Beginner - What equipment and where to start?

[jonnyb1978]

http://www.pulsar-optical.co.uk/prod/skywatcher/telescopes/heritage-76.html

Hi. Total beginner here. I have just ordered a skywatcher heritage 76 mini dobsonian for my 6 year old and also interested myself.

Im wondering if there is any other essential equipment I need to start with. It come with 10mm and 25mm eyes pieces.

Also is there a guide of what to look for at first for beginners.

Thanks. Any other help appreciated

[E621Keith]

Welcome to SGL.

What is your budget?

First I'd get a good guide book, such as Turn Left at Orion, a red torch and a planisphere

http://www.amazon.co...e/dp/0521153972

http://www.amazon.co...B34EH64N3SR4T4E

Then download Stellarium to your pc for a interactive program

http://www.stellarium.org/

These should get you started in learning what is what in the night sky and what there is to see.

[DOBBY]

Hi... & welcome to the forum

as above...stellarium will be a great help

[CSM]

Stellarium, red light torch, planisphere and there are lots of books out there which can help. The Philips 'Guide to Stars and Planets' , 'Stargazing with Binoculars' and 'Stargazing with a Telescope' are excellent.

[VigdisVZ]

Yep, already got the essentials.

Warm clothing for your and your kid.

And I guess patience until the clouds decide to move...

[rory]

welcome to s.g.l . id concur with the others, "turn left at orion" is a great book for finding a range of objects and stellarium is a "FREE" download.

theres alot to see up there. the moon and the big gas giants are always a good start point .

good luck and happy hunting.

[wookie1965]

A warm welcome to SGL

[brantuk]

"Im wondering if there is any other essential equipment I need to start with"

Hi and welcome to SGL

To answer your question - there are as many Telescope Accessories as there are stars in all the Universe - it's never ending - and the sharp outflow of cash is a gazillion times worse than the floods in Cornwall lol.

But do get going with your supplied accessories - they might not be the best but they will work. Join a local astro society and you'll get to know what's essential and what's desireable - you may choose to start with some sort of collimation tool as your first accessory.

[breezy]

I get a feeling that dads gonna get more fun out of this than little un

[paul schofield]

TLAO is a very worthy addition. Maybe a planisphere (I found this very useful). Stellarium, There is a minefield of items out there. I would not look to upgrade eyepieces just now, the 25mm ep is very respectable eyepiece. Clear skies.

[Eastridge]

Agree with the above posts + Not necessarily something you need to buy but make sure that both the scope and you are held nice and steady when viewing. Don't know on what and at what height you are thinking of putting the scope but needs to be steady and you and son need to avoid being crouched down to view. Our views improved immensely when we moved scope away from being on decking (where it was subject to vibrations) and took to viewing seated ( instead of crouching down thinking we were holding steady but really were not.)

[LeeB]

I recently acquired a similar scope and gave it to my nephew. I was amazed how good it was for a small scope. I suggest a good hard look at the moon with what you have. It also worked well on jupiter with banding visible. Wide star clusters like " The pleiades" also looked great.

I would agree with the above get a good starter book and planisphere, I like sky and telescopes, "pocket sky atlas". but there are many more.

Also for pointing out things in the sky (particularly youngsters) a safe 1mv laser pen is good (only about a fiver) , but please use carefully and don't point up if planes are about.

[jonnyb1978]

Thanks guys, a big help.

Well to start with it comes with a couple of freebies which is handy,

Phillips planisphere and a guide book, Phillips guide to Norhtern Constellations so thats sorted.

Will be downloading Stellarium.

What exactly is a collimation tool??

Seems i have the basics so i may see how it goes and then weigh up the options.

Thanks

[Herbig]

A collimation tool is used to keep your optics in optimum alignment. However a word of warning, it may be better to get someone who knows how to show you first as if you are not careful you can make things worse not better. Your scope should come with good initial alignment and as long as you dont abuse it it should be ok for a while but it will need twweking from time to time. Take it along to your local Astro group, if it's anything like ours there will be an expert who will be only too pleased to help.