Hi All

[ae2411]

Just bought a celeston xlt 150. was wondering what eyepieces will be necessary to do some dso observations and in the future i would like to do some photography as well. Would like to see some nebulaes galaxies etc. Since i am new any recommendations would be great. Is this telescope good enough to do this?

thanks

[xelasnave]

Good morning Ervin and welcome to iceinspace from me.
I suggest you just have a go with the EP's you currently have....by the way what do you have??
Photography is very dependant upon the mount and achieving a correct polar alignment...so for a start work upon getting the mount polar aligned..its easy to do but not when you first try it...so this is something you can address.

Good luck you will be surprised at the variety of objects you will see so enjoy that for a while..photography is almost guaranteed to see you giving yourself a manual mohawk haircut..so ease into it gently.
alex

[leon]

Ervin, as Alex has stated, and the words are true, enjoy the spectacle of the Universe with what you have, then if imaging takes your fancy progress slowly, it is a big learning curve.

leon

[TrevorW]

EP for DSO start off with a 20 and 40 mm Plossl will give enjoyable wide expansive views but don't expect too see things like shown in magazines.

Just look theres a lot out there too see.

[ae2411]

Thank you for your comments advices.
the telescope unfortunately comes with only one Ep which is a 25mm tha mount seems solid cg4?
so far managed to observe saturn, jupiter and.... i can not tell which nebulae or what it was. it was a faint like cloud... i told you guys i am new:)
but have to start somewhere

cheers

[Ric]

Hi Ervin and welcome to IIS.

A good first step would be to get a planisphere and some basic star charts if you haven't allready done so. That will help you find your way around and get familiar with the stars and nebulae.

Cheers

[ae2411]

I have a star chart and also downloaded one. I am working on finding my way around the sky. I think i managed to find Eta Carinae:) and omega or eagle nebulae It was only a faint cloudy image but i liked it. Well i think.... hm its hard :) hope i did not imagine things when i see those faint objects.:eyepop:

[renormalised]

Welcome to IIS, Ervin. Like the others said, have fun doing visual work first up. You'll get to learn about the night sky and what things look like through your scope. Then, if you want to, you can then progress to astrophotography. Then you'll learn all about frustration!!!:P:D

Just had a look at your scope at Celestron...nice:)

You may want to invest in a Celestron eyepiece and filter kit for 1.25" eyepieces. Or buy 9mm, 15mm and 32mm eyepieces and a 2X barlow lens. That'll give you a good spread of magnifications. If you decide to get into astrophotos, you're going to need a more robust mount because after hanging a camera (either DSLR or CCD), guidescope and autoguider etc etc, off your scope, you'll need a good mount to handle the weight of all the equipment. The CG4 looks a little light to be handling all that. However, a small modded webcam or the Celestron NexImage camera wouldn't tax your mount at all, and you'll get great piccies of the Moon and planets.

Also, download yourself a good planetarium program, like Stellarium or Cartes du Ciel so you can plan observing sessions, create starmaps and such.

[ae2411]

I have ordered a 6,9 and 32mm EP's , i have a 2x barlow and also ordered a dual axis motor drive when purchased the scope, but its on back order. However the eyepieces should be here thursday and hopefully the sky will clear up as well. Its cloudy for days now:( All Ep and 2x barlow are Celestron.
The photography is in the future only when my financial situation will improve. I am very happy to learn to find my way around and do visual observations.

Ervin

[cahullian]

Nice choice Ervin they will give you many, many hours of enjoyment.

Gazz