what can i see tonight! (with my brand new scope)

[Lisa3Delta]

i just got my first telescope today! After much research i decided on a Celeron 130 SLT, with its skyalign and goto i could enjoy the sky without needing to KNOW the sky, but my powertank isnt going to be charged in time for me to use it tonight so im gna be all on my own!

Knowing just about nothing about the night sky, where can i go to find out what i can see from here in sydney? Do i just point it at random shineys in the sky and hope for the best? I was really hoping to get a look at a planet or two but how will i know which they are!

Any tips will be appreciated

[andrewk_82]

Hi Lisa, I hope you enjoy using your new scope.
If you go outside around 7:30pm and look straight up and slightly to the north west you will see Jupiter. It will be easy to see as it will be the brightest "star" in that part of the sky by a long shot.
If you point your scope slightly west of Jupiter you should see M22 a relatively bright globular cluster. Slightly west of that again you will see the lagoon nebula (M8).
That part of the sky is one of the richest areas of the milky way with many globular clusters and nebula to be seen. Which should make for a good night of viewing.
I hope this helps.

[Lisa3Delta]

yay i saw jupiter! That telescope is a pain in the butt to move, i can move it up and down ok but the left and right just doesnt seem to want to move manually.

But still i saw it! I was very surprised by how fast it moves across the field of view, and i lost it so many times trying to adjust my scope to follow it, i could just make out the bands around it and 3 of the moons, i kept having to look up to see what my toddler was doing and it took a while to re-adjust to the dark.

I didnt even try to find anything else after having such a hard time with a big bright target i will wait til tommorrow when my powertank is charged!

But i want to thank you for telling me where i can find jupiter it really was amazing:D

[acropolite]

Lisa, you can download a southern hemisphere skychart for September at http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html It will include a list of targets suitable for your location. Your powertank should be supplied in a good state of charge; it shouldn't really need anything other than a top up charge if it's new. If you want to just push your scope around the sky there should be a clutch for each axis that can be loosened.

[Lisa3Delta]

really? the guy in the shop said i will need to charge it for liek 12 hours before using it, the light did come on saying it was fully charged after only about 2 hours, but i thought i should follow his advice, he said if you dont charge it all the way and let it drain fully each time it will shorten its life, but this also seems contradictory to the instructions that came with it which say not to keep using it when it starts to get low.

I am kind of lost on what to do, i am googling it now {powertank care} but i am not getting much. Anyone have any advice on how i am meant to charge it?

[PCH]

Lisa,

you know I really wouldn't worry about it too much. The thing is, if you look after it just right and do all the right things, it may last a while longer that's all. But if you just use it whenever the thing shows enough charge to do so, you'll be fine. These batteries are only about $50 ish so they are really good value for money, and if you have to replace it a year or so before the theoretical maximum life, well - so what.

Happy viewing :thumbsup:

[Lisa3Delta]

costed 100 bucks from andrews

and id rather buy one every 4 years then one every year which i was told would happen if i dont charge it correctly.

This is money that will go towards other bits n pieces that i will no doubt want soon!

[CoombellKid]

Go have a squizz at o'l Jup's right now and you'll see the GRS coming into
view.

regards,CS

[richard omeara]

Nice scope Lisa.I had the 80slt a few years ago.From what i remember it had a 3 star aligment.You could plonk it down anywhere go into 3 star aligment in the hand controler.Then follow the set up from their.Once you get aligment you can choose what star,planet you want to look at.Then the scope will go to it.TOOOO easy

[rayman888]

Hello, Lisa.

Is the 130 SLT celestron a reflector or refractor? Is it a goto?

The only 130 SLT goto in the celestron brand is a reflector. A Nexstar (Andrews)?

I'm still deciding whether to try a reflector or refractor (no need for collimation, I suppose). My present 127 celestron reflector doesn't seem to collimate properly at all.

[Omaroo]

Hi Lisa

Your location says that you're only 17km from me down here below C'Town. Given that you're close, I'd like to extend a welcome to you, and maybe you'd like to come to the next meeting of the Macarthur Astronomical Society on Monday the 17th Nov at 7:30pm. We hold our get-togethers at the local Uni. There are LOTS of people to talk to and ask questions of. Once you've done that then come to our local observing site at The Oaks on the 22nd. It'd be good to show you how to use your equipment, and you will also meet a lot of new friends. :welcome:

Our website is at: www.macastro.org.au and you can go here to see where the meeting is:

http://www.macastro.org.au/home/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=54&Itemid=81