2nd day in and seen jupiter, venus and moon

[Sam Baker]

Well after having my scope for two days I've managed to see the moon spectacularly, however I've struggles focusing on jupiter and venus, I was able to make out one of jupiters moons but thats all unfortunately. Does anyone have any tips? Im using a celestron powerseeker 127eq on equatorial mount (manual). I find the scope suffer alot from the mount being to flimsy really and not solid enough to stop the shaking and by the time it calms down after adjusting the focus I've only got literally a couple of seconds of steadiness before needing to realign with the planets. Yet still an amazing experience and pushing me to further observations

Thanks

Sam

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[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Glad you managed to see the moon and two planets. Focusing is tricky, but you will find that with practice things get better. A more solid mount would certainly help, but perhaps you could add a tracking motor to yours, so you do not have to fiddle with manual position. If your polar axis is reasonably well aligned with the earth's axis, you should be able to keep objects in view for 10 minutes or more. I tend to set the altitude of the EQ axis to my current lattitude (53 in my case), and point it north. For visual that is sufficient. Adding a bit of weight to the tripod can also help. I replaced the aluminium legs of a similar tripod with hardwood, and that has completely transformed it. Just putting a weight on the tray can also help.

[Stargazer 2013]

Well done,I only saw Jupiter last week for the first time and seen 3 moons,2 days ago seen all 4 Galilean moon,so chuffed.

Yes I also I understand about the slightest of touches to your scope can cause the planet to shake,next it out of alinement.

As said put a weight on the tray,I use weights from a dumb bell in a towel,it does help,waiting for a clear night to look at comet Lovejoy near the big dipper,but cloudy yet again..

[Kirscovitch]

Jupiter has been a first for me as well last week. Have seen her twice. Second time was very nice as the bands were pretty clear. Same night the Orion nebula gave me a pretty good view despite the light pollution and the moon was still pretty bright. Hopefully next time out weather permitting will be Thursday and I think I have a date with Andromeda. 

I like the idea of adding a weight to the mount tray. Didn't think of that. Learn something new on this site everyday! 

[Sam Baker]

Excellent idea!I'll try adding weights as I seem to have some dormant dumbells lying around.

Also do you need a narrowband filter to see nebula? Or can you see it without? Im totally new at this game :/ I will be lookibg at getting a new mount probs next year though. I never realised how expensive it would be until I started this hobby! Well worth it though and when I have the spare cash I'll get necessary upgrades but until then im gonna work with what I have it'll all make for good experience.

Thanks alot

Sam

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[Kirscovitch]

Same boat as you Sam. I'm sure I could spend tons of money at this hobby and would always seem I could spend more. I read that filters can give you awesome views of nebulae, but Orion looked pretty good to me the other night and it was just through a 25mm. 

I jumped into this hobby on a whim of wanting to see things the normal or average person doesn't see. And after getting here I realize there is a ton of money to be spent on scopes and EP's and accessories. 

But I gain comfort in knowing that Messier discovered a lot of things with a scope less powerful than mine. And he did it with a lot less knowledge that I have available to me now. 

[Sam Baker]

I knows I were thinking how on earth did people share info before the internet. Life must have been so difficult in those days. It makes you appreciate the modern times and that its possible to learn anything nowadays especially without having to spend a fortune to find out yourself as well

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[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

The Orion Nebula fares very well indeed without filters, but many other emission nebulae are a lot better with a UHC filter. These are also helpful in reducing LP. Planetary nebulae often look much better with these filters. Galaxies and reflection nebulae do not look better (a lot worse, in fact). You do not need a very expensive UHC filter. I got a fairly basic one from APM, which cost 69 euros, for a 2" one. You need a 1.25" one so that would be about 39 euros. I might at some point get a higher-quality filter, but that is fairly low on my list of priorities,

[Sam Baker]

Managed yo get a really good look at jupiter on tuesday night, I was able to see 4 moons and also jupiters cloud bands! I was so impressed that it's possible to see such detail. Beforehand jupiter was just a bright white spot with suspected moons, but I went to the local observatory for a look and to learn some more about it and when I managed to get home I knew what I was looking at rather than guessing really. Productive week and I hope this next week has some great opportunities!

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