Cross hairs from main scope visable in eyepiece

[mountainmoon]

Hi all

Sorry newbie here  with possibly a daft question.

I have a skywatcher 130 eq2  complete with 10 mm and 25mm supplied lenses . These are great for moon etc but when i look at a bright star i can only see rough round light shape  and the cross hairs of the end off the scope . Why do i see them please ?

Thanks 

David 

[sidelight]

Hi David,  It sounds like your out of focus, when the focus is right the stars will be dots and the spider (wires) will not show (think of it as you like when are driving you don't see windscreen because you are focusing beyond it.

Cheers

Ross

[Guy Wells]

Sounds like a (the) spider. Are you able to get good focus on stars, moon and planets?

[mountainmoon]

Thanks  gents now sorted. Real schoolboy error .Just thought I would get a better view of stars  than small dots ! also alot of shake on the scope .Really not sure what to look out for when the moons hiding ?

Thanks 

David 

[John]

Thanks  gents now sorted. Real schoolboy error .Just thought I would get a better view of stars  than small dots ! also alot of shake on the scope .Really not sure what to look out for when the moons hiding ?

Thanks 

David 

Jupiter !!!

It's high in the sky right now and about the brightest thing up there.

[mountainmoon]

Jupiter !!!

It's high in the sky right now and about the brightest thing up there.

Yes got it . Could see markings running about 150 degrees .

When I stars  centralised  rather quickly they  moves out of view to the top left ( is this scope not balanced ) also what magnification lenses would you recommend  to have in your kit . I have at present only what came with scope  10/25 and barlow ?

Thanks 

David 

[Ags]

Have a look at the Orion nebula while it is still on show - easy to find - just point your scope at Orion's sword.

Try a double star or two - Mizar is the middle star in the handle of the plough - it is a triple star on closer examination. Castor is an easy star to find, also a nice double.

If you can view the western sky (I can't) you should be able to get Auriga in the evening - a circle of stars, the brightest being Capella. Inside the ring are three excellent star clusters, M36, M37, and M38. Because of the ring of bright stars it is a bit easier to point the scope in the right area (after looking up the exact locations in a star map).

Have you downloaded Stellarium? It's a free planetarium for your PC.

[John]

I use eyepieces from 31mm down to 5mm regularly with my 12" scope which has a focal length of 1590mm. For Jupiter I find 220x - 260x the most effective with this scope. With smaller scopes I find 150x - 200x works well on the giant planet.

With your scope the 10mm + barlow should be OK but the supplied eyepieces / barlows are not particularly good quality so you might want to consider an upgrade at some point. There are lots of threads on the forum about good upgrade paths from the standard eyepieces 

[Charic]

Yes got it . Could see markings running about 150 degrees .

When I stars  centralised  rather quickly they  moves out of view to the top left ( is this scope not balanced ) also what magnification lenses would you recommend  to have in your kit . I have at present only what came with scope  10/25 and barlow ?

Thanks 

David 

Quite normal at higher magnifications. Nothing is stationary? The earth is rotating at 1000mph When you align to a target, it appears to move of to one side, that is until you re-align. To re-align less, use a higher focal length eyepiece, of just learn to nudge the scope, or in your case, once EQ aligned, rotate the slow motion adjusters to keep your target central. Once you reach the end of travel, you will have to re-align the telescope again, remembering to unwind the slo-mo controls back to central position? For this reason alone I chose the Dobsonian mount.  The 8mm or 12mm BST Starguider EP's would work well on your scope. They have  wider views at 60° AFOV compared to the EP`s you have. Your 25mm should be an ok lens, but can be bettered for eye relief and AFOV if you wish. Try and Try before you buy!  Sky`s the limit will allow you to try both(paid up front) but you could return a lens if its not suitable for a full refund, you will pay the return p&p.

[rory]

Congrats on finding and viewing Jupiter. Often the longer you spend observing it the more details can be had.

You ask what to look for when the moon is away?

Can I recomend the book ( turn left at Orion )

Ok it's often recomended on the forums but for a good reason.

Simple to use , with drawings of what an object should look like. Plus there is some general advice in the opening chapters.

It would serve you well, it's designed with beginners in mind and us a very popular astronomy aid.

Clear skies.

[ronin]

For what to look at get a book of the sky and constellation details and look up The Plough, Casseiopia, Cepheus and Perseus. These are circumpolar and are visible all year. So DSO's etc in them are around all year. Others are around but bits of them drift below the horizon, Capella being one amongst others. Constellations like the Little Plough and Draco are visible all the time but they are dim and generally not a lot in them to observe, and the absence of stars can make locating more difficult.

Leo is making an impression now and has a set of objects in it. Leo is one that drifts below the horizon over the year.

You are going to have to start down the terriable path of learning. :grin:

[andymac1981]

Hi MountainMoon.

I'm very new to the hobby myself and still trying to find my feet. There is a lot of helpful info on the forum that has been of benefit to me. As mentioned turn left at Orion is a great book and has helped my to learn the sky along with an app on my phone. I have also found the star charts at the link below rather helpful and I plan to take the advise and download stellarium once I get a chance.

http://www.skymaps.com/skymaps/tesmn1403.pdf

[Robbo AR]

Yeah , I have to agree with the others here. Turn Left at Orion is a must have, try to get the ring bound version as it's easier to use out there.

[mountainmoon]

Thanks guys for the great advice . Now own the book (turn left at Orion )