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Showing results for tags 'help'.
Found 93 results
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Hello, all ~ If you'd please take a moment to read the info in my profile, I'd be grateful beyond words. In short,, I leaped into this new passion before fully researching all of it's necessary aspects. I'm determined to verify with my own eyes the deep cosmos and better understand the far past & distant future events. Thanks so much for indulging this newbie. ~ GiL Young
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Hello, I know you've seen these questions a lot (unless your new) but I'm struggling a lot on if I should buy a Skywatcher 250px (10") or 200px (8") (dobsonians). I have a 5 inch and i'm looking for a big step up for noticeable changes. Thank you
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Hi I am looking for help and advice on my SynScan EQ5 pro problem which i am struggling with. Everything was working fine and as expected. I have never updated the firmware and thought while i had everything connected i would update the Hand Controller and the skywatcher WiFi dongle. Everything updated first time without issue and i was pleased to be up to date. However i loaded SynScan app on the pc which connected fine through the handset and USB/Serial adaptor cable. I clicked on the movement arrows and nothing happened, i then went in to a random 1 star alignment and again no response from the motors. I powered off again and instead of the PC i tried the hand controller, i tried a 1 star alignment and the hand controller was displaying the slewing but again no response from the motors. in panic i then did the same with the WiFi dongle and phone app, same thing the software is showing movement but the scope remains still. Knowing all was well prior to firmware updates i reverted back to the previous firmware version and no difference, i tried it again in Lo mode and still nothing. I then noticed a firmware update for the Motor Control so thought i had nothing to loose i updated the Motor Control firmware and again no sign of life from the Motors. I have swapped the cables around, checked that they are all inserted correctly, the power is from mains not battery and the power source is plugged in to a a Power Filter and Surge protector. I have little experience of circuit board electronics, i was struggling to find similar experiences online other than voltage issues due to batteries which is not the case. I have opened it up and no obvious loose cables of solder loose, but this was straight after the firmware update which seemed to have installed and updated very smoothly no crashes etc. Any help would be really appreciated.
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Hi - I'm a new member of this great forum and a complete beginner. I would be grateful for ideas or suggestions if you have time please. Last night at around 2230hrs i was laying on my back garden in the moist grass gazing up at the night sky. Clear skies North and South but cloudy in the East, Patchy West. No telescope, just my mug of tea and a blanket. I have always known where North is since a young lad. Find the Plough, top and last star of the saucepan and follow in a straight line for 6 thumbs and there is the North star. Great. Then, as i looked at it with my new eyes as a new budding novice, it suddenly dawned on me. Like most of us on this planet we all look at our night sky, think how beautiful it is, be humbled, thankful, in awe, spiritual, emotional and so on, then go about our business. But not now! Now I am looking up with deranged eyes and mind, thinking i have not a clue about any of this wonderous sight before me. I have no names, no vocabulary, no maps, no idea of where to start and no plan at all. So far i have been looking at equipment needed to get started, which in itself was overwhelming, but made a choice and picked out my telescope. And indeed some members here, have kindly said i made a decent choice to start with....... As it got gradually darker (and colder) the stars got brighter. So i picked out a line from the middle of the Plough and followed if by about 13 thumbs (sorry for the boyhood terms) and found a big bright star and below that, by half a thumb, a collection of faint stars which i could see better by averting my gaze. It dawned on me again. I cant be doing this all night without any clue of technical knowledge. Bewildered, I stood up and looked toward the South West and saw what i know to be Jupiter and i think Saturn (fainter). This again brought it home just how little i know and just how much learning is needed just to get going. I went inside and on my PC ( i dont have an i -phone or android tablet ) and found Stellarium. Looked at the online sample, stuck in my location and upcame a northerly view of what i had been looking at. I found the names to my delight and ran outside to try and match up what i had seen. But it took at least 10 minutes before my eyes got used to the dark again. Then identified said bright star as Arcturas and below that faint collection as Gaia. ( i think ) Cocker hoop, i ran back inside and looked again at the PC for more names. This went on for about an hour or so. I felt elated at finding the star called Dubhe which was my boyhood top of saucepan star and on to Polaris. Back to Ursa major across again to Arcturas and below that Gaia, carefully usig my thumb to get the right measure. I couldn't see capalla coz of cloud to the east. Back inside I thought just how do other people do this. Hence this message. I need to work out a plan, what are the right maps, is Stellarium good start or something similar. What hard copy maps and best beginners books? Is it a good idea to pick up a small bit of sky, and work outwards from that, then when comfortable, move on to other directions. Or do I pick out known objects, like the Moon and other near planets and go from there. Or do I do a bit of everything bit by bit.? What is the best way of logging my progress? And many more questions..... Sorry for length of this topic matter, if I have made mistakes with names and if the questions asked are basic. I would be grateful for your thoughts and advice - thanks a million. Garry
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Powered usb hub or repeater cable
Leewfc posted a topic in Getting Started Equipment Help and Advice
Hi I'm after some advice please... I've got a heq6r mount and I'm looking for some ideas to connect my camera and guide cam to my laptop. Would people recommend a powered usb hub 3.0 mounted to the mount or would I be better using a usb repeater cable. I have the asi120mm as my guide camera and my canon 600D so would only be 2 cables to the laptop. I'm looking for cheap and quick and easy options ready for thursday/friday night. I'm struggling to get a powered usb hub without having to order online from local pc stores. So I'm thinking cable route would be better. Thoughts please thanks -
I have a telescope that I received from a teacher. I know it's a celestron but I can't find any info on the model/type, and I can't find the name of the telescope anywhere on it. Can you tell me what type of it and if I need the electrical parts to make if work? Here's a link to a photo of it. https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZtBm1pe1fTszG9FQ8 I don't have a manual for it as I don't know the model so I can't figure out how and what I need to fix it, or make it work(if it's missing a specific piece or something) I need to know what model it is so I can find the pieces for it and learn what it needs to work. -
Hi, I’m thinking about getting the skywatcher 72ED for my first scope. I’ll only be using it for astrophotography. I plan to photograph nebulae planets and galaxies. Can someone please give me some advice on what extras I’ll need to buy so I can take pictures. My camera is Nikon D3500. Thanks in advance. -
Hey everyone, I just purchased my first refractor telescope but I have no idea where to get started, let’s get right into what my problem is. I purchased a Celestron C4-R; model number 21016; this came with a bunch of little pieces that I don’t know what they do, it’s a refractor telescope. I have the star diagonal but I don’t know where to attach it. I just want to know what I have to do to have it ready to be used thank you I would like help asap thank you
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I'm fairly new and on one of my daily stargazing sessions I viewed, with the naked eye, a huge passing light going SE, from my perspective it was brighter and bigger than any stars, planets or meteors that I've seen before. It was roughly the size of a baseball. If this was a star -> . this is roughly how big it looked -> O It had a trail of similar size, seemingly dusty. It also passed and disappeared between Corona Borealis and one of Hercules' legs. Viewed on May 16th, 22:00- 23:40 I assumed, based on recent headlines, that it was Comet Swan, but upon further investigation, that was far from true. Comet Swan should not be visible with the naked eye, and definitely not to the degree I saw. Additionally, based on my coordinates* it wouldn't even cross the sky I saw, it would be below the horizon. (*roughly 15 °N, 120 °E, PH) Considering again the magnitude of the object amd the fact that I viewed it with the naked eye discounts it from being an asteroid or meteor*. (*More possible but still hard to believe with its size, you wouldn't even see something like that during meteor showers) So I then researched if it could be space debris. I thought that something as big as that should be covered by a news article somewhere. *The only results were of the 18 ton Chinese Rocket but it couldn't be that because: A. It passed over Los Angeles and New York then fell into the Atlantic Ocean, with some pieces landing in Africa. Meaning it wouldn't pass over my country. B. That happened 5 days before my viewing, on May 11 at 11:33 AM ET (08:33 PDT) It's still possible but it just seems unlikely, and with how big it was I'd assume that it would attract some media attention but I cant find anything else. Does anyone have any idea what it could have been? I have to know. If it was debris then all I need is confirmation. * https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/05/16/chinese-rocket-falls-to-earth-space-debris-problem-worsens.html https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2020/5/13/21256484/china-rocket-debris-africa-uncontrolled-reentry-long-march-5b
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Hi I am in Burghead, Scotland and would like to know what this object is in the sky. It does not appear every night and is not always exactly in that space everytime. It pulsates light and is the brightest thing I've ever seen in the sky
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So I'm having some issues recently and have a lot of questions for the erecting eyepiece 1.5x. I want to know if they are useful, better, and i also want to know if they have a lot of detail in them. How do you use a erecting eyepiece? What is it for? When can i use it? Also my issue is when I try to use an erecting eyepiece on a star it is out of focus and cant seem to find the right focus. yesterday I had tried on sirius but it just showed me a huge ball of light. Any help and tips will be appreciated. -
Hello all, This is my first post on SL, so please correct me if I have started this topic in the wrong place. I am also relatively new to astrophotography, so please ignore my naivety! I had some clear skies last week, so decided to do some lunar imaging with my new(ish) ASI224MC. I captured my frames in SharpCap as RAW24 AVI files, stacked in AS!2 and processed in Registax and Photoshop. When i got to sharpening in Photoshop, I noticed a sort of mosaic pattern over the image, which took away from some of the detail, and really ruined the image the more I sharpened. I did a quick search and it turned up with 'debayering'. This is a completely new concept to me and all of my attempts didn't seem to improve the image at all (perhaps I was debayering in the wrong order?). I have attached some images and also my some of my SharpCap settings in case they are of help. COLOUR SPACE: RAW24 CAPTURE ARE: 1304x976 OUTPUT FORMAT: AVI files (*.avi) EXPOSURE: 0.29ms GAIN: 282 Thank you in advance Regards, Josh. -
Hi, I am new to this forum, and certainly not an experienced astronomer at all. However while I was out in Herstmonceux, East Sussex during the 2016 Perseid meteor shower on the 12th of August 2016 at around 1am, I saw something pretty strange in the sky. As I was lying on my back looking up at the sky I noticed a small green point of light in the sky, about the size of an average star. It was moving around the sky, it looked slow but given its (supposed) distance I would say it was actually moving incredibly quickly. It couldn't have been a plane as it was a single, tiny point of light changing direction quickly. I live very close to the Greenwich observatory in Herstmonceux, East Sussex and I see their green lasers pointing out at the sky regularly between 8pm and 12pm usually and this also wasn't it as there was no beam, literally just a single point of bright green light moving amongst the stars. I have absolutely no idea what this could be, but I would love to hear peoples opinions or thoughts on what it could potentially be, or if anyone has seen anything like it before.
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Hi there! I’m looking forward towards purchasing a new wide FOV eyepiece from FLO (first light Optics ) and I do to know which one to pick! i will be using it on my f/6 8” Skywatcher dob and hoping to get good views of the Orion’s nebula , (large nebulae in general) andromeda and others. I ve heard the panaview 32mm is a good choice but I d like to know about the other options as well. I would like the budget to be around 100€ Clear skies, Kronos.
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Hi, this question has probably been done to death here, but can I ask the community to help me decide on a new camera? After struggling with my very glitchy QHY5LIIc camera for a while, as well as having a forced break from astronomy, I have decided to get a new camera. After all the problems I've been having with the QHY, I really don't want to use this manufacturer again. I know lots of people use them quite happily, but once bitten ... I have been looking at the ZWO cameras - OSC, as I haven't the time, clear skies, or patients to do LRGB imaging! I have about £250 to spend, which I may be able to push to £300 if I wait a bit. ? So I've been looking at the ASI224MC, ASI290MC and the ASI178MC cameras. I mainly do planetary/Luna imaging, but I have also dabbled in a bit of DSO and would like to continue with both. I have a C9.25 and a ST80 guide scope. I know these aren't ideal for DSOs but please humour me! I think from the specs/information that the 224 is probably the best option. Although the resolution and QE are the worst of the three, the well depth and read noise are the best and the fps is pretty good too. I don't know if there are better/cheaper cameras using the same chips, such as Altair's range. I just don't want to make the same mistake that I did with the QHY!n Any help/advice you can give will be much appreciated.?
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Probably a stupid question... Heyyy soo i am a begginer and about to buy my first telescope.A Skywatcher 200 p. I ve just though of something , Since i know filters can be stacked i ve been wondering if i could take visual RGB filters and stack them.Specifically blue green and red in order to create a visual full colour image ,like photography. I know its probably a stupid question because people all over the world would have done this by now .But i m just curious. -Kronos
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I am looking at buying an older 1993 version of this model and wondered if anyone had any comments on its performance. Does it have autostar, I don't think it has gps but can you fit one in the way you can for a camera. are the optics good
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So I am very new to gazing the night skies and I have a very important question about equipment / lenses for what I'm trying to do. PLEASE keep in my that I have tremendous respect for the entire universe (whatever and however I may see it, it's just amazing) but my preference in my new hobby is just to view the Planets & our Moon. I'll start off by first saying that I bought the Celestron 8se Goto Scope (8") from Amazon along with 8mm to 24mm Baader Planetarium zoom lense, 2.5x & 3x Barlow lenses and a new Telrad finder scope. I spent over $1,800 and tried for the past week in the evening under clear night skies viewing Venus & Mars. Then at about 4:00am to 6:00am in the morning viewing Jupiter. In all cases for the past week and a half Mars, Venus & Jupiter were clearly seen and they were correctly centered and focused in my eyepiece. I had no success in seeing any features on either planet with using 6mm up to 24mm lenses (with and without the Barlows). I did see Jupiter focused and managed to see three moons. However, very in focus but still just no features! Obviously, the Moon was seen with great features in every case. (Simply incredible for the first time!) So of course I hit the Google button and searched this forum for hours! I ended up sending everything back to Amazon for a refund. I know by this point you must think I'm very impatient but 95% of my search results stated that I do not need an 8" scope or this type of scope just for viewing the Solar System if I'm not really interested in viewing Deep Space objects (which is my current preference). And I pretty much don't need the Goto features of the 8se (which is very difficult to allign anyhow) as I can easily identify any planet and of course, the Moon in the night skies. For the money I spent, I was really hoping to see alot more than just focused colored circles. However, it was very cool just knowing I was viewing these planets for the very first time but not worth the $1,800. Finally, the reason for this post is to ask the more experienced Astronomers to recommend the best sensible telescope / lenses to purchase for just viewing Planets. Thank you in advance for any help and taking your time to read this as I'm very anxious to purchase something new this week. (I got back my $1,800 but I'm not looking to spend it all, lol) Please, give me your best recommendations!
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Should I take an old Skywatcher skyliner 200p for €200 Or a new one for ~€300-400? the old one is black(not a flextube) which should I take?
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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. -
Good morning everyone, Just to start out, a little about me: I'm US Navy stationed in Sicily, Italy, originally from lower Alabama. I've always been an Astronomy geek, pointing out the stars and planets to friends at night....nothing beats a calm, windless, clean night out in the middle of the ocean. Other than what I've picked up over the years sky watching and reading, I've recently finished up my second semester of Astronomy so I have a decent understanding of the sky....but I know bare minimum about telescopes. I never owned my own telescope and it's been a while since I've looked through one. I did some research and almost bought an entry model celestron a few years bac, but didn't. I like to consider myself beyond beginner, so I'm looking for an intermediate level scope. I've done several telescope finders and seen several reviews. On a budget of under $1,000, but would rather stay closer to $500. I want to see the moon yes, but more interested in the planets and deep sky objects. I will be traveling with it...by traveling, I mean driving about an hour or more to get to a nice dark field. With that I've eliminated a dob, as an option. I'm looking for something that will fit in my car, and a grab n' go/no hassle. My main question is does a newtonion/reflector type require much maintenance? like if I pack it up and drive to spot am I going to be fumbling with it in the dark, trying to get a clear picture? I really want something no-hassle and spend more time viewing than aligning. The reflectors get more aperture for the money over refraction type. Astrophotography is possible, once I get more comfortable and can afford it, ill get a mount, but other than that a simple iPhone snap will suffice. That brings me to my next point, I'd like to explore and would rather spend the money for a good view, than the motorized mounts. Are the motorized mounts really worth it? I also planned on getting a eye-piece/filter kit. So, I've narrowed it down to the Celestron Omni XLT 120mm- the entire Omni line keeps popping up best reviewed/high rated lists; The Orion SkyView Pro 8". Like I said I also plan on getting a filter/eyepiece kit. Any other options or are these good?: no-hassle, decent deep sky/good planet view, $500-$1000 budget (including eye-piece kit), fit in a car. It's my first telescope, so I want the best bang for the buck, not a beginner scope. I'm an adept learner so I'm not scared off by non-computerized mounts (and I want to learn to use without it). Thank you for the help!
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Eventually, due to "dark energy", the universe will be expanding so quickly that it will break the speed of light. This, if I am not wrong, already happened at the beginning of the universe for 10 to the power of -43 seconds. So, what will happen once the universe is expanding at that speed. Will the laws of objects moving faster than the speed of light apply (mass increasing, time slowing down ect.)? I have to stress I am my no means an expert on the matter, if anyone could point out mistakes in this question please do. All answers would be much appreciated. -
I've had my telescope (the Galileo G-872 refractor) for several years now and have been able to view planets in quite a bit of detail such as the rings on Saturn and the red spot on Jupiter. But recently every time I have tried to focus in on any planets (I've tried Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) all I get are big grey dots. I am still able to focus on the moon with great detail but the planets still remain to be big grey dots. I have tried several times over the past few weeks in all different conditions and locations, I've cleaned the lenses, I've tried all of my different lenses and attachments and nothing works! I would really appreciate some help from someone who is maybe a bit more experienced in these matters than I. -
I only just got my telescope and have not yet had a clear night sky but during the day i can see light through the telescope but when i add the erecting eyepiece, the view goes black. anybody know why??? -
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.
