First light for my NexStar 6SE... and a question

[deckardbr]

Reporting back...

Last night due to ahem technical challenges (it was foggy and then hazy most of the night, but then cleared up on a section of the sky) I could only observe the moon and jupiter. So no DSO yet...

Now I understand when people say that you'll never forget the first time. When I managed to get Jupiter with the 15mm + 2x barlow (200x), and clearly see it with its beautiful stripes and moons... it was amazing!

Question: at that magnification level, with a very narrow FOV, I could visibly see jupiter move across the FOV. Is there a way to tell my Nexstar 6SE to "automatically" follow it? Last night I wasn't able to do the SkyAlign cause there weren't 3 stars available that were bright enough in my light polluted area. If I did the skyalign, would it be following it?

I'm asking because I'd like to connect my DSLR to take a picture next time around... but at the rate it was moving across the FOV, without tracking it, it would look extremely blurry.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Andrea

[VigdisVZ]

Jupiter is bright enough to take snapshots of, you should be able to see it pretty well and focus if your camera supports live view.

I think it should be able to track if you do a 2-star alignment, but I'm not sure since I have never used one (let alone seen one in person).

[Marki]

You can do three, two or even 1 star alignments. The three object version doesn't even need all stars - you can centre a planet too as one of the points. I'll sometimes try a 1 star alignment with my 8SE if the conditions are not good (in terms of cloud cover)...not brilliantly accurate, but it'll track once an object is centred.

[deckardbr]

Thanks - I just read the NexStar 6SE user manual more in detail. Not really "user" friendly but it does explain about tracking... should have done that yesterday but I figured it'd be easy to setup. Which it is, you only need to know where to look for these options.

I'll get myself a dslr adapter and hopefully share some planetary pics soon.

Cheers

[Marki]

Look forward to seeing some pics - never tried yet with my 8SE. I know what you mean about the manuals...not exactly helpful or user friendly!

[E621Keith]

The 6SE should automatically track the planet once it has been aligned. Are you using AA batteries or external power source. The mount can go weird if you battery is low.

Also did you enter date, time and location in the correct format? Date should be MM/DD/YYYY, time should be in GMT (I don't user the DST option to avoid confusion) and location should be in deg,min,sec format.

Getting anyone of these wrong can lead to the 3 star alignment misidentifying things.

[deckardbr]

Hi Keith,

Thanks. No I didn't do the alignment at the time. I didn't have 3 bright stars in my field of view so I manually aimed at Jupiter which was right ahead. At 200x it barely stayed in fov for 10 seconds but it was a great sight!

If I manage to get out this Thursday night I'll try the full alignment. I have a celestron battery pack so I should be good on that front.

Thanks again for your pointers.

Andrea

[E621Keith]

I think there is a solar system alignment option in the 6SE, but I have never use it. Have a look at the manual to see if it has one.

[ronin]

Andrea, If the battery pack you refer to is a rechargeable small lead acid battery type one then do not let the battery pack drain fully and keep it charged at all times.

If they drain then the plates in the battery can (will) become damaged and it will either not work as well agian or more likely just not work again.

Problem is we tend to use them until they can power the scope no more and that means they are drained.

If you are using the scope at home then consider a visit to Maplins and get a main supply, if you have a car then consider a car adaptor for the from Altair Astro, and other suppliers.

[deckardbr]

Hi Ronin - I'm using the 7Ah rechargeable from Celestron.

I only use it to power the 6SE motor - no heated dew shields or anything, so I should manage not to drain it on a normal session. Thanks - good advice. They don't mention it on the user guide....! Damn.

[E621Keith]

I just checked my mount, the solar system alignment option is the fifth alignment option in the Nexstar SE, after 'Sky align' (3stars), auto 2 stars, 2 stars and 1 star alignment.

[Ags]

I use the solar system align all the time, it is very convenient.

I never use the three star alignment because

1) the mount only uses two of the stars for actual alignment, the third is just used to identify the stars.

2) three star alignment fails a lot and is really irritating.

3) it's quicker to align with two stars of my own choosing.

4) I like to pick stars near to my observing targets, and then I swap the alignment stars for new ones as I move around the sky.

[Peter Drew]

I find that a 1 star alignment using Polaris is always good enough for general tracking with my 8SE.

[Dunkster]

I've used the solar system align quite a lot for squinting at planets, very quick and easy. I use auto 2 star align mostly now though.