Advice and help would be awesome!

[Gill1982]

Hey everyone! Gill from Glasgow here. Got the Celestron Travelscope 70 Telescope for my Xmas. Would appreciate advice on how to get started with this. Looked up videos on YouTube, but they weren't that useful.

[nightfisher]

Hi Gill, i think you need to be a little more specific to what you need to know

[Glimpse111]

Hi Gill,

Congratulations on getting the scope  Considering it's a manual telescope so you need to be familiar with objects' position in the sky. There are number of IOS and andriod apps which tells you what is up and visible during the night. I have attached the screenshot of app which I use. Also it's worth reading the book "Turn left at Orion" as it will take you through the scope so you can easily locate the targets. Have a look at the second photo for planets timing.

Regards

AJ

 

[Gill1982]

Awesome thanks. Will download the app now and have a look ?

[Glimpse111]

Also don't forget Orion Nebula and it should give a good view from your scope. M31 (Andromeda) and M42

[Thalestris24]

Hi

Well, there isn't much to it really... You just assemble it on to the tripod, insert the diagonal, put in an eyepiece and make sure everything is tight. Then off you go! I'd suggest just using the 20mm ep first. You might like to download Stellarium free planetarium software. There's an Android version available too. A compass app would be useful. Obviously it's only a short focal length scope but you should be able to see quite a few of the brighter objects with it. You might like to practice focussing on distant objects in the daytime.

Good luck

Louise

[Gill1982]

Awesome thanks Louise. Have it all set up on the tripod and have downloaded the app. Haven't had a clear night yet to fully try it out, you think maybe trying it out during the day is a better option for me to get the hang of it?

[Glimpse111]

2 minutes ago, Gill1982 said:

Awesome thanks Louise. Have it all set up on the tripod and have downloaded the app. Haven't had a clear night yet to fully try it out, you think maybe trying it out during the day is a better option for me to get the hang of it?

Just don't look at the SUN otherwise there is no harm in trying during the day

[Pete Presland]

Using it in the day is going to be a good idea to get comfortable with the controls and changing eyepieces.

The moon if its visible is a good place to start at night as its big and bright so easy to locate. The views are also very impressive in most scopes and binoculars, craters will be easily visible in your scope.

[Gill1982]

Cool thanks guys. Really looking forward to getting started with it, has been something I've always been interested in. Just need to do a lot of reading and also practice on the scope ?

[BritAngler]

The advice about not looking at the Sun cannot be repeated enough times, if you do you will damage your eyesight! However, you can buy a Baader solar filter (about £20 for an A4 sheet) and make a holder to fit over the front of your 'scope and then use it to safely view the Sun (don't use the finderscope!).

I have the same telescope as you, and the best advice is if you are using the tripod that came with it, ditch it and buy a better tripod as used in photography with a pan/tilt head.

The finderscope that comes with the telescope is not worth the bother either, but you can replace it easily with a standard finder shoe https://www.firstlightoptics.com/finders/finder-mounting-shoe.html  Just remove the three screws near the back of the 'scope and remove the entire eyepiece assembly, remove the small bolts that hold the finderscope in position and replace it with the finder shoe (make sure the notch in the shoe is at the back). Replace the eyepiece assembly and put the screws back in. Then just buy a decent finderscope or red dot finder. Sorted

 

[laudropb]

Hello Jill and a warm welcome to the SGL. The skies in our area have been very poor for the last few weeks but hopefully they will clear soon. Orion is one of your best targets at the moment, but also have a look at the Pleiades star cluster. It will blow you away.

[Gill1982]

Awesome thanks britangler. I was wondering about the finder scope myself, cos I've seen alot of people have been mentioning the red dot finder scope. Will have a look for a new one. Also I got a Barlow x3 with it, will I get better and closer vision with this?

 

[Gill1982]

Thanks laudropd. Yeh the sky has been bad, have tried most nights since getting my scope but had no joy =(

[BritAngler]

1 hour ago, Gill1982 said:

Awesome thanks britangler. I was wondering about the finder scope myself, cos I've seen alot of people have been mentioning the red dot finder scope. Will have a look for a new one. Also I got a Barlow x3 with it, will I get better and closer vision with this?

 

Some people prefer a red dot finder (or one that projects circles like the Telrad or Celestron Starpointer Pro) whilst others prefer a regular finderscope with or without a right-angled eyepiece. Some decide to put both on their 'scopes at the same time, since sometimes the RDF is best, other times the finderscope is best, depending on the situation. You can even buy double or triple finder shoes to make  things easier for you.

As for the barlow, I'm not a fan of those even though I do use a 2x on occasions. They are useful if you don't have the right sized eyepiece, but an eyepiece & barlow combination will not  provide the quality of image that a higher powered eyepiece will. They will give you a higher magnification though but be careful not to go over your 'scopes capabilities, for this telescope that will be around 100x. Above that and things just get blurry instead. To find the magnification with a given eyepiece, divide the focal length in mm (for your 'scope that's 400) by the focal length of the eyepiece; so a 10mm will give you 40x magnification, a 5mm 80x, and a 20mm 20x. Sticking the 3x barlow on will increase the magnification threefold

I  can guarantee one thing though, it will not be long before you are looking for a bigger and better telescope. We've all gone through that stage. Again and again and.......

[Gill1982]

Cool! Just can't wait to start seeing some beautiful stars ? I have tried, but can't seem to see any. Don't know if I'm doing something wrong. I'm hoping to see the comet tomorrow night also. My partner got me the scope and a few books too, so have alot of reading to do. All the help I can get from here would be greatly appreciated also, as I'm just starting out ? 

[BritAngler]

Have you tried the scope during the day yet? Could be good practice for when you eventually get a clear night

 

[Gill1982]

I have, figured out how to focus the lease yesterday. Just need a clear night now to try it out at night.