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Newbie to Astronomy and Newbie to the Forum

ElijahB

By ElijahB
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ElijahB

ElijahB

Posted
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Hi All,

Glad to be here. I have already received some good advice regarding testing of second scopes and have just purchased a lovely Celestron CPC 800. The scope is in excellent condition and with the little time we had before clouds set in got a chance to see Saturn first hand before I bought it.

I live in East Tilbury in Essex and have also just joined the Castle Point Astronomy Club in Hadleigh, great bunch of people.

I went to use the scope for the first time last night, when I realised that I had to align the finder scope (I had removed it from it's housing when I helped package it all up - probably my first mistake). I am not sure if there is an easy way to do this, but how do you align the finder scope to the main scope? I spent a while aligning the main scope to a nice bright star and I take it you then just align the finder scope up to the same point, is that the way to do it or is there another way? Cloud set in so I didn't get the chance to complete the task, so will have another go when I get another clear night.

Also, I am still surprised by the amount of different Eye Pieces, lenses, adapters, filters, etc that you can buy. Is there somewhere that helps explain the various types, uses?

I guess there will be some people asking why I bought an expensive piece of hardware when I am just starting out??? Well, I wanted a scope that I will grow in to and then also have the scope grow with me as my experience mounts. I'm a quick learner and never afraid of a challenge (sounds like I'm writing a CV...lol) so I hope I have made the right decision, it certainly feels like the right one.

I am also about to start a Degree in Astronomy with the UCLAN with an initial unit starting in June with the John Moore University (The Universe Through a Small Telescope). So, if anyone has experience in this area, I would always appreciate advice if you don't mind.

I am also looking to get in to the Astro Photography, I have a Canon EOS 350D so again, any assistance is always appreciated.

Well... that's enough of my patter.... I look forward to hope fully being able to contribute back to the forum in the coming years.

Cheers :)

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FLO

FLO

Posted
Posted

Hi Elijah,

Welcome aboard :)

From a previous post:

Kellner

The standard Kellner is a good, low-cost performer that is noticeably better than the simpler Ramsden and Huygenian designs often supplied with starter telescopes. The simple 3-element design gives bright, contrasty images with excellent central sharpness. Kellners have a field of view (FOV) around 40° and are good for low/medium aperture telescopes.

Orthoscopic

The 4-element orthoscopic used to be very popular but has lost out recently to the 'space-walk' glamour of modern super-wide-angle eyepieces. Despite having a narrow FOV, the ortho' gives excellent sharp, contrasty, colour-correct views. Particularly good for planetary and lunar observing.

Plossl

The Plossl is a hugely popular 4-element design that gives excellent overall image quality and an apparent field of view around 50°. Do be careful though; not all Plossls are equal! The old adage 'you get what you pay for' still applies. Quality Plossls give high contrast views with pinpoint sharpness across the entire FOV. Probably the best general-purpose eyepiece.

Superwide

Typically a 5-6-element design that gives a FOV of about 60° to 70°. Well suited to low magnification, wide-field, deep-sky observing.

Ultrawide

These 6-8 elements designs are very glamorous with incredibly wide FOVs up to around 85°. To view the entire FOV you actually have to tilt your head to see the edges. With so many pieces of glass, the light and colour transmission can suffer. Otherwise, the image quality (and price!) is very high.

Hope that helps,

Steve

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MartinB

MartinB

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Welcome Elijah and congratulation on your choice of scope. I bought a nextar GPS 8" (forerunner to the CPC) just over a year ago and it's been my best ever purchase. It gives great views - deep sky and planets and with the right ancillary kit is a great scope for imaging.

With that sort of investment you are all the more likely to make the hobby work for you.

As far as eye pieces go - you need a range from around 6mm to 40 (it should be supplied with a 40mm plossl. I am happy enough with my simple plossls and can recommend the revelation budget eye piece set

http://www.firstlightoptics.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=revelationepset

This will see you nicely on your way but I would also highly recommend the moonfish 30mm UWA http://moonfishgroup.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=50&osCsid=9c2adf9d390d08904b6f5713a6e1a692

The CPC has quite a narrow field of view and this EP really opens things up. It is very good value for money and performs extremely well with an SCT. The only downside is you will need a 2" diagonal.

You will then have a bundle of EPS so a barlow might seem a bit superfluous but when you get yourself a toucam and start planetary imaging... well... when you need any advice on how to spend money on your new scope I'm your man!!!

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ElijahB

ElijahB

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Some great feedback already :)

I did get some lenses with the scope, I'll have to make a list of them so I know what I have... one thing I know I do have is a barlow x 2. The gentleman I bought the scope from did suggest though that I get a reducer as he was keeping that lense from himself :)

There has already been some great links posted in this very thread which I will be ploughing through.

I'd just like to show my appreciation again, it's great to belong to such an active Forum.

Getting in to this makes me feel like a kid again when I got a telescope for my birthday..... it's a great feeling...... give me more!

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Whippy

Whippy

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how do you align the finder scope to the main scope? I spent a while aligning the main scope to a nice bright star and I take it you then just align the finder scope up to the same point, is that the way to do it or is there another way?

Hi Elijah and welcome :)

That's pretty much it really, when I got my scope for the first time, I found something about a quarter of a mile away during the day and and set the scope on that and adjusted the finder there too, that gets it fairly close. Then look for Polaris at night (as it doesn't really move in the celestial sphere), lock your scope on that and adjust your finder again and it should be spot on. If you want a real basic book on constellations so you can start to find your way around the sky a bit, I can wholeheartedly recommed Philip's 'Guide to the northern constellations' by Robin Scagell.

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