Noobie from western Sydney

[Dan05]

Hi all,

My name is Daniel and I am an avid sky watcher from Horsley park in western Sydney. I own a bresser messier ar127L refractor as my 1st telescope. It was my 30th bday present and have now had it for a year. Love it to bits. I have seen the moon, Jupiter and its moons, Saturn, Venus and Mars so far. I have a couple of pics of Jupiter, Saturn and the moon. I need proper gear for astrophotography though. Pics aren't the best but hey they are mine.

Seeing the planets for the 1st time with your own eyes is like nothing else. You see pics of planets in books, Internet etc but when you see them with nothing but some lenses, the atmosphere and some solar debris between it and your eye it's an unforgettable experience.

Hi all and if there is anyone else from my area of town let me know.....

[raymo]

Welcome, and nice scope.
raymo

[Dan05]

Thanks raymo

[sharptrack2]

Welcome! If you're ever up on the central coast say hi. I can relate to the feeling of seeing things with you own eyes. Still all very new to me but have managed a couple of milestones myself.

[Dan05]

It's like exploring the unexplored. You feel a bit captain kirkish. I love my telescope and I am endeavouring to get the right gear for astrophotography. I have a Nikon d3200 and need the t section and lenses for the telescope mount for photographing.

[Somnium]

welcome Dan! there are a few members from western Sydney around here, i am in the Hills area so not too far away. sounds like a nice set up you have got there, don't be concerned that the pics are not the best, like you said, they are yours. i am sure we would all love to see what you have been able to manage so far. all you will need to start using your DSLR is a T-Ring, not expensive and you can start, but be warned that the quest for the perfect image can be a slippery slope to bankruptcy :)

what mount do you have ? that will be the key in getting good images

[Dan05]

No mount. I have stuff all gear at the moment that's the problem.

[Somnium]

make sure when you do get a mount you get the best EQ mount you can afford, scopes will come and go, a good mount can last forever. you want to make sure you have plenty of capacity, a second hand EQ6 might be the way to go

[Saturnqueen]

Hi Guys,

This is Shachi and quite a newbie to this whole skywatching thing which Ive dreamt of doing since I was a child. I live in Sydney's west - Wentworth Point. I recently gifted myself the Skywatcher 127 Mak 5" goto synscan for my 30th after a very long wait and now have problems aligning the scope itself. Just to explain a bit more, I tried aligning using the scope finder, 2X barlow with a 25mm eyepiece.
Hoping to get some advise from fellow experts! :help:

[Somnium]

Maybe you should start another thread

[sharptrack2]

Hi Shachi,

I'm fairly new at this astronomy thing too but after reading 100's of threads, the first thing people will tell you is to take the X2 barlow out. That only increases the magnification, making it extremely difficult to find anything easily. The telescope you have has a focal length of F/12 which means it already has a lot of magnification embedded in its design.

The second recommendation I have is to follow the manual step by step. Since you have a GoTo, you only need to find 2-3 stars (and know which ones :lol: ) for the device to know where it is. I do not have any experience with a GoTo but from what I have read they are reasonably simple to operate. With the moon brightening the early evening skies, you may have difficulty finding some of the more common stars that should be visible, but if you point to the southeast it should be easier.

Lastly, try opening a thread of your own. You may find people will respond much faster and all the comments will make more sense and track with the topic.

[Saturnqueen]

Thanks Kevin!
You see, Ive got mixed reviews about the Barlow. I will definitely try without it taking your advice into consideration.
You know what, the goto had names of so many stars that it was so hard to pick one. And the one that I knew wasn't available .. hahah. :lol:

Definitely starting a new thread! :thumbsup:

[Dan05]

Thread hijacked... No all good. Welcome and I hope you find the help you need to enjoy your new toy.

[AG Hybrid]

Nice of you to say high Daniel. Good to meet someone else from Western Sydney. Next time our group have a trip up to the mountains or Katoomba airfield we'll invite you!

=)

[Dan05]

Sounds great! I'm always up for some exploration with like minded people. Plus it's always more fun with mates around.