Help needed

[darc]

Hi I have just bought my 1st scope and just need some pointers if there is anyone nr my location (South Rhyl) who could advise me if someone does not mind coming around I have a SkyWatcher 130.

Geoff

[darc]

Hi I have just bought my 1st scope and just need some pointers if there is anyone nr my location (South Rhyl) who could advise me if someone does not mind coming around I have a SkyWatcher 130.

Geoff

Please

[JamesM]

Hi Geoff, I'm not local to your location but perhaps you would like to give me some idea of the difficulty you are experiencing to see if I can help you in some way or direct you to other resources.

James

[Digz]

Hi Geoff, I'm not local to your location but perhaps you would like to give me some idea of the difficulty you are experiencing to see if I can help you in some way or direct you to other resources.

James

Same here, post your problems here and we'll help as much as we can

[darc]

Hi sorry it's taken me sometime to get back but I have just had my tablets changed by my Doctor as I am disabled, and I don't seem to be able to do much of anything.

I just wanted some pointers about what I should be able to see with my new scope, there are picture on the box that are very clear pic's but I don't no if that's the way I should be seeing them I look at the stars and they just look like polo mints not that interesting at all I was hoping to be able to see a lot more.

Geoff

[faulksy]

hi geoff and welcome, ignore the pics on the carton you wont see them like that due to the eye isnt sensitive enough. but you will see most things but usually black and white. a good object to see at the moment is saturn and you will see the rings and moons good one to give you a taster.need some more details of you though what would you like to see ?

[kirsty]

Being a newbie myself i would first totally rule out the pics on the box, because they are probably pics from hubble or something. As far as the polo effect, this COULD be due to focusing in-correctly or collimation. But dont hold me on this, like i said, im new to this as well and learning but that is what i would of thought.

Im sure someone more knowledgable will be along soon to correct you/us lol

or maybe too much magnification for the scope????

[darc]

Hi thanks for getting back, I would love to see Saturn,mars, mercury but don't no if my scope is good I guess I want to look up

and see a lot more than just a sparkles from the stars.

Geoff

[Digz]

No problem Geoff, were a patient bunch on the whole.

The first thing to say is the photos on the box are always a bit misleading. You may struggle to see colour due to the way our eyes operate in low light levels. On the clearest of nights in a dark location you can get some amazing views but nothing will rival a photo.

You suggest you are seeing 'polos' for stars which leads me to belive you havent focused yet - stars will always appear a points of light when focussed properly.

You should be able to get some good views of the moon with your scope as well as some larger clusters.

HTH

[kirsty]

Here are a few things too start you off as i have posted to someone else on what they are expected to see with there scope of your size.

Jupiter-can clearly see two bands (not sure now though its getting further away and too cloudy lol)

Moon-no problem of course

Mars-just a red ball with no detail

Saturn-can see the cassini division and very faint detail with a couple of moons

Venus-a bright ball or how the sun is shining on it lol

Andromeda-can make it out as an oblong smudge with a bright center (cant remember what its called but dont directly look at it and you will see it better lol)

Orion nebula-can make out the detail of the cloud no problem at all (if its called a cloud lol)

Plaeides-stunning but probably better with more aperture

and numerous clusters which look extremely nice but will obviously better with a larger aperture

HTH

but as i staed before check focusing, collimation and eyepieces. What eyepiece are you using ?

As them i have listed above, i have seen these through the standard 10mm and 25mm eyepiece

HTH

[kenmyers]

If stars look like polo mints then you are not in focus.

You need to zoom out with the focuser gear untill stars are a perfect pin ***** of light. Then you can start to enjoy the sky.

What scope is it? and what is the diameter of the main mirror and the length of the tube?

with this info we can all help a lot more.

[kenmyers]

erm... no idea why that is edited out.

it was supposed to say "pinprick"

I am guessing ***** was picked up as a swear word. doh!

[darc]

Thanks again there should be a list of my equipment on my post.

I have a Sky Watcher 130p autotracker not the one with the big controller that has all the goto features could not afford that.

[kenmyers]

25mm will give x26 magnification (mag from now on)

10mm will give x65 mag

25mm plus x2barlow will give x52 mag

10mm plus x2barlow will give x130 mag

Your scope has an F:Ratio of F/5

You will do well to get a higher power eyepiece or you will be limited in planetary detail. You can push the mag all the way to x250 on mars and Saturn but a sensible choice would be to aim around x180-x200 mag at maximum...so....

3mm gives you x216.6 mag (about as good as you will get really)

4mm gives you x162.5 mag (great for jupiter, venus, saturn and the moon)

[darc]

Thanks so if i try to get a 3 & 4mm I will do better would I benefit if I got other barlow's as well as e/p

[kenmyers]

a x2 barlow will be just fine on all of your eyepieces but you will not need to x3barlow the smaller focal length eyepieces but it will add more options to anything above 10mm. (10mm with x3barlow gives x196 mag)

[darc]

Thanks I am trying to take all this in Thanks for your help I have a lot to learn

any advice at this stage is great.

Geoff

[kenmyers]

If you get a good nights seeing, then you will see:

Jupiter very clear with your scope with good to great detail on the storm bands and also four moons..

Saturn will look fabulous, you should be able to see the cassini division(gap between the rings)and banding on saturn too plus around 5 moons and up to 7 moons.

Venus will look mystical, you will see phases like with the moon.

Mars will show SOME detail(ice cap and dark and light red areas).

Neptune may be visible as a blue disc. (I cant see it with my scope or rather I can never find it)

[darc]

Thanks I can't seem to find anything at the moment I did get a quick glance at the moon last night that showed some good detail but then the dreaded clouds came back to stop me playing as for anything else I can't find them.

I have downloaded stellarium onto my pc also to help me outside I have the google sky map on my phone don't no how good that one is.

Geoff

[kenmyers]

both are perfect for finding objects.

I would use google sky maps to find planet locations when outside (very good for this) & stellarium for nebula, and planning your star hopping session.

You should see jupiter , venus and saturn really bright tonight when the clouds break. mars is uo too

[kenmyers]

any other questions...feel free to PM me or create another post.

I like to help.

[JamesM]

Hi Geoff! Hopefully you have configured Stellarium to your exact location as that will help tie in the screen image with what you see outside. I wouldn't pay too much attention to magnification as often a smaller but tighter image will provide more detail than a blown up fuzzy image. The theoretical maximum magnification for your mirror is around x40 per inch, so for your scope you would looking at x200. Remember though this is only theoretical value and viewing conditions such as 'seeing' - the stability of the atmosphere indicated by the twinkling of stars and 'transparency'- the magnitude (brightness) of visible stars which can be affected by thin high altitude cloud, a full moon and of course light pollution. Also it takes a little bit of practice viewing these objects as you train your eye to able to see those details, it just requires spending a little longer at the eyepiece.

With regard to the supplied eyepieces, I have to say that they are pretty good and cerainly a lot better than the jam jars they used to supply. However, I feel that the enclosed barlow is the weak link in the optical train and if you wanted to upgrade, I reckon the Russian made 'TAL' x2 version here would be a good start and one which is modestly priced. As Ken has said, keep the questions coming as there is a lot to get your head round but none of it is difficult and there is plenty of time to take it all in.

Clear skies for now

James

[darc]

Thanks again to everyone who has helped and you can be sure of one thing I will

be asking more questions so if I start getting on your nerves tell me and I will shut up rambling.

Geoff (hook) you will understand the hook bit when I get around to putting my pick on.