New to Astronomy

[Backyard gazer]

Greetings all,
This is my first post so forgive any naive questions or statements. I purchased a Celestron 8SEi about a 2 years ago after owning a 100mm newtonian for many years.

Not knowing how to find objects in the sky The Goto function really appealed to me and I purchased a Celestron 130 but found there was not enough difference in image quality from the 100mm Tasco, so after much research on the internet I jumped into a large SCT.

I have been very happy with the scope and the things I have seen but there are some niggling things that I do not understand and hope someone can shine some light on, so to speak.

I live in the North Western suburbs of Sydney and Parramatta is in a SE direction and the ball of light height in the night sky is huge and washes out a lot of the southern sky. The other directions aren't too bad and I have seen what the scope can do when I took it on holidays to Lightning ridge and Sofala.

I have a UHC/LPR filter but all this seems to do is make the images darker, can't see any more detail in nebulars, thoughts or suggestions??

Recently purchased a Williams Optics WD-DIG125DI diagonal from Andrews Communications and it has improved the image quality and I mainly use a Hyperion 15mm eyepiece but sometimes I think the image is soft. Don't know if it is location, "seeing", me or the scope.

I haven't seen images through many other scopes so I am unsure what to expect.

Sooo, to the punch line, am I expecting too much from my location or am I too inexperience to get the best from my equipment. All advice welcome.:shrug:

[Davekyn]

Hi Don...sounds like you know a bit already. I am still new in the hobby as well...more of a star gazer than an astronomer...have not found any super novas yet :)

Sounds normal with the filters. Only other thing I have read about filters, is that the app size can effect results. Have you tried heading west...I note you have some forest about 40km near you. Maybe you could try there...although you seem to have some huge light pollution out the the east of you way. Longer focal length and higher mags is what I've read helps with LP, although that me be no good for the targets you intend. Perhaps you could change your strategy and concentrate on bright targets from home, and plan fainter ones for a trip to the blue mountains?

Anyways...best of luck with it...You in a good location if you ever get into Hiking:) could always take some Binos on those tracks.
Dave.

[sheeny]

G'Day Don.

Welcome to IIS!:hi:

I don't have any suggestions re: the UHC/LPR filter. I'm fortunate enough to not have a lot of need for one so I don't have one.

It's difficult to know if you're expecting too much or not in terms of sharpness, but I notice you made no mention of collimation.

If your scope is out of collimation, then your images won't be as sharp as they could be. You can check you collimation by focussing on a star in the centre of your FOV, and then throw it out of focus. If the defocussed star image becomes a disc of concentric rings then collimation is good.

If the defocussed star image has the centre of the rings eccentric, then the collimation is not so good, and if the defocussed star image is not circular than it's really bad!

The collimation on SCT scopes is done with 3 screws under the secondary mirror cover. I cannot recommend Bob's Knobs enough to replace the factory fitted screws and make collimation so much easier.:thumbsup:

Once your collimation is good, do a search on IIS for "Bahtinov mask". There's an excellent thread there on how to make one to help you to focus accurately.

Other than that, "seeing" can play havoc with the clarity of your views, especially at high power. Being in a relatively built up area, you may find there are sinificant thermals rising off surrounding houses during the colder months as everyone cranks up their heaters, and this will contribute to poor seeing.

Al.

[Blue Skies]

May just be your inexperience. When I first started using OIII filters I wondered what the fuss was about as I couldn't see anything but blackness and few green stars. After a few years things started to stand out. However if you have a lot of light pollution around it just may be too much. I'm not that experienced with LPR filters in a suburban environment so I'll let others help you with this one.

Without being able to look through it myself, my first suggestion would be the eyepiece. I've looked through lots of different types of eyepieces through my dob to see what they can do and some would be what I would describe as 'mushy'. So I guess that goes with your description of 'soft'. Only solution is trying different eps or looking through someone elses scope for comparison to pin the problem down.

[Backyard gazer]

Thanks Al, Jacquie and Dave.

You have started me thinking that I should be looking at others equipment in the area before I go to much further.

I know there was a get together at Parramatta Park last weekend but I didn't find out until the Tuesday after. If Anyone is aware of an upcoming viewing night please let me know.

Al, I have done the collimation to what I think is the best and I tweek it occasionally but I will invest in some Bobs knobs.

[Chippy]

Hi Don,

There are a few different astronomy groups around Sydney - all very good. The nearest to you would be the Western Sydney Astronomy Group that meets once a month at UWS Nepean campus. They also do observing on Saturday's nights once/twice a month at Linden in the Blue Mountains.

If you want someone to take a look at your setup and give some advice or opinions then I am happy to do that. I could bring one of my scopes and some eyepieces around for you to look through. I live in a unit, so am always looking to make friends to observe with, as I can't do it much from home. PM me if interested.

Clear skies,
Nick.

[Glenn Dawes]

Hi Don,

Macquarie Uni has 2 public star nights a year. The next one is this Saturday. Unfortunately this one is near Full Moon but there are normally quite a few amateurs showing people through their scopes. There is also a guest speaker and Vendor stands - in fact if you come along come to the 'Quasar' stand and say hello.

Regards

Glenn

[Backyard gazer]

Thanks everyone,
The advice is appreciated.
I can't make it to the observing night on Saturday but I will keep an eye out for one I can attend in the future.

It appears an observation night is the way to go.

Don:)

[AussieAaron]

Gday There, I am also a newbie and have only been here for a few days but find that the poeple on here are very welcoming and very helpful, Though i cant really help you as i am also new and do not have much experience i would like to welcome you and hope to see you throughout the forum and looking forward to chatting with you, Aaron

[dpastern]

Welcome to IIS Don.

I used to live at Seven Hills, so wasn't far from you ;-) Had a few friends at Mays Hill too, not far from Parramatta Park either.

If you want some good night skies, and have a car, go out to Jellybean national park. Awesome dark skies, generally quiet. You can camp there as well, there's pit toilets, fireplace, firewood and plenty of room to camp. It wasn't too expensive the last time I was there (10 years ago), $8/night. The road is a bit windy, and dirt and rough in places, but not that hard for a normal sedan. Plenty of bush walking available as well. Plenty of wildlife too, especially the Kangaroos, hundreds of them.

Dave

edit: My bad, it's been so long since I've been there, I got mixed up with the name...It's Blue Mountains National Park, Jellybean pool near Glenbrook. Some links:

http://www.glenbrookbluemountains.com.au/product.php?id=242

http://www.wildwalks.com/maps/pdf/nsw-ebmnp-jbp.pdf

[Joes]

Hi Don,

I attended the public night at Macquarie Uni- heaps of different scopes available and everyone just so helpful. A great way for novices like me to learn from people who know a thing or two!!

I also dropped in and said hello to Glen on the Quasar stand. I purchased their book -Astronomy 2009- talk about a wealth of information!!

As a complete novice, I would have to say public nights like these, and by talking to various club members at them, is a great way to get started.

Joe