Using telescope for first time. Need help.

[ShubhaShasthri]

Hi.

I am new to astronomy. Yest I used my telescope for the first time. When I saw through the lens and tried to concentrate I really felt uncomfortable. My eyes felt stained and I could feel many small things moving in front of my eye. Is it normal for a first timer? Do I need to do something to adjust my eyes before viewing??

Thanks,

Shubha

[rwilkey]

Hi Shubha, it takes a little bit of training to get used to looking through the eyepiece, yes you see 'floaters' at first but the more experience you get, the better you will absorb the views.  Just be patient, it is not easy to start with.

[ShubhaShasthri]

Hi Shubha, it takes a little bit of training to get used to looking through the eyepiece, yes you see 'floaters' at first but the more experience you get, the better you will absorb the views.  Just be patient, it is not easy to start with.

Thanks a lot. I thought its the problem with my eyes.

Shubha

[xtreemchaos]

you just have to give your eyes time to ajust ,i found 30 minutes before i was going to use my scope i would put on my sunglasses  to help my eyes adapt" its no good if you need to do anything tec" but i found it worked for me.clear skys..charl..

[jetstream]

Shubha what magnification were you using? At a certain point of magnification ( actually exit pupil) eye issues become apparent and using mags giving more than .8mm exit will help IMHO.

Eyepiece focal length/ focal ratio scope = exit pupil, ie my 10" f4.8 dob. 10mm eyepiece/4.8 = 2.08mm exit pupil ( which is a VG galaxy figure to use btw).

[ronin]

May be stupid to ask but you are adjusting the focuser to get the view sharp and as comfortable as you can?

Only ask as I would have half expected you to have said that no matter how you adjusted the focus you could not get comfortable.

The other thing is to adjust the focus, you need to let the eye relax and adjust the scope to match, I do actually see many that look down the eyepiece, the view is "reasonable" and they then cause the eye to change focus to accomodate it not being quite right.

The other thing is do you wear glasses?

Is the eyepiece set up for wearing or not wearing glasses?

[TractionMan]

Hello!

Another thing you can try is to cover the other eye with an eye patch and keep both your eyes open. It might help you relax a bit when looking through the eyepiece.

[damnut]

As Ronin, sounds like you have not properly focussed, try keeping your eye a little away from the lens. It does take time to acclimatise and the longer you can spend at the eyepiece the more detail you will see as your eye gets dark adapted.

[ShubhaShasthri]

Shubha what magnification were you using? At a certain point of magnification ( actually exit pupil) eye issues become apparent and using mags giving more than .8mm exit will help IMHO.

Eyepiece focal length/ focal ratio scope = exit pupil, ie my 10" f4.8 dob. 10mm eyepiece/4.8 = 2.08mm exit pupil ( which is a VG galaxy figure to use btw).

Hi jetstream, I use 10mm with 120x  and 25mm with 48x. 

Thanks

Shubha

[ShubhaShasthri]

May be stupid to ask but you are adjusting the focuser to get the view sharp and as comfortable as you can?

Only ask as I would have half expected you to have said that no matter how you adjusted the focus you could not get comfortable.

The other thing is to adjust the focus, you need to let the eye relax and adjust the scope to match, I do actually see many that look down the eyepiece, the view is "reasonable" and they then cause the eye to change focus to accomodate it not being quite right.

The other thing is do you wear glasses?

Is the eyepiece set up for wearing or not wearing glasses?

Hi ronin, Yeah it was properly focused. I don't use glasses.  May be I should let my eyes get adjusted to dark before I view.

Thanks,

Shubha

[ShubhaShasthri]

Hello!

Another thing you can try is to cover the other eye with an eye patch and keep both your eyes open. It might help you relax a bit when looking through the eyepiece.

Ya I will try that.

Thanks,

Shubha

[jetstream]

The 1.25mm exit pupil that the 10mm gives shouldn't cause floater issues, but this is dependant on the individual. What were you looking at? Was it in focus?

[ShubhaShasthri]

The 1.25mm exit pupil that the 10mm gives shouldn't cause floater issues, but this is dependant on the individual. What were you looking at? Was it in focus?

I was just lookig at some stars. May be they were of high mgnitude and I tried too hard to focus on faint stars.

Shubha

[jetstream]

Eyepiece preference is a hugely individual thing and down the road you may find some are more comfortable than others. When viewing faint stars averted vision can be used to see deeper and reduce eyestrain, I tend to position things in the EP quite a bit for this- obviously splitting doubles is not one of them...

Have you tried splitting the Double Double in Lyra? I love doing this, fun actually and it will be a good test for your cooling, collimation and will show you your actual "seeing" conditions.

[brantuk]

Using a seat at the eyepiece is a big help - and having a right angled finder saves neck strain. Getting comfy and relaxed makes a big difference when looking through the scope. Ensuring your eyes are fully dark adapted is a great aid, and so too is keeping both eyes open (use an eye patch as suggested above if required).

It's such an "unnatural" hobby in many ways and can be disorientating - it does take practice - and your experience is typical of someone new to practical astronomy. But don't worry it will come in time as you learn.

[Sonicfishcake42]

you just have to give your eyes time to ajust ,i found 30 minutes before i was going to use my scope i would put on my sunglasses  to help my eyes adapt" its no good if you need to do anything tec" but i found it worked for me.clear skys..charl..

What a great idea! How on Earth have I never thought of this !!

[farunj]

Also make sure that you are not using both the 1.25" and the 2" adapters at the same time. Many people do that mistake the first time. And as others have already said, give time for your eyes to adjust. Try looking at some bright object like the moon, and see how well you can focus on that. Also, try using the telescope in the day, to get familiar with all the knobs.

Cheers!

[ShubhaShasthri]

Hi guys,

Thanks a lot for all the replies. 

Shubha

[ShubhaShasthri]

Hi all.

The idea of using eyepatch really helped. After three days I could use the telescope without any trouble. I saw Jupiter its 4 moons, Saturn with two moons and Venus today. Moon was awesome. . I'm so happy that I can finally sleep peacefully tonight. Once again thanks for all the help. .

Shubha

[TractionMan]

Hi all.

The idea of using eyepatch really helped. After three days I could use the telescope without any trouble. I saw Jupiter its 4 moons, Saturn with two moons and Venus today. Moon was awesome. . I'm so happy that I can finally sleep peacefully tonight. Once again thanks for all the help. .

Shubha

Good news! I hope you get lots of clear nights with relaxed viewing through your scope. SGL is an awesome place to get help.

[brantuk]

Congrats Shubha - hope you enjoy the hobby - any further questions you can always ask here.

[Astro Imp]

Great to hear you had a good night, we all struggle at first but with help from others on SGL most if not all our problems are resolved.

Good luck and keep us updated on your progress, we all like to hear of newcomers making progress.

[ShubhaShasthri]

Hi.

Today I tried to look at some dsos. The light pollution was too much. After a long struggle managed to see c76, m7, butterfly cluster and ring nebula.

Shubha

[jetstream]

Awesome Shubha! and now a short, fun list- you may have seen these though. M13, the fantastic Izar color double, the unique Double Double in Lyra, the showcase color double Albireo and a nice little challenge M4, next to Antares. Let us know!

[farunj]

You know a fun way to learn is to set yourself challenges. For instance you could try to split doubles, set messier challenges for yourself. Also read about averted vision. It really helps!

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