First Telescope Session (with questions)

[JamesK]

Hi.

Last night I noticed it was clear and so decieded to go out and have a poke around with the Telescope I got as a present a few years ago (Looked at the Moon a few times- then it started to gather dust). It's not exactly Hubble - 3 inch reflector - and the "For age 10 and up" on the box is kind of off-putting, but I've been fancying a shot with it since I went out armed with binoculars and a star map a couple of weeks back. I've always had a kind-of casual interest in astronomy.

Anyway, went fairly well, despite some issues with the finderscope. Saw Saturn (Bit blurry, though), several double star systems marked on the map, and the hyades(?) cluster was especially nice on low magnification. Seemed to have a kind of blueish-tint in that stars, am I right? Was suprised how many stars you can see with a scope in some areas. Anyway- questions:

• How far does an object have to be in order to allign the finderscope correctly- I have problems doing it in the dark, and had to cope with it being slightly out.
  
• Any good freeware which is more visual than a star map- so it's easier to find interesting things- tried to locate some brighter well known messier(?) objects, but directions were a bit vauge.
  
• Heard a lot of recommendation for "Turn left at Orion"- but is it worth the £15 if I have a 3 inch scope and some light 12x32 (I think) binoculars that I can hold fairly steady. Will I be able to see the majority of objects with them? I'm still in school so upgrading major equiptment is not really an option ATM.
  

Thanks in advance, James.

[adamsp123]

Hi James,

you could download stellarium or any other free sky map software and use that to find your way around the sky saving a few quid

For the finder scope I use the centre of our towns Clock tower about 300 metres away for alignment.

The finding of objects without a goto system just need patience and practice untill you get to know your way around the night sky better.

happy hunting Pete

[A McEwan]

Hi James,

Yes, Turn Left at Orion is recommended for small telescopes. So much so that they should hand it out to parents when they take their new babies home just on the off-chance that an interest in astronomy develops in their offspring!

Your small binoculars will probably not be as useful for observation as your telescope will be. I'd concentrate on getting the finder aligned (any terrestrial object more than a few hundred yards away is ideal, as Pete has pointed out) and then using Stellarium to find some objects of interest to find.

Try to start out with fairly bright ones (that's low magnitude - say mag 8, 7, 6, etc) to start with as they will appear easier in the telescope and should even be visible in the finderscope.

Sounds like you're already well on the way though! Stick with it!

Ant

[JamesK]

Thanks all.

[jgs001]

James, I use a fence post about 150yd's away to align my finder, works very well. Stellarium is pretty good and free, and Turn Left @ Orion is the way to go. The instructions for finding objects are spot on. Have a look at a few clusters, you're off to a good start, although it sounds like the Pleiades with the blueish colour, rather than the Hyades. They are very appealing to look at. And generally quite easy to find. The bino's, whilst not being ideal, the aperture is a bit small, are probably worth using to get used to seeing far more than you would with your eyes and starting working your way around.

I'd recommend, The Pleiades (M45) and The Beehive (M44), both pretty easy to find, and very nice to look at. Put the numbers into Stellarium to search for them.

[dark knight]

James I know this may seem silly (as you say you struggle doing it at night), but align the finder scope in the day time, using the furthest object you can see. Hope this doesn't seem patronising.

[JamesK]

No mate, it's fine. I probably need simple explainations ATM. Thanks for the input.

[Leegsi]

For aligning the finder scope I use a street light at the front of our house at the end of our street at night if I think its out or an aerial also at the end of our street during the day.

[Mikea]

As a beginner myself, may I add that finderscope alignment is much more critical with higher scope magnification. Obvious when you think about it, but had me scratching my head outside in the freezing cold!

[dark knight]

Mikea - Once the finder is aligned, use a low power eyepiece say 25mm to centre your target in the telescope, then use a mid power eyepiece and recentre in the telescope and then do it again with a high power eyepiece. If you try to go straight from a low power to a high power there is a chance the target will not be in the eyepieces field of view.

[Mikea]

Yes dark knight - that's pretty much what happened on my first attempt. I thought it was close enough at low mag, but going to high mag showed up the error. Still, it's good to learn!!

[litheduke]

just got "turn left" two days ago - excellent for use with small scope (I have a 3 inch with only one eyepiece giving 30x mag which I got a week ago)

of course new telescope curse also hits beginners with tiny mirrors, so it has been total cloud to light haze every night since, but in a few moments of clear sky (because i had read TLaO) I saw Mizar as a double, both colours, for the first time ever.

Now hooked and saving for a decent size scope, and reading "turn left" while waiting for the clouds to clear

so, yes, it is worth the £15!

also, i found Stellarium menus did not work on my old laptop (video driver glitch) but Cartes Du Ciel 3.0 runs well (it is in English despite the name)

[tinvek]

i use a clock on a farm shed across a field to align my finderscope. if you want to make sure, when you try it at night use a low power lens and center a target star or planet in your view, then adjust your finder so it's centered, up the power, re center and then adjust the finder again if necessary but a daylight alignment on something about 300 or 400 yds should be sufficient.

[JamesK]

Just found some old software- Starry Night Beginner. Had a look, updated it, seems to fit the purpose well.

[Helen]

Starry night is great

Helen

[Hamal67]

• Heard a lot of recommendation for "Turn left at Orion"- but is it worth the £15 i
  

Thanks in advance, James.

Anton Vamplew's Stargazing Secrets at about £5 used is pretty good too.

[dark knight]

Yes " Turn Left at Orion" is a great investment, and only £15. You may get it cheaper from Amazon. I know I say "only" £15, but when you think you can spend hundreds of pounds on a single eyepiece, £15 doesn't sound to bad for something that you can use no matter what your experience.