Newbie needs help to see the moon

[solti]

JBM1165 pruss.mobi/moon bookmarked, thanks

EQ mount is coming up on the rails. reading the 3 posts above the EQ mount is better for looking at the moon and planetary work because they move fast out of view.

Astro_Baby = motor for at least Right Ascension (RA), new words solti off to check the meaning of RA.

Thanks everyone, keep advice / opinions coming.

[OzDave]

Right Ascension (RA) is just the name of one of the axes of an EQ mount. Its the axis that lies parallel to the earth's own axis. When you rotate the mount about the RA axis, you are making the mount either follow the earth's spin, or oppose the earth's spin.

So, if you have a motorized RA axis, the motor will make the EQ mount rotate at the correct rate so as to oppose the earth's spin. This will mean that the stars will appear to stay still in the view you get through a telescope. You don't have to do anything except look at the view, which is quite convenient.

Depending on what you are looking at, the motor will need to be set to the correct tracking speed. Stars appear to "move" at one rate, but planets and the moon "move" at different rates because they orbit the Sun and Earth at different speeds. Thus, a motor will typically have different tracking speeds you can select (such as Sidereal (for stars) and Lunar for Moon).

For what its worth, I agree with the people recommending an EQ mount as I have two kids that I like to show views of the moon and so forth. If I don't have the motor drive setup, its a total pain because the object I have just found races out of view by the time the child gets in position to look and you spend the whole time, saying, "Just a sec while I find it again..". Takes about 5 minutes of that before they get bored and go back inside.

I also recommend something like the SkyMax 127 Maksutov scope because on an EQ mount, the eyepiece position is easy to adjust for convenience, the scope itself is quite compact, doesn't need to be collimated like a Reflector, and can be up and running pretty quickly. I have found it an excellent beginner scope that also allows you to move on to other objects in the night sky once you've studied the Moon and Planets.

David

[crazyjedi]

Ok i'm comin off the fence!! SCT's and MAK's are expensive as starter scopes (if it doesn't work out and you lose interest it's alot to waste) .... Dob's are great out of the box performers. But if you want to track planets and other close in objects an EQ is the way to go. Even if it isn't motorised - if you set it up right - little adjustments on one knob is all it takes to track any object around the sky. to start out you don't need motorised perfection, expensive MAK, SCT's or Triplet Apochromatic refractors. Get the biggest Newtonian you can afford on an EQ mount. Learn how the EQ works and where everything is in the sky. As your interest grows add some nice good quality lenses and then- in 2 -3 years (or whenever you're ready) upgrade to which ever scope best suites your needs. You may feel the draw of astrophotography and invest in state of the art robotic mounts and a big APO or SCT or you may prefer visual DSO viewing and get a huge Dob. But for now - lets get started with a reasonably priced decent apertured scope on a good flexible mount.

A good 150 Newt on an EQ will do you proud.

right now go and download Stellarium for free. It's an invaluable program that tells you where everything is in the sky minute by minute. It'll help you recognise all the bright features of the night sky so you'll be well orientated even before your scope arrives. and when you are scoped up you'll know where to point it to find the siights.

TTFN

Clear skies guys!!

[solti]

OzDave thanks for the info on RA

crazyjedi has come off the fence and puts EQ into the lead.

crazy jedi I downloaded Stellarium and have just lost 2 hours looking up at stars and going back in doors to see if I have the right group, this will be going on my laptop tommorrow. Great advice to download this, thanks.

[robhal9000]

Hi,

You might want to look at Virtual Moon Atlas.

Virtual Moon Atlas

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

There are some very affordable long focal length Newtonians with EQ mount (from skywatcher 150 PL I think (L for long focal length). It is a 6" F/8 scope which should be fine for planets. Less hassle to collimate as a rule too. Regarding the "EQ-tango": When studying planets you just rotate the tube to a comfortable position, because you generally do not sweep across the sky as much.

I think a 6" equatorially mounted Newton hits a sweet spot price/aperture wise for starting lunar and planetary observers.

[brantuk]

There's a very nice Skywatcher 150P Black Diamond OTA on the For Sale section for only £99 - smashing bargain - plus you can choose your own mount for it

http://stargazerslounge.com/sale/105585-items-sale.html

[solti]

robhal9000, will download Virtual Moon Atlas, thanks.

[robhal9000]

Hi

Astroplanner is also good, but it has a steep learning curve.

With Stellarium make sure you run the ocular plug in. It gives you the ability to specific 'scope and EP parameters and view the virtual sky through your EP on screen, giving you a good idea as to what you should see through the scope.

There are a couple of decent bargains in the for sale section.

Black Diamond 150 OTA

Oops. Brantuk beat me to it.

[crazyjedi]

A MAK, SCt or frac for £200-£300???????????????

Surely a reflector on an EQ in that price range??

[crazyjedi]

Glad you're liking Stellarium. it will run in night mode (red screen) on your lap top so your night vision won't be harmed whilst viewing. that program is a blessing.

Tonight's clear sky is stunning! Saturn lookin great!

[solti]

Stellarium went on the laptop the other night.

Looking at the laptop screen stars seem upside down and backwards. I did find the red screen that helps outside.

I also found since I took a shed down by my house I now trip the neigboursr security light when I go into the garden, I now know what people are saying about light pollution

solti

[crazyjedi]

One of my neighbours has s super strength nuclear powered security light in his garden that lights up the whole damn neighbourhood whenever his cat twitches!!!!!! it is VERY annoying!!!!!!!!!!!!

[brantuk]

So long as you don't intend photography then a dob with tracking is great (goto even better).

Otherwise get an EQ mount (with/without tracking and or goto). Even if it's manual you can track in RA only with odd tweaks in Dec so long as it's polar aligned right. Plus you'll be able to upgrade to tracking later at very reasonable cost.

EQ mounts are just as easy to set up as dobs once you've worked out how to do it - it's not rocket science and it allways puzzles me why folk say a dob is easier. There may be three mins difference set up time between them.

I started with a SW 150P on EQ mount - can't beat it for a starter scope - good views, upgradeable, portable, and easy to use - go for biggest aperture within budget on eq mount is what I say

[crazyjedi]

I think that it's just that dob's are branded as starter scopes, For DSO's they work fine but,...... Most newcomers want to look at the moon and planets first off (and lets face it we all still look upon the moon and planets with awe). I am not knocking Dob mounts but, if you want a scope that will grow with your interest and be a flexible friend an EQ is best - even without motors. My friend that came to check out my scope last weekend had grasped the whole concept of an EQ mount in a few hours so it's really not that hard.

[solti]

Dob or EQ the winner is............

[kniclander]

Dob or EQ the winner is............

is there a prize if i get it right?:D

[brantuk]

Anyone offering odds on what Solti will get? I wanna place a bet lol

[crazyjedi]

The odds are probably close to 5 to 4 in favour of an EQ by the look of the most recent posts.

I'm in.........I'm going to say...................

EQ!!!!!!!!!!!?????????

[ronin]

You started off by saying that your daughter, 11, would be using the scope as well. She seems to have become lost in the thread.

A dob is simple but as A-B said doesn't track and if you locate something then hand it to your daugther to look then the object will have moved a bit and she may have to lower the EP to even see. In the second instance a dob will not be pointing at whatever you initially found.

A dob is good for one person but swapping people and especailly when height differences may be involved add to potential problems.

Also as the object moves when your daughter is at the EP she will have to nudge the scope. Another point is are both your eye's the same? If your daughter has to get to the scope, then alter focus I will bet that the object has moved well over the field of view and possibly out of it.

Equally an EQ mount will need motors to track but the object should remain in the field of view for a longer time.

[brantuk]

Yup - and if she can't get up to the eyepiece then you can get a good stable caravan step for under twenty smackers.

My money's on EQ lol

[Steve922]

By now you should have contaced your local astronomy clubs who will have offered to demo their stuff for you. Consider all the comments here, esp. regarding Dob or EQ and Aperture when you sample the difference for yourself first hand. Then the choice of what is right (and affordable) for you will be easy.

Steve

[kniclander]

if anyone wants to bet on an Eq, I'll take that bet and give you 3/2;)

ps, it's interesting all the comments on this thread about dobs being good for moon and planets when there's another thread all about an f11 dob that orion optics have made specifically for moon and planets. Someone better tell those poor fools at orion wot don't know much about scopes that dobs aren't any good for that stuff... (not)

[crazyjedi]

I'm going for an EQ!!!!!!!!!

[crazyjedi]

I wish he'd put us out of our misery and tell us what he's got. The suspense is killing me