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just saying hello

Brian.uk

By Brian.uk
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Brian.uk

Brian.uk

Posted
Posted

Hi very new newbie from county Durham. Just bought a cheap 6" unbranded scope from ebay 150/750. The 25mm eyepiece works great the barlow lens and the 6.5mm lens, well less said about these the better. Any advise on which make of eyepiece to buy would make my life easier. I'm also on a budget.

So far I've found three things in the night sky. The moon ( cool ), saturn (a white dot with a line through it) and mars ( a red dot). The planet images were less than impressive although I was stoked to find Saturn. If anyone has any images taken with a 6" reflector I'd be greatful to see what I could eventually achive.

Many thanks in advance

Brian

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MikeP

MikeP

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Hello Brian and welcome to the forum.

What sort of scope have you bought? I assume it is a reflector. Eyepieces will depend on the scope and also what you want to view. No disrespect, but if you have bought a cheap scope, it probably would be a waste to buy quality eyepieces. However, if you continue with the hobby buying good eyepieces will be an investment for the future.

Tell us a bit more about your longer term ambitions so we can offer you some concrete advice.

Mike

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Ferox

Ferox

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Welcome to SGL Brian. :D

What you see through the scope won't compare to an image (especially some of the amazing ones on this forum) so don't get put of by them.

I'm still quite new to this myself so I'll leave advise to those in the know.

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Sam

Sam

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Posted

Welcome to SGL Brian,

The planets are very small when looking through a telescope and require quite a lot of magnification which in turn require quite good optics. The moon is very is great to look at and I'm sure you'll also get around to looking at the Nebula in Orion, Pleisdes and some of the bigger clusters, which your larger eyepiece will be great for.

Sam

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Brian.uk

Brian.uk

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Thanks for replying guys

as for long term goals I really dont have any as yet. All I wanted to do was see our closest planets.

Maybe not in great detail but to say "yep thats definitely Saturn" Although I have seen some great photos

which could pull me in that direction in the future. For me at the moment I'm content to sit out at night,

just exploring the sky.

Oh almost forgot, yes it is a reflector

Brian

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MikeP

MikeP

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Brian,

The 150 part of 150/750 refers to the size of the mirror in mm i.e. 6" as you say. The 750 refers to the focal length of the mirror in mm - this is the distance from the mirror to where it focuses the incoming light. So you have an f/5 reflector, the ratio of the mirror diameter to the focal length is 5.

The absolute maximum useful magnification you can get for any scope is considered to be between 50x and 60x per inch of aperture, so for your scope somewhere between 300x and 360x. Realistically, you'll do well to get 200x most of the time.

Magnification is calculated by dividing the focal length of the eyepiece into the focal length of the scope, so your 25mm will give 750 / 25 = 30x and your 6.5mm will give 750 / 6.5 = 115x. The barlow (assuming it is a 2x) will double the focal length of the scope and hence will double the magnification, so you will get 60x and 230x when used with yout two eyepieces.

So, your range of magnification is already pretty good - 30x, 60x, 115x and 230x. As people have already said, don't expect too much. The moon really is fantastic to look at, but buy yourself a moon filter - I can't look at the moon without one because it is just too bright.

Enjoy your observing, but read, ask questions and learn before you commit any more money.

Mike

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radioactive

radioactive

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Hi Brian welcome to Stargazers Lounge I see you have already been given some sound advice may I add this if you are mobile it would be good for you to join up one of the Astronomical Societies that may be local to you I know you live in County Durham so maybe "Sunderland AS " is not too far for you to go along to if you can join or even just visit one of these clubs you will find lots of like minded people who all try to help each other and of course they nearly all have their own observatories built in so you could benefit from going to one sorry I don't know of any others about but I know that several exist up and around you

if all else fails try google :D

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aries

aries

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Posted

Welcome to SGL Brian, glad to have you aboard!

My first ever views of saturn just the other week, just blew my socks off!

And I have a slightly smaller Newt. (114mm) so once you get settled, and decide where to go in the way of

a few EP's, your 6" should give you some nice views, and some DSO's, and then the wife will be hiding the Credit Card!!!!!!!! And if Imaging is where you want to be further down the line, the "Imagers" here will, I'm sure, be only too glad to help.

The Guy's and Gals on SGL are a Hive of info and guidelines that will do nothing other than point you in the right direction as to Equipment, Collimation, and Techniques.

I could name a few, but I go back to work Monday, so I haven't got the time!

And not wanting to upset a popular brand of lager, " Probably the best Astronomy Forum in the world"

Nick.......

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Wedge

Wedge

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Posted

Hi Brian,

Welcome. Everybody on here is so helpful, so if you have many questions (like me) just ask! :wink:

I took this video through my 6" reflector, using just a regular webcam. It is the proper image, and not modified in any way.

At high powers, (250x) Saturn looks amazing. I am hoping to eventually capture that through webcam too.

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