Introduction.

[ASTRO-GEM]

:hi: Hi, I'm ASTRO-GEM. :hi:

Having been a member here since July this year, this is my first post after trying to write on here several times but to no avail, I had just deleted again. :eyepop:
Not being very computer savvy I'm finding this a bit daunting to say the least :rolleyes:
I recently went to the David Malin Awards in Parkes and after what I'd seen and heard as well as the people I'd met and the fun I'd had: I became hooked. I came home and brought a Canon 700D which was all the budget would allow :sadeyes: and now I'm still trying to figure out how to use it. :shrug:

I also own a Celestron 80mm GTL Go To scope with very basic tripod, a celestron 70 mm Travel scope in backpack, a case full of Plossal eye pieces and filters and absolutely NO IDEA on what to do with any of them :question: :rofl: :lol:
I have also realised that it was not very wise of me to impulsively try and run BEFORE I can crawl, so to speak.. LOL I now have a camera I'm struggling to use, a telescope that is way too small for Deep Space viewing let alone being able to hold a DSLR camera, a CCD camera which is stuck in storage somewhere and a very confused little pumpkin :confused2: :help:
Is there any one here who would be able to shed some light for me as to what is the best way to go, which scope to start with for Deep Space and Astrophotography on a very low income.

Also what is Piggy backing, auto guides and guider scopes all used for and WHY???
Thanks can't wait to hear from you! Terri

[MattT]

Hi Terri,

All I can say is I don't know what a camera is at all...so your one step in front of me.

I can say its all good fun and each to their own, so I hope you get lots of enjoyment out of this hobby...I sure do.

Keep an eye on the Classifieds for bargain basement scopes n mounts.

By all accounts astro photography is a wallet emptier....maybe doesn't need to be...

Hope you have dark skies wherever you are.

Matt

[ZeroID]

Hi Terri,
A bit daunting isn't it ?
Ok, small steps first and a lot of learning to do.

I suggest you download Stellarium ( free) from www.stellarium.org (http://www.stellarium.org) and set it up for your location. It can then show you what is available to see on that night, give you names and locations to look.
I'd also suggest that if you can find a local astronomy group and get along to one of their viewing nights. They can take you through the paces and get you started.
Your little 80mm GoTo is a good starter scope to start learning the sky.
Hopefully it comes with instructions. Read them up, figure how it all works and with Stellarium giving you some targets to look for you should be able to find them yourself.
The moon is an obvious target even in daylight. DON'T point your scope at the sun !!!
Some good starter targets are coming up. Locate M42, the Great Nebula in Orion. Even your little 80mm will show some of the dust clouds in that region. 47 Tucana ((47Tuc as it is often designated) is a stunning Globular with millions of brilliant stars grouped. Areas around the Southern Cross are scattered with small clusters.
That should whet your appetite to learn more and crave more aperture so you can see more.
For now forget the astrophotography, learn a bit about the sky first, soon enough you can investigate some moon pix, easy enough to start with which should get you going into the abyss of astrophotography.

[AstralTraveller]

What Brent said! :thumbsup:

Get some use out of what you have before thinking of upgrading. When I began in astronomy a Tasco 60mm refractor was a perfectly reasonable beginners telescope. Forget astro-photography for a while. Spend time learning the naked eye stars and constellations, even if you don't get the scope out. Welcome to IIS and enjoy yourself!

[ASTRO-GEM]

Thank you so much for the info guys.
I have downloaded stellarium quite awhile ago and I do have a solar filter to enable solar viewing. I just never knew of the immense costs involved especially for astrophotography.

[AstralTraveller]

Yar not wrong Narelle!! You can take Moon shots with any old scope and a smartphone but the 'big boys' could buy a house with what they've spent. Most of us are in between but very much at the lower end of the range. (I could buy a modest used car with what I've spent over the decades.) All the more reason to think before buying. :)

[sharptrack2]

Hi Terri,

:welcome:

I can vouch for what these guys are suggesting. I wanted to jump into the deep end straight away and start taking photos of planets, nebulae, etc. I soon figured out that it was an iterative process that MUST be followed. Learn to crawl before taking those first tentative steps.

While I am slowly starting to collect equipment, I'm out every night that I can looking, searching, learning. Navigating the stars is a skill that must be learned before you can hope to get any decent images of what is up there.

Piggy backing is simply putting smaller telescopes on the bigger ones, to be used as either target finders or guide scopes for the automatic tracking required to take the phenomenal photos these guys take. It is truly a very involved, and expensive hobby.

Achromatic refractors seem to be the astro-photographers favourite type of telescope but the reflectors are still the work horse of amateur astronomy in my humble opinion. For now what you have can keep you intrigue for some time. I caught aperture fever right away and it has taken me some time to recover and realise that my little 5" reflector would have been more than enough for awhile.

You're not too far from me and there are a couple more IIS members here on the Central coast. We've been hoping the weather would clear and a Saturday night star party can be organised. Keep an eye out for announcements in the Star Parties, Club and Community area Events (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=16) for upcoming opportunities.

Good luck and don't hesitate to get out there and start looking. The group here are fantastic mentors so ask any questions that come to mind.

[raymo]

Hi Terri, Firstly, you say that your 80mm scope is Go To on a very basic tripod. Any Go To scope's tripod should be adequate for the scope's needs; what brand and model is it?
An 80mm will give quite good views of many of the brighter deep space
objects, and will easily handle a DSLR,[using the appropriate T-ring for your Canon], although, as Astral Traveller said, I would forget imaging
until you acquire more general knowledge.
raymo

[ASTRO-GEM]

Hi Raymo,
it is a Celestron Nexstar 80 GTL (Long Tube refractor) with an aluminium tripod. Was told by a couple of astro guys in Parks to get myself a decent tripod and mount. Very confused over that. Wondering why a company would sell such a scope if the tripod wasn't good enough????

[Allan_L]

Hi Terri,
Seems I am pretty close to you. About 7k.
If you like we can discuss your questions when are you free.
Weekdays are best for me.
As Kevin said we were hoping for a viewing night this new moon, but the weather does not look promising.
Nevertheless we can still set up your scope and practice on some easy stuff.
Welcome to the IceInSpace family :welcome:
Allan

[ASTRO-GEM]

Thank you Kevin,
a local star party would be great! Clear skies even better LOL

[ASTRO-GEM]

Allan_L that would be great! I'm free just about any day.
Also curious, would I have to set scope up every time I use it? Meaning doing the three star alignment each time??

[Somnium]

astrophotography can be as simple as using your 700d on a static tripod and and taking a bunch of wide field images and stacking them. the equipment you need is dependent on the type of images you want to get. for any real deep images you will need an equatorial mount, and EQ5 and a refractor with your 700d would make a potent combination. but as others have said, this can be an extremely expensive hobby.

piggy backing is stacking one scope on top of another
autoguiding is a way of more accurately tracking the sky, a designated camera looks at a star and sends corrections to the mount if it the star moves
a guide scope is a designated telescope (usually piggy backed) that the guider is connected to.

hope this helps

[ASTRO-GEM]

Hi Somnium,
yes it does help thank you! As for stacking well I'm still trying to find out about that. LOL There seems to be so many things abbreviated these days and I'm not really up to computer tech stuff or talk. I'm afraid I'm very much OLD SCHOOL for a young pup LOL

[Somnium]

stacking is quite simple with a free program called deep sky stacker and there at some good youtube tutorials

[ASTRO-GEM]

Oh good, I might try and get it. Thanks :thumbsup:

[raymo]

O.K. Terri, forget photography using a scope for now, as I said before. By all means start with wide angle work on a static tripod. Also, I would
suggest you forget stacking for now as well. You have plenty to learn
about aligning and operating your Go To scope without worrying about
that as well.
Regarding your tripod and mount. The guys at Parkes were partly right.
Your mount and tripod were designed for scopes of a similar weight to yours, but with shorter tubes. Nobody understands why they put such a long scope on that mount. The great length causes the scope to shake
when you try and focus it, and it can be very frustrating. Their 130 SLT
model suffers from the same problem. They were wrong in suggesting
that you replace the mount and tripod; there are much cheaper means
of fixing the problems.
Firstly, suspend a weight beneath the tripod, somewhere around the weight of a couple of house bricks. This will steady the tripod to a
worthwhile degree, and costs nothing.
Secondly, and much more importantly, buy an electric focuser [ Bintel
sell them] which has variable speed and runs for ages using a 9v
battery. This means you don't have to touch the scope to focus it. You
will wonder how you ever managed without one. I think they are around
$90-95.
raymo

[ASTRO-GEM]

WOW :D great thanks for that, I will buy the focuser right now.

[raymo]

Hi again Terri, just a couple of points; make sure from the guys at Bintel
that the Skywatcher electric focuser that they sell will fit your scope using
one or other of the brackets that come with it. Some of the early focusers
used to drain the battery when not in use. I fixed that by putting a switch
on the controller. I would ask the Bintel guys whether that fault has been
remedied. If you encounter that problem, and are not up to putting a switch into the circuit, just remove the battery at the end of each viewing session, it only takes a few seconds. Incidentally, I think the weight of one house brick would probably be enough for your tripod.
A last tip; extend the tripod legs as little as possible. This will improve the stability as well.
raymo

[Allan_L]

Thanks Raymo, I have one of those Skywatcher electric focusers and it is a great addition. But I did wonder why it needed a new battery every time. I will have to consider the addition of a switch. Any DIY plans to follow?
Previously I was removing the battery, but the connections are so fragile, that the wires came adrift from the circuit board at remote dark site. Very disturbing, as you can not manual over-ride with electric focuser attached. :help:

[ASTRO-GEM]

Hello Allan and thanks raymo, I did ring Bintel back and they both thought that the battery draining has been rectified but not 100% sure of it. So I guess I just wait and see.:shrug:

[raymo]

Hi Allan, I don't think that Terri will mind us hijacking her thread.
I got a small on/off switch from Jaycar for a few dollars. Remove the front cover and drill a hole for the switch at the top left of the front cover
to the left of the control knobs. You only have to cut one of the cables that goes to the battery, and connect up so that the switch is in the circuit. You just need a smallish soldering iron and a little bit of extra
cable. The whole job took about 20 mins. I also use a rechargeable
9v battery. The battery lasts for many viewing sessions, providing that you remember to switch it off when not using it. If you should
forget you only have to recharge the battery, instead of having to buy a new one. A spare battery, and you're always up and running.
raymo

[ASTRO-GEM]

Hi Raymo, would it matter which cord gets cut and connect to switch
?
Astro-Gem :question:

[raymo]

You can cut either cable that goes directly to the battery. The switch just serves to break the circuit to stop the battery draining. Just connect one of the cut ends to one of the connections on the switch, and the other cut end to the other connection on the switch, quite simple.
Of course, if the problem has been rectified, you won't have to do
anything.
raymo

[ASTRO-GEM]

Thank you Raymo. :thanx: I should be getting mine in a couple of days, will see how it goes. :thumbsup: