Beginners Help

[ThePeaLauncher]

Hi Everyone

and seasons greetings

Just picked up a very cheap Jessops telescope a few days ago to fuel my ongoing interest in astronomy. The Model number is 800-80.

Now i know most of the experts will concur this scope is moderate to poor however as i am just getting into stargazing i thought it would serve my initial purposes well.

I want to get some good moon shots and view a few planets such as Jupiter and Venus and some different star constellations.

So far although the night sky has not been cloud free i am struggling to see a thing through it, with my limited knowledge i dont know which lense to have inserted i have 6mm 12.5 mm 20mm and a barlow X 3.

Do i need the Barlow lense in the scope at all times, which lense is best for basic viewing.

I am struggling to even focus on a house across the road for example.

There is a red dot light focuser which i have used to no avail.

Any help would be great, if the scopes totally useless i will buy a better one in the new year,

Cheers

Jay:eek:

[Luke]

Hi Jay,

Congrats on taking the plunge, I started off with a very cheap Jessops telescope, looks like it was an older version of the one you have. It turned out to be quite an expensive telescope in a way as it got me hooked on astronomy! I saw the moon close up through it and my first ever galaxy, M31, which blew my mind.

I would recommend use the 20mm eyepiece to start with, don't use the Barlow yet, and start off by looking at the moon and get good focus on it.

Then have a bit of a look around, go back to the moon, then try using the 12 mm eyepiece, you will probably need to refocus.

Then if you are feeling bold, try the 6mm eyepiece, again on the moon as it's the brightest, biggest thing up there so it is the easiest thing to get focused on probably.

Once you are focused on the moon, you should be focused for everything else up in the sky, which will be very different to focusing on trees etc.

The 3x Barlow will basically increase the magnification 3x of whatever eyepiece you are using.

Your 20mm eyepiece gives you the least magnification, which is why I suggest using that first, it is usually easier to get focus at low magnification.

Hope this helps. Clear Skies!

Luke

[ThePeaLauncher]

Thanks for your comments luke I will try what you have suggested and let you know how it goes. After the moon what should be the next easiest object in the night sky to focus on? I have downloaded stellarium to aid me with my observations. Will the jessops scope be good enough to view the likes of saturn and jupiter? Kind regards jay

[pvaz]

I would go for Jupiter next, then M42 (Orion Nebula) to get you started on DSOs.

[nightfisher]

like in the other post stick with the 20mm ep to start with and view the moon, jupiter is a good target, when you have the moon in focus through the scope, align the red dot finder to the same, then use that to help you find objects

[ThePeaLauncher]

Thanks everyone just need a nice clear night now fingers crossed

[Capricorn]

As said start with the 20mm. Actually owing to the probable quality of the barlow I would suggest forgetting the 3x barlow.

Two reasons for this: It could be poor and may not give a good image at all, secondly it will probably only be useful with the 20mm giving an equivalent of 6.6mm which as you already have a 6mm it will be much the same.

Using the 3x barlow with the 12.5 or 6mm could be too much magnification for the scope.

The objects stated seem good, Moon, Jupiter, Orion Nebula.

For the ease of it point the scope at the middle star of the handle of the plough. It's a double and easy to find and split. Also in the plough are 3 messier objects that are conveniently close to the 2 lower stars that form the base of the plough/pan. Centre the scope on each and hopefully a faint object will reveal itself close by.

Look for Albireo (in Cygnus), another double but 2 contrasting colours.

[ThePeaLauncher]

UPDATE : Finally got a clear sky here in Cheshire tonight and took the advice off this forum and just used the 20mm lense without the Barlow X3. The Moon looked amazing i could see the craters and ice caps and what appeared to be rivers absolutely amazing. I spent about half an hour just looking at the moon, i then tried the 12.5mm lense and the moon was blurry but not too bad. I added the x3 Barlow to the 20mm lense and it appeared to be too powerful for the telescope i could see the moon but it filled my entire view and was too close for comfort to observe its markings. I then went back to the 20mm on its own and scouted around the sky. I came across what i believe is the star Pollux? It shimmered in orange glitter and appeared to have a black hole or black centre it was to the left of the moon, it could only have been Pollux or Gem accoding to Stellarium. Thanks everyone very impressed with what i saw made my week after having flu for the majority of it!!!

[Hawklord]

Excellent start. Keep going back to the moon. As its phase changes over the next few days the craters and shadows start to stand out more, and the views become simply stunning.

[am3x]

congrats on your experience i live in flintshire witch isnt far from chesire at all. i also have a very clear night but my mrs wont let me use my scope until santa has been

lol

happy holidays

alex

[ThePeaLauncher]

Ok Alex i managed to twist my wifes arm into having it early, she said she didnt want me mithering about how to set it up on christmas day lol

[am3x]

i will have to try that one with mine:evil6: lol

have a good christmas!

alex

[Moonshane]

enjoy the scope and welcome to SGL. you've had some good advice so far.

you'll use the 20mm the most I'll bet and possibly the 12mm.

there's lots of targets to have a go at with the scope you have.

I am in Cheshire too but not out tonight.

the star you saw may have been Betelgeuse which is in the constellation of Orion - look below it for the three stars in the famous belt. the Orion Nebula is below these in the 'sword'. it will look like a fuzzy patch in binoculars.

[ThePeaLauncher]

Thanks everyone I think my birthday in february will see a better scope being bought! Ok regarding betelguese I didn't think it wastthat because it was wrong side of the moon according to stellarium and didn't seem very bright to the naked eye! What is the large black hole in the middle of the star? Thanks agin everyone really appreciate it