Celestron powerseeker 114eq help!

[Jennifere20]

Right next question... how do I know what axis etc to put my telescope on to find a planet? Just been looking for Venus. Found where it was on the app but couldn’t find nothing in the sky haha 

[happy-kat]

Look West it is the brightest thing in the sky.

[DaveL59]

I expect that's the other issue a newbie with an EQ mount. They do take a while to get used to so worth playing with in the daylight so you can see what you're doing. You basically need to unlock (unscrew a little) both RA and DEC clutch knobs so the scope is free to move in all directions, and then rotate around RA so the counterweight bar is horizontal, and then move the scope tube up/down  on the DEC axis and adjust the RA angle as needed. Once your target is in sight you can tighten the clutch screws and fine-tune with the SloMo controls. Hope that makes some sense...

You'll likely find that you will then need to rotate the scope in its rings to get the finder and eyepiece to a more comfortable viewing position. Just loosen the ring clamps a little and turn the tube, trying to keep it from slipping down so you retain the balance. Then tighten the tube rings, con't forget that bit  

Edited May 14, 2020 by DaveL59

[Jennifere20]

Oh jeez. Getting more complicated. I’ve just been back out. Will have to wait until it goes dark because all I can see in my finder is white clouds. 

[DaveL59]

ahh the frustrations of a new scope pointed at the sky, the cloud attractant gets released as soon as you open the packaging  

Hopefully it'll suddenly pop into view, out of the blue as it were once the sun is a little lower, can't quite see it here just yet either.

 

[Jennifere20]

Where are you based in the uk Dave? 

[DaveL59]

down in the south east, north kent

You?

[John]

Clear here in the South West. Venus will be unmissable in the West when the light from the Sun has faded a little more.

 

[Jennifere20]

I’m in Merseyside up north! Ok I’m going to go out when the sun sets! Fingers crossed 🤞🏻 

[DaveL59]

hopefully will stay clear here too John, there was a cloud formation over to the west a moment ago that looked a bit like Nessie but sooms to have been short lived at least.

[Jennifere20]

Have you ever found a galaxy? 

[DaveL59]

1 minute ago, Jennifere20 said:

I’m in Merseyside up north! Ok I’m going to go out when the sun sets! Fingers crossed 🤞🏻 

Way too cold oop norf for me, tho it's not exactly warm down here at the moment either.

No harm getting the scope out there and roughly aimed toward the setting sun or a little left and up from it. At least it'll be in roughly the right area of the sky when you're ready to take a peek  

[DaveL59]

1 minute ago, Jennifere20 said:

Have you ever found a galaxy? 

I've not really looked for one so far, but really should do I guess. More moon, planets and the odd nebula so far when I've had the chance to play

[Jennifere20]

Haha ‘Borg’. Gonna get wrapped up and go out soon. I’m not going to let it defeat me

[John]

3 minutes ago, Jennifere20 said:

Have you ever found a galaxy? 

There are quite a few that you can see with your scope. You need as dark skies as possible, and no moon in the sky. Low magnification as well. You can't really see them in the finder so you get the scope pointing as close as possible to the right part of the sky then pan around with a low power eyepiece in the scope.

Up in Ursa Major there are two close together that I have seen with a 60mm scope - Messier 81 and Messier 82. Here is a chart of how to find them:

They might look a bit like this though the scope:

 

[Jennifere20]

‘Norf’*

[Jennifere20]

2 minutes ago, John said:

There are quite a few that you can see with your scope. You need as dark skies as possible, and no moon in the sky. Low magnification as well. You can't really see them in the finder so you get the scope pointing as close as possible to the right part of the sky then pan around with a low power eyepiece in the scope.

Up in Ursa Major there are two close together that I have seen with a 60mm scope - Messier 81 and Messier 82. Here is a chart of how to find them:

They might look a bit like this though the scope:

 

Cool. I’ve got a few apps on my phone that show me those stars and star signs etc. I need to find the Big Dipper don’t I 

[happy-kat]

Phones ruin night vision, best not use them unless you can use a night vision colouring

[DaveL59]

12 minutes ago, Jennifere20 said:

Haha ‘Borg’. Gonna get wrapped up and go out soon. I’m not going to let it defeat me

have fun, venus is visible now

A plane just tracked across the sky here, catching the red sunset glinting off its underside, making it glow red for a short time which looked pretty neat.

I really should try for those John listed, usually the house roof gets a bit in the way but I really should tell the goto to go find me some other things to look at  

[Jennifere20]

My neighbours house roof is in the way of Venus!!!!

[DaveL59]

nooo! oh dear, so often the way, I guess out front of the house its still obscured too?

Here my view south is obliterated by an oak tree, pretty much ESE-SSW lost  behind it and of course N-E is roofline. Still there's lots to see but Venus you're pretty much needing a view west at the moment. Around 2-3AM you might see Jupiter and Saturn to the south east tho they'll be low in the sky

[Jennifere20]

Oh jeez!! With all this frustration etc il be tucked up in bed by then! Ha

[DaveL59]

yeah I won't be out either, will wait till they're better placed later in the year at a more suitable time  

[Jennifere20]

Later in the year as in when? I can’t wait that long. I need to see a planet!!

[Padraic M]

Ah no! I have that same problem - Venus is always out front with the street lights....

Thinking about what is good to see at the moment - depending on which direction your garden points, and how dark you sky is. Galaxies are tricky until you have a bit more experience. Unless the sky is really dark, they're hard/impossible to see with the naked eye. I spent two hours outside once trying to find the Andromeda galaxy. I knew exactly where it was but couldn't see a thing. Now, in a dark sky, I can't miss it, it's so big.  There aren't many viewable nebulae around at the moment, but in the Autumn there are some real treats available.

Globular clusters are really pretty, and can usually be seen as slightly fuzzy stars with the naked eye. Messier 3 (M3) is visible at the moment, close to Arcturus which is one of the brightest stars in the sky. You can see it by eye, it's great in a pair of binoculars, and should be fantastic in your scope. Arcturus is easy to find - using the Plough handle, just 'arc to Arcturus'.

For practice handling your setup, just try to locate a star - any star - using your finder scope and then your main scope. Unfortunately most stars still look just like stars regardless of the magnification of your scope. One of my favourites is Mizar (the middle star in the handle of the Plough) because it's a double with Alcor and easily visible in your scope. In fact, if the sky is dark, you might even be see that both Alcor and Mizar are double stars, and their components can be split with amateur scopes.