Can't see polaris

[Greg48(newbe)]

Hello to all in SGL,,I know this has been asked so many times but i feel i have to ask again,,In recent posts newbies has been asking about polar aligment,where i live i can't find polaris from my back garden as i'm facing SW and out front theres to many houses and to much light,,but other posts said to ring my nearest airport to find out the local Latitude and i did,told it was 53degrees,does anyone with a astromaster 130eq have theirs set to that or is it different to all scopes:icon_scratch:... others say when they swing the scope around to face South or SW to view Jupiter it hits of the mount,mine doesn't really but what i'm asking is,if i point the stand and scope and mount facing North to Polais to the best of my knowledge all i do is to release the RA & DEC and just swing it around to face S,SW to get say Jupiter in view,, I don't have the motor attacted, it came with it,i don't use the finder with the red dot as its as good as **** on a bull ,,Hears hoping for clear skies,,Hope this isn't a silly question because i'll be asking more,,1 more query,when people ask whats the best scope to buy for first time all other scopes are mentioned bar the astromaster 130eq i feel like i bought the wrong 1 but i surpose it's ok for starting off,,it looks good just sitting there in the cornor of the kitchen:(

[Stephen]

I'm not actually sure there was a question in there was there?

Yes, if you point North you are "good enough" when set at your local latitude for visual use.

RA/DEC to get on your targets

[Greg48(newbe)]

What i got for €200 was the scope,the book Turn Right At Orion,The motor,and a years subscription to Astronomy&space,

[faulksy]

Hello to all in SGL,,I know this has been asked so many times but i feel i have to ask again,,In recent posts newbies has been asking about polar aligment,where i live i can't find polaris from my back garden as i'm facing SW and out front theres to many houses and to much light,,but other posts said to ring my nearest airport to find out the local Latitude and i did,told it was 53degrees,does anyone with a astromaster 130eq have theirs set to that or is it different to all scopes:icon_scratch:... others say when they swing the scope around to face South or SW to view Jupiter it hits of the mount,mine doesn't really but what i'm asking is,if i point the stand and scope and mount facing North to Polais to the best of my knowledge all i do is to release the RA & DEC and just swing it around to face S,SW to get say Jupiter in view,, I don't have the motor attacted, it came with it,i don't use the finder with the red dot as its as good as **** on a bull ,,Hears hoping for clear skies,,Hope this isn't a silly question because i'll be asking more,,1 more query,when people ask whats the best scope to buy for first time all other scopes are mentioned bar the astromaster 130eq i feel like i bought the wrong 1 but i surpose it's ok for starting off,,it looks good just sitting there in the cornor of the kitchen:(

as said just set your latitude and point north with a compass will give you a ball park direction. but i wouldnt put your scope in the kitchen due to cooking oils and the like being air borne going on the optics

[brantuk]

You should fit the motor to the mount then it will track objects for you - makes things a lot easier to view. The red dot finder is not terribly good on those scopes but with good collimation, a new finder, and a couple of slightly better eyepieces they can be made to work very effectively. Imho it's not so much a poor scope as poorly equipped.

(Turn Left at Orion is also a great book to start learning the sky)

[Paxo]

Greg,

If your doing visual astronomy, setting the latitude on your mount (53 degrees in your case), and pointing the mount north (as close as possible using a compass) should be sufficient for you to get started.

One way of finding objects is, as your doing, releasing the clutches and swinging the scope around. This works well on very bright objects, such as planets, the moon and brighter stars and a few of the deep sky objects. You will find it easier if, during the daylight, you make sure your scope and finderscope are aligned.

As you want to view more difficult to find items, you will need to "star hop" or similar, this is easier to do as you get more experienced using your scope.

It is possible, also, to get very accurate polar alignment without polaris being in site. Do a search on drift aligning, this uses stars in the south and East(or west).

It is a very real problem that scopes sitting on equatorial mounts can strike the legs, this happens when you pass the meridian (north and south), you will get used to which way to swing the scope round depending on whether the object is east or west of the meridian.

Steve

[Greg48(newbe)]

Thanks alot guys for all your info every bit of it helps a newbie...

Brantuk,,,I will stick the motor on and see if it helps ,, thank you,

[hemihaggis]

the mount also lines up with the scope .... one of the legs also points north ...

[Mr TamiyaCowboy]

the mount also lines up with the scope .... one of the legs also points north ...

that how i do it.

get one leg and the Eq head pointing to north, i am 51 degrees so i set my alt to 51.

now to see jupiter, i release both clutch and swing scope around. sometimes you will find you need to rotate the telescope in the ring mounts to keep the focuser an a comfy viewing angle.

and yes i to cannot see polaris, my house sits right in view so i just use my android phone with compass app. a cheap spirit level for cameras and some bluetack lets me make sure the tripod is level'ish.

[Bondred]

I've never aligned my scope yet, I go outside, choose what I am going to look at and point it in that direction.

Hasn't failed me yet!

[hemihaggis]

I've never aligned my scope yet, I go outside, choose what I am going to look at and point it in that direction.

Hasn't failed me yet!

all well and good but your mount wont track the objects , they will not stay in the fov and you will have constantly have to nudge the scope ... try finding m81/82 next time you are out , try to keep it centerd

[Bondred]

all well and good but your mount wont track the objects , they will not stay in the fov and you will have constantly have to nudge the scope ... try finding m81/82 next time you are out , try to keep it centerd

My mount wont track them anyway, the motor doesn't work.

[brantuk]

Are you sure about that Bondred? How did you test it?

It will only move at the rate of the Earths rotation - so it may not appear to work when in fact it is. You'd have to watch it for a couple of hours to percieve movement.

[pel]

I have the Celestron 130eq.

As you've mentioned the Red dot finder (RDF) is pretty bad, it is either too bright and obscures objects or too dim to see and sometimes doesn't work at all.

Also the mount is very flimsy. Take care when tightening the screws on the fine adjustment knobs, they shear off if tightened too much. Take care also with the elevation knob it comes off the end of the bolt. Try to tighten/untighten while tipping the scope.

The Optical tube assembly itself is pretty good and I've seen some surprisingly great webcam pictures taken through it. Most people favour the Skywatcher 130 to the Celestron but only slightly. It's still a great starter scope.

I'm in the southeast and my local lattitude is 51 degrees, found from googlemaps. I have set my 130eg to that.

[patomlin76]

You'll be fine setting 51 degrees in the UK, however I found out York was 53.9.

On a beginner EQ2 mount though, it is pretty difficult to get as accurate as that, so I've just set mine to anywhere between 51 and 54 degrees. For the casual observer that should suffice.

[Tinker1947]

You could get a Telrad, plus download the free maps, also go for "Stellarium" its free and very handy for finding your way around....

Telrad finder

Stellarium

[Greg48(newbe)]

Nice to see people replying back with some usefull info,,,i have downloaded stellarium even before i bought the scope because i just wanted to see what is out there in the night sky and how far away some stars and DSO are,,, Would a Telrad finder fit on most scopes would it fit on mine astro 130eq,,,,Great people here for when you need help only wish i could help others,,,thanks

[hemihaggis]

You'll be fine setting 51 degrees in the UK, however I found out York was 53.9.

On a beginner EQ2 mount though, it is pretty difficult to get as accurate as that, so I've just set mine to anywhere between 51 and 54 degrees. For the casual observer that should suffice.

ehh ?? 70 miles north or south is roughly 1 degree , so york is 54 degrees north as long as you with 70 miles just enter the latitude for that place

[pel]

Hi Greg48 ,

I've got a Telrad on my eq130, I positioned it above the rings and right of the RDF, it works brilliantly I find the planets and centre them easily every time.

If you allign it perfectly to you OTA it will work beautifully.

You can help me by letting me know any niggles or problems or tips you have for the eq130.

Perry.

[cotterless45]

Best advice is to go to an astronomy club meeting, especially take the scope for a public viewing. You'll learn so much.

We're lucky to have a local group meeting monthly. My good friend LeeB collimated 9 scopes last meeting. I had a queue of about 20 looking at Jupiter, including some very small childeren ,who stood on a chair to reach the EP.

[SgtBilko]

Find your location in Google Earth the lat and long will be at the bottom of the screen.

Ian