Meade LT6 help

[Slowaz]

Hi,

I have just bought myself a meade LT6. I am waiting for the shop I bought it from to get a 7 pack of eye pieces in for me and only have a 26mm and a 9.7mm at present.

My question is.... Should I be able to see say Venus with this scope and the 9.7mm eye piece (154 ish X magnification) ? I went out into the sticks last night and I could see Venus and had it lined up but to be honest it was just a blob of light. For the $1800 I have just spent im hoping I can see more than just the moon.

I intend on joing a club but would like to get a grasp on things myself before I do.

Cheers,

Gareth

[Liz]

Hi Gareth, and welcome :welcome:.
OOh, this is a beautiful scope, I had been looking at it too.
You can see MANY goodies with it, including galaxies and nebula.
Venus is often a blob in your EP as is so bright, but you need to take your time when viewing objects, and more detail pops in.
We checked out Venus the other night, a bright blob at first, then settled into a half crescent like the Moon.
There are many other better objects to see, so browse the threads, ther is info galore.
did you look at Saturn? It is a long way away, so small, but still gorgeous.
Yes, join a club. :thumbsup:

[Slowaz]

Unfortunately the clouds closed in and we couldnt get a chance to see Saturn. Ive got to work out how to get the onboard computer to line up properly aswell. I get it dead even and lined up north and then when it goes to line up on two stars I have no idea which star it is aiming for and it never tracks right :(

[Liz]

I have a Dob so easy to set up.
Patience :) ... you will get there soon. I would have thought those mounts are easier than the usual equatorials.
Do you know a few of the bright stars to do your alignment on? Its a huge learning curve - the night sky AND a new scope, but wont be long before you are breezing along. Keep at it Gareth!! :thumbsup:

[JimmyH155]

shouldnt you be lining it up on SOUTH???? If the instructions are Meade, (USA) that's Northern hemisphere stuff. You should align on the South celestial pole. Then for 2 alignment stars you have the beaut Southern cross near by and Kigel Centaurus etc., etc.:D

[Liz]

aah, very good point Jimmy. I have never had a goto before, just Dobs, so not into all these tricky setups. :question:

[AndrewJ]

In AltAz, the Meades are always pointed Nth as the alignment routines are based on where AZ=0 is, and that doesnt change based on Hemisphere.
Using Rigel Kent or Acrux as the first star is always usefull at this time of year as they are unmistakeable.

Andrew

[PCH]

The ETX is able to choose the alignment stars for you, based on what it can see at the time of night you're setting up. It thern brings them into the fov and all you have to do is centre them and press 'next'. Doesn't this new scope from meade have the same options to do it semi automatically? I'd have thought it did, but don't know for sure as I haven't seen one.

Cheers :thumbsup:

[Slowaz]

Its certainly not automatic. Nor is it as easy to setup as the salesman made out.... Unless you know what star is what your in trouble. It just points towards 'a' star and there is like always a range to choose from. Not really what id call easy to setup for a beginner. Im going to go try again tonight. Fingers crossed i'll be able to see some points of interest.

[Liz]

Gareth, you need to know a few of the basic bright stars, this isnt too hard.
HAve you got Stellarium? www.stellarium.org (http://www.stellarium.org)
Put in your location, and it will show you whats in your sky. At the side mark, get it to label the bright stars/planets. Its great.
At the moment, Arcturus is the bright star in the NW, then depending on your location, Vega is good for me in the N, or Alpha Centauri or Accrux, in the south.
Even if you start off with 3-4 stars it will make things easier.

[Slowaz]

Yes I have got that program. It doesnt run on my laptop for some reason but does on my PC which is a tad annoying if I want to use it whilst out and about. I did however buy a collection of books from Australian geographic yesterday which i'm hoping will point me in the right direction when it comes to understanding the night sky :)

Last night was a waste of time.... Total cloud cover the whole night. I was hoping it would clear. It did when I got home!

[mozzie]

stick with it gareth the stars will become more familiar to you as time goes by.the stars that it points to are always the brightest in that area of sky and it will not be in the centre of the eyepiece.up to 1 or 2 degress away this is normal