Stellarium and Polaris telescope

[Nigele2]

Thinking I'm getting confused so if any of you experts has a free moment Help please.

As recommended I'm using Stellarium and want to set up my telescope to get as much planning done before leaping into the cold air (yeah wimp I know).

I lashed out £30 on a POLARIS TELESCOPE WITH 2 X BARLOW LENS AND MEADE MA25mm LENS AND MEADE MH9mm LENS MODEL 60A-A

The plan is to study Jupiter high in the sky next weekend.

In Stellarium I need to enter:

Focal Length which is 700 (mm)

Diameter which is 60 (mm)

and for eyepieces:

                                         9 mm                                25mm

aFov  =                                ??                                      ??

Focal length =                      9                                       25

Field Stop =                         ??                                      ??

And then the Barlow multiplies mag by 3.  Does the Barlow change the field view size?  

I see these types of telescope often come with a 12.5 and 25.  Will the 9 be very much harder to focus than a 12.5?

Sorry more blanks than numbers

Any suggestions on initial set up and figures to input into Stellarium would be great.  I cannot find reference to aFoV and Field stop (or that just might be me).

Many thanks

[rwilkey]

Hi there, could you clarify which telescope you have bought, as I couldn't find it online, do you have a link at all?

[Nigele2]

Hi there, could you clarify which telescope you have bought, as I couldn't find it online, do you have a link at all?

Robin

It's a cheap but cheerful Polaris 60AZ-AR

Here is the pdf manual http://www.meade.com/manuals/TelescopeManuals/Polaris/Polaris60AZ_AR.pdf   

The Barlow is x2 not x3 as I typed before.

Much appreciate your interest.

Nigel

[rwilkey]

Hi Nigel, got it, that makes it a bit easier, not sure about the field stop on these ep's but probably about 26/27mm at most, the aFoV would be about 50 degrees, this will be enough for you to get some sensible figures out I should think.  On the Barlow question, not sure if the FoV will be reduced, but you will certainly see less sky with the Barlow in use.  I suggest not using it as you will find it better to use the eyepieces on thier own.  The planets and the Moon will be your best targets with this scope.

[LeeWilky]

ive been having problems working out what i need to type in for the eyepieces too.  I bought this one http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-sky-watcher-explorer-200-eq-5-newtonian-reflector-telescope/p10561

Any help with that would also be appreciated

[rwilkey]

Hi Lee, your surname is very close to mine!  If you have the Skywatcher super MA's that came with the scope, then the figures are practically the same, though personally, I think the Sky Watchers are about 55 degree aFoV, but that is only a guess.

[Nigele2]

Many thanks Robin 

That should now give me some idea what we will be looking at.  Sadly moon will be low in the sky but as you suggest we will play with Jupiter.  

But I already get the feeling something bigger and better will be on the patio in the early new year.

Cheers Nigel

[rwilkey]

Many thanks Robin 

That should now give me some idea what we will be looking at.  Sadly moon will be low in the sky but as you suggest we will play with Jupiter.  

But I already get the feeling something bigger and better will be on the patio in the early new year.

Cheers Nigel

Hi Nigel, it's good to start small, so that you can get a taste for the hobby to start with, it's no good spending a lot and then finding out its not for you.  Practical astronomy is a winter sport, and many people are put off by the cold weather, so dress up warm when you go out.  Good luck with your viewing, Jupiter is well bright at the moment, see if you can spot its moons too.

[Charic]

Nigele2..........LeeWilky.......Hi, I got this from here ( http://www.opticalvision.co.uk/astronomical_accessories/eyepieces 

Apparent Field of view: 52 degrees (20mm and 10mm), 50 degrees (25mm and 4mm), 40 degrees (3.6mm)

And this little tool does the Maths for you, once youve entered the basics, ie clear the sample data then input your own before Compute!. http://www.davidpaulgreen.com/tec.html

This is my favourite calculator. This gives all the information I need, you can input and change many parameters, just scroll the full page after basic information is applied. http://www.stargazing.net/naa/scopemath.htm