WOW!! I'm hooked for life

[Intergage]

Hey all,

I FINALLY got my new scope up and running (I would use my Bino's but don't have a tripod for them) anyway, Saturday night I took out the telescope with my missus and attempted to just point and look at a couple of clusters and stuff. Wasn't very successful saw a couple of small clusters but overall it was blackness. I got fairly pissed at it because of how much it moved, how much I had to focus it etc BUT..

BUT last night I saw the moon and thought "Easy target!" got the scope out again and put in the 20mm lens and looked at the moon, it was breath taking. So I put in the 3x zoom +20mm lens and took a look again. I was stunned.. I couldn't describe what I felt when I saw the surface of the moon from my back yard. I had to see closer so I got out (I THINK!) the 4mm or the 40mm (Not sure, little lens but high magnification) and dropped that into the 3x zoom and as I was refocusing for the new lens I started to see mountain peaks, crators, detailed land scape.

It was, hands down the most beautiful thing I have EVER seen and it was just the moon. After looking for a bit longer until it went down (Was only up for about 40min and then went down again)

Around 10:30pm before I went to bed I remember I left the scope out so I went to pack it away and thought before I do that I should scan the sky for some thing to look at as it was fairly dark. Picked the brightest star I could find and found it threw the 20mm lens, looked like a bright star so I put the 3x in with the 20mm and I started to see 2 other objects near the bright star, centered it and put in the high mag lens and my heart almost dropped out the legs of my pants. I'm not 100% sure but I'm 90% sure that it was Jupiter and two of its moons. I followed it for about 40min just kept readjusting etc and watched it and watched it.

I'm hooked, no questions asked.


tl;dr: Finally got scope working, saw the moon's surface and 90% sure I saw Jupiter and 2 of it's moons. Hooked for life no questions asked.

[Octane]

Congrats.

I also recall seeing the Moon the first time through a scope, and it wasn't even night time. Ah, the excitement. :)

H

[iceman]

Wait until you see Saturn for the first time!

[Intergage]

I'm really keen for these "star party" things. So I can learn off people that have been doing it for years. All I want to do now is learn more about it! I would no joke give up my fairly successful career in IT (As successful as a 5 year career can get you) for a career in Astronomy.

I am obsessed with it haha.

[Ric]

It's an awesome hobby Matt, wait until you see your first galaxy.

Cheers

[Intergage]

I'm VERY keen on seeing a Nebula. Do you think there are any I would be able to see with my scope (Celestron AstroMaster 114EQ) from an urban observing position?

I also have a set of 80x15 Bino's but no tripod.

I'm REALLY wanting to see a nebula hey.. Even a small one, they interest me the most.

[Octane]

You should be able to see the Horsehead easily.

www.skymaps.com

Go, go, go!

Also, to download Stellarium (free) and have a poke around on your computer to see what's up at what time and in what direction.

I'm a fan and user of Starry Night Pro Plus 6, but, Stellarium should get you going.

H

[iceman]

The horsehead? I think not!

Try M42 first :)

[Mliss]

:rofl: Matt, welcome to the club.

I've not been doing this for long either, and isn't that feeling you get when you see something for the first time just awesome?! Doesn't sound like it'll be long before you get that vacant look from your family and friends when you bring up the subject...again and again. ;)

I haven't seen Saturn yet either and it was one of my top 5 things to see first. (I've been waiting oh so patiently for it to come around again... :rolleyes:) I haven't looked to see if you've posted in the beginners section, but if no one has suggested it yet, check out a little program called 'Stellarium'. It's free and will be your best friend :D

Glad you found IIS, there are so many wonderful people here.



Edit: H, you did it again! :P

[Intergage]

I'll try both! :)

M42 is close though isn't it? Would I be able to see detail in it with my setup do you think or will I just see the brightness of it?

Not that I expect to see much. I was only seeing little white dots last night and I was AMAZED.. Showed my brother a couple of them and he just said "Boring" and walked away... He is beyond stupid though so yeah haha.

[Intergage]

Awesome doesn't really describe it haha. Although I do know what you mean and I couldn't agree more! :)

[Mliss]

:rofl::lol: brothers are great like that!!

[Octane]

Sorry, I meant M42.

Umm, I did what again, Mel? :)

H

[Mliss]

:lol: post the same thing, you're too fast for me H

[Octane]

A slippery little sucker. :P

H

[Mliss]

:rofl: you'll keep! :P

[Intergage]

All I can think about is getting home and setting up again! :)
I have also got a list of things I want to eventually get once I get a decent scope. Can someone take a look and tell me what you think?

http://www.ozscopes.com.au/celestron-piggyback-mount-for-5-6-and-8-se.html - For a Canon EOS 5D M2.

http://www.ozscopes.com.au/celestron-cg-5-computerized-mount.html - For easier spotting etc

http://www.ozscopes.com.au/celestron-powerseeker-eyepiece-and-filter-kit.html - For viewing planets and the moon etc.

:)

[astronut]

Great news Matt...you've been bitten by the bug!!!...now just wait for the aperture fever to set in!!;):lol::lol:

[Intergage]

You mean spending more money on a decent scope correct? :P

[naskies]

Congrats! Isn't it amazing how so many of us live our lives completely oblivious to such wonders overhead? I picked up my first scope a few months ago and I'm still constantly blown away by what I see :)

It's worth re-visiting the moon every few days as it goes through the phases. The amount of detail that pops up as the lunar terminator (shadowy region) moves across the surface is quite remarkable.

Jupiter is the bright "star" that currently rises in the east (slightly north) at dusk, and sets in the wee hours of the morning. It's fun to watch the moons dance back and forth around, in front of, and behind the planet. I don't know if you can see much surface detail in your scope, but when the seeing is good watching the Great Red Spot "live" is amazing.

A few other suggestions for things to look at:

* The Large Magellanic Cloud and Small Magellanic Cloud - just randomly look around in the clouds (it's worth hunting for the 47 Tuc globular cluster too).

* The Orion side of the Milky Way is chockers full of interesting and bright stuff... Pleiades, Betelgeuse, Orion Nebula, Sirius, NGC 2362, Southern Pleiades, Eta Carina Nebula, Omega Centauri, etc. In fact, just randomly point your scope in the Milky Way and you'll be absorbed for ages :)

* If you're up late until the early morning, check out Mars and Saturn. (Don't worry if not, they'll rotate around in a few months to nicer viewing times.)

I live next to several freeways on the southern outskirts of Brisbane, and both the Orion and Eta Carina Nebulae are naked-eye-visible for me so you'll have no trouble through the scope.

[Intergage]

Awesome, thanks!! :)
Viewing the Nebula threw the scope give much detail or not? I saw the colors on Jupiter but no detail.. Scopes app is pretty crappy.. I want to get a 12" dob in the months to come! :)

[Kal]

First star party I went with my little meade ETX90 (my first scope) and I barely looked through it. I did spend the night looking through everyone elses telescopes though! :lol:

You will love it :thumbsup:

[Mliss]

aperture fever already!! :lol:

[astronut]

Yep..the bigger the better!!:lol::lol:

[barx1963]

Matt
Congratulations on successful first light. M42 should reveal lots of detail. It is the brightest closest nebula to us and has lots to explore. Don't expect to see colour though!
The Tarantula Nebula in the LMC is a nice target for your scope as well so give that a try.
The accessories you have listed may be of some benefit. I will tackle them in order. The piggyback mount is for mounting a camera oon the back of a scope and using the camera lense to take pics of the night sky, usually very widefield unless you have a very long focal length length lense (300mm or longer). Can be used with prime lenses down to 50mm, but need to be fairly fast. The one you have picked is specific to various Celestron SCTs, so may not be compatible with other scopes.
If you are interested in piggyback imaging, get this book http://www.bintel.com.au/Accessories/Books--Charts-and-Software/Digital-SLR-Astrophotography/480/productview.aspx it covers it in quite some detail.
The mount is a heavier duty version of your existing mount. If you where thinking of mounting a 12" Dob OTA on it, it will probably struggle. I note the Celestron website doresn't give it a rating for payload capacity, but from memory it is fairly low. If only looking for GOTO and visual, much cheaper and simpler to get a GOTO dob IMHO.
With the Eyepiece and filter kit, what eyepieces do you have already? The ones in the kit are basic Plossl EPs, in 15mm and 9mm focal lengths. I think you would already have a 20mm and 10mm, so the 9mm will be duplicating the 10mm. Filters are OK, but they are only planetary so have limited use. I have a full set of coloured filters and a UHC Nebula and an OIII PN Filter and the one I use most is the OIII (used for detecting planetary nebula). The coloured ones rarely get taken out.

Anyway, that my views on those items. Hope I don't sound to negative BUT I have been down the exact same path you are treading and have encountered the same pitfalls so hopefully I can be of help.
If you are keen on visual observing, IMHO the dob is the way to go. Others see SCTs or refractors as a better choice, but I can only pass on my experience.
If you are thinking of getting into imaging be aware there are few if any scopes that will be good for both. Yes you can do some imaging with a Dob, and yes you can put an eyepiece in an astrograph, but for best results the 2 areas are pretty much seperate, and serious imaging is a VERY $$$ intensive pursuit.

Malcolm

[brian nordstrom]

:D Welcome to amateure astromomy ,Matt .
it's where we live . My spare time is taken looking up .
Brian.

[ZeroID]

Huh !!?? One thread and already he's got aperture fever ... fastest infection rate of any known bug.
:welcome: Matt to the black vortex of astronomy, loosen your purse strings and get ready for the ride. I've been back into it for nearly two years and already have a part built Observatory and a lot of expensive gear. And I still haven't taken a decent pic yet !!!
One day soon ...;)

[Ric]

Hi Matt, I agree with everyone else here.

If you want to see a great nebula, check out M42, the Great Nebula in Orion and Eta Carina.

They are both very spectacular nebulas. :thumbsup:

Cheers

[Intergage]

Thanks for all the replies people I have yet to come across a useless post everyone has very good points and something for me to take away from each of them.. A very rare trait for a forum - Haha.

I was just interested in the imaging side of it as I am a photography hobbyist (Mostly Film though) thats all.. I dived in and did some research last night and it was way to expensive and advanced for my level of astronomy so I think ill stick to the learning side for now - It just pisses me off that I can't describe what I see to people!

[barx1963]

Matt
swing on over to the obeservation reports forum. You will see we give some descriptions that can give you some ideas what others see and how they describe them. Also have you considered sketching? Inexpensive and a good way to convey your views.

Malcolm

[Intergage]

I wish I could sketch! I'm about as artistic as a pile of dog poo.. -.-

I might give it a shot who knows, I might learn.