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Showing results for tags 'beginner'.
Found 69 results
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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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Something doesn't seem right...
SirHarveyXXI posted a topic in Getting Started Equipment Help and Advice
Hello all, my name is Harvey and I'm very new to astronomy. After countless hours of reading beforehand, I'd like to start off by saying I know I'm not expecting to see anything close to the pictures seen on the internet from telescopes like Hubble, but something doesn't seem to be right. I have a Celestron AstroMaster 76eq, this is quite a budget telescope due to the fact my budget is less than small. These are the specs: 700mm Focal Length 76mm Aperture Focal Ratio of 9.21 2 lenses of focal length 10mm and 20mm I'm quite young, and I've been super interested in any and all things space, so obviously getting into astronomy was a definite for me. This is hopefully going to be a life long hobby I'm gonna take up, so any tips for the future are well and truly appreciated (alongside any tips at all to help me get started). Please bare with me, I'm trying to condense this down as much as I can. I've done a lot of research into the telescope that I have, and I've read about many people being able to see deep space objects such as Andromeda's core. I have been able to see this (at least, I'm 99% sure) however, attempting to view other deep space objects (such as M1) proves to be difficult. I'm not entirely sure if this is due to me being unable to navigate the night sky effectively, if I'm doing something wrong or I'm expecting too much. I live in a fairly rural area in England with little light pollution, and when observing these deep space objects I make sure that I'm as far away from the light pollution as I can get. This leads on to my first question... How much of a difference does the humidity make? England generally has VERY high levels of humidity, and I'm wondering if this is going to make a huge difference to what I can see? I've never really seen the humidity to be less than 75%, so if it makes a huge difference I presume that I won't be able to view any deep space objects? That being said, should my telescope be able to see deep space object with this level of humidity amongst other viewing problems? I try my best to ensure (like I said earlier) that I can make the viewing conditions as optimal as possible where I can (i.e. not viewing objects in the direction of light pollution, making sure that I go out in low levels of cloud, making sure I observe objects as high up in the sky as I can etc). On the subject of the telescope itself... How much of a difference does collimation make? Will it be the difference between seeing an object or not if the collimation of my mirrors isn't very good? Should a telescope of my calibre be able to make out the major details of planets? e.g. the ring of Saturn and the bands of Jupiter? Or am I expecting too much of my telescope? I have just ordered a 2x Barlow lens to bring me close up to the maximum magnification my telescope can realistically handle (140x), so I'm wondering if this will help me see these finer details or if Jupiter will still be merely a bright light? How much of a difference do filters make at lower magnifications such as 70-140x on planets such as Jupiter, Saturn or Mars? Are they worth the investment this early on or are they more of an investment to make later on? How important are high quality eyepieces? Are they worth the investment early on or later on? The problem with this is that eyepieces can get quite pricey and as I said before, I'm on a very low budget. That being said, is the level of astronomy I'm after even possible on my budget? Will I be able to see deep space objects like M1 and other nebulae? By seeing them, I mean as blurry blobs, not detailed objects. Terribly sorry for the masses of questions (of which I'm sure most of you will have seen a thousand times!), but I've been searching for a long time and haven't found many answers relevant to my situation. As I said, I'm very open to any suggestions, tips and recommendations! Thank you for reading! If there's any more information you need, ask me and I'll try my best to give you it! -
SkyWatcher Explorer 130p AZEQ AVANT vs SW DOB Heritage 130p
Floyd1995 posted a topic in Getting Started Equipment Help and Advice
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! -
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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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, 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 everyone. sorry I know this has been asked and I've tried getting ideas from other posts but any advice would be greatly received. My husband has always had an interest in the skies and I would love to get him a telescope for Christmas. I really had no idea how confusing it would be! I'm hugely struggling with all the types of telescopes and different peoples views. From searching through lots of sites and reviews the skywatcher explorer and skywatcher star travel seem to be good beginner scopes. Can any advise on these or other suggestions? I don't want to spend too much more than £100 (appreciate these are both more) and I was hoping for something he can add to over time if he wishes (other lenses, phone connector etc). I would prefer it to have its own tripod though read that many of these are flimsy. We live outside of London so sky's not always great but my parents are in cornwall so hoping to view there too. Thank you for any help
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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
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Hello, I want to get into astrophotography. I have a Newtonian (200/1000) and I'd like to buy a DSLR. My preferred maker is Canon, but you can change my mind if you recommend something else and I like it . My budget is around $700 or less and most importantly used cameras not an option because in my country there isn't any good places to buy used DSLRs. I'd like to do prime focus photos and some Milky Way photos. I found out that the 1000d would be a good option but it's not in the stores any more. Then I thought about the 750d but it has vertical lines in the photos. Now I'm thinking about the 2000d but I didn't found any astrophoto experiences with it on the internet. So what's your recommendations?
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Hello I bought my first telescope last year (Celestron Nextar Evo 8), I've used it several times already and never had any problem with moving it/putting it together. Last night I was out doing some photography with my scope and at one point my glove came in contact with the corrector plate. I noticed a small smudge when I came back in. As it's my first scope I've tried to be very careful and got a little scared that it would affect the performance of it. Looking for a professional opinion on this. Does this need to be cleaned? Will it make a difference in my photography/visual? Added two pictures. Regards Brant
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Is the Canon 1300D or 600D a good starting camera for Astrophotography?
DanielRDB posted a topic in Getting Started With Imaging
Hey guys! I'm looking to get into astrophotography and have been researching different camera models lately to get started. My eyes landed on the Canon 1300D DSLR to start with (or Canon 600D) , but I'm wondering if there are any better cameras between the price range of $300 - $800 (second hand is fine too) that you guys know of? Any good budget lenses would be appreciated too. I'm not using a telescope at the moment. Right now I'm leaning towards the 600D that got advised here -
Hello all! My father lives in Istanbul and he has the Gskyer AZ70700 Refractor Telescope. He has been really enjoying it as you can see from the photos I've uploaded in the Amazon review I've left for this item (Btw, I've just realized that this review is now the most helpful/liked review on this item which is cool): https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R35LBDSUABUUAU/ My father is OBSESSED with looking at the moon's craters and he had this telescope for almost a year now and he probably never skipped a day at looking at the moon as long as the moon was visible. I've made the post below on this forum before asking for suggestions on what upgraded equipments I should buy for his telescope: And after the suggestions and more research, I've bought these items: 1) Celestron 8-24mm Zoom Eyepiece (1.25") 2) Celestron 90° Star Diagonal (1.25") 3) SVBONY 1.25" Barlow Lens 2x Multi Coated T Adapter 4) Orion 05598 1.25-Inch 25 Percent Transmission Moon Filter (Black) Now basically, my father's only wish in this life is to be able to zoom at the moon more and see the craters of the moon more clearly while being zoomed more. Right now, when he uses the 2x Adapter with 8mm eyepiece, things get blurry but he keeps trying to zoom more some nights and tells me that he is hoping one day it won't look as blurry on that amount of zoom I showed him a youtube video of the moon's craters zoomed in with a better telescope once and he was basically shocked and almost didn't believe me that that was possible with better telescopes though I am not sure how bigger/better/expensive those telescopes would be. Now my father had an open heart surgery recently but he is OK now and I really want him to experience using a better telescope while he can and me being a good son, I want to buy him a better telescope now as I have a bit extra money to spend. I bought the telescope he is using now for 130$ (btw, this telescope had 5 star average reviews on Amazon at the time of my purchase which is why I bought it but I wish I knew about this forum before and asked you guys before buying that one although my father still loved the telescope a lot so I don't have many regrets about it). I was wondering if there are better budget telescopes that are around 180-300$ that can be at least a bit better than his current telescope when looking at the moon's craters while being zoomed more with better/clearer visuals. Btw, because of the light pollution in Istanbul Turkey, only the Moon, Saturn and some big stars are visible in the sky but my father only cares about the Moon craters anyway. It's also important for me that the telescope I'll buy will support 1.25" eyepiece that my father has. After I've read many Top 10 articles online, the Celestron PowerSeeker 127EQ seems like a good budget option for me and I hear that because it has 1000 mm Focal Length, it's a good option for looking at the moon? I wouldn't know much about that thought which is why I wanted to get you guy's opinion on this. I've also seen that this telescope is being sold in Turkish websites (such as n11, hepsiburada, gittigidiyor etc.) which would mean I wouldn't pay anything for shipment to Istanbul and that he would have the option to return it in 14 days with a full refund if he doesn't like it. However, if you guys think that this telescope wouldn't really differ much from the telescope he has now when it comes to looking at moon's craters zoomed in, or that there are better telescopes than this 127EQ that is not too much more expensive than 127EQ but better at looking at moon's craters zoomed in and still beginner/mid-level friendly when it comes to looking at the moon, then please let me know! I'd really appreciate any input on this before I make my purchase. Thank you in advance! -
Need Help Finding a Pair of Binoculars That Suite My Needs
JAFULTON posted a topic in Getting Started Equipment Help and Advice
Hi guys and gals, I recently purchased a pair of Nikon Aculon 10-22×50 Zoom binoculars for around $179 and I'm pretty disappointed with them. I live in Semi-rural northeast Texas and was looking for a good pair of binoculars for a casual stargazer like myself. I thought these would be the perfect pair, I was wrong. The field of view is pretty small and the focus is annoying. The view is like tunnel vision at 10× and too dark at 22×. Do any of you individuals have any helpful suggestions on what exactly I should get that suites my individual needs? I am looking for something that won't break the bank (under $300), has a large field of view, would allow me to see the moons of Jupiter, the Andromeda Galaxy, starclusters, nebulae, and maybe some of the Messier Objects? Also, without a tripod needed. I would like something that is comfortable on the eye and easy to hold. Its asking a lot, I know. But I'm hoping some of you who are more knowledgeable on the subject would be able to help me out? Thanks. -
8" reflector vs small APO refractor
Ardoamros posted a topic in Getting Started General Help and Advice
Greetings stargazers, I'm considering buying a new telescope (my first telescope) for astrophotography, and some visual astronomy. But I can't decide which type should I get. I mainly want to photograph deep sky objects. After testing some variations in Stellarium I am worried that some deep sky objects won't fit into the aperture of an 8" reflector. I'm wondering which type should I get. And also I'm worried that I won't be able to photograph anything with a small refractor because I live near a city. I am also open to any suggestions for a beginner astrophotography telescope. (around 800$ would be perfect) Thank you:) I apologise if I made any writing mistakes. Edit: I'm considering buying a Bresser Messier 203/800 or a William Optics Zenithstar 61 but I'm still open to any suggestions. -
Which 5mm eyepiece and 2x Barlow lens for my Gskyer AZ70700 Refractor Telescope
erseavetir posted a topic in Getting Started Equipment Help and Advice
Hello all! I am a total noob and I have an eyepiece and a Barlow lens question: I have the Gskyer AZ70700 Refractor Telescope that I bought from amazon for my father and we have been using it for a week. It came with the 10 and 25mm eyepieces and a 3x Barlow lens. My father's old "BRESSER TRAVEL 20-60X60 SPOTTING SCOPE" that our cat destroyed had a zooming option that my father loved so after some research, I've also ordered the "Celestron 8-24mm Zoom Eyepiece (1.25")" from amazon and I hope it will work well with the telescope when it arrives in a week. I also assumed it would be a better quality eyepiece than the eyepieces that came with the telescope. Now my question is: Do you think a 5mm eyepiece would work well with my telescope? If so, what is the best 5mm eyepiece that I can buy below $30. Another question I have is that the 3x Barlow Lens that I have is making the view blurry and not clear like when I don't use the Barlow lens. Do you think a 2x Barlow lens would be better for our telescope? If so, what is the best 2x Barlow lens that I can buy below $30. I saw 2 Barlow lenses that were made by SVBONY and Solomark that are around $16 but I don't know if they are the right ones for our telescope and I wouldn't know which one to buy. I assume maybe I won't need to buy the 5mm eyepiece for better viewing if the 2x Barlow lense will work with my 10mm eyepiece or with the Celestron 8-24mm Zoom Eyepiece. What do you guys think? I would really appreciate any answers. -
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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Skyprodigy / Goto Mounts... Advice please.
meteoriot posted a topic in Discussions - Scopes / Whole setups
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 -
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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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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First serious attempt DSLR single exposures of Deep Sky objects.
astromartian posted a topic in Getting Started With Imaging
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/ -
Hello, which telescope do you recommend?
Tof1234 posted a topic in Getting Started General Help and Advice
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. -
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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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 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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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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