Cuban's Questions

[CUBAN]

thanks for the feed back guys in answer to some of your questions i already have a barlow lens x2 but i found i could only use it to good effect on the moon any thing else was to hard to get in focus the filter is a filna sodiem light which gives a bright blue tinge to any thing bright

the 6mm has no name on it but on the bill it is listed as 615-6mm ultrawide

guess ive just got to percivere at the ep

i would value your opinions about bolting on a go to system to my set up when i can

afford it thanks for the encouragement guys made me feel better about my scope

i live in south east essex any one know any good dark sights near me

regards cuban

[OXO]

Hi Cuban,

What Mount do you have? so to better answer the goto question

Do you have any Star Chart programes on you PC? they can be a big help in finding those faint fussies.

James

[CUBAN]

hi james in answer to your questions it is a sky scan 2001 mount eq3-2

and yes i do have starry night back yard on my pc its like going back to school

all this studying lark but at least its a subject i enjoy i hope tonights clear

i havent been able to observe for over a week

regards cuban

[daz]

Cuban

You won't go wrong with SN. Cracking bit of sofware. Which version do you have?

There are rumours of a clear sky over the weekend, check www.metcheck.com for your area, and then you can join the rest of us in bemoaning them and how they always get it wrong!!!

[FLO]

You won't go wrong with SN. Cracking bit of software.

Daz is right, its a wonderful PC planetarium.  If I remember its limiting magnitude is set so that only the objects visible thru a typical 3-4" scope are shown.  That means Cuban, that with a clear and dark sky your Starmax 127 is capable of seeing all the objects displayed. 

Steve

[FLO]

Cuban, I have been thinking. 

Were you advised when you bought the scope that it is good practise to allow its optics to cool to ambient temperature before viewing?  If stored indoors, once taken outside the mirror and in particular that thick correcting lens will begin to lose the heat stored in its glass.  Generally, this takes about 10 minutes per inch of aperture - 50 minutes for your 5" scope.  If you try to use it before then you will be viewing thru the heat radiating off the lens and the views will shimmer and appear indistinct. 

Also, Maksutovs like yours cannot be re-collimated by the user so it is important that its optics are perfectly aligned from day one.  The quickest way to check for obvious misalignment is to look into the tube from the front and step back a few feet until you can see a series of concentric circles.  If they are evenly spaced and centered you don't have a problem.  If not, return it to your dealer for a replacement. 

Hope that helps,

Steve

PS: I seem to be hogging this thread so will move to the back seat for a while as there are several others here with more experience than I who will be pleased to advise.

[CUBAN]

hi steve yes i have been putting my set up out a couple of hours before observing i was aware that it had to cool down to out side temprature

by the way am i asking questions etc on the right page also looking at my first post i did not give a lot of info about my self so for anybody thats intrested

i am 44 yrs old married with 2 daughters and run a small roofing company from home thats me

regards cuban

[daz]

Hi Cuban

Although we are not too fussed here about where things get posted, it might be better to post the questions in the appropriate place - it just makes it a little easier for other people to follow the threads...

In fact - done it!

[GazOC]

Hi Cuban,

Welcome to the forum.

You say youre putting the scope out to cool down for a couple of hours before you use it? If you're doing this without a dew-shield then the front plate on the scope will almost certainly be covered in dew, check the front next time you go out. Don't wipe any dew off though, you can damage the corrector plate.

If you've got 5 mins spare make yourself a temporary dew shield (if you havn't already got one, if you have ignore this entire post!!), I had the same scope as you and used a rolled up Carling Black Label box for the first couple of weeks. Just wrap it round the end of the scope, mark it and staple it into a cylinder to fit the scope, the shield should overhang the end of the scope by 7-8 inches or so.

Regards

Gaz

[CUBAN]

already done gaz modified a black plastic plant pot and looks like it will work a treat

thanks for the info though i welcome any feedback looks like ive joined a great forum

regards cuban

[daz]

Ah, these hi-tec solutions just keep on coming!

[GazOC]

"Nesessity is the mother of invention" and all that, eh?

As Steve said in the other thread, I'd give galaxies a miss for the time being, they can be underwhelming at the best of times. As you found out, Andromeda is a case in point, it looks stunning in photographs but is just a fuzz ball all but the very darkest skies.

Ones to try for the Mak are the Planets (Mars and Saturn are currently visible), globular clusters and bright nebulae (M42 is a bit of a treat and easy to find!)

You say you are having trouble focussing at high powers, maybe you are flying past the focus point too fast and missing it? It's easily done esp at high powers as the "sweet spot" of in focus gets smaller as you increase magnification.

Cheeers

Gaz

[CUBAN]

hi gaz i have looked on sky at night oct sky map and cant find m42 any where

can you give me a star hop guide to get there if you have time

thanks cuban

[GazOC]

http://www.noao.edu/outreach/nop/nophigh/steve14.html

http://homepage.mac.com/kvmagruder/bcp/aster/constellations/Ori.htm

http://www.astrofilitrentini.it/mat/costell/ori_e.html

Cuban,

You can't miss it mate, it's just below the three stars that make up the belt of Orion, it's takes high magnificatoin pretty well, so once you've found it you can try the higher powers.

Cheers

Gaz

[daz]

Cuban

You can also do a search in your Starry Night for it, and it will highlight it in red, and depending on your version, zoom into at as well!

[FLO]

... it's just below the three stars that make up the belt of Orion ...

Aha,

I've been looking for an excuse to post this incredible pic of Orions belt.  (Sorry Cuban but it won't look like this thru the scope!). 

Original here:

http://tinyurl.com/986sb

[CUBAN]

wow if only it did look like that through a scope still looking forward to finding it

but looks like its going to stay cloudy tonight cheers stevenet

regards cuban

[FLO]

... I have looked on sky at night oct sky map and cant find m42 any where

Cuban,

The Orion nebula (M42) is still a bit late rising and doesn't reach its transit (highest in the sky) until about 05.15 at which time it will be in the south, left of Mars and right of Saturn. Well worth setting the alarm. 

Steve

[CUBAN]

what a bore cloudy again last night would like to hear any opinions on bolting on a go to system

on my set up 127 mak sky watcher on a skyscan eq3-2 mount it must be easier than chasing

the target at high mag than with the slow mo controls hope im not upsetting purists by saying that

but for a complete novice like me it seems the only way forward so any advice on suppllers, cost, fitting, etc would be much appreciated

regards cuban

[GazOC]

Cuban,

The cheapest option to automatically track (but not find) objects is to buy a pair of motors www.skysthelimit.org.uk for a about £50 to replace the slow mo controls, most people tend to get a set of these sooner or later.

GOTO options get pretty expensive, pretty quickly.

Don't get disheartened, you do have a good setup up there, as soon as you get your eye in you'll be fine!!