Questions about star charts and other accessories

[Radiation]

I've just recently upgraded from my ETX-70 to a 12" Lightbridge - needless to say the new scope is much better, an improvement on the 8" dob I had on loan from the ASV too. Now I've got a few questions about what accessories I should get to go along with it. I'll mostly be looking at deep space objects, but if the moon or planets are up I'll have a look too.

First off, I want a star chart that I can use in the field. Stallerium is great but I can't take my laptop everywhere.

I was thinking I could just print and bind this (http://www.geocities.jp/toshimi_taki/atlas_85/atlas_85.htm) at Officeworks. It seems pretty good, and the fact that it's A4 size is a big bonus. Can anyone tell me if this includes all of the southern hemisphere though? (I'm guessing it does as it goes down to -90dgs)

Will that be right for the southern hemishpere? Also should I print the version with constellation markings or without? Or should I just buy a commercial star chart?

Second is a shroud as the scope is a truss dob. Do I need one if there isn't much light around me? I was observing from the backyard last night and it was great, so I don't know if I even need one. If I do need one, can I just make one myself or should I buy one?

Next up are eyepieces and barlows. The scope came with a 2" 26mm Meade QX Wide Angle EP. I also have a 25mm and a 9mm EP that came with the ETX but the 9mm is broken(the lens is loose and rotates in its housing). I'm going to a dark sky site Saturday night so I figure I should wait and see what I want out of an eyepiece after that night. Would it be worth getting a 2" 2x Barlow now in case I want the extra magnification?

Cheers,

Tudor

[rmcconachy]

G'day Tudor,

I've never tried using Taki's star atlas. You could try printing out a few selected regions and using them for a couple of observing sessions before deciding whether you liked it enough to print and bind the whole lot. As for constellation markings or not, that is purely personal preference.

If you look through the focuser without an eyepiece in it can you see anything other than the inside of the other side of the upper part of you scope? If the answer is "No" then you probably don't need a shroud for light baffling purposes. However, a shroud can be useful for holding dew at bay on soggy evenings. By all means try making one yourself if you want one.

Regarding eyepieces, I'd suggest looking through as many different eyepieces as you can before laying out too much cash. Take it slow and get a sense of what you like and don't. For example, do you want a really wide field of view or don't care? Lots of eye relief or don't care? Some playing with other people's toys can help lessen the amount of buying and selling that follows :)

Best of luck with the new scope and clear skies!

- ricky

[RAJAH235]

This is a small handy set...
> http://www.midnightkite.com/starcharts.html
These are monthly's...
> http://www.skymaps.com/

If the surrounding area is reasonably dark & free of stray white light, then a shroud should not be necessary.
You can make one yourself.

Is this a new eyepiece.......still under warranty?
If so, ask supplier about it.
Poss replacement?

[astro744]

Welcome!

I recommend Sky Atlas 2000.0 Deluxe (colour) as it is beautifully presented and labelled. However this chart and many other free ones only go down to mag 8.5. To complement it I also recommend Sky Atlas Companion that lists all objects by chart number.

Note you will soon run out of stars on any 8.5mag atlas with your 12" telescope and an alternative or to complement the Sky Atlas would be Uranometria (3vol set as a list of all objects by chart number is in vol 3).

Sky Atlas is large (A2) and easy to follow. Do not worry about up/down (north/south) labelling orientation, just look at how the stars are plotted in relation to each other. (Think triangles!)

If you want more stars again then the Millennium Star Atlas is very nice although the paperback version does not lay flat but the hardback one is out of print.

Now if you dont want any of the weight of the books may I suggest the Argo Navis which has all the above mentioned and more in its database. (Even with Argo I still recommend Sky Atlas 2000.0 for a visual reference on where you pointing).

[mental4astro]

Hi there, & :welcome: to IIS!

I use the Taki's to great effect. The page your link takes you to also contains a catalogue of the objects listed- plenty there to keep you very busy. It does go through the entire southern sky now. The chart with the constellation markings is useful. I've printed the one without, and have ended up doing 'join the dots' on it.

I also use the Cambridge Star Atlas along with Taki's. The reason being, though it shows fewer stars, I find it easier to do my first navigation to an object because it has fewer stars. Particularly from home as it has enough info on it to help me through the light polluted sky. Taki's is great then to zero in on a target, with its plentiful stars good for starhopping through a good size finder. But I do use both at home & at a dark site.

If you are after an observation guide, first I'd suggest "Hartung's Astronomical Objects for Southern Skies", but it is out of print, rare & needs patience to find one in second hand stores. One I use, until I too find a copy of Hartung's, is "Observing the Constellations" by John Sanford. It lists all the 88 constellations, its features, history, and notes objects for amateur sized scopes from 2" to 20". The objects it lists include double stars & variable stars, as well as the usual suspects with DSOs.

Sky Atlas 2000 is also very good, though for me its A2 format is awkard to store and carry, but its field of view is better than Taki's because it is larger.

Ditto Ricky's thoughts about a light shroud & eyepieces.

If you are after greater magnification, though your scope's theoretical limit is 720X (60X per inch of apeture), you will find that the best our atmoshere allows is around 300X, with average being between 100X & 150X, regardless of how big your scope is. You can get a barlow, but you will rarely use it. Especially if the eyepiece you select gives you the max useable magnification. To give you an example, though my 17.5" scope could go to 1050X, I especially selected a 6mm eyepiece which only gives me 333X. What I spent my money on was not grunt, but an eyepiece that was comfortable to use. I do have a barlow, but I've used it much, much less than the 6mm EP, and only to muck around with.

You will find you'll use low to medium powers much more than high powers anyway.

[Suzy]

Hi Tudor and a great big :welcome: to you!
Congratulations on your new 12" telescope.

Have a look at Rob's charts - their brilliant! Many of us have them. I printed mine out and popped them into plastic sleeves and put them into a 2-ring binder. Watch out it's a lot of printing though, but worth it. I like the fact that he has listed observing targets on each map, and the different colours for objects stand out in the dark. http:////sites.google.com/site/southernastronomer/ (http://sites.google.com/site/southernastronomer/)

Kind regards,
Suzy.

[astro744]

Agreed, the large scale charts do make matching plotted stars with the sky much easier. Note Sky Atlas comes in approx A3 format and each of the 26 charts fold open to A2.

I highly recommend a shroud too to give you the best possible contrast.

[Radiation]

Thanks for all the helps guys.

I went to officeworks today and printed and bound the entire Taki star atlas, only cost about $30. I will no doubt add more books to my collection after this, especially if it's still cloudy out.

I'll buy a shroud from Bintel if they are less than $50 otherwise I may as well make my own.

As for eyepieces and whatnot, I'll try to have a look through heaps at the ASV star party this weekend because there's no point in buying any when I don't really know what I need just yet.

Thanks again for all the replies.