Newbie in Darwin

[Hemi]

Dear members,
I just received my first telescope. C9.25 evolution. After years of research, procrastination and indecision.

All set up (I think) and ready for first light...but the clouds.
I'm in Darwin, and there is no club or society any more for help and advice.
I was wondering if there were any members from Darwin who might give me some tips about local conditions and dark sites etc.

My first two questions are about humidity and what happens to my telescope if it starts to rain suddenly whilst in the middle of a field. I have a due shield but that's it right now. It's the build up to wet season right now...hot and sticky with the occasional storm.

Thanks in advance.....cheers. (First post!)

[brian nordstrom]

Hi Hemi and :welcome: , I lived in Darwin for 7 years and if you google 'DAG's' Darwin Astro Group you will find them , they only meet during the dry season .
Here is a photo of one of our get togethers , awesome dark spot out Nunamah way .

I never had any trouble with humidity on my C9'25 as I have the celestron one and it works very well and keep the finder covers on when not using it , eyepieces were a bit of a problem tho , just kept the scopes open after a session all night and stored them inside the unit when not being used .

Brian.

[BeanerSA]

Nice first scope!

[brian nordstrom]

:thumbsup:I agree , you chose well as if it performs as good as mine you will yet years of enjoyment out of it .
Mine performs brilliantly .

Brian.

[BeanerSA]

Also, if you get into any real difficulties, I'll be up that way later in the month. I don't have any experience with that scope, but I should still be able to help.

[Hemi]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm hoping for first light tonight but looking cloudy again!
Unfortunately I think Dags has closed down. Their website is gone and nothing active comes up on searching. It's a pity. Their are a couple of astronomers here running small businesses in Astro images and star gazing tours who I've tried to contact but didn't get very much response from either.

Still I'm glad we live in the Internet age, so there's a wealth of information and friendly help online.

Cheers

[vlazg]

HI Hemi,
I live in Fannie Bay and also started recently in Astrophotography. I also found the DAGS impossible to contact, it would be nice to have someone to help and swap ideas. i have not used a reflector, i have refractorss but would like to meet.

George

[Hemi]

Hi George, thanks for that, yes woul be good to meet and learn. I won't be much help as I'm completely new.
Got the scope out for the first time tonight, clouds cleared at 11pm.
It was fun and frustration in equal measure I think..... The red dot finder is very bad or faulty, it doesn't stay attached to the dovetail. As you tighten the screws it lifts of the unsecured dovetail! If you semi loosely leave it attached it's grossly mis aligned and I can't get it anywhere nerve the star!

So I could align the scope and Rdf. I also couldn't align the goto...kept failing the 3 star alignment.

Still in all my struggles I stumbled apon Archernar...wow, a beautiful double. It seemed to my unseeing eyes as resolved perfectly.

I packed up having been unable to align, and will try again tomorrow.

[deanm]

Here's a tip for protecting your gear in damp/wet/humid conditions: use a good quality car polish on the OTA, tripod & mount every 3-6 months.

Make sure you extend the tripod legs fully (to get as much covered as possible) and polish away.

Provides a really good rust-protective layer - but DON'T get any on the optical surfaces!

Dean

[Hemi]

Thanks Dean,

Never thought of that or read it anywhere before, makes sence though!

Cheers for the tip.

:thumbsup:

[vlazg]

Hemi , your alignment problems could be you are inputing incorrect stars, Achernar is not a double

[brian nordstrom]

:question:You could be right , it sounds like A Cetrarui
Brian.

[Hemi]

Thanks,

You are completely right, I was putting in the wrong stars. The reason was/is this silly RDF and to a complete newbie these stars are ALL so "bright" and down the eye piece there are a lot of them.

Needless to say I got a shock when I actually did manage to find Archernar, and Sirius.....and Canopus! Then voila it did the trick. Waiting for a replacement RDF.