Hello Everyone

[John1980]

Hi,

Brand new here and brand new to astronomy so just though I would say hello to everyone.

Well my 6 year old son came top of his class at the end of year and so for doing so well I offered to buy him an xbox game or if he wanted something more educational (he likes the solar system and birds) I would buy him either a telescope or some binoculars. I assumed that he would want the game so was happy with a £50 present however good on him he chose to get a telescope and now I am £400 down and what's more I know this is only the start.

After much research I have opted for a Celestron 127 SLT MAK (with carry case 25mm eyepiece, 9mm eyepiece, moon filter, 12v car battery starter and powercord). I am hoping it should be easy enough to transport (centre of Sheffield not so good), easy enough to set up and hopefully give him some good enough views of the moon and planets to inspire him and me. Then if he or me gain an interest I hope this scope will allow us the opportunity perhaps to bag a couple of dso's however more importantly to gain enough knowledge of the skies and our interests to make bigger and better purchases in the future.

I would appreciate any feedback on what you would advise we should be aiming to see and the next steps (I have read and am fully aware of what to expect) but any guidance on clubs to join, places to go (near Sheffield) equipment needed etc. would be greatly appreciated.

So far not off to a good start

NIGHT ONE: Car stuck in field, local farmer helped at midnight so big thank you there.

NIGHT TWO: Complete cloud cover (so much for the SCOPE NIGHTS app!!!)

NIGHT THREE: Not sure the alignment process worked 100% on the goto. Moving to polaris wasn't bang on and hence being a complete beginner we simply moved the scope around the skies. I am sure with a few more attempts I will sort this out.

Luckily my son has had a great time and it is great to spend time alone with him with no distractions other than the stars. We have both seen nothing as of yet however have been amazed at just how much is out there on a clear night on the moors near Whitby. He absolutely loved moving the telescope to point at space that is empty to the naked eye to then see dozens of stars through the eyepiece.

Sorry for the wall of text but wanted to say hello and also say thankyou for the help we have already gained from this community prior to registering.

John (and Harry)

[laudropb]

Hello John and welcome to the SGL. Sorry I can not help you with your scope as I am not familar with this instrument, but there are many experts on this site and I am sure help is at hand.

It will be a great experience to develop your skills in the company of your son. All the best and clear skies.

[swag72]

Hi John (and Harry!) and welcome to SGL - Glad that you found us and hope that you enjoy your time here. Sounds like you are loving your time with the scope and your son! I wish I could help you with any of your issues, but what I know about visual stuff could be written on the head of a very small pin!!! 

Look forward to seeing you around

[HIP3802]

Hi, John - and Harry - and a warm welcome to SGL, and to the worlds of amateur astronomy! If you haven't done already I can recommend the free planetarium 'Stellarium' which is customisable to your own location and scope - giving you an idea of what you will be able to see through the eyepiece. (I know from using this programme with my nephew when he was 7 that children love the programme too! - educational and free - what's not to like?!) Dowloadable here: http://stellarium.org

Hope this helps,

Martin

[John1980]

Hi, John - and Harry - and a warm welcome to SGL, and to the worlds of amateur astronomy! If you haven't done already I can recommend the free planetarium 'Stellarium' which is customisable to your own location and scope - giving you an idea of what you will be able to see through the eyepiece. (I know from using this programme with my nephew when he was 7 that children love the programme too! - educational and free - what's not to like?!) Dowloadable here: http://stellarium.org

Hope this helps,

Martin

Cheers HIP3802 I will download that now.

[John1980]

Hi John (and Harry!) and welcome to SGL - Glad that you found us and hope that you enjoy your time here. Sounds like you are loving your time with the scope and your son! I wish I could help you with any of your issues, but what I know about visual stuff could be written on the head of a very small pin!!! 

Look forward to seeing you around

I take it from your reply that astrophotography is more your thing. If so then you may well be able to help me in a few months (perhaps years depending on how quick I learn) time when the budget goes up and I look into new kit for astrophotography.

I think a neximage 5 and a couple of stacked images of the moon or one of the easier to image planets is all I will get with my scope then its time for a bank loan. Glad I am not there yet and still enjoying learning how to use my eyes.

See you around and clear skies.

John

[NotSoSuperNova]

Hi John,

As a visual observer I would recommend (and my apologies for the extra outlay) Turn Left at Orion. It's a absolutely essential tool to me and will give you a great insight in to planning what you want to look at that evening and what you can expect to see when you get there. 

A quick tip to setting up and aligning your telescope, try to make sure you are pointing as close as possible to Polaris when in the rested position (On my Celestron there are little arrows that line up) and that your mount is as level as possible, that should help a ton. 

Also, what Martin mentioned about Stellarium gets a +1 from me. It's a great application.

[Hawksmoor]

Hi John and Harry

Welcome to SGL from East Anglia.

I would also recommend buying a copy of Turn Left at Orion. It is a very accessible read with a lot of practical advice about visual astronomy. It provides a range of star clusters DSOs etc that you will be able to see through your scope, a guide as to where to look and find them and very helpfully what they should look like through a telescope like yours. I purchased my first scope, a 90mm Mak, nearly fifteen years ago and I still use my copy of Turn Left at Orion. I would also recommend buying a subscription to an Astronomy Magazine such as 'The Sky at Night' or 'Astronomy Now'. Each magazine provides a monthly review with maps of interesting things to view. All the best with your new hobby.

[John1980]

Hi John,

As a visual observer I would recommend (and my apologies for the extra outlay) Turn Left at Orion. It's a absolutely essential tool to me and will give you a great insight in to planning what you want to look at that evening and what you can expect to see when you get there. 

A quick tip to setting up and aligning your telescope, try to make sure you are pointing as close as possible to Polaris when in the rested position (On my Celestron there are little arrows that line up) and that your mount is as level as possible, that should help a ton. 

Also, what Martin mentioned about Stellarium gets a +1 from me. It's a great application.

Thanks for the tip on Turn Left at Orion. Will deffo look into it as it will also allow for some bedtime reading practice for my son. Extra outlay worried me for a second until I saw it was a book I thought it might be seriously expensive software.

As far as setting up I am a civil engineer by trade and hence have been setting up the tripod perfectly (I have to do this at least 10 times a day at work). I am not using equatorial mount just an Alt-Az mount and setting up using auto align on the goto. I am just checking the set up by then getting it to move to Polaris and its not bang on. I am not worried about this though as I am going to try two star align and a few other options first however if I keep getting stuck I will be back for more help.

Many Thanks again, what a nice community this appears to be.

John

[John1980]

Hi John and Harry

Welcome to SGL from East Anglia.

I would also recommend buying a copy of Turn Left at Orion. It is a very accessible read with a lot of practical advice about visual astronomy. It provides a range of star clusters DSOs etc that you will be able to see through your scope, a guide as to where to look and find them and very helpfully what they should look like through a telescope like yours. I purchased my first scope, a 90mm Mak, nearly fifteen years ago and I still use my copy of Turn Left at Orion. I would also recommend buying a subscription to an Astronomy Magazine such as 'The Sky at Night' or 'Astronomy Now'. Each magazine provides a monthly review with maps of interesting things to view. All the best with your new hobby.

Cheers for the reply it looks like Turn Left at Orion is the first point of call so thanks to people for mentioning it.

I almost asked about magazines and which ones would be best. Will probably give both a try out and see which I prefer.

Thanks again

Clear Skies

[ronin]

I assumed that he would want the game so was happy with a £50 present however good on him he chose to get a telescope and now I am £400 down and what's more I know this is only the start.

Had to laught at that bit.

The 127 Mak has a narrow field of view to aid the aligning get a 30mm plossl or better a 32mm plossl. You can get 40mm but they show no more then the 32mm. You want as wide as you can get. Don't worry greatly about how good it is you simply want to see as many stars in view as possible, blobs or pinpoints not really relevant, you just want to see a star.

Get the data as accurate as you can, set the scope level as you can, it all helps.

The 9mm may be usable occasionally but not often, I would suggest a 15mm (as well).

Clubs: http://fedastro.org.uk/fas/members/

Scroll down to which county Sheffield is in.

Somewhere in the manual you can do what is termed PAE or something like that.

You align the scope and if you ask it to goto Polaris and it is a bit off you centre Polaris then do the PAE.

I think it is hold Enter down for 2 seconds but check.

What it does is use the corrections determined but applies the movements from Polaris (or whatever star you centered)

The software works in odd ways, and I think doing the PAE occasionally will help - not every time you go to something however.

Find a better observing spot during day light, fileds are not really a good idea.

[Sirius Starwatcher]

Hello John and welcome to SGL you've come to the right place for help and advice there are many experienced members who will help you achieve the best you can from your observing. I find the Skywalk app from the ESO a great tool to use and am using it more than paper star atlases as it keeps my hands free one aligned.

[wookie1965]

A warm welcome to SGL

[John1980]

Find a better observing spot during day light, fileds are not really a good idea.

Yes turns out you are correct fields and night do not mix well.

I live in Sheffield and have looked up a few good locations (inc. dark sky locations we are going to try out) but we were on holiday over the bank holiday weekend and so were simply driving into the unknown. In a field is a bit of an exaggeration we were turning round to head back to the deserted car park we had passed and got stuck in the field access. Still it all added to the adventure into the unknown.

Cheers for the setup tips will read the manual (again) and give is a try.

John

[hippie]

Welcome to SGL John  & Harry  .

[Captain Harlock]

I'm only a newbie so won't be able to give you good advice, but I am sure you will find valuable advice from the friendly people in this forum, like I did in the past few days.

Welcome to SGL !

[gingergeek]

Hi there Son and Dad, a big welcome from the "family" at SGL

[Guy Wells]

Welcome to SGL John. Jupiter will make a return fairly shortly. That will make a perfect target. The Moon is always about. Slew your scope to it. Apart form that I recommend the globular cluster M13 and the Ring Nebula, M57.

As for the alignment; point your scope north, level it, then do your star alignment. Choose two stars on eith side of the sky for best results. I don't know off hand what finder scope you have, but make sure it is aligned too. Clear skies and keep loooking up!

[Mr Spock]

Hi John, welcome to SGL

[Tums]

Hi John & Harry, Welcime to the lounge

Hope you both enjoy your new Hobby.

Another bit of Free info you may find interesting is Skymaps, which you can print off each month, which tells you what can be seen , with Telescope, Binoculars, or just your Eyes.

Here's the link

http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html

[glowjet]

Hi John and Harry welcome to SGL, don`t get your car parked in Farmers fields, there are many nice off road parking places on the Wheeldale moor road just above Whitby, a remote small tarmacked road with very dark skies which extends across the moors, eventually leading to Pickering. Enjoy your new scope

[ToxoLight]

Hi J & H and welcome to the lounge.

[Bizibilder]

Hello John and Harry - welcome to SGL!!

[Colsey]

Welcome John and Harry

[purdo]

Hi John &Harry, Welcome to SGL.