Celestron powerseeker 114eq help!

[Padraic M]

That's very well done for your second night and a smartphone! I still find focusing is my number 1 challenge. There are multi-speed focusers and focus masks etc. etc. for lots of money but in the meantime we just have to be very careful with focusing, and the entry-level scopes don't make it easy.

Here's my effort on Venus from a few weeks back - not as much of a crescent as it is now. I used a webcam and the 'lucky imaging' technique that is more controllable than the smartphone approach.

Keep up the good work, and with practice the pennies will start to drop.

[DaveL59]

11 minutes ago, Jennifere20 said:

Quite slack

so you feel it moves too free and overshoots perhaps?

You don't want it too tight but on the back of the focuser where the shaft is there should be a plate with 2 screws.

If yours is the same then tightening the screws just a little should make the focuser less slack, loosen to make it more. Hope that makes sense, post a pic of yours and I expect someone who has a celestron may be able to comment.

[Jennifere20]

Ok thanks il try it. Have you managed to take any photos yet? 

[DaveL59]

was having a try but thin clouds have started to drift over. And it seems a focus problem, not so easy on the small rear screen and it seems to get a noisy shot every 2nd/3rd. Like this

I can see I could see stars but not like pinpoints that I saw on the display lol

That was just off the end of Ursa Major (plough) - was hoping I might pick up some of the detail up there. Another night maybe, days like this I wish I'd gotten the Sony A350 with a proper viewfinder who I doubt it'd have helped. Will have to try harder next time   Lens was set at 200mm

[Nerf_Caching]

Just to give you an idea of how to point your telescope once you are aligned to Polaris, here is what my setup looks like when pointing at an object high in the sky(A different telescope and mount to yours but the same principles apply). This photo was taken facing North and so is my mount. You set the mount to your latitude and you never touch it again. Same with the left and right adjustment. You use only the RA and Dec to move the telescope. 

Edited May 16, 2020 by Nerf_Caching

[Jennifere20]

Wow you was up early star spotting wasn’t you. Okay thanks very much 

[John]

56 minutes ago, Jennifere20 said:

Wow you was up early star spotting wasn’t you. Okay thanks very much 

@Nerf_Caching is in Hong Kong.

In the UK the early hours are when Jupiter and Saturn can currently be seen.

 

[Jennifere20]

Ahh that explains it then. Did you do any spotting last night John? 

[John]

9 minutes ago, Jennifere20 said:

Ahh that explains it then. Did you do any spotting last night John? 

Not last night.  We had my Astro Society "Zoom" virtual meeting which took until 9:00 pm by which time it was pretty cloudy.

Looks like if might be clear from around 10:00 pm this evening for a while.

The good thing about astronomy is that the Universe is not going anywhere so you can have a break for while and it's all still there when the clouds clear again

[Jennifere20]

Does anybody know if anything will be visible tonight? Planet wise 

[Knighty2112]

2 minutes ago, Jennifere20 said:

Does anybody know if anything will be visible tonight? Planet wise 

Venus will be blazing away in the west tonight. Be very east to spot as its so bright. 

[DaveL59]

depends how you define tonight...

Saturn and Jupiter will be low but rising in the SE from around 2AM  (not that I'll be out at that time lol)

[RT65CB-SWL]

9 hours ago, Jennifere20 said:

Does anybody know if anything will be visible tonight? Planet wise 

If you can get your hands on a used/secondhand Android OS 'phone or tablet; there is a nice small app called 'Skywheel' on the Google Play store. It only deals with the solar system targets, so no constellations visible. If you are feeling a little adventurous; the same developer has released 'Mars Sky' so you can view the solar system targets from a few Martian locations. The best part is they are small downloads and they are free. Both apps are not available for the iOS platform.

Another 'fun' app is 'Constellation' - a quiz app to see if you can recognise the 88 IAU recognised constellations. 

Many other popular astronomy apps, (free or paid), are available for Android and iOS.

Edited May 16, 2020 by Philip R

[Jennifere20]

Oh thanks. My son had android so il try and pinch his for a bit 

[miguel87]

2 hours ago, Jennifere20 said:

Does anybody know if anything will be visible tonight? Planet wise 

Changes from one night to the next are small. So a planet might only move a few degrees a day across the sky.

Venus will get lower each evening, slowly, until we can no longer see it as it will be too close to the sun by June.

Jupiter, Saturn and Mars rise in the early hours but stay very low. They will slowly rise earlier and earlier over the next few months.

Definitely get to know your garden and where your clearest horizons are. I have a brilliant NW view but a poor SE view, so I tend to catch things as they are setting much easier than when they are rising.

 

✌

[DaveL59]

for your iPhone, the camera app to try would be: ProCam 7

There's also a thread on Venus going in the observing section:

oh and I think I've found a way to trick my camera into setting itself to infinity focus, so hopefully next try I might actually get some pictures worth taking lol

[Nerf_Caching]

On 16/05/2020 at 15:53, Jennifere20 said:

Wow you was up early star spotting wasn’t you. Okay thanks very much 

 

On 16/05/2020 at 16:51, John said:

@Nerf_Caching is in Hong Kong.

In the UK the early hours are when Jupiter and Saturn can currently be seen.

 

Yes I was in Hong Kong haha. I was actually photographing the Flame and Horsehead Nebula in Orion with that setup.

[John]

3 minutes ago, Nerf_Caching said:

 

Yes I was in Hong Kong haha. I was actually photographing the Flame and Horsehead Nebula in Orion with that setup.

Not with a mobile phone, I'll bet !

 

[Nerf_Caching]

1 minute ago, John said:

Not with a mobile phone, I'll bet !

 

Nah, something a little more advanced than that; a dslr actually!😆

[Jennifere20]

When is the moon back guys? 

[Neil H]

Jen did you see mercury under Venus  

[miguel87]

3 minutes ago, Jennifere20 said:

When is the moon back guys? 

Will become visible in the evenings as a thin crescent over the next few days.

[DaveL59]

this may help Jennifer

https://www.timeanddate.com/moon/phases/uk/warrington

 

[Jennifere20]

11 minutes ago, Neil H said:

Jen did you see mercury under Venus  

Noooooo. When? 

[DaveL59]

tonight, another chance tomorrow night tho  Before it drops below the horizon, mercury should be below Venus to the south-west.