Jump to content

Purchased my first scope - Praying for clear skies

You can't be Sirius

Recommended Posts

You can't be Sirius

You can't be Sirius

Posted
Posted

Hi all,

After much deliberation, and lots of changing my mind, I have finally taken the plunge and invested in my first scope :). Have gone for the Celestron Nexstar 8 SE. Having started out with a budget of around a third of what I have finally spent (is that always the way?), I took myself down to a proper shop and took their advice based on my requirements. Can't wait for delivery and some clear skies, although knowing my luck my new purchase will no doubt signal the start of cloudy weather for the forseeable future (sorry for those looking for clear skies, all my fault :)).

On another note, this is a great site and I know I will be back on a regular basis to learn as much as I can by picking a few brains on here.

I'm going to be like a kid waiting for Santa Claus until my parcel arrives, can't wait. I will also be boring you all with my first views, so apologies in advance.

In the meantime what advice can you experts give me with regard to my first time out of the box? It would be good to get off to a decent start and avoid obvious beginners daft problems.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jonathan

jonathan

Posted
Posted

I went down the same route - almost everyone said SkyWatcher Reflector but they were just too big, I got the NexStar 8SE instead. It's a good piece of kit, surprisingly compact when on the mount and tripod, and easily carried to the back garden in one piece.

Although it's been windy and rainy during the day recently I have found that there's usually been a period between 6pm and about 11pm where the clouds have parted so I hope that happens for you too!

The 25mm eyepiece will give you great views of the moon (though think about a moon filter as it's very bright on the poor eyes) and you should be able to see Jupiter pretty well too. Take it steady on your first night, don't expect too much. If you can't get the hang of the StarAlign just use the manual controls to point at a few obvious targets, this will get you seeing stuff right away. You should align your red dot finder scope to the main OTA, this is quite easy and quick to do (it is described in the manual and quick-start) and should only need doing once.

Your next purchases should include a 12v power tank (I have the Maplins 5-in-1 car jumpstarter), a power lead, dew prevention system, and a couple of good eye pieces (get the Revelations eyepiece set if you like, but I have elected to go with a 10mm X-Cel and a 38mm wide field eyepiece later when money allows - three or four high quality eyepieces should see you right for years to come).

Link to comment
Share on other sites
You can't be Sirius

You can't be Sirius

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks Jonathan, I also looked at the Skywatcher reflectors, but similarly to you eventually rejected it due to size. It was definitely the portability that drew me, although I am told this is a great scope for viewing. The Nexstar does now come with a moon filter, but will definitely be getting a powerpack and dew system. More eye-pieces will come later when I know what I am doing.

Thanks to others for your good wishes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
brantuk

brantuk

Posted
Posted

The 8SE is a smashing scope that'll give you years of fun. I just love the Celestron optics and the tracking is terrific too. Let us know how you get on with it.

Congrats and all the best! :)

(you're not by any chance John MacEnroe are you? lol)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.