Complete Newbie, with a few questions.

[harmonyceilings01]

First off, I apologize, i'm sure i will ask some questions in here that have already been answered in other posts, but i figured since im posting, i might as well just throw it all out there. I am a complete newbie to all of this. I have no idea about refraction, reflection, what mm is best, or how it relates to my telescope. I have a 6 year old son who is completely and totally in love with space, planets, stars and everything related to anything that's out there. So we bought him a telescope for his birthday, and really it is fairly simple to operate. we have looked at the moon and some stars, it has gps and supposedly navigates the sky for us, but i can't tell if what it navigates to is what it says it is, or if it can even be spotted with our telescope. here is a link to the telescope i bought http://www.celestron.com/astronomy/nexstar-102-gt-computerized-telescope.html

like i said, i have the basics figured out, but i am wondering if this telescope has the ability to see jupiter, saturn, nebulas, milky way, just all the fun stuff i guess. we have looked at the moon with the 25mm lens and it was pretty cool, it was only a half moon though so i'm thinking when it is a full moon it will be a little more awesome. any advice on what lens i could buy to make sightings better i would appreciate it. I really am getting into it, it just frustrates me that i know nothing. Are there any good books or something that i could purchase to help explain stuff, or is it just a learn and figure it out as you go? I'm not a patient person lol. as if you couldn't tell already. Thank you in advance for any information or advice shared. I really appreciate it!!!!

[nederman63]

I am a complete newbie like yourself, so I can not help with your scope, in fact have not even used mine sinse I bought it last week due to this snow around, but I took advice from here and bought turn left at orion, and i have to say it's a fab book to have for a complete beginner.

[SteveA]

Hi..

That's a decent enough scope to get started with and should give you some reasonably good views of the major planets and some of The major deep sky objects.

You really need to know what you can expect to see, how to find them and then what they are going to look like through your telescope...

I would advise getting hold of a book called "Turn left at Orion". This is aimed at new users of small telescopes and will get you off on a flying start.

Steve

[Mondlicht13]

Welcome aboard. Sounds like your son has got the Astronomy bug already. Nice telescope you have there.

First off I'd suggest downloading a free application called Stellarium. This is like your very own Planetarium and will help you find your way around the sky. Your son will love it.

Keep firing in the questions there are plenty of helpful folk here.

Cheers

[jason.p]

Welcome Harmony. It's great when kids are so enthusiastic. I think it's important to stress that us mere amateurs do not get Hubble type views, but appreciating exactly what you're seeing and how it fits into the scheme of things gives the real "buzz"

Good luck and I hope the lad keeps his enthusiasm

[wookie1965]

A warm welcome to SGL another one here for Turn Left At Orion very good book with plenty of star charts showing exactly what you should see will help alot.

[Stu]

Hi Harmony.

Looks like a nice scope to get started with, you can see plenty with it.

A few bits that might help. The magnification you get is calculated by dividing the the focal length of the scope by the focal length of the eyepiece. In your case 1000/25 = 40 which is a low-ish power.

Your scope is an achromatic refractor so will show what is called chromatic aberration at higher powers. This is where you get different colours on the edges of bright objects like the moon. Your scope shouldn't be too bad for this though.

I would expect you to be able to use up to around x150, possibly more but it is often better to keep the magnification below the maximum capability of the scope otherwise the images tend to look soft and fuzzy.

Adding some extra eyepieces will get you different magnifications which will show you more on planets and the moon. Maybe a 10mm and either a 7 or 6mm would do for starters. BST eyepieces are lower cost but get very good reviews on here.

In general, planets are small so need high power to see much. x150 will show you good detail on Jupiter and Saturn. Galaxies vary in size, some are small, some like the Andromeda galaxy are huge so need low power. Open clusters like M45 (the Pleiades or Seven Sisters) are also large so need low power to fit them in the field of view. Objects like the Orion Nebula (M42) are also large so need a lower power to view them.

Jupiter is well placed to view currently and easy to find so give it a go.

Planets and the moon are bright and so easy to see from anywhere. Open clusters too are ok to view under most skies but nebulae and galaxies tend to be diffuse and faint so require dark skies to see well.

Lastly, the moon is actually more interesting when it is only part phase, not full. You see lots of detail along the terminator which is where the shadow falls across the surface. Get a high power on this and you will love it. Avoid trying to see faint objects when the moon is too bright as it tends to wash everything else out.

Hope that is of some use!

Enjoy!

Stu

[CSM]

Hi there and welcome. Download Stellarium and configure it to your location. If you also download the ocular option in that program you can set it up for your scope and eyepieces. This will enable you to get some idea of what you should be able to actually see - it isn't 100% but quite useful, especially for knowing the locations of the Moons of Jupiter. Unfortunately patience is something that you really need in astronomy - it's certainly taught me to be more patient! Also a 4 inch scope will be limited in what you can see regarding deep sky objects and probably most of the 40,000 objects in the database won't be available. But the planets, Moon and brighter deep sky objects like the Orion Nebula, Pleideas and Andromeda will be good to see.

[stem1989]

First of welcome to SGL!, thats a great scope and is very capable of viewing the planets and most Messier objects (most will be a blurry cloudy haze) but never the less still there, most deep space objects stay a cloudy smudge until you get upto larger 10inch+ really. But its a great starter scope. You should have lots of fun. Download stellarium and that way you can be sure if what you are looking at is what you think, it has a 'scope view' which replicates what your field of view should look like if pointing in the right direction!

[Stu]

http://skysthelimit.org.uk/telescope eyepieces.html

Link for BST Explorer eyepieces

Also look at Vixen NPL's, think they are £35 so cheaper and there is a 6mm available

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/vixen-eyepieces/vixen-npl-eyepieces.html

Stu

[midnight_sky_watcher]

Hi Harmony, your son is a lucky lad. A great starter scope. A good idea would be to find and join your local astronomy club. There would be people there you could ask face to face for advice and tips. A lot of the instructions that come with some GoTo scopes are a little bit confusing and frustration could take over. I wish you clear skies....Grant....Cornwall...

[harmonyceilings01]

Awesome.....thanks everyone, i will get the book and stellarium is downloading now!!! I guess the most frustrating, is looking for stuff and having no clue what i'm seeing or what i need to be seeing. So hopefully this will help with that!!! What would be a better telescope to get? If he seems to still be interested by next birthday, maybe we will see about upgrading to see more. Heck, I might want to upgrade myself, because it is kind of fantastic and very humbling!!

[Aronnax]

... What would be a better telescope to get?

...

... it is kind of fantastic and very humbling!!

Take the time with your current scope and then you'll get an idea for the sort of things you'd most like to look at (planets, moon, deep sky etc). Different scopes are more suited to different things, so there is no quick answer to the 'what scope' question without knowing more about what you want to do with it, and how much you want to spend etc.

Well summed up. 'Humbling' is certainly one of the things I get from looking upwards!

Clear skies

[Bart]

Yes good luck with it. It truly is a fascinating pasttime. Prepare to bore your friends and relations! Watch out for that glazed over look when you explain what you saw last night. Prepare for that 'That's interesting' reply from non astro-ers. It doesn't matter because when you're observing it is a special connection to 'out there'.

Another book I would recommend would be 'Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders' - good for starters and not so starters

Barry

[Astro Imp]

Your son is one lucky fella having a parent willing to help and encourage him in his interest.

BTW the sketch section on this forum gives a good idea as to what to expect to see at the eyepiece.

Good luck and enjoy.