New to Astronomy Need advice on carry cases and other accessorys.

[Mentalmackem]

Hi

Im a complete astronomy beginner and ive just received a celestron Astromaster 76mm EQ telescope as a christmas gift. Now from what i have read i know its not the worlds greatest scope but it should be ok for me to get started with and see some more basic things within our solar system and hopefully give me the astronomy bug that leads to me purchasing better telescopes to see things in more detail and futher away.

The Scope just comes basic with a Tripod and "TheSkyX – First Light Edition” astronomy software with a 10,000 object database, printable sky maps and 75 enhanced images.

Ok so the questions i have are:

• What if any eyepeices and filters should i purchase to get started with?
  

• What software/book/websites should i use to help me find different things in space if any?
  

and the big one for me is what case/bag can i purchase online (from a UK seller) to store and transport this telescope in, sometimes i travel by car sometimes by public transport so i really need some sort of carry case or bag or something for it.

Im also going to try to get along to some of the Sunderland Astronomical Society, wondering if anyone here is a member or anything so i can atleast feel i know someone before i turn up

Sorry about the beginner questions and i hope to become more knowlegible.

Thanks in advance and Happy New year

[ronin]

It seems to come with a 20mm eyepiece, so you might want a 12mm and an 8mm at some time, maybe a 30mm or 32mm later.

It says, on what I read, a max magnification of 180x, I would say not a chance of managing that, 100x is more realistic.

Where you get the eyepieces I leave to you - retailers are Rother Valley, Green Witch, Opticstar, 365Astronomy, Astronomics, FLO. For the scope I am not sure how much you would want to spend on an eyepiece. I have assumed plossl's. If you join Sunderland club maybe someone there will have a couple for sale.

Except for the moon I wouldn't bother with filters, have a look at the moon first and see if it is uncomfortably bright.

Bags: Problem is the tripod, do you expect to get the tripod in the bag as well? And how much do you want to spend?

I think Sky's the Limit sell scope bags, Telescope Service does.

Another is to simply get a duffle trolley bag from somewhere like Wilkinsons and add foam/padding and use one of them.

At some time you will need to collimate the scope so read up on the process and get a collimator.

Books: Always find this difficult, most will say Turn Left at Orion, I have a copy and have opened it twice in over 3 years. Just do not get on with it, actually do not even know where it is at present. My preference is the monthly sky guide by Ridpath. Software there is Stellarium, free package. Cannot quite get it to display as I would prefer but give it a try. Websites, try Google. Always amazes me how many ask a question here and wait for an answer when they could get the answer in 2 seconds by putting relevent text into Google.

[anthony]

Hi there,

Very exciting time but go steady! Just get out and use it even if your back garden is in a light polluted region. Jupiter and the moon will give you good views.

Have a read around about collimation but don't go adjusting anything until you've had a bit of time to acquaint yourself with the scope.

Use the supplied eyepieces to start and let time, experience and visiting the astro society help you decide what to get next. There are lots of ways to spend a healthy amount of money on astro gear and if you rush at it you might not get bits and bobs that are optimal for your scope. I think that it is sensible to have as few of these things collecting dust as possible.

Do what Ronin suggests and have a look at Stellarium. If you have a smart phone you might find a few cheap apps that help too.

Visit Sunderland astro soc but contact them first. Like all such groups they will be very accommodating but if you have a point of contact to start you'll have someone to meet and greet on your first visit!

[jonathan]

Have a look at the Moore Winter Marathon and the Sky At Night website, there are naked eye / binocular targets and telescope targets, most are pretty easy to find using the guides if you have good skies.

[Qualia]

I've just received a celestron Astromaster 76mm EQ telescope with a Tripod

Your telescope comes from an excellent manufacturer of astro gear and has a 3" aperture. So, you will be able to see the phases of Venus, the rings of Saturn and the moons of Jupiter. You will be able to study the Moon and if you buy yourself some Baader Solar Film and sort yourself out a decent, secure solar filter you will be able to study the Sun. On a night with decent atmospheric conditions, you should be able to make out the two characteristic belts and north and south polar regions on Jupiter. You will be able to see beautiful star fields, but, as in all telescopes, these darling-gems will only be tiny dots of colour. You will also be able to see a good range of double-stars, the Great Nebula in Orion, open clusters and maybe on good seeing nights the hint of globulars and nebulae, and the great galaxy in Andromeda. M 45 will be spectacular.

What is often misunderstood in stargazing is that the views you will see in a telescope will not look anything like the photographs you see in books or on the internet. Jupiter and Saturn will be no bigger than a pea, for example. So the trick is to spend some time checking out astro-sketches rather than photos and use them to help guide your expectations. A site like this should also help especially if you work through the naked eye and binocular programs.

What if any eyepeices and filters should i purchase to get started with?

I personally wouldn't buy any new EPs until after you've practiced a little. That way you'll be able to make a much more informed enquiry and decision. But, in time you should think about gettiing yourself a Chesire to begin collimating your telescope. Don't rush into this though, enjoy your OTA and budget yourself for a Cheshire within a month or so.

I also feel that with a decent month of use, say something like 30 hours of stargazing practice, you should be able to decide whether stargazing is for you or not and just as importantly, decide whether the 3" is for you. I think if you give yourself this time and the bug sticks, you're going to be wanting a litle more apperture. So, if it were me, rather than put money into buying new EPs at this stage, I'd put that cash aside and tell myself that I'm saving for something like a 6" dobsonian. Nevertheless, if you were after an EP or two, BSTs come highly recommended.

What software/book/websites should i use to help me find different things in space if any?

Stellarium is a must. Some folk swear by Turn Left at Orion, but I always preferred starting out with just a Star Atlas (Sky and Telescope's) and get on with the art of star-hopping and hunting out things for myself. The internet is full of great information as too with SGL. As already stated I'd also hunt out some sketch sites like Belt of Venus and see what can be reasonably expected from a 6" and 8" telescope.

I hope this helps a little and please don't hesitate in asking more questions.

Oh, and welcome to SGL,

[Mentalmackem]

Bags: Problem is the tripod, do you expect to get the tripod in the bag as well? And how much do you want to spend?

I think Sky's the Limit sell scope bags, Telescope Service does.

Another is to simply get a duffle trolley bag from somewhere like Wilkinsons and add foam/padding and use one of them.

Hi all again and thanks for all the fast helpful replys

Ive checked out the telescope service and all there bags/cases seem to be for refractors or far to big for My little beginners reflector so ive taken to looking at rugsacks see if i can find a sutible one of them, preferably one with different compartments inside it.

Thanks again for the advice