help deciding

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Originally Posted by creeksky

Thanks, who knows what I saw, it was like very faint circular shape,
Yes those white clouds must be the Magellanic clouds, maybe should have a look at them.

Lucky I had 2 good nights veiwing, a nieghbour has decided to have a rave party today/tonight over 200 cars have gone up the road and more will come and go tonight, ruining any viewing Grr

So the very faint circular shape? Where abouts was it? What constellation, nearby stars etc.

Malcolm

[creeksky (Pete)]

Originally Posted by barx1963

So the very faint circular shape? Where abouts was it? What constellation, nearby stars etc.

Malcolm

25 degrees alt near Carina roughly, south east, was pointing at the
- dense arm of the milky way.Slowly scaning the FOV with 25 mm EP.
Moving toward k Vel.Going by looking at stellarium at about 11:30 pm from last night.

[madwayne (Wayne)]

Hey Pete

I've loved reading and following this thread and your progress. Great read and your excitement is there for all to see.

Next time you are out take a look at the SMC and pan around the outskirts of it. You'll come across 47 Tuc, NGC104, and NGC362. 47 Tuc is an amazing object and one you'll revisit time and again, a brilliant Globular Cluster and it's only second to Omega Centauri, NGC5139, in sheer brilliance.

Keep the updates coming, you never cease to brighten my day with your posts.

Wayne

[creeksky (Pete)]

Here is a crude sketch from memory.
[IMG]http://i61.tinypic.com/2dqmvc1.jpg[/IMG]

[creeksky (Pete)]

Originally Posted by madwayne

Hey Pete

I've loved reading and following this thread and your progress. Great read and your excitement is there for all to see.

Next time you are out take a look at the SMC and pan around the outskirts of it. You'll come across 47 Tuc, NGC104, and NGC362. 47 Tuc is an amazing object and one you'll revisit time and again, a brilliant Globular Cluster and it's only second to Omega Centauri, NGC5139, in sheer brilliance.

Keep the updates coming, you never cease to brighten my day with your posts.

Wayne

Thank you Wayne for the kind encouragement, will take your advice, funny how I had never noticed the Mallengelic clouds before,really,(had heard of them but thought they were tiny
clusters)kept looking at them with naked eyes thinking"now why aren't those luminous clouds moving?
Will look forward to 47 Tuc and the surrounding objects!

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Pete
Very nice sketch! I see what you mean about the 2 u shapes. Still think it is unlikely to be a galaxy, as galaxies are very hard to see close to the plane of the Milky Way.

Your comment about not being aware of the Magellanic Clouds is another reason why (IMHO) charts are such a good idea. You can use them to get a very clear sense of what is in large areas of sky and what size they are. Much harder to do with a smart phone.

Malcolm

[creeksky (Pete)]

Originally Posted by barx1963

Pete
Very nice sketch! I see what you mean about the 2 u shapes. Still think it is unlikely to be a galaxy, as galaxies are very hard to see close to the plane of the Milky Way.

Your comment about not being aware of the Magellanic Clouds is another reason why (IMHO) charts are such a good idea. You can use them to get a very clear sense of what is in large areas of sky and what size they are. Much harder to do with a smart phone.

Malcolm

Thanks, I could do a much better sketch, that took 20 seconds!
Maybe it was rings of stars but seemed faint and like whispy cloud ,so I thought it a "faint fuzzy"!
Yes I agree, I am ordering the 18 charts laminated from Bintel.
For some reason it is hard to read the red night mode fonts using my mobile note 1 once dark adjusted.I only held it on the same angle as the scope and barely read it properly.
A tablet may have been better but was too swept up in it all to wreck my night vision, the passing cars didnt help, I completely covered my eyes with my hand.(last night)only 4 cars, which is extxremely rare.
So far today since 12pm
Now 500 cars have gone past! He 's never had a party this big before(usually 20 cars)
I'm not going to have all the road dust falling down into the dob.

I will take stellarium and learn some positions, Stars.
Disappointing, as it another brilliant clear night, but with "doof doof music".
Thought about cling rap over the opening but doubt that would work, and cars will be coming back and forth all night, may do some loud brushcuting at 7 am!

Tried with stellarium and crappy binos, every 5 mins more cars, 3-4 at a time, hopeless, as Malcolm says the stars will still be there.

[creeksky (Pete)]

Originally Posted by barx1963

Pete
Very nice sketch! I see what you mean about the 2 u shapes. Still think it is unlikely to be a galaxy, as galaxies are very hard to see close to the plane of the Milky Way.

Your comment about not being aware of the Magellanic Clouds is another reason why (IMHO) charts are such a good idea. You can use them to get a very clear sense of what is in large areas of sky and what size they are. Much harder to do with a smart phone.

Malcolm

After some searching I think it was NGC 1300 I saw.
I was panning to the plane of the milky way and then back toward the Magellanic clouds.
This is how it looked but much smaller.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BCg7Ox9nmn...ht%2B5%2B4.jpg
Woohoo!!

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Originally Posted by creeksky

After some searching I think it was NGC 1300 I saw.
I was panning to the plane of the milky way and then back toward the Magellanic clouds.
This is how it looked but much smaller.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BCg7Ox9nmn...ht%2B5%2B4.jpg
Woohoo!!

Peter
Not sure is was NGC1300, if you were looking to the South, as at 11pm last night NGC1300 was of to the North West when I had a quick look at it.
Identifying celestial objects is a tricky business as there are literally thousands of objects easily visible with a small scope.

Malcolm

[creeksky (Pete)]

Can I actually then see DSOs? With an 8 inch Dob?
Maybe I am being
too hopeful and it is beyond my capability with this equipment?I have only had 2 nights worth of observing, now it is rain.Probably for next four days.
All I can see is stars and they seem just as far away as ever, mere pinpoints?
Maybe more than naked eye, I don't want to have too high expectations,but I thought just maybe some nebulae and a couple of DSOs, was I wrong?

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Originally Posted by creeksky

Can I actually then see DSOs? With an 8 inch Dob?
Maybe I am being
too hopeful and it is beyond my capability with this equipment?I have only had 2 nights worth of observing, now it is rain.Probably for next four days.
All I can see is stars and they seem just as far away as ever, mere pinpoints?
Maybe more than naked eye, I don't want to have too high expectations,but I thought just maybe some nebulae and a couple of DSOs, was I wrong?

Absolutely you can see DSO's, what you saw was a DSO, it is simply a matter of which one, and the description of where you saw it makes it unlikely to be NGC1300 (unless I am misunderstanding your description)
Remember a DSO is a Deep Sky Object which simply means anything beyond the Solar System, so every star is a DSO along with every cluster, bright nebula, dark nebula, planetary nebula, galaxy, galaxy cluster, multiple star and anything else.
An 8" dob is capable of easily seeing thousands of objects and an experienced user will be able to detect probably tens of thousands.

Malcolm

[creeksky (Pete)]

I have bit more cash to upgrade, was thinking about eyepieces, binoculars.
Red dot finder or even an argo navis ( not sure how much they are?) Or what they do, but you all seem to have one.
Must be early apenture fever onset, have been dreaming I aquired an old hardware shop ,while,doing a stock take,I discovered a dusty loft near the roof, there were about 10 refractors, 5 dobs in varying sizes and a big 12 inch dob laying flat! I told everyone and staff to leave the shop so I could retrieve it, in secret.
Oh dear...!

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Pete
An Argo Navis is a Digital Setting Circle computer system. Essentially what it does is track the movement of your scope as you manually push is around so you can locate objects. It is not a GO TO system as you still have to move the scope but it will place objects in the eyepiece quite accurately.
They are Aussie made and are the leading brand of DSC available.
A complete setup with mounting hardware is probably going to set you back about $800 or so. The website that Gary (who owns the company) runs for it is here http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au/index.html


Malcolm

[creeksky (Pete)]

Originally Posted by barx1963

Pete
An Argo Navis is a Digital Setting Circle computer system. Essentially what it does is track the movement of your scope as you manually push is around so you can locate objects. It is not a GO TO system as you still have to move the scope but it will place objects in the eyepiece quite accurately.
They are Aussie made and are the leading brand of DSC available.
A complete setup with mounting hardware is probably going to set you back about $800 or so. The website that Gary (who owns the company) runs for it is here http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au/index.html


Malcolm

Thanks Malcolm, I will wait, maybe get a couple of EP's save up for a bigger scope one day. Maybe some decent binoculars , will get star charts and maybe a red dot finder.
Will stick to the basics until I learn, I am loving what I see so far, the adventure is great,but it was a great dream finding a free 12 inch dob

[Sconesbie (Scott)]

Ha Ha Ha. Great dream Pete.

I'm hoping to get an Argo Navis later this year. The Treasurer and President says I'm not allowed to buy it any earlier as we're going away in April.

At the moment I'm stuck with finding things the old fashioned way but it's making me learn quickly.

[creeksky (Pete)]

Hoorah !
first confirmed DSO! Tarantula Nebula.
Panning in the south, even with half an annoying moon(it's like light polution spotted a faint spidery shaped glow, checked with stelarium it was Tarantula!
2x Barlow with either 25mm or 10mm= yuck, so just used 25 mm and 10 mm.
Was great, 159, 800 light years away, incredible!
I walked into a spider web carrying the Dob out, big spider too, must have blessed me!

[inertia8 (Australia)]

I know the feeling Pete, i'm convincing myself not to buy anything else until the loan period is over... I controlled my spending, sort of, and started off with a couple of small book/torch purchases after being a bit frustrated with the online charts (no idea why as now when I look at them they are ok).

A Rigel Systems Skylite (2xRed/2xWhite LED variable brightness), great low power variati
A Telrad (to make shipping of the Skylite seem more reasonable!)
Tirion's Bright Start Atlas 2000 (too complex at first, saving for later)
A Large Chandler Planisphere
Sky Safari Pro (I had google play credit from kitkat competition..)
Membership to ASV (loan scope and other like minded people to chat with).

With the above I was happy with my Vortex Diamonback 8x42 (bak4 prism version) on a cheap but decent ebay ballhead tripod.

I've since picked up the Sky & Telescope Pocket Sky Atlas and Turn Left at Orion, which has been a great read so far, though I've yet to use it for observing.

I would recommend picking up a copy of Astronomoy 2015 Australia, it will cost you $25 posted from Andrews or Bintel.

For eyepieces, I'm happy with the superviews from Bintel and am tempted to try the starguider ed ep's from agena/bst, but I will be setting aside funds for several premium eyepieces in the future after I purchase the scope itself.

[creeksky (Pete)]

Originally Posted by inertia8

I know the feeling Pete, i'm convincing myself not to buy anything else until the loan period is over... I controlled my spending, sort of, and started off with a couple of small book/torch purchases after being a bit frustrated with the online charts (no idea why as now when I look at them they are ok).

A Rigel Systems Skylite (2xRed/2xWhite LED variable brightness), great low power variati
A Telrad (to make shipping of the Skylite seem more reasonable!)
Tirion's Bright Start Atlas 2000 (too complex at first, saving for later)
A Large Chandler Planisphere
Sky Safari Pro (I had google play credit from kitkat competition..)
Membership to ASV (loan scope and other like minded people to chat with).

With the above I was happy with my Vortex Diamonback 8x42 (bak4 prism version) on a cheap but decent ebay ballhead tripod.

I've since picked up the Sky & Telescope Pocket Sky Atlas and Turn Left at Orion, which has been a great read so far, though I've yet to use it for observing.

I would recommend picking up a copy of Astronomoy 2015 Australia, it will cost you $25 posted from Andrews or Bintel.

For eyepieces, I'm happy with the superviews from Bintel and am tempted to try the starguider ed ep's from agena/bst, but I will be setting aside funds for several premium eyepieces in the future after I purchase the scope itself.

It's all a fun learning experience,I am really glad I picked up a telescope again and a much bigger one than I had as an early teen.
I just pan the sky and see what I may stumble upon, once I find something I refer to Stelarium after changing EPs to get better views.
A tablet is much bigger than a mobile phone, but when booting it up its brighter than when stellarium night mode kicks in.Still find it hard to read the red writing.
But it helped identify what I was seeing.
I am lucky to live a low light zone, but never thought the moon would be a problem?
Least I could see any snakes around me!
I also find it a great meditation, just me and the whole universe above....and a tool to look a bit closer.

[inertia8 (Australia)]

The moon's a problem yes, you can always check back on the left border of this site as to the state of the moon .

Have you thought about a layer or two of red cellophane over the tablet screen? Just wrap around the screen and tuck it in?

That said, I'm not sure it would allow you to use the touch screen, something someone else might chime in on or maybe there's a red screen protector available?

[kens (Ken)]

Change the color balance on your display. Turn down the blue and green.