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Sir John Herschel at the Cape of Good Hope Having spent the years 1825 to 1833 cataloguing the double stars, nebulae and clusters of stars visible from Slough, in the south of England, John Herschel, together with his family and telescopes, set sail from Portsmouth on the 13th of November 1833 bound for Cape Town. As detailed below, in an extract from his book, the family enjoyed a pleasant and uneventful voyage and arrived some 5 months later at Table Bay with all family and instruments in good condition. Reading on however, one might very well think that it might not have ended so well had they but left shortly after ... “... (iii.) Accordingly, having- placed the instrument in question, as well as an equatorially mounted achromatic telescope of five inches aperture, and seven feet focal length, by Tulley, which had served me for the measurement of double stars in England; together with such other astronomical apparatus as I possessed, in a fitting condition for the work, and taken every precaution, by secure packing, to insure their safe arrival in an effective state, at their destination, they were conveyed (principally by water carriage) to London, and there shipped on board the Mount Stewart Elpliinstone, an East India Company's ship, Richardson,Esq. Commander, in which, having taken passage for myself and family for the Cape of Good Hope, we joined company at Portsmouth, and sailing thence on the13th November, 1833, arrived, by the blessing of Providence, safely in Table Bay, on the 15th January, 1834, and landed the next morning, after a pleasant voyage, diversified by few nautical incidents, and without seeing land in the interim. It was most fortunate that, availing himself of a very brief opportunity afforded by a favorable change of wind, our captain put to sea when he did, as we subsequently heard that, immediately after our leaving Portsmouth, and getting out to sea, an awful hurricane had occurred from the S. W. (of which we experienced nothing), followed by a series of south-west gales, which prevented any vessel sailing for six weeks. In effect, the first arrival from England, after our own, was that of the Claudine, on the 4th of April, with letters dated January 1st.(iv.) ...” “Result of Astronomical Observations, Made During the Years 1834, 5, 6, 7, 8, At the Cape of Good Hope ... “ by Sir John Herschel, 1847 John Herschel rented a property and set up the twenty foot reflector near Table Mountain, at a site, that was then, just outside of Cape Town. The Twenty Feet Reflector at Feldhausen, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, 1834 This telescope was made by Herschel in England and transported, along with his other instruments, by ship to Cape Town and then inland to Feldhausen. The telescope is a Newtonian reflector, built to William Herschel’s design, with a focal length of 20 feet and clear aperture of 18 1/4 inches ( f13 ). The location of the telescope was established by careful survey to be: lat 33d 55’ 56.55”, long 22h 46’ 9.11” W ( or 18.462 deg E ). The site of the great telescope was memorialised by the people of Cape Town by the erection of a granite column that is still there today. ............. Observations of the Sculptor Galaxy Amongst his many thousands of observations made from Cape Town, of nebulae, clusters of stars, double stars, the sun, etc., Sir John Herschel records that he observed V.1 ( CH10 - Caroline’s Nebula - the Sculptor Galaxy ) during two different “sweeps” and gave it the number 2345 in his South African catalogue. Sweeps: 646 - 20th November 1835; 733 - 12th September 1836 At the latitude of Feldhausen, and on these dates, the Sculptor galaxy would have been at an altitude around 80 degrees above the northern horizon when near the meridian ( which was where the telescope was pointed during Herschel’s “sweeps” ). The sight afforded from this location, with the Sculptor Galaxy almost at the zenith, must have been significantly brighter and clearer than the Herschels had thus far been granted from its location way down near the horizon south of Slough. .......... Other Obsevations by John Herschel from Cape Town Also observed by John Herschel in 1835 were the people and animals that inhabit the moon ... The Great Moon Hoax of 1825 - “Lunar Animals and other Objects, Discovered by Sir John Herschel in his Observatory at the Cape of Good Hope ... “

Hey everyone, Brand new to the forum but I've been amateur stargazing for a while. For the last 10 or so years I've been using a 4.5" aperture Dobsonian and it's been great but I think it's time for a large upgrade. There are so many options out there I wasn't sure where to start as I'm mostly just familiar with my own telescope and how it works. I'm looking for a step up and don't know whether I should stick with a Dobsonian and just get a larger aperture or try something else like a reflector (and if so, where to start). I love looking at planets and deep sky objects. I don't mind the size as long as it is generally portable. Preferably under 800USD but flexible. Thanks so much for the advice!

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.

Hi, I have always had an interest in astronomy/stargazing. Looking up into a clear night sky wondering what it would be like to be out there is always a summers night pass time favorite of mine. Although, having a high interest in this area as a child I became otherwise engaged in other activities like playing console games, and then more recently raising my own young children. However, my interest in astronomy and stargazing has since returned and I have recently wanted to begin looking into the night sky with a telescope. I am a complete novice when it comes to this and just wondered what would be a good beginners scope. I have recently been interested in buying the Celestron Astromaster 130EQ. I have read numerous reviews about this scope and everyone says that its really good scope for beginners. I have looked at images that people have taken through this scope using additional filters and lenses and I am more than impressed with what can be achieved. I am completely new to telescopes and wouldn't really know where to start. I had a low-grade telescope as a child, branded National Geographic which was great for looking at the moon with, it came with 2 lenses. I still have it but would prefer a 'more advanced', 'more profesional' scope. Any help/tips would be great. I have a maximum budget for this of £250GBP but could stretch to £300GBP Thanks all.

Hi all, For the first time in my life i have bought a telescope(celestron astromaster 130eq)..So iam very intrested in seeing my favourite orion nebulae , How can i get a closer image of it like shown in many pictures..Is it possible to see very closer from this telescope and how the color comes? is the color of nebulae is fake or real? What eyepiece can i use to see the distant deepsky objects very close and clearly... Thank u....

Just bought the ed72,, anyone else bought one for va/eaa

Hi All I'm new to the game. Bought a Celestron 102 for Christmas 6 years ago when I was in Louisiana. The winter nights usually never got colder than low 50s and were clear as a bell. I wanted to start locating and resolving binaries, but moved to Rockville MD and between the buildings and light pollution only set the scope up once. Now I'm in Washington state sorrunded by 100' cedars and clouds. I have enough distance from the trees North to see Polaris, but haven't found it yet through the glow Seattle cast through the haze. In Louisiana I had great views of Neptune, Jupiter, Venus. Last night looking just west of straight up with just my eyes I think I could see Vega fairly well. Anyhow I'm going to try to set up on my deck, but I'm worried about vibrations. The deck elevates me about 8' and gets me off a 20* grade. I have a little concrete patio but useing it it will put Polaris behind the trees and completely cut off my south and west horizon. I retire in a couple of weeks and want to spend some time learning this astronomy thing. Looking forward to learning. Oh I want to hook a camera to my MacBook. Anyhow thanks for letting me join. Rob

To save time getting right to the point-Ive owned a celestron skyprodigy 90 and that scope alone made me feel more powerful than ever.Im planning on spending close to 2,000 on a new setup with a far larger aperture and although I love the cassegrain goto scopes from celestron and Meade,I’ve been wondering if my budget should go toward a custom dobsonian. My dream begins with landing a setup within that budget and choosing the right attachments to be able to study the moon up close and personal.If you can imagine it I’d like to be able to at least recognize a footprint if there is one.Im assuming this is possible while so many scopes can see so much further away like other planets and such. I’m more than grateful for any input that you’ve learned the hard way or any financial corners I can cut while still being true to the game. Thanks in advance.

hi im new here. long life and prosper thanks.

Hi There, I hope I have found the right place to post but I am 23 years old (living in Manchester, UK) and have a mission to try and get more of my generation to take the time to look up. I want more people to share my passion and get as excited about the universe as I do. For the last 2 years, I have been working to create a watch which is made with meteoite, to serve as a daily reminder, so people take the time to look up and put all their worries and concerns into perspective. I am reaching out to this staregazing community for help and advice, how I might do this better, also I am hoping to learn and get some feedback - I would love hear what you think of it. In other news I am looking to buy my first telescope and I would be open to as much help on that too! Either way thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope to hear from some of you soon James

New to this just bough my first scope the orion funscope,while i have always bin into space and alien conspiracys etc but thats another post anyway im new to star gazing with a scope and hope to be a active member on this site and looking forward to picking peoples brains especially when it comes to branching out on a more expensive scope so guys hope to talk to you all soon by the way i will only be doing planetry observations for the start

Hello there! I'd like to start off by saying that I'm completely new at this so please don't get mad if I seem ignorant or don't know things. I recently came across a recommendation to go stargazing with night vision and that seemed like a really cool experience so that's why I'm here now. I wanted to ask whether it's possible to do that while spending less than $100? Obviously since I'm only getting into stargazing I wouldn't need anything too amazing, but I'm wondering whether it'd be very bad with equipment for under $100 and would it instead be better to find someone to lend from. If it is indeed possible to achieve something fairly decent for a beginner for under $100, what would be your recommendations? Thank you!

Hi guys and girls, i am completely new to astronomy and could do with some advice on what would be best to get for my first scope. What do you think of this scope: http://www.bristolcameras.co.uk/p-sky-watcher-star-discovery-150p-computerised-go-to-reflector.htm#accessory Seems to be good value for the money, but i honestly dont know what i'm really looking at?! give me your opinions and any reccomendations on brands and specific scopes, this would be great thank you!

So I have recently just gotten the Saxon 200mm reflecting telescope, and with it I received an erecting eyepeice to view terestial objects. Problem is, people are saying to insert into threads and I've tried to do that but it doesn't fit? How do I correctly place the erecting eyepiece onto the telescope? Please help! Images of regular eyepeice for space objects (28mm) and other parts included to help.

Hey all, just thought i would show my self after weeks of lurking and reading lots of usefull info, i'm very new to the hobby and having got a 76/700 for free i really enjoyed the moon through the scope and went on to buy a Sky-watcher flextube 250px a few weeks after , i'm really looking forward to many years of space watching with this new scope and i'll continue to lurk on the forum now and then =) Limey21

Hi guys I am looking to purchase a beginners scope for my Dad’s Christmas present (I’ll be honest it’s also a present for me!) I have done a bit of research online and I thought I had the ideal one to get started. The Celestron Astromaster 130EQ MD (£149 Amazon.co.uk) Until I found this: Skywatcher Explorer-130M 130mm (£193 Amazon.co.uk) I was hoping you guys could enlighten me and let me know what one to get out of these two? Will I be able to view things like long distant moons and Saturn’s rings? Or even a ‘local’ Nebula? Also when looking into the Celestron 130EQ MD I was recommended into purchasing the ‘Celestron 94307 AstroMaster Eye Piece and Accessory Kit’ (£58 Amazon.co.uk) to get a better view. Will I be able to use this eye piece kit with the Skywatcher 130M? As it is getting near Christmas now I will need to buy one very soon. One last thing - Ive seen mixed opinions online about the quality of the mirrors in both scopes. Does the Celestron 130EQ MD have a better scope to the Skywatcher 130M?? Are they spherical or parabolic? What one do you think best for my money?? Thanks in Advance! Rhys

So I'm on the lookout for a first scope and I found an advertisement for a Meade 2060 LX6 in my local classifieds for $675 CAD. I tried looking up this particular scope and it seems that it's an older model, so there isn't much to be found in the way of reviews or manufacturer information. Does anyone have experience with this type of scope? Would it be good for a beginner? It's just a little above my price range, considering that I was looking into getting a SkyWatcher 8" dob ($550 CAD). It seems as if the guy is offering a mount a fork mount along with it, as well as some other accessories. Here's the original text of the ad: Clean MEADE 2080 LX6 wide field schmidt cassegrain telescope with Meade wedge (with fine tune knob), heavy field tripod (large enough for 10"), Meade LX6 quarts drive fork mount with Hand box and Meade dec motor installed, 8x50 finder, piggy back mount and choices of either a celestron visual back and diagonal (1.25) plus a Vixen 20mm NPL eyepiece or Celestron Plossl 26mm. OR a Meade 2" hybrid back with 1.25" insert one one of the above eyepieces and front cap. Note: front cap does not sit fully as I have replaced the collimation screws with knobs for easier collimation. I can put the original screws back in for you but you collimate. The inner coating on the corrector plate is faded in one section from a cleaning years ago. No idea why that happened but dos not effect viewing so never bothered me. The LX6 line-up was designed with a bright f6.3 Multi coated optical group (1280mm fl) as opposed to the usual f10 2100+/- set ups in most 8" sct scopes. These were designed for brighter, wide field viewing where nebulae, star fields and the like were more targeted than high-power planetary viewing and are great for imaging purposes. That said, lots of aperture for higher power eyepieces and the Saturn rings are easily made out even from my part-country location at 26x or more. Venus in phase is brilliant (it is in phase now with a lower crescent position.) $675 for set up 1 and $775 for set-up 2. These are not toys. This is not a goto. Also includes Meade travel case and literature. Located 1/2 hr west of NewMarket. Thanks.

Hello All, as you are aware i am new here and also new to this wonderful hobby, as you may be aware i am a total newbie,no experience or knowledge, so i am at your mercy ?. Last weekend i was lucky enough to purchase a second hand Skyliner 200p, which came with a 10mm & 25mm eyepieces, i know i shouldn't rush in as i need to get collimating tool, but i really fancy getting a zoom eye piece, i wondered if you guys n gals had any thoughts or recommendations on such, if possible i wouldn't mind getting a second hand one, i have seen one at Harrisons that i quite like skywatcher-8-24mm-zoom-eyepiece-1.25 Anyway thanks for reading and i will probably be asking tons and tons of questions, sorry about that, but you area wonderful friendly and knowledgeable lot,many thanks and best regards Dave

Hey everyone ! Hope your all doing as well as you can be with this pandemic ! Im completely new to this stuff, im looking for some advice on the right telescope kit to buy. I dont want to be spending too much cause like im new and wanting to try it out, just hoping you guys have got some suggestions for telescopes for the value. Mainly wanting to look at stars (my stepdad passed away 3 weeks ago and my partner bought a "name a star" for him and would love to see it properly) and im interested in see the planets like the rings and stuff too Any help would be very appreciated ! Possibly below £100 the cheaper the better at the minute but dont want it to be so cheap and tacky that i can only see the end of the garden through it lol Stay safe everyonr

hello there my name is Aisyah I here to make friends with like minded people who are also stargazer and astronomers. I am a big fan of the constellations and the night sky, my favorite it’s the Big Dipper because it is so beautiful and perfect. I try to replicate it in my art but have no luck. It’s too perfect. Hope we can be friends. What is your favorite constellation.

Hi to everyone, I'm new in the world of the telescope and as my first telescope I bought an used Skywatcher 70/700 with supatrak mount and I hope that someone can help to understand the equipment I'll need to connect (cable, bluetooth or wi-fi add) my telescope mount to a Mac and control it by software like EQMac or Stellarium. Thanks

Hey everyone ! I am new to this site , don't know how to properly use it , but hope someone will help me As the topic says , I am trying to buy my first telescope , and am quite excited for it. I have been reading wuite a lot about astronomy , so I know most of the basics , but have many many unanswered questions ... xD I was originally looking for a scope for viewing the planets , but well , after learning more , I thought that maybe a scope that can show only planets will eventually get a BIT boring , and will not be used much (although I still admire the planets and still will want to observe them). Just a quick info on me : I live in a city , have no place to go / or car to transport my scope to a darker place , live in a building , hope to observe from the rooftop. My ONLY CONCERN about this is that from my balcony I can see Vega at night , and as depressing as it may sound , nothing more .It may be because there are buildings covering my view (I at least hope so that's the case) or light pollution , although the place I live is in the orange to red zone in many light pollution maps. So originally I stumbled upon the Orion Starseeker IV 80mm GoTo refractor. http://www.telescope.com/Telescopes/GoTo-Computerized-Telescopes/Orion-StarSeeker-IV-80mm-GoTo-Refractor-Telescope/c/1/sc/15/p/113919.uts Thought it was good for the GoTo and stuff , but after doing some research , got concerned about the sturdyness of the mount.Some said it was too shaky (I have almost constant winds of about 10mph at night here) . Plus after some while I discovered DeepSpace and got even more interested in it than the planets . So I started to seek for reflectors. After a while I discarded Dobsonians as an option , cause I do want to do astrophotography ( just amateur , not gonna spend money on expensive DSLR s or sth) . And maybe in the future I will want to do some more serious astrophotography , so it will be very sad , if I have to change the scope later , if I want to... So after doing some research I am currently watching these scopes . 1. Orion 9827 AstroView 6 Equatorial Reflector Telescope . https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000XMSR0/ref=psdc_499154_t1_B01N2HJBQC 2. SkyWatcher Explorer-150P EQ3-2 Reflector. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-150p-eq3-2.html The only downside of these is that they're not GoTo (The second one has an option , but it's out of my price range) , but I think an additional RA motor drive will do the thing. At lease if I will be able to find anything in my sky ... That's it ! If you own/have used any of these scopes tell me more about them ! What you like/dont like etc. ANY GENERAL ADVICE IS APPERCIATED . Thanks !

Hi all.. New to astronomy, bought my son a cheap telescope for Xmas and have enjoyed viewing with him so just bought myself a 250mm dob. Pleased to say it arrived today so started off with a bit of moon viewing. Must admit I've had a lovely evening! Can see me investing quite a bit of time and money into this. Look forward to hearing from some of you members as time goes on. Jas