Beginner advise please

[M1TCH]

Hi all im new to this, I have always been interested in astronmy and space etc but never got round to doing anything.

I have just got myself a Jessops TA800X80 reflecting scope with 6mm, 12.5mm, 20mm eyepieces and 3x barlow lens. I know its not the best scope in the world and my chances of spotting new galaxys etc is not that good.

What I would really love to see is things like the rings of saturn, Mars etc and the moon if it decides to make an apperance as the last two nights its been a bit shy.

Thanks in advance.

[Ant]

Hey M1TCH,

Saturn should be fairly each to spot, it's a fairly bright star in the East after sunset. Slowing moving round to the south before midnight.

See map below for it's position at around 19:30.

The moon is a little more tricky at the moment as you'll need to be an early riser - as it doesn't rise tonight untill around 04:30 - but give it a week and it'll be visible in the evning sky after sunset (a much more pleasant time )

Mars isn't going to be much good before around August / September time. And Jupiter around June / July time. (Unless your an easy riser!)

Jupiter is wel worth the wait though

Cheers

Ant

[Tiny]

Hi Mitch. Welcome. I assume you have tested the scope and finder in daylight on a distant object to make sure they point at the same place and adjust if they don't. After that what do you want to know.

[Capricorn]

Hi, Saturn should show up fine, but remember that it is low and the atmosphere we have will limit what can be seen. At this time the rings are pretty much edge on so again not easy to pick out. Last time I looked at it it was due south at midnight.

The barlow that you have with the eyepieces that you have will give equilalences of approximately: 2mm, 4mm and 6mm.

I suspect that the barlow+6 and balow+12.5 will be too much for the scope - poor final image owing to too much magnification. So be aware of this if you decide to use the barlow with any of the eyepieces.

[scotastro]

One more planet, if your western horizon is clear, you will see Venus, it is the first thing to appear as it gets dark. It is closing in on the Sun so will not be visible much longer.

Venus appears as a very thin crescent.

Mike

[The Warthog]

Hi, Mitch. Read some of the beginner threads on eyepieces, and you'll begin to get an idea of how you can optimize your viewing experience with this scope.

Your most comfortable high power will be about 120x, although 160x is the theoretical maximum for this scope. For now, use the 20mm (40x) and 12.5mm (64x) for most of your observing. Your 6mm ep will give you 133x, but may be a bit uncomfortable to use as you will have to put your eye quite close to it. Your Barlow and the 20mm will give you a comfortable 120x.

Most galaxies are difficult targets, but you should be able to capture some of the brighter ones, if you have decent skies. Clusters should be good, and the Moon will be quite pleasant. You can see the planets, but possibly not a lot of detail with this scope. Mars is usually a disappointment, even in my 6" scope, and most people need a bigger scope for it.