Total Newbie - Help wanted.

[kry10]

If you can get over to the Astronomy Centre with your telescope on a Saturday evening we will be pleased to show you how to set up and use it and try different eyepieces to see what suits it best.

Unfortunately, I do not have any transport other than public transport and I doubt that dragging a Skywatcher 130p onto a bus would be appreciated, lol.

I was thinking of attending the Astronomy Centre with my son, but, I am aware that meetings take place at night (obviously) and I am not near the center of Manchester, I am more on the outskirts, Middleton to be precise.

If I ever get enough cash to afford a taxi back home, I might make a one off visit though and see how things go.

[D4N]

I will be doing the film canister and webcam method.

I have downloaded Registax, SharpCap and DSS, so, when I have got myself an old film canister and modded the webcam I have, I shall be testing it all, hopefully will be ready for the full moon coming up, just hoping we get some clear skies during the full moon time.

Just got another question, when I was in a second hand shop, I saw a Plossi eyepiece, I have no idea what they are and if they are any good, but, would it fit my telescope, are all eyepieces made to fit the same diameter of telescope eye holes and are they all 1.25" in diameter ?

It seems that it is the EP that makes the biggest difference in what you see rather than the scope itself.

As you can see, total newbie and no understanding of telescopes, to be honest, I haven't even bothered with setting the eq 2 mount up properly and setting it up to track stuff, it gets stored in our shed and I just carry it out when we have a clear sky and plonk it down, twiddle a few bits on it and try and aim it where the object is, totally wrong I know, but, it works for me, lol.

Plössl just refers to the lens configuration so it is impossible to know if it will be a good eyepiece or not, it depends on the manufacturer and what condition it is in. The Plössl design gives a good apparent field of view but has poor eye relief. Short focal length Plössls are not recommended for people who wear glasses.

Not all eyepieces are the same size and not all will fit your scope.

Modern eyepieces are normally 2" or 1.25" but there are still some older ones that are 0.965" that you may find for sale second hand or with cheap scopes.

The eyepiece does make a huge difference and I think most people will agree that the 10mm EP that comes with the SW scopes isn't up to much. The 25mm is not bad though.

However even the most expensive eyepiece won't give a good view through a poor quality telescope.

You will want to work out how to set your mount up before you start imaging, it will be much easier to keep the target in frame if you are roughly polar aligned as you will only have to adjust the RA control to counter the earths rotation. The knurled metal wheel is smoother for this than the extension cable.

/Dan

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[Dazzyt66]

Here's my first pic from PS3 eye. Cost was nothing apart from the cam which we already had - I think they are a few quid now on eBay. Focus still needs work but shows what you can do with something basic [emoji846]

Clear skies!

Dazzyt

Skywatcher 150P

FirstScope

[Dazzyt66]

Ps - this is done with the scabby looking thing I posted details of earlier... Lol

Clear skies!

Dazzyt

Skywatcher 150P

FirstScope

[kry10]

I just tried with the webcam and sharpcam, but, all it saw was the inside of the scope, the circle with the four lines coming off it, no moon, I basically removed the lens and placed it into the eyepiece holder, even tried with an eyepiece in and still no joy.

Might have to eventually buy one of those holders that people mentioned.

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[happy-kat]

Have you removed the lens from your webcam?

With the webcam with no lens on it (but should have something like a bit of pipe maybe about 1-2 inches in length, use cardboard if nothing else to hand for the time being) place it into the focuser, point the telescope at a distant object (not sun) like a tree this can be done in the day time.

I do not eel the webcam should even see the spider vanes as that is not the light path. (for any detail I get just a splodgy light or dark image if waving in and out of light with no lens)

[happy-kat]

This is not the information I have been trying to refind but it was one of the first pages I came across and read that helped paint the picture of some of the stuff in using a webcam.

http://astro.shoregalaxy.com/webcam_astro.htm

[Stu]

I just tried with the webcam and sharpcam, but, all it saw was the inside of the scope, the circle with the four lines coming off it, no moon, I basically removed the lens and placed it into the eyepiece holder, even tried with an eyepiece in and still no joy.

Might have to eventually buy one of those holders that people mentioned.

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That sounds like it was just out of focus, did you try adjusting focus position?

[D4N]

The focus position for the webcam may be much further in than with the eyepiece.

/Dan

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[Dazzyt66]

You do have to experiment with the webcam distances. As happy-kat says try using some cardboard tube until you get it right... That's a great tip which I'm gonna try on my effort!!! [emoji3]

Clear skies!

Dazzyt

Skywatcher 150P

FirstScope

[happy-kat]

card board and cellotape a diy friend in the mock up stage