Hopping Now all you have to do is walk your way down the line drawn and match up the stars with the view as you go along. It’s that simple!! You can apply this technique to find any object. Note: Stellarium - You will need to deselect the angle measure tool to re-enable dragging of the sky by mouse Stellarium – Press Ctrl-O to exit out of the ocular view
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Just thought I would say hi to everyone. I am a Noob, but have been googling astronomy for past year, so am familiar with some of the lighter terminology. Most of my googles have directed me to this site, so I have already read forum posts here numerous times. Have already acquired quite a bit of kit, but just not found the time to try it out yet. This should hopefully change soon as I am expecting to have a lot more spare time in a couple of months. Being in the Midlands in the UK, I am not currently missing much, due to the current cloudy weather here. I am looking forward to picking your brains and in time posting some of my experiences here. Kindest regards, Geo.
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Hello all, I have just joined and have been looking around, and putting in various searches to find the answer to my question(s). I have already found some valuable information, but i can't find a specific answer to a question i have relating to exposure times. I have shot the milky way several times before, from a tripod and a wide angle lens. I am aware of and understand the "500 rule" and that worked fine for me at first when i was shooting with my Canon 6D Mark II. When i moved over to the Sony A7III i noticed significant trailing using the same rule and that led me to the NPF rule (Via the photopills app incase people dot know). I am heading back to Tenerife once again in about 6 weeks time and want to buy a star tracker so i can get some really detailed images. I have done a fair bit of research and in principle, the whole thing doesn't seem to be too daunting or difficult. I have purchased the Polar Scope Align Pro app so i can align Polaris as accurately as possible, i will practise putting the unit together and familiarising myself with the different parts etc, but it is the exposure times that i do not understand. My best glass is the Carl Ziess 50mm F/1.4 Planar, the 18mm F/2.8 Batis, the Sigma 35mm F/1.4 Art & the IRIX 15mm F/2.4 Blackstone. I currently do not own, nor have i ever used a tracker, and I cannot find any information relating to which aperture, ISO and Shutter length any of these focal lengths should or could be shot at. Is there anything similar to the 500 rule or NPF rule that relates to using a tracker with varied focal lengths? or is it just a case of stepping the lens down for sharpness and then trial and error? Thanks in advance, Matt.
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Hi, I am looking at buying one of these, and need some guidance. Celestron Nexstar 4 SE Sky-Watcher Explorer-130P Synscan AZ GOTO Celestron Nexstar 127 SLT MAK I ended up With these 3 Choices mostly because of the cost I am willing to do the first time, and it seems like they have some abilities (motorized with GoTo-options) Priority 1: I want to observe nebulas, and galaxies (i.e. Andromeda) on a decent "zoom" and focus. Priority 2: I want to do astrophotography. I've read elsewhere on the forum than its preferable to have an equatorial mount for astrophotography. As far as i can see none of the above have that, even if Celestron Nexstar 4SE is promoting astrophotography on the product info. Or have i misunderstood here and one of the above has an equatorial mount? The Product info on the Celestron Nexstar 4 SE says it has Alt-Az, EQ North & EQ South. Does this mean it has both options, az-al and equatorial mount?. I think should add that i consider myself at least an "above beginner"-photographer, and Photoshop user. I use NIKON D810 - is this even mountable on one of the telescopes mentioned here? I also have the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer mini. Can i setup one of the telescopes mentioned with this and call it a telescope with equatorial mount? I guess some of these questions might seem stupid to you, but I just dont know alot regarding telescopes yet:) Thanks in advance for any replies.
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Hello, I'm looking to get myself a new telescope to get back outside and looking up. I currently have a Celestron Astromaster 130eq, however, I do not use it as much as it broke in a way where the mount and knobs cannot be fixed. I did enjoy using it, but now I am looking for a more convenient scope to use. I'm looking at smaller goto scopes around $400. I want to be able to take it with me anywhere, set it up in minutes, and get to observing without much hassle (punch in an object and have it be tracked). I'm currently looking at the two scopes below: Celestron NexStar 4se Celestron NexStar 130 SLT I realized the 130 is the same size as my current scope, but with its goto factor, I feel like I would use it a lot more. The 4se is very appealing due to its small form factor. In addition to the Solar System, I would like to be able to see some DSOs. As for the price, $400 is my comfort zone at the moment, but I'll consider going up or down based on recommendations. If anyone has any experience with the scopes above, or has a recommendation, please share your input. I would love to hear it as I really want to get back outside and observing. Thanks, Spriggs
