Frustrating fun...

[wolfytom]

An enjoyable but frustrating night last night...

The wobble induced by something as simple as focusing is quite disconcerting - and my scope is on a pier.

Other problems I've encountered include the clutches working loose whilst the motors are working so it stops tracking - what am I doing wrong?

And, having spent an hour exploring Auriga last night, how can I be sure I'm looking at what I want to look at? There are hundreds more stars in the FOV than the books describe!

For example, I was looking for the 3 open clusters but couldn't be sure I had found El Nath to follow the directions in 'TLA Orion'.

Are open clusters very open in a 25mm FOV? I couldn't find 3.

And as for everything appearing upside down and back to front...

Inevitably, I ended up back at Saturn.

Still great fun though.

[wolfytom]

Any advice on these issues would be much appreciated...

[swamp thing]

Hi

Have you aligned the finderscope with the main scope?

If not you could be searching in vain for hours.

Best to do this in the daylight on a distant object.

All three of the Auriga clusters will look like clusters in a 25mm eyepiece.

I have not got TLA Orion but does it not show you what to expect to see?

Best to post what scope and mount your using someone is bound to be using something similar and can point you in the right direction with vibration and clutch woes.

Glad your enjoying yourself keep at it.

Regards Steve