The sky wow

[Mark68]

I just want to say,

I am just starting out on observing the sky. Only have a 4 inch scope. Learnt the hard way that a 4mm eye piece isn't the best. I need to get a 6mm.

But isn't it amazing when you see a star and focus in on it, then you see all these stars around it. You come away from the scope and cant see anything.

The sky just goes on and on.

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi @Mark68 and welcome to SGL. 

Let us know what you have and we can advise. Some 6mm e/p's are better than others.

If you are on a budget, then have a look here... 
https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces.html 
or here...
https://www.firstlightoptics.com/vixen-eyepieces/vixen-npl-eyepieces.html

[Mark68]

Ive got a skywatcher 100mm heritage.

Carne with a Barlow, 25mm and 10mm. I bought a cheap 4mm. I do have a tight budget. 

I looked at Jupiter Saturn and Mars last night. Couldn't see the clouds on Jupiter, but could see it's moons. Saturn was an elongated star. I don't know at the moment if it is my eye pieces or me, or the fact I wear glasses for reading (and don't for using the scope). Tried to find andromeda M31

[RT65CB-SWL]

Out of the supplied eyepieces, the 10mm is not so good from what I have read from other SkyWatcher users here... and other astro-forums.
Once your eyes have been 'dark adpated', (it can take up to half an hour), some finer details should start to appear. I remove my specs when
at the e/p too.

[JOC]

That's got a focal length of 400mm  with a 4mm in that's going to give a magnification of x100.  They say approximate theorectical maximum is twice the apperture in mm - your apperture is 100mm,  which would give x200, but I tend to think its about half that in the UK.  So, I guess you might get to x100 on a really good night, but I reckon you would be better off with less than that maybe something around the 8mm mark?  I don't know what sort of EP's come with these scopes, but I had Skywatchers own 10mm and 25mm come with my 8" and, FWIW, I was quite pleased with them.

Edited July 11, 2020 by JOC

[Mark68]

Thanks for the replies. 

I tend to always use the Barlow and just change the eye piece. Is that the best thing to do?

[Mark68]

17 minutes ago, Philip R said:

Out of the supplied eyepieces, the 10mm is not so good from what I have read from other SkyWatcher users here... and other astro-forums.
Once your eyes have been 'dark adpated', (it can take up to half an hour), some finer details should start to appear. I remove my specs when
at the e/p too.

So I should still be able to focus in and the scope will counteract my eye strength.

It's just that I have used a tool suggested on here to understand what I can expect to see and using the 10mm with the Barlow I cannot get a clear picture like this. It is still blurry. Although I can see Jupiters moons.

Am I expecting ting too much.

[Waddensky]

1 hour ago, Mark68 said:

I tend to always use the Barlow and just change the eye piece. Is that the best thing to do?

Depends on the object you'd like to observe. A 2x barlow doubles the magnification, so that might be useful for small objects like planets. But a barlow + your 4 mm eyepiece result in way too much magnification for your scope. Keep it under 100x, on exceptional nights you can try up to 150x (you won't see more details but some details are easier to see at higher magnifications) but that's about it under normal circumstances

Jupiter and Saturn are not  well-placed these years, they are always low above the horizon. This means there's a lot of air to look through, most likely causing the blurry image you're experiencing. Take your time, sometimes the air suddenly improves for a few seconds.

[Mark68]

6 hours ago, Waddensky said:

Depends on the object you'd like to observe. A 2x barlow doubles the magnification, so that might be useful for small objects like planets. But a barlow + your 4 mm eyepiece result in way too much magnification for your scope. Keep it under 100x, on exceptional nights you can try up to 150x (you won't see more details but some details are easier to see at higher magnifications) but that's about it under normal circumstances

Jupiter and Saturn are not  well-placed these years, they are always low above the horizon. This means there's a lot of air to look through, most likely causing the blurry image you're experiencing. Take your time, sometimes the air suddenly improves for a few seconds.

Great advice. Thank you. 

So when I look for m32 am I best with no Barlow and 25mm.

[Ricochet]

When you are looking for anything, it is best to start with your lowest power (highest focal length) eyepiece and no barlow. Once you have found the object you can increase the power. I assume that it is M31 you are looking for rather than M32. They are right next to each other but it is easier to see M31. From a dark site M31 will be really large, but from a suburban location you will only be able to see the core, which is much smaller. 

[Waddensky]

1 hour ago, Mark68 said:

Great advice. Thank you. 

So when I look for m32 am I best with no Barlow and 25mm.

Ricochet has some good advice. When finding objects, a low magnification (your 25 mm) is usually best to pinpoint the location. If the object is small, you can try out higher magnifications to find the 'sweet spot' where you see the most detail. For large objects like M31 a lower magnification gives the best results. M32 looks like a fuzzy star next to M31. Clear skies and have fun!

[Mark68]

Great advice thank you to all.

This is my first picture of the moon without the Barlow with the 10mm. It was only taken with my phone so not expecting perfection at all.

[MarkAR]

Good start, reducing the brightness will bring out a lot more detail.

[Mark68]

Not had much chance to get since the weekend due to the clouds.

Just another one, as you are aware the skywatcher heritage 100 comes with a table top stand. Is there a reasonably priced tripod I can get to put it on, to make it easier to move around the garden.

[Ricochet]

I believe the H100 stand has a 3/8" thread on the underside of the base. If this is the case, then any decent photographic tripod where the head can be removed to reveal the 3/8" bolt will fit. 

[gaz81]

Sky is amazing 🙂

I spotted Saturn for the first time few days ago when the cloud broke... was amazing! To see the rings with your own eyes 🙂

[Mark68]

31 minutes ago, gaz81 said:

Sky is amazing 🙂

I spotted Saturn for the first time few days ago when the cloud broke... was amazing! To see the rings with your own eyes 🙂

Still not managed to see jupiters clouds or Saturn's rings yet. Can see the moons around jupiter though.

[gaz81]

Think next time... if the sky ever clears I’ll use a moon filter to view them (like an ND filter) as they are super bright. 

[maw lod qan]

Seldom is there a moment when I look up that I dont go wow! 

Even when I'm at the scope, I find that I lean back and look up. You cant believe how many times just when you look up, there will be a meteor!