Got my first 'scope!

[Letchy]

Hey guys and girls, I recieved my first telescope as a gift for christmas... It wasn't the SkyWatcher 130P I had asked for, but I am still happy with what I have got!!

Although... I still do not know how to properly have a look at Jupiter, or the moon exactly yet... They seem to look very weird when I view them.

The scope I now own is the Sky-Watcher SK 607AZ2 Refracting Telescope. Included are two main lenses, (10mm and 20mm), a 2x Barlow lens, 1.5x Erecting Eyepiece and a pathfinder which sits on the top of the scope it self.

I am wondering what this scope is good for looking at? I have looked at one DSO - (Orions Nebula) and it looked fantastic through this scope, I also took a few pictures with my point and shoot listed bellow haha.

I was looking forward to looking at Jupiter and the Moon in all their glory, but when looking at them all I seem to see is nothing really. Which is a bummer...

Thanks for your help everyone!

Here are two images I took, one of Orion and one of Jupiter... Jupiter does not look quite right

Orions neblua unedited:

Orions nebula edited:

Weird looking Jupiter:

[nightfisher]

your picture of jupiter suggests its not focused

[Letchy]

If that is the case... I am not sure how to focus properly then, haha.

[Damo636]

Congrats on your first scope Letchy! I wish you lots of clear skies :-)

[Stargazer33]

As nightfisher says your focus is off which is why Jupiter looks weird. The focus control is by the two black 'wheels' at the back of the main tube on either side. Rotating them will move the rear silver part of the focus tube (holds the mirror diagonal and eyepiece) in and out of the main tube. This focuses the object that you are looking at. Some people use a Bahtinov mask to get spot on focus when they do astro photography.

Good luck with your first scope. I'm sure once you get the hang of it there will be no stopping you!

Clear Skies!

[cantab]

It can be tricky to find the best focus, especially at high power where the 'sweet spot' is smaller, you need to make small adjustments and if the view is shaking you'll need to let it settle after each small turn.

[Letchy]

Thank you everyone, but when I turn those 'wheels', all that seems to happen is zooming in and the focus does not get any better for me.

Then again, I am probably doing precisely the wrong thing!

[cantab]

When the image is defocussed it will also appear larger (because it's being blurred outwards), so turn the focus wheel in the direction that makes what you see smaller. If the optics are basically good and you aren't using too much magnification stars should be points and Jupiter should be a sharp disc hopefully with stripes on it.

[moogoomonkey]

Maybe your focuser doesn't have enough travel to get the EP into focus. This happened to me with my 32mm so I resorted to the temporary fix of screwing in the absolute minimum of the barrel... I really need to get an extension tube.

[Astro Imp]

All the above is good advice, also turn your focus control really slowly, especially at high power.

Good luck and enjoy.

[Letchy]

That is probably the problem... I do everything much too fast haha.

Thank you for the advice everyone!

[toilandtrouble123]

Nice one!! When I got my first scope for christmas, it wasn't the one I asked for (asked for a nexstar 127 slt, got a skyscout scope 90 with the skyscout planetarium) but I really do love it! It's great seeing what "small" telescopes can bring to your eye, in spite of all these fancy scopes on the market with various features (they haven't made one yet that can make the coffee though eh?!!). How did you take the photos?

Nat

xx

[Letchy]

It is amazing

I took the photos by simply holding my camera against the eyepiece haha... I like to take pictures, but am satisfied with what I can do Hoping for more clear skies soon to take everyones' advice and put it into effect hehe!

Clear skies!!

[Brian Nordstrom]

Good start , Just remember a telescope is quite a complicated piece of technology , it takes time to learn how to " Drive " one . I find playing around wit a new scope inside during the day , looking up the street out an open window etc. is a good way to learn how everything works .

Just remember if you get a nice clear focus of something , say , 1 km away the moon and planets wont come to focus with the focuser in that position , you have to wind the focuser ' IN ' a bit for them to become clear , and start with your 25mm eyepiece , it gives less magnification and larger field of view and is easier to use .

Good luck and hope the weather clears for you soon .

Brian.

[Letchy]

Thank you Brian.

Clear skies seem to be gone for now, haha. I do only have 10mm and 20mm eyepieces, though.

[Brian Nordstrom]

Thank you Brian.

Clear skies seem to be gone for now, haha. I do only have 10mm and 20mm eyepieces, though.

Ha ha , ok then start with your 20mm one ,,,and remember take your time . Good luck mate .

Brian.

[Letchy]

Tonight is a very clear (and very cold!!) night.

I used everyones tips and information and managed to see Jupiter, not up close; but I saw some banding and the top band! I am actually very happy I had to focus on her for a minute and then the banding (two lines of banding and a large band at the top) became quite clear... Now I just need to be able to focus on Jupiter when I use my 10mm eyepiece somehow... Can't figure out how though, as no matter how delicately I turn the 'wheels' to focus, it does not focus properly.

After seeing and simply staring at Jupiter for a while, I tried to find M31 to no avail haha.

Cleart skies!!

[Stargazer33]

Well done! It is a great feeling isn't it, when you start to see detail in the planets. I can remember seeing Jupiter and Saturn for the first time. I was using a 50mm spotting scope that I used to use when I did archery. Jupiter was a bright disc rather than the dot of light you see when looking at stars and Saturn looked like a 'disc with ears'. It was still enough for me though and I was hooked! When I finally got a scope that I could see detail in - cloud detail on Jupiter and separate the rings from the disc of Saturn - I was blown away.

Hopefully this is the beginning of your journey along a very long and joyful road into astronomy.

On the matter of your 10mm ep, if you know someone else with a telescope it might be worth seeing if you can borrow their 10mm ep. It is unusual but your ep may have a problem which is why you can't focus. I wouldn't have thought that the manufacturer would have included an ep with the telescope that you couldn't obtain focus with. It may have been damaged in packing/transit. Just a thought.

[rocks86]

hi,

I have just got the same scope and was wondering which lens combination you used to view Jupiter?

I have found it using the 20mm but I am having trouble using the 2x Barlow lens.

any advice would be helpful

thank you

[Blazar]

Might be best to work out your magnifications with the different eyepieces. Then there is also the maximum 'useful' magnification as well as other factors such as our turbulent atmosphere to contend with. when people talk about 'seeing' conditions. So your scope has certain fixed attributes according to its aperture (size of the lens / mirror), and Focal length. These numbers along with the size of eyepiece give you certain parameters to work within. Not sure there is a basic telescope math post I can quote so here goes (and gets ready for incoming corrections) 8-)

Now I am no expert, and still learning like everyone on the forum, but this is what I think for your scope (other people can correct me of course!):

It has a 60mm wide aperture (front lens in your refractor). It has a 700mm focal length.  It will have an 'f' rating (which is dividing the focal length (700) by the aperture (60), so this scope would be f11.6. You have two eyepieces to go with it 1 x 10mm and 1 x 20mm  and another lens called the barlow (which is a x 2).

Most of the time the maximum useful magnification (in good conditions) is said to be around x50 per inch (or 25.4mm) of aperture. so with a 60mm your maximum would be around 118x (60mm/25.4mm = 2.36 inches)  then 2.36 x 50=118 (under good conditions). 

The magnification supplied by your eyepieces (and barlow) will differ as well.  The focal length and eyepiece combination determine the magnification supplied. So you divide the focal length (700mm) by the eyepiece size to get the magnification supplied by that particular ocular:

700mm (telescope focal length) / 20mm (eyepiece) = 35x

700mm / 10mm = 70x

The Barlow effectively doubles these  magnifications (in it simplest description). so the 20mm + barlow (x2) = 70x and the 10mm + barlow would be 140x (which is pushing against the maximum useful magnification of the scope itself.)

To see Jupiter you should be well within the capabilities of you scopes (I can see it in the 25mm eyepiece in my 1000mm scopes so that is x 40). Though it might be good to set expectations and read the post entitled "What can I expect to see" by Qualia, on the getting started with observing section.

Good luck and welcome to this fantastic hobby.

[Astronomical]

Great post Steve C! Loads of helpful information for all newbies around here, myself included, so thank you for your effort.

[Blazar]

Thank you Astronomical, glad it was of some use. It really is a great hobby, and this forum is a god send. Loads of great people always willing to share their experience. Maths was never my strong point though so do check those numbers ;-)

[rocks86]

thank you very much! very useful :-)