I saw the moon!

[sarahb]

Yesterday evening I took a quick peek out, and to my surprise saw the moon peeking through a gap in the clouds, can't remember the last time that I moved so fast!

Got the moon in the finderscope but could not find it in the eyepiece - was so dissapointed after about twenty minutes of searching, eventually my partner managed to get it in view and that was such a WOW moment, then after a few seconds the clouds covered it. I sat patiently waiting and wondering if it would re-appear, eventually it did but took me another fifteen minutes to get it in the eyepiece again, the scope would not stay still and I continuosly had to realign it.

Then I sussed out that the finderscope was not straight!, sorted that out and then it the moon dissappeared behind the clouds again - cold feet forced my retreat; decided I will spend some time today in practising moving the scope and keeping it in one place!

New years resolution - ensure that I buy some warm boots for star gazing

[radioactive]

You know the old addage Sarah practice makes perfect I am impressed you tried for so long I think you may well benefit from using a pair of binoculars as well as your scope you will be amazed just what can be seen through them and the speed in which you can find things

here a link to how the moon will look until the end of the month note you can select any date of any year on this page hope this helps you

http://tinyurl.com/y6vh58

[Caz]

It was only a matter of time before you got to look through your scope, the moon is always a great place to start! Shame about the cloud dodging, it reminds me of my first light with my scope, I also enjoyed a minute or two of dodging the cloud, but it was worth the effort..... 8)

The more you get to use your equipment, the more it will feel like it was meant to be!

Caz

[tenbyfifty]

Don't be frightened to crouch down and look along the length of the scope and aim it like a gun.

I've used this method to find Saturn let alone a big fatty like the moon.

[Andrew*]

good for you to make the effort! Regarding keeping the scope in the same place - that sounds to me like you're having trouble wiht the balance of the scope. You should be able to loosen both axes, and the scope will stay still. If this isn't the case, come back and we'll help you out.

And yes, having a finder properly aligned is invaluable!!

Andrew

[barkis]

Hi. Sarah,

The moon is a superb object through a telescope and you will never tire of looking at it. It is ever changing in appearance. Even when it is full and may appear bland, there is much to see, but you will benefit from a moon filter under full illumination. You will very soon master the technique of keeping the scope on target, the more you do it the better you become

Youre going to have a great time, and soon you won't even feel the cold.

Barkis.

[Kaptain Klevtsov]

Sounds like fun!

the scope would not stay still and I continuosly had to realign it.

You are aware that the moon moves and that the mount has to track across the sky to follow it? I'm sorry if you knew this for being condescending, but its a simple mistake. Also, line up the finderscope in the daytime, it's very much easier.

Captain Chaos

[Martin 2]

Take CC's good advice, take the scope out in daylight and adjust the finder until what you see in the finder is also in the scope .

M2

[tenbyfifty]

Would you folks agree that the moon can stand magnification way beyond the limits of your scope;

even if the detail isn't as sharp and bright as lower mags its still worthwhile trying out the old barlow lens

to see what you can see?

As for Barkis's claim about not noticing the cold er... isn't that a symptom of hypothermia?

[Ambermile]

Yup - best advice is get the finder aligned and practise during the day moving the scope around.

Arthur

[Astroman]

Would you folks agree that the moon can stand magnification way beyond the limits of your scope;

even if the detail isn't as sharp and bright as lower mags its still worthwhile trying out the old barlow lens

to see what you can see?

As for Barkis's claim about not noticing the cold er... isn't that a symptom of hypothermia?

I'd agree with the magnification statement. I've actually tested it. I've observed the Moon through my C8 at 813X and the "limit" is around 400x. The theoretical limit is usually for faint fuzzies where light is a problem. Since the Moon doesn't have this limitation, neither does your scope. One thing though, you'll surely notice the limits of your eyepieces and Barlow at that king of magnification.

Lastly, not noticing the cold-hypothermia is somewhat balanced out by adrenaline. Do the math.

[sarahb]

... worthwhile trying out the old barlow lens

to see what you can see?...

Excuse my ignorance, but what is a barlow lens?

[Caz]

... worthwhile trying out the old barlow lens

to see what you can see?...

Excuse my ignorance, but what is a barlow lens?

Hi Sarah,

A barlow lens is a peice of equipment that will double the magnification of an eyepiece by x2 or x3...

Here: http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=talbarlows

Caz

[The Warthog]

... worthwhile trying out the old barlow lens

to see what you can see?...

Excuse my ignorance, but what is a barlow lens?

Hi Sarah,

A barlow lens is a peice of equipment that will double the magnification of an eyepiece by x2 or x3...

Here: http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=talbarlows

Caz

The Celestron Ultima is a good Barlow, too.

[SteelRat]

Tal x2 Barlow's a beauty for the money Don't always get on with the Tal x3 - suspect it may get on better with a reflector though, so will find a use for it soon

[ldavey]

I managed to see the moon today with my old tasco scope, i managed to fix the mount so gave it a go.

I also had BIG problems trying to find the moon, took me probably 15 mins like you did sarah and i ended up cheating by moving the whole thing by hand aiming it like a gun (like someone else said) rather then adjustments. Then i kept on losing the dam thing every minute, eventually i could not adjust my scope any more to track the moon.... :x and clouds, cold and wind kept on comming in ....

I knew the scope would be a hard to use but this was crazy as i only wanted to view the moon... it is easy to blame my scope and call it rubbish (which the stand is atleast) but i know it is most likely my own fault i could not find and track the moon correctly, i envy all of you who have mastered these skills more then ever now ! which also inspires me to keep on trying. I also envy these GOTO scopes even more then ever now !

So don't give up on this, you are not alone atall, i am in the same newbie situation right now and i am sure everyone on this forum has also been here before, and just take a look at what they can do !

[The Warthog]

For a short time, I didnt have a finder on my Newt, so I aimed by sighting along the side of the barrel, where the two hinges, or the two clamps for the rings line up, and used them exactly like a rifle sight. It wasn't perfect, but it worked fairly well.

[sarahb]

Practice deinately makes perfect, last night I was able to set up my scope and focus in on the moon within a couple of minutes (felt rather good, especially as I had my sisters and their families waiting by for a midnight viewing)

I was also able to show my neice and nephew how to find polaris using URSA major - felt good that [glow=red,2,300]I [/glow] could do it as well as passing on some very new knowledge.

Started saving already to get some equipment to start photography - the photographs that I have taken so far have been very hit and miss just holding my dig camera to the eye peice and hoping that the telescope wont move - this is definatly the way for me to go although I need some advice about what to get, there seems to be so many [and expensive] options. I have seen people talking about ?stacking images? and using webcams - what kind of results can you get from this? are there certain cams to get/avoid - an expert opinion would be great.

Thanks Guys & Girls

[Kaptain Klevtsov]

Almost all the images of planets that you see will be taken with a webcam. The best sort is the Toucam Pro which comes in versions 1, 2 and 3. It's a cheapish way to get started if you have a laptop already to drive it, and the software is free. Stacking refers to taking a movie of loads of images and then getting the software to average them out. That way any noise or wobble gets thrown away and you end up with a much much better image. It also simulates having a very long exposure without the problems that you would normally get caused by the planet wandering about the picture and smearing the image.

HTH

Captain Chaos

[ldavey]

Nice one sarah, glad to hear you getting the grip on things...

I managed to get a couple nice shots of the moon by rigging my digital camera to my scope, well i will say they were nice shots for my first go anyway, but compared to what other folks achieve on here they wasn't that great lol .... unfortunately i am going to have to put buying my new equipment on hold for a little while, my car broke down and is going to be expensive to fix so any money i had is now gone,, so im going to have to start saving up my pennys like you !

Looks like Astrophotography can be an expensive hobby, but worth it i think.