Howdy from Canberra

[Orbviper]

Hey all,

I got into astronomy for a while early last year, with a pair of 10x50 binos, but fell out of it when the nights got too cold.

Earlier this month while on holiday in central Australia I got the chance to look through a bigger scope and see Saturn's rings. This inspired me to get back into the hobby :P

Yesterday my new 10" dob arrived, and even though it was a little cloudy I went outside with it to see what I could see anyway. Venus was peeking through some clouds so I took a look at that, and by the time I'd gotten in located and zoomed, the clouds seemed to disappear from above me, and I spied Saturn!

I spent the next 10 minutes trying to find the damn thing, as my finderscope wasn't aligned properly yet. When I did it was well worth it though. Then I switched to a higher magnification eyepiece, and lost it again! About 10 minutes more pointing and eyepiece switching ensued, until I finally got it!

I also managed a look at Omega Centauri, and that was cool. No longer a smudge, it now resolved into so many stars packed together. Very impressive.

Forecast is for less cloud cover tonight, so I'm looking forward to getting back out there and seeing what else I can see! :)

[barx1963]

Nick
Well done on the 10" and getting some targets.:thumbsup:
I always align my finder first, if possible setup in daylight and look for something a distance away (tree, aerial, street post etc) and use that to make sure bith the finder and scope are pointing at the same thing.
Once done, if your scope is a solid tube it will only need tweaking on a bright star or planet each night before starting out.

Malcolm

[Orbviper]

Thanks Malcolm!

I did end up aligning the finder towards the end of the first night, but then noticed last night it was a fair way off again. My scope is a collapsible dob, so I can see how it'll need probably be needing alignment every session.

Ended up being a lot of clouds last night, so I didn't get much viewing time. I saw Saturn again, and split Alpha Centauri which was cool though.

I was wondering what I should look at getting next. My thinking was an additional eyepiece or two (I have 25mm and 10mm plossls that came with the scope) and probably a collimator. Anyone got some recommendations?

[barx1963]

I love splitting Alpha Cent. Also a good test for how good the seeing is when it is high in the sky.
You are probably already finding that the 25mm EP will beat the 10mm for ease of use and clarity. Most beginners find that the 25mm will stay in the focuser 90% of the time. Personally, the 25mm Plossl is a not bad EP for general use with a small dob, so I wouldn't rush out buying eyepieces until you have a clear idea what you want.
Collimators are a good idea... BUT beware of thinking a laser collimator is the answer. It really only checks part of the picture. A good guide to collimation is here http://www.astro-baby.com/collimation/astro%20babys%20collimation%20guide .htm

Malcolm

[ZeroID]

Good one and :welcome: Nick,
FYi my Favourite EP's are 20mm and 15mm GSO SuperViews. Nice wide feild and reasonably priced for the quality. Probably use either of those 90% of the time.

[Orbviper]

Thanks for the advice guys.

Forecast here in Canberra is looking sunny for the next week or so, hopefully I'll get some good nights of viewing in! :)

[Jon]

G'day Nick, Hello from down the road! I'm in Latham, how about you?

I agree with Brent, a 15mm GSO Superview is cheap and gives a nice perspective on most globulars, planetaries and small galaxies.

If you like splitting doubles go for Acrux (4" separation) - two bright white stars with a distant 3rd companion at 90", the "foot" end of the Southern Cross. While in the vicinity make sure you check out the Jewel Box cluster near Beta Crucis. Try to find the Saturn Nebula in Aquarius - it's a planetary nebula that will appear as a small grey-greenish oval. Then check out M8 and M20, the Lagoon and Trifid Nebulae, in Sagittarius, right overhead in the evening now.

Trying your two EPs on this range of objects will give you a sense of what different EPs do, ranging from high magnification to split doubles (you'll want your 10mm for Acrux) to wide field for emission nebulae (M8 may not even fit in the field of view of your 25mm).

Nice clear moonless evenings coming up for us Canberrans!

[Ric]

Hi Nick and welcome to IIS.

[Orbviper]

Thanks Ric!

Hey Jon, I'm in Florey, we're practically neighbours! :p

I'm hoping to get out on the scope either tonight or tomorrow. I've been busy the last few nights, and kept getting disappointed when I looked up and saw how good the sky was looking.

I'll be sure to try and find some of your recommendations!

[PantherAddict]

Hey Nick - In Canberra here as welll champion - Nth Side (Harrison) :)

[astromark]

~ Notice that Brent said 90% of the time... That is the important bit.
The best scope to use is the scope that is best to use... and eye pieces that give you a wider field do move you away from the down the pipe look..
My Favorite is a 20mm Plosil.. and welcome.. ;):question:
What size is your eye piece 1 1/4 or 50mm ? and I ask because the larger size does let you into a wider field..:rolleyes:

[WingnutR32]

Welcome Nick.

So many north Canberra folk, I'm down in Theodore.

[Jon]

Apologies, Canberra people. I got a new astro camera on Monday, which is why there are clouds all this week and next ;-)

[WingnutR32]

Ha ha ha, so you brought back that cold snap, Jon! Thought it may have been my spacers for the focal corrector.

[Ric]

So that's why I got 12mm of rain. :D

[Jon]

Yep.

Look on the bright side - Thursday's supposed to be clear. Right in time for the full moon :-)

[spot]

I think you are in the clear Jon, I got a 10" dob two days before you got your camera, told my wife that's it won't be able to use it for a few weeks. Been true so far!

[Orbviper]

I was wondering who was responsible for all these clouds! :P

As for the eyepieces astromark, I assume by size you mean the diameter? Both are 1 1/4". The label says Super Plossl 52degrees.

I'm really hoping to get a good look at the moon. I've always been amazed at how great it looks through my 10x50s, so looking forward to seeing how the dob goes with it! :)

[Jon]

All these new scopes and cameras in Canberra - no wonder we have had record rainfalls for September! (http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-17/heavy-rainfall-in-canberra-breaks-record/4961854?section=act)

[ZeroID]

Nick, you may need a 13% moon filter or a cap on your DOB. The problem with the moon is that it is BRIGHT!! Seriously BRIGHT !! Enough to hurt your eyes.
So either a moon filter which allows only 13% of the light through (hence the name ) or make a cardboard cover for the front aperture of your scope and just cut about a 50m round hole offcentre in it. Place it on the top\front of your scope ( yeah, really ) and you will find there is still plenty of light to see the moon through. Align the offcentre hole clear of any secondary mirror vanes as well.
Moon filter screws onto your EP btw.
Enjoy your moonage ... Look at the terminator or the edges to see the most detail, full face is just a white out you will find even with a filter

[Orbviper]

Thanks for the advice Brent. I figured it might be rather bright. Even through my 10x50s the full moon was getting close to painful to look at sometimes.

My dob came with a plastic aperture cover that sits in the middle part of the tube (the bottom half of the collapsible tube). This has a ~50mm diameter hole with a separate cap on it offset from the center that I was a little confused by before. I'm assuming now that it must be for this purpose! This is assuming it actually fits onto the end of the scope as snugly as it sits in the bottom half.

[Orbviper]

I can see what you meant about it being a whitish blur. Even with the cap on to cut out most of the light, it was still hard to make out much detail. I could very easily see the shimmering from atmospheric disturbance though!

[Jon]

The shimmering (we call it the "seeing") gets better the closer the object is to overhead. In particular, if you were looking at the moon early in the evening when it was say 20 or so degrees above the horizon it would have been very bad.

Have another go tonight (it's a glorious weekend cloud-wise), after 10 PM, and focus on the edge of the moon where the sun is setting. You'll see much more detail.