Help with using my telescope please

[cityblue99]

Hello everyone, this is my first post and I am very interested in astronomy but know nothing about how to get good results through my telescope. Please bear with me as you will see how pathetic I am!!

I have a Helios Mercury 609 600mm (2.4") f/900 refrator telescope which is quite old now. I have seen Jupiter and it's moons and our moon through it, but I struggle to get much else. I have a H20mm and a H8mm eye piece but usually use the 8mm as when I use the 20mm I struggle to get anything in focus - what am I doing wrong? Which is the better eye piece to use for general viewing? Also, when I view Jupiter although it is an amazing sight, I cannot see the bands - what do I need to do to see these and how do I view Saturn's rings? Do I need a more powerful telescope?

Another question (sorry) is how do i find the Andromeda galaxy and will I be able to see the Orion nebula through my telescope?

All advice would be greatly received as I so want to see the magnificent universe we live in.

Thank you

[yoda]

Hi cityblue99 wellcome to SGL.

I think you shoud ues the 20mm EP as you get a larger FOV as for orion nebulae and andromeda you shoud have no prob's as you can see them with the naked eye and small bin's. all the best.

[kniclander]

for helping you find things try the book "Turn Left at Orion" and/or download Stellarium which is free.

[yoda]

You can download stellarium from hear.

Stellarium

and order turn left at orion hear.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Turn-Left-Orion-Hundred-Telescope/dp/0521781906/ref=sr_1_12?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1297426313&sr=1-12

[Mikea]

Welcome cityblue!

The eyepieces (H = Huygens) you have are not helping you much, but then for a 60mm scope, you don't want to go mad. Not sure why you can't get focus in the 20mm - maybe it has been knocked at some point. If you could get an 8 or 20mm plossl, you might see a better result - you can pick these up s/h for less than £20. Jupiter is past it's best position now, so you might struggle to make out banding.

[chard]

Hi cityblue99

It should be a lot easier to find objects in your 20mm eyepiece because it gives you a lower magnification (45x) than your 9mm eyepiece (100x) so you can see a lot more sky through it.. I'm wondering why it won't come to focus though. You could take the whole set up to the local telescope dealer and try the scope with a new 20mm ep to see if that's the problem.

Your username indicates you might just live in a city. It's a lot harder to spot objects like the Orion Nebula and Andromeda with vast amounts of light pollution. Keep trying though. I'd start with the Orion Nebula. It's easier to find than Andromeda, especially at this time of year. It will look like a puff of light surrounding a few stars. Not like the photos! Still really impressive though.

You might just see Jupiter's cloud belts and Saturn's rings with your scope but a larger scope will show these better. I have a 60mm finder scope and don't see this stuff through it.

Good Luck.

[cityblue99]

Thanks everyone. So do you recommend that I buy new and better eyepieces (if so, which ones do you suggest) or should I start saving up for a new and better telescope (again, which do you recommend). My dream is to see stuff like the bands of Jupiter, saturns rings, the Orion nebular and the Andromeda galaxy - am I asking too much??

[Ags]

Hi Cityblue, with a 60mm scope you are not gathering much more light than a pair of 50mm binoculars. I had great views of some objects with 16x50 binoculars from a semi-rural site: the Double Cluster and Andromeda (best view ever, much better than a telescope view as no normal telescope has a wide enough field of view). I have a pair of 8x42 bins now and they also show me some nice sights, even from within a city.

So perhaps some bins - just another thing to think of... I would not get ones with 16x magnification though - they are a bit hard to hold steady. 10x50 is much easier.

As regards telescopes - I can tell you a small Mak like mine shows lots of detail on Jupiter - the main bands, polar zones, the red spot and shadow transits. THe red spot is at the limit of what my scope can see, and I was helped by the southern equatorial band disappearing, which I magine increased contrast around the red spot. You can glimpse other spots and marks as well, but it takes lots of patience. Saturn's rings always look good. Of Saturn's moons, I have spotted Titan and Rhea. And I have had good views of Orion's nebula, even from a light-polluted city. I've been able to resolve stars in M3 and M13 (from a semi-rural location), making them pretty, if faint. I even saw a little banding on Saturn once. So that's what you can get with a small Mak or reflector - I think the performance on planets of a small achro refractor of comparable aperture (such as a SkyWatcher StarTravel) would be less, particularly for planets - but I stand to be corrected on that as I haven't used something like that for many years. I feel you lose detail and color-correctness with an achro refractor at higher powers.

[yoda]

Hi cityblue99 if you are thinking about a new scope I think skywatcher have some great scopes at very good prices, good luck and all the best.(You can go to the top of this page and click on First light optics to have a brouse)

[Mikea]

Whereabouts are you cityblue99? Do you have a local astro club or shop that could loan you a 20 or 25mm eyepiece? I don't know anything about the telescope you have, but I would caution spending too much on eyepieces - you would be better off going for a better telescope, but this depends on how much you want to spend!

[Wobbly Bob]

Just a thought cityblue, are you using a diagonal with you scope ? Most refractors require either and extention tube or a diagonal to come into focus.

[xyz]

YODA "...as for orion nebulae and andromeda you shoud have no prob's as you can see them with the naked eye and small bin's...." You must observe from an enviably dark location, no chance where I am, I can only just detect Andromeda with averted vision through my 8".

[Ags]

Yes, the Dutch are very patriotic - they've turned their skies orange!

[yoda]

YODA "...as for orion nebulae and andromeda you shoud have no prob's as you can see them with the naked eye and small bin's...." You must observe from an enviably dark location, no chance where I am, I can only just detect Andromeda with averted vision through my 8".

Hi xyz I to have LP hear orion is above a street light and I can see orion nebulae with my eyes and bin's but andromeda is anuther matter, addmitidy I can not see that one.

[cityblue99]

Just a thought cityblue, are you using a diagonal with you scope ? Most refractors require either and extention tube or a diagonal to come into focus.

Hi. Total novice here - what is a diagonal???

By the way, I am in South Manchester UK so quite alot of light pollution!