1st decent skies with new scope.

[Broadymike]

Hi all 

Last week I picked up my first ever reflector. Celestron 114eq. I know it's not the best scope but it was a bargain lol. Already had some better plossl eyepieces etc. It's worked out to be an ok starting point for next to no money. 

Last night was the first proper clear skies I've had to test it out. I've also never used an eq mount before although I did know the theory of how they work. So off I went down to the beach (just across the road) so I could use the cliffs to block out the street lights of the town. Setting up on the prom at the base of the cliff was no major issue even in the dark while my eyes were still adjusting. Had the latitude already roughly set on the mount positioned it approximately north. Amazingly when I looked in the finderscope the North star was just on the edge of the view. Tiny adjustments and I was all set. 

For the first hour or so I was just moving between some of the brighter stars just so I could get used to locating and finding things. The next thing I'm replacing will be the finderscope. It's just about usable but not great at all.

After a little practice I turned my attention to my first planned target of the night. M31 now I know its an easy thing to find but for me it was the first time I'd actually properly looked for it, or any other fuzzy for that matter. After looking at stellarium earlier in the evening I knew approximately where it should be. After maybe 4 or 5 min I had found it. With an f/8 scope at 37x I knew wasn't going to be an amazing view like you see in magazines etc but I was happy with a good image of the galactic centre and the faint hint of the spiral arms.

Next I turned to Saturn, ramped up the magnification up to 112.5x. This seemed to be the best trade off between clarity and size. Could happily see the rings and I believe possibly the Cassini division was visible at times although the seeing wasn't the best that low in the sky.

To finish off my night I went for the other obvious target of Jupiter. By this time I had got used to the mount and found with ease. Staying at the same magnification as jupiter I could easily see the galilean moons and was just starting to make out some faint bands. 

At this point a security van decided to drive along the prom with its head lights on full beam aimed straight at me. Completely ruined my night vision. I looked at the time and realised it was gone 3am so was about time to pack up anyway. 

So all in all I had a great time last night. 

[iapa]

Nice 1st light report.

Agree re the RDF, horrible things.

Try posting in the “wanted” forum here, there is likely to be someone with extra finder scopes.

[JeremyS]

Great report @Broadymike

First of many I hope 👍🏻

[Broadymike]

It's not an RDF, if anything that would be much better. It's a really bad plastic 5x24 finderscope. It's just about usable but I will be replacing it at some point. 

[iapa]

3 minutes ago, Broadymike said:

It's not an RDF, if anything that would be much better. It's a really bad plastic 5x24 finderscope. It's just about usable but I will be replacing it at some point. 

OK, bad assumption based on my 114EQ having an RDF, same as this

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/celestron-astromaster-series/celestron-astromaster-114eq-with-motor-drive-and-phone-adapter.html

Anyway way, post in wanted section, you’ll have someone with something better.

Edited June 6, 2021 by iapa

[Broadymike]

Just now, JeremyS said:

Great report @Broadymike

First of many I hope 👍🏻

Thanks. It's all very well just listing a load of objects and magnifications etc, but I think it's nice to add some extra details to get a feel for the experience. 

I'll certainly try to keep reporting on my nights. Fingers crossed 🤞 tonight may be another good night where I am.  

[Broadymike]

2 minutes ago, iapa said:

OK, bad assumption based on my 114EQ having an RDF, same as this

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/celestron-astromaster-series/celestron-astromaster-114eq-with-motor-drive-and-phone-adapter.html

Anyway way, post in wanted section, you’ll have someone with something better.

Ah I've got the powerseeker not the astromaster.  Mine has a longer focal length of 900mm. Plus it's the older model (silver not black) hence the 5x24 rather than RDF. I can live with what I have for now as I can't really afford to be spending out any more, certainly this month anyway. But it's just added to my shopping list. So far my priorities are new finder, a 32mm EP and either a Cheshire or laser collimator. Luckily the people I bought the scope from their neighbour runs the local astronomy club so they got him to check it over and collimate it before they sold it to me. Also they passed on my number and I'm going to the club for the first time next week lol.  

[iapa]

Joining a club is a great 1st step.

 

[Zermelo]

1 hour ago, Broadymike said:

So all in all I had a great time last night

Nice report, and congratulations on your first successful outing.

[Broadymike]

1 minute ago, iapa said:

Joining a club is a great 1st step.

 

Yeah it's just the other side of the island from where I am so easy to get to. They seem to do the same as what I did last night. Use the topography (cliffs etc) to block out as much light pollution as possible and have half the sky over the open sea which does make for better seeing conditions than just a couple of miles inland. 

Will be interesting to meet some new people with more experience. Looking forward to it. 

[Tiny Clanger]

Great start, nice report. 

Funny to imagine (here in Leicestershire-nowhere-near-the-sea) having to check not just the weather forecast before planning a trip out with the 'scope, but also the tide tables 🙂

There's a wealth of free stuff out there on the internet for those of us not exactly burdened with space cash  , e.g. how to make your own collimation cap  https://www.superpoweroptics.com/make-collimation-cap/

(you can often beg a few free 35mm film pots from an establishment that takes in film for processing , there are still some around !) and how to use it https://garyseronik.com/a-beginners-guide-to-collimation/

And an excellent guide to some good targets for rather light polluted skies : https://las-astro.org.uk/docs/Loughton_List_v2_0.pdf

I look forward to reading your next report !

Heather