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Ivor52

By Ivor52
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Ivor52

Ivor52

Posted
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Just joined....hope I can get much advice and help as I am a total beginner and noob at this. I was shopping in town this morning, and came across the Stargazer BK1309-EQ2 at a bargain price. Saw it in the window, and asked if the price was just for the tube, or if it included the tripod and everything. When they said yes...my jaw dropped, and out came the credit card.

Right, off to assemble the thing and hope for some clear skies into the new year!

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jason.p

jason.p

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Welcome to SGL Ivor. Not familiar with that scope but there's bound to be somone here who is. Don't hesitate to ask anything at all.

We're all looking forward to those clear skies in 2016.

Good luck and let us know how you're getting on

Jason

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Ivor52

Ivor52

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Hi guys and thanks for the welcome(s)

First noob mistake...Its a Skywatcher reflector NOT Stargazer !!!!

assembled....but trying to get my head round the "red dot finder".  More reading methinks

Oooppss....

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RWB

RWB

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Hi guys and thanks for the welcome(s)

First noob mistake...Its a Skywatcher reflector NOT Stargazer !!!!

assembled....but trying to get my head round the "red dot finder".  More reading methinks

Oooppss....

 To sort out your 'red dot' finder 

   do it in day light and point it the farthest away thing that you can see, by doing it this way 

you can see what you are doing ,!! Have fun that's what it's all about  :grin:  :grin:

               Regards

                                Robin

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Dave In Vermont

Dave In Vermont

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Greetings & Welcome to SGL, Ivor - nice to have you aboard!

Am I correct that this is what you laid down the life of your plastic for?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SkyWatcher-Explorer-130-900-EQ2-Telescope/dp/B0017GSLT8

If yes - we can load you up with information. If no - we can load you up with information, anyways! Such is why many here haunt these halls. So no shame in asking!

Clear and dark skies,

Dave

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Ivor52

Ivor52

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Greetings & Welcome to SGL, Ivor - nice to have you aboard!

Am I correct that this is what you laid down the life of your plastic for?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SkyWatcher-Explorer-130-900-EQ2-Telescope/dp/B0017GSLT8

If yes - we can load you up with information. If no - we can load you up with information, anyways! Such is why many here haunt these halls. So no shame in asking!

Clear and dark skies,

Dave

Hi Dave

Yes indeed...that is the beast I have, and after reading EQ2 alignment and totally ignoring it in my excitement to brave the relative cold last night (as it was a beautiful clear sky), I am now totally hooked. I just pointed it into what looked like blackness after letting my eyes get used to the dark (mainly so I wouldn't trip over the dog who was also fascinated in insisted on coming out with me.

Well....hey....black sky??? No way...there were zillions of white dots!!!   Sorry to all you seasoned astronomers thinking...yeah we all go through that stage......(i AM new to all this!!)

This morning, having calmed down, I properly aligned the red dot finder (so much easier in daylight...I'm lucky and live in the middle of the Devon countryside so light pollution is negligible...as are street or buildings lights).

Tonight is polar alignment, and then I'm cooking on gas!!!

I DO want to affix my Nikon D5000 DSLR to it all, so have googled, but may need some practical advice from this forum

Happy New Year to all

Ivor

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BeanerSA

BeanerSA

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Well....hey....black sky??? No way...there were zillions of white dots!!! Sorry to all you seasoned astronomers thinking...yeah we all go through that stage......(i AM new to all this!!)

That you felt that way about a view of stars already puts you ahead of many newcomers. So many unrealistically expect more than dots of light.

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Ivor52

Ivor52

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That you felt that way about a view of stars already puts you ahead of many newcomers. So many unrealistically expect more than dots of light.

Yup...just fascinated by "it all".

My late father was into astronomy in a big way (probably where I get my interest from, though I was too young to understand what his interest was)...I guess some newbies expect to see Pluto as if it was just down the road. If all I ever get to "explore" and see in detail is the moon, I'll be a happy amateur.

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skywatcher58gb

skywatcher58gb

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Hi Ivor and welcome to the forum

I hope you have many clear nights and use your scope well.

The telescope scope you have bought is a reasonable visual beginners scope and you will be able to view many objects.

The problem is with the mount, this EQ2 mount is not designed to take astro images, you might get some images of the moon but deep sky imaging will be near impossible.

Once you have mastered the setup, and manually tracking objects if you still want to progress to imaging I would suggest you buy a book called 'Making Every Photon Count' by Steve Richards, this will give you the knowledge to progress further.

The tube assembly itself may be transferred to a better mount to allow the use of your DSLR, but take one step at a time, use your scope to learn the sky and enjoy the objects you observe.

I hope I have not put too much of a downer on your DSLR enthusiasm but you are just starting out on an incredible hobby.

Best of luck and keep us informed of your progress.

Dave

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