Beginner questions, but mostly about crosshairs.

[ZeroID (Brent)]

I'd suggest you get Stellarium ( www.stellarium.org ) loaded onto your PC. It's free and can be setup to show the current sky view from your location. From that you can learn the sky ( when clouds are in the way ) and locate objects to try to find ion your scope.

[Kaibis (Cassie)]

Thank you so much. I have spent the morning reading about how to use the planisphere (surprisingly easier to do during the day then by a red torch at night!).

I think the stars in the upper right of the picture are part of Canis Major (but really I have no idea what any of that means, other than they kind of look like and are in roughly the right position as what I am seeing on the planisphere - which I don't really know how to use ).

Thank you, I am downloading stellarium now...and about to go look at better images of the Nebula.

[Kaibis (Cassie)]

Wow, Stellarium is a whole new thing to learn.

One question that my brain is struggling to answer. Are the images on Stellarium rotated the same way as what I see in the telescope?

I am struggling with that at the moment. I am trying to find the nebula that I took a photo of, but the orientation combined with the amount of stars in the program is difficult.

Is there a way to reduce what I am seeing in Stellarium so that what I see is similiar to what I saw in the scope?

[Allan_L (Allan)]

Hi Cassie.
Well done.
Which direction does this window face?

Re the planisphere,
Assuming it is a Southern Hemisphere one
(it should say it is aligned for Sydney probably like 33 South; 151 East or thereabouts)
You align your local time (but not daylight saving)
with the Month and Date,
by rotating the disk.

Then hold it above you eyes with South (on the planisphere) pointing towards South,
or North pointing toward North. (depending on which way you are looking)
And then the positions on the planisphere should line up with what you are seeing in the sky.

[Allan_L (Allan)]

at 2 am, it could have been Jupiter, but it also could have been Venus.
Your description sounds like Venus, very bright but with no discernible features.
Depending on how low it was in the sky. Venus was low in the East, while Jupiter was higher and a little more to the north.

Just checked Stellarium and Jupiter at 2am was in almost the same position as Orion at 11pm, so seems it was Jupiter.
The four moons also adds to this conclusion.

There was a bit of high cloud and humidity last night so perhaps you were just not able to get a good focus on it.
This is common, especially with higher powered eyepieces.
Start of with the 25mm eyepiece, and take your time.

But most importantly ... Keep Looking Up !

[Kaibis (Cassie)]

Thanks Allan,

My window faces ENE towards the next door house, and the planisphere is for the southern hemisphere, it came in a book from Aus. Geo. when I bought the telescope... conveniently came with a red light too!

I have been using an app (Starwalk 2) to work out when the planets are due to 'rise', it also helps me find them in the sky. It could also possibly have been lack of night vision (I had gotten up for a drink of water from the fridge).

It is all very exciting. I have been looking at the Great Nebula, the pictures look nothing like what I saw, but I did find some lower quality images that did! So I know that the four stars I was seeing (at 11pm) were the 'trapezium' at the heart of the nebula.
http://www.laughton.com/paul/rfo/trap/trap.html
http://kellyricks.blogspot.com.au/20...at-nebula.html

Tonight I am going to pull out my journal and have a go at sketching what I see.

Another question... do the planets 'rise' in the same way that the moon/sun does. ie begin low on the horizon and pass over... or is it more like the ISS, where it can be higher on the horizon but disappear because the earth obstructs the light from the sun??

[CJ (Chris)]

Originally Posted by Kaibis

Is there a way to reduce what I am seeing in Stellarium so that what I see is similiar to what I saw in the scope?

Hi Cassie,
There are all sorts of view controls in Stellarium. Look in the Sky and Viewing Options Window (F4) for the basic ones. There are more in the config section.
Some of the neb's etc are photo's so you wont get to see them through an eyepiece like they are shown in Stellarium. And with your type of scope they will be flipped.

I think the oculars plugin if configured correctly will orientate them as you would see them through your scope, but it is a little tricky. Have a meddle.
Cheers

[Allan_L (Allan)]

Originally Posted by Kaibis

Thanks Allan,
Another question... do the planets 'rise' in the same way that the moon/sun does. ie begin low on the horizon and pass over... or is it more like the ISS, where it can be higher on the horizon but disappear because the earth obstructs the light from the sun??

Yes, Cassie,
Planets rise and traverse in the same way that the sun and moon do.
They are far enough away that they are not effected by the shadow of the earth (like the moon and satellites).

There is a line called the ecliptic that the planets follow in their path from rise - transit - set. The ecliptic moves a little further north in Winter, south in summer. Thats why the sun is often shaded for houses by their eaves in summer, but can be lower in the sky and miss the eaves, in winter.

[ZeroID (Brent)]

Originally Posted by Kaibis

Wow, Stellarium is a whole new thing to learn.

One question that my brain is struggling to answer. Are the images on Stellarium rotated the same way as what I see in the telescope?

I am struggling with that at the moment. I am trying to find the nebula that I took a photo of, but the orientation combined with the amount of stars in the program is difficult.

Is there a way to reduce what I am seeing in Stellarium so that what I see is similiar to what I saw in the scope?

Well, you have probably figured out that the answer is no by now. Stellarium shows it as you would with the naked eyeball, the scope will invert and rotate depending on which optical setup you are using at the time. eg a 45* diagonal will flip the image but not invert it and are normally used for terrestial viewing.
Well done on your rapid progress, keep asking questions, we're happy to help.

[Kaibis (Cassie)]

Well I suppose the latest question is .... what do you do when it rains?

After all that excitement yesterday it started to rain yesterday afternoon and is forecast for the entire week.

I need a good astronomy book to flick through!

Can I ask a question about where telescopes can be stored? Currently ours is in my sewing room, which is a really inconvenient place. It takes up valuable indoor space, and it is a very long way for me to wrangle it outside. I am tempted to put it in an outdoor carport that we have behind our house. The carport is hidden from the front yard, it is enclosed by the shed on two sides, so I am not worried about theft because it is too big to move easily, and we are insured. It won't get wet, but it might attract spiders (but they can't get past the caps, so a brush will get rid of them).

I am thinking that it would make it very easy to setup (just need to move it a few metres) which would mean that it would get a good deal of use.

[ZeroID (Brent)]

I preferred mine inside before I built the Observatory just for my own peace of mind but an advantage of outside is it is temp stable when you come to use it.
Capped and all I would suggest getting a reasonably waterproof bag to slide over the whole scope if outside. Even just a big plastic rubbish bag can help keep it clean and dry. Maybe make a wee stand up off the ground so you can tie the bag down around the bottom to keep the creepy crawlies out. You'd be amazed how they can get into things.

[Kaibis (Cassie)]

Okay, I think I actually understand what you are saying. I will try putting it back on next time I see it, and making a mask as you have suggested.

[Allan_L (Allan)]

In our moist environment, I would be unwilling to leave mine out in the weather.
I don't even leave it in the garage (after a previous scope started showing signs of corrosion).

Inside where the air is controlled to some extent is best for me.

[Kaibis (Cassie)]

I never thought of moisture. I might just invest in a trolley instead!