adgecutler Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 Hello all, I'm Jamie and live just outside Bristol, I have looked up at the night skies for many years often while fishing and enjoyed their beauty, also for quite some years I have toyed with the idea of buying a telescope. With a little money burning a hole in my pocket on Saturday I went looking for my first telescope. Iwish I had read up on the subject first as it seems I paid too much for what I came home with! After returning from Bristol with my overpriced Celestron Astromaster 130 eq md I waited for the wife to go on her weekly public house gad about and managed to settle my little boy, then my daughter and I assembled the telescope and after she could stay awake no longer I managed to get the brightest target in view, it turned out to be Jupiter and 4 moons. I had not aligned the telescope (and still have not) so just picked a big shiny "star". I could make out two bands and the 4 satelites with the 10mm lens supplied and was quite chuffed with myself. Tonight in a short window between cloud I also viewed the Moon which was very exciting to a beginner like myself.I hope that I can keep this enthuasiasm going by finding and viewing more objects with my new telescope and wonder if you may help my choosing some good eyepieces and lenses for it. I shall try to align the telescope next chance I have and see if I can pick out some of the other easy targets, also I am interested in Solar viewing, are there filters I can purchase for this 'scope?Thanks in advance for any replies, Jamie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmological Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 Hello Jamie, welcome to the forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nexus 6 Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Hi Jamie and welcome to SGL, you can make a solar filter using this.... First Light Optics - Baader AstroSolar Safety Film ND 5.0you may also find this free software very helpful Stellariumgo to location window and set it to your own lat/long, it will use Paris as the default so make sure you change it otherwise it will through you off fair a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appalachik Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Adge Cutler? Ah - scrumpy an' western music... The Wurzels, I remember now. Thought he was dead. Solar filters for your 130, the answer is yes. Either get some Baader Solar Film, or one of these is another option... First Light Optics - AstroZap Baader Solar FilterWelcome to SGL Jamie Jenna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Welcome to SGL Jamie I'm about 12 miles SW of Bristol myself so not far away. The best accessory you can get for your Astromaster would be a better red-dot finder - the one supplied with the scope is notoriously difficult to use Adge Cutler?......... Thought he was dead...... He is, sadly Great character though - I saw him play live with the original Wurzels many years ago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Hi JamieA warm welcome to the SGL,keep with it , it takes some time to get used too moving you scope around and fixing it on a object I have a goto scope but did not use it for 14 months wanted to find my own way around the skiesDougEssex UK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightfisher Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 hello and welcome to sgl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Spock Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Hi Jamie, welcome to SGL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Who_46 Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 helloooo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glowjet Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Hi Jamie and welcome to SGL John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Strings Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Hi and welcome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
todd8137 Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 hi and welcome to sgl whas the motor drive like on this scope Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swamp thing Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Hello and welcome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charon Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Welcome to the forum Jamie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScubaMike Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Hi Jamie,Welcome to the forum.I'm sure the moon & planets will continue to enthrall you for a long time to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michigander Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Welcome to SGL, Jamie!Dana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astro Imp Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Hi Jamie,Welcome to SGL.Enjoy your new scope. When you have any problems - and you will, we all do - just ask in the beginners section and you're sure to get sorted.Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faulksy Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 hi and welcome from me as well. i would reccomend this for your alignmentBeginners Guide To Equatorial Mounted and Telesco | | Rother Valley Optics very good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesM Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Hi Jamie and welcome to the forum.If you need any help trying to get the gear to work or aligned etc send me a PM and I'll sort something out for you.Clear skiesJames Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobbytate Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Hi Jamie and welcome from me too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damnut Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Hi Jamie,Welcome to SGL, we are a friendly lot as can be seen from above!!.Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adgecutler Posted October 4, 2011 Author Share Posted October 4, 2011 Wow, thanks for all the welcomes and advice it is much appreciated and Stellarium looks great. When I mentioned I thought the telescope was overpriced I meant from the particular outlet I purchased it from, I paid £230! I have since read the rrp is £200 and it is available for a little under £160 if I had looked around. Unfortunately I took the salesmans word that it was very competitively priced, I'm now wondering whether to return it (I called to shop and they said they would accept it back) and buy a different telescope for the £230 or buy the same one from a better priced outlet. What does everone think?As for the question about motor drive, I haven't used it I'm affraid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesM Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 I've seen it advertised for £130 so I would get my money back and buy a dobsonian as you will get more aperture for your money which in turn will mean you resolve more detail and sustain your interest for longer. The Astromaster scope itself is ok but the cheap mounts that many of these size of scopes come with are so twitchy, it makes tracking and focusing a bit of a juggling act. The red dot finder is far to bright and is a little tricky to align with the scope, so without being too negative, you're not going to miss much by getting your money back. Clear skiesJames Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adgecutler Posted October 4, 2011 Author Share Posted October 4, 2011 Job done, I now am without telescope but have £230 to invest in another one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astroandy101 Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Hi Jamie, Welcome to the lounge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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