Beginners Start Here!

[Jaybee]

Ooh..just realised that I'm the 1000th poster!! do I get a prize? :P

[erick]

Errrr.....NO! :D

[renormalised]

Hi Jason, how much study are you prepared to do?? What do you want from it?? Do you want to do part time or full time study??. Internal or external?? Lots of questions :)

As for me, I'm doing my Masters degree in astronomy at JCU (http://www.jcu.edu.au/school/mathphys/astronomy/). Lots of hard work, but it's rewarding. You can also do Grad Certificate and Grad Diploma courses as well, if you don't want to go full on doing a degree. I finish at the end of the year...if I do well enough I may go onto a PhD. Be doing it on exoplanets (most likely the formation of terrestrial planets, Earth like worlds and their subsequent habitability), if I manage to do OK :).

[Ritchie-l]

some will gasp in horror, but I have had a few ideas, tried a few as well but not to the point of no return.
I have an 8" dobs, have been told not suitable for astro-photography. (Definitely the wrong thing to say to me)
you see, I am curious and like to prove things or apologize.
now some out there would say OK you can take pick of the moon.
and I will say right back the Orion nebula is not on the moon.
and I have pics that I have done through my 8" dob.
now me not being happy with just this I have been thinking and racking my brain for a few months now, and think I have come up with a solution to track.
firstly a concreted area in the back yard looks great to me.
the idea is, I polar align the drum and get the vertical axis correct. then tilt the drum so that the polar alignment is now horizontal, then fill the drum with concrete.
then the result when it is dried, and I stand it back up to its position, is a platform that needs a motorized base on the dobs to sit there, and tracking should be possible.
I do realize that there are going to be a few more mods along the way but, lets experiment here.
any other ideas would be helpfull.

Ritchie

[pjb009]

Hi all,

I am a newby.
I have a new(2nd hand) EQ5 starwatcher mount with a Newt 114mm. I went and grabbed a some charts and a planesphere thingemy gig. Got myself a 2 dollar red light and the cheapest AC to DC converter I could find which was 40 bucks. So all up I have started up for about 600 and now I feel like the fish in the plastic bag at the end of "Finding Nemo"....."Now What". My mind is an empty white board. So I guess the main thing to begin with is take my time and just try to learn some stars and orientate myself over the next six months. Well thats my plan so far.

[shelltree]

Hi everyone,

I actually joined up with Ice in Space about a year ago but I've been really slack so I thought I'd post here again. I've been thinking about getting serious about astronomy again lately, it just excites me so much and I'm so inspired to get out there and view as much as possible (even if my backyard is scary and filled with creatures trudging through long grass that sound like heavy footsteps...)

On Thursday night I had my first look through my friend's 10" Dob and it was UNBELIEVABLE! Experiencing that made me realise just how phenomenal the night sky is and that I definitely want to do a lot more stargazing in the future! I didn't even care that it was freezing cold and that my neck was sore, I was just in awe. We managed to see Omega Centauri, M6, the coathanger, the Ring nebula and Jupiter rose just when we were about to pack up so we had a peak and saw Jupiter and four of its moons. Now I'm pretty set on getting a telescope of my own!

I just ordered the Astronomy 2010 Australia: Your Guide to the Night Sky and intend on getting a planisphere this week but til then I've just been using Stellarium and scanning the night sky with my Dad's 10x50 Olympus binoculars and so far I've managed to see M6 and what I think was the Cru cluster in the Crux constellation but there is so much out there it can get a bit confusing as to what's what!

Anyway, I've ranted enough, I'm sure I'll be posting frequently now with all my newby questions so watch out! :)

[NebraskaSky]

Hi all,

I'm new to Ice in Space. I live in the Lake Macquarie area and I am a politics/law student. When it comes to astronomy I'm a beginner but I would love to become more involved.

If I ever get elected to public office in this country—at any level of government—one of my policy areas will definitely be dedicated to reviving interest in astronomy within the community and among young people like myself. I think that astronomy is capable of creating solidarity among human beings because it is something that transcends age, culture, religion, gender, etc. and it is something that everybody should be able to explore and enjoy.

Michelle

[Sedusa]

hi there,

I'm looking for a star map - online - looking for Gliese 581 in Libra.

Thanks.:thumbsup:

[erick]

What Googling have you done, Sed? Does this help? http://www.allthesky.com/constellations/lib35.html Turn the labels on.

[NickontheCoast]

SO there I am observing and see a flare shaped object about where M5 should be....

It's bird shaped and is shaped as if it is heading away from a bright object..which when I look closer is moving - satellite?

The object and its flare companion continued to move through the western sky ascending west to north - visible to the naked eye.

Any pics I have seen of iridium flares give them a torpedo shape - this flare was very spread out but certainly attached to the other bright object.

An iridium fare or similar??

[newastro]

G'day felloAstronomers,
I have recently purchased a new EQ5 mount with GO-To and 6" tube. All skywatcher products. For the moment at least I'm not saying which business I bought the scope from, but I would like some advice as what I asked for wasn't what I got in the box.
I was originally after a 6-8" Dob which was skywatcher sw580 or 680. But my interests are in astro photography, so I ended up getting the go-to, no problems. So I got the mount and seperate tube. When I e-mailed the guy I kept refering to the sw580 as the tube I wanted with 10mm and 20mm eyepieces. with 1000mm focal length.
What I got was Black Diamond 750mm tube with 28mm wide angle lens.. When I asked if I got a mix up tube the guy said he was doing me a favour by taking out other 2 lenses and giving me the better Black Diamond tube.
Could someone tell me if the tube is better than sw580 or the same seeing as though they are both skywatcher. I was wanting 1000mm length. And I appreciate the wide angle lens for photograpghy but I have no zoom for normal viewing. As a matter of fact my 6x zoom digi camera got closer results than scope.
Sorry about lengthy piece but that's as good as I could explain the situation. I have a feeling the sw580 isn't available without dob mount but would have liked an explanation rather than something turn up that I didn't pay for. Please get back to me. Thanks for your time.
Newastro. ps replies can also e-mail to; rwironman@hotmail.comw

[henzbelmont]

Hi, I am new to telescope purchase. Can anybody help me out in getting familiar with the technical stuff I have to know about all this thing? online pokie games (http://www.onlinepokiegames.com.au/pokies-tips.php)

[Brent]

I'm Brent from SE Qld i have been keen on Astronomy for a few years, now having purchased a telescope just a couple of months back there is not a clear night I don't spend in my backyard. I managed to purchase my scope at a clearance sale, I got a Celestron C8NGT Newtonian on a CG-5 german equitorial mount. I'm just now getting the hang of polar alignment however one problem i have is the mount won't allow me to adjust to 27 degrees the latitude for my area (28 is the lowest it goes) i have started adjusting the front leg of the tripod a bit lower to compinsate the 1 degree. One of many of the little things i have learnt and have to learn about the wonderful world of Astronomy. I'm sure from this site, as i see many others have i will learn alot more.

Cheers

[erick]

Hi Brent and welcome. Tell us what you are looking at with your new scope. Cheers Eric

[Chi Sao]

Hi I'm Jason,

Have been reading the threads here and there. I have been given a Celestron 4" Nexstar as a birthday gift. Tried photographing the Moon the other night and the image was "not good" compared to what I saw.

I am looking for an idiots guide to Astrophotography was considering getting http://www.astropix.com/GADC/TOC.HTM. Would appreciate any advice.

I think I have Lens envy. I would like to photograph; planets, moon, DSOs and may be one day The sun (with appropriate filters/protection).

My first ever nebula image was the Horse head nebula in a skylight like dome on a Pan Am 747 30 odd years ago, the colours were beautiful.

Well looks like I have found another expensive photography related hobby.

Cheers

Jason

[philg]

Hi Everyone, I'm Phil.

I purchased a 8" Orion Intelliscope Dob a few weeks ago and have been exploring the night sky from my backyard, which I'm loving. But as we have a big hill on one side and lots of trees on the other side of us I find that a lot objects that I want to view are hidden :( Are there "well known" locations (parks, etc) around Brisbane/Ipswich which are ideal for astronomy?

Thanks
Phil

[sagittariusA]

hey, i joined yeserday.
as green as they get and would love advice on getting started.
posted a few about my pops scope, will fix it up because i love the old ones.
still would need to buy a new one to get into astro photography.
sooooo. I need to know.... where to get lenses replaced, like new ones cut?? what would be a good new scope for me to buy, cheapish cause as a student i'm broke almost all the time.
what's a good starter to get used to my scope, ie, what to look for and what i should be seeing when i've got it right?
long list i know but now it's out there.
C.

[TheFacelessMen]

Hi All,

Just joined today. Been into astronomy and a telescope user for a while but have only just had the time to start getting serious :screwy:

Decided to join up as I have ordered a new scope and have lots to learn :help: so go easy on me ;) !!

Thx

[erick]

What have you ordered Rob? Do tell. :)

[TheFacelessMen]

Hi there Erick,

I just posted a question in the beginners equipment discussion section, but I ordered a takahashi mewlon 250 and takahashi em400 mount.

stupid me did not realise the differences in setting up the mount over my old fork and alt/az mounts :doh: so now need some advice.

:thanx:

[erick]

Nice! :thumbsup:

[TheFacelessMen]

:thanks:


Now all i need is some advice on aligning the darn mount and ota properly :shrug:

[erick]

Are you planning visual or photography (or both), Rob?

[TheFacelessMen]

Hi Erick,

Mainly continuing primarily with visual but getting into a little bit of astrophotography which is why I spent a little more money on the mount.

I hope to buy a second hand or new CCD when I can affort the extra dollars.

[flyingbaby]

I am new and need someone to help me... all about astronomy... in Perth, WA.... Not sure if anyone can kindly help me...

[TerryM]

Hey guys,

have never looked through a telescope but am very eager to get involved. i would like some advice on selecting a telescope, my price range would be up to $1500, at the moment i only want to do visual but later down the track maybe a little photography.
Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

[bartman]

Hi Terry and Allan,
Welcome to IIS !http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/../vbiis/images/smilies/welcomesign.gif
I'm still relativley new to astronomy but I can tell you you have come to the right place!
Have a look through this thread ( or do a search) and you will find lots of posts regarding " what telescope to buy for X amount of dollars".
As a lot of members will say ...'join a club' or 'head up to one of our local observatories' ( such as the one in Bickley www.perthobservatory.wa.gov.au (http://www.perthobservatory.wa.gov.au)), and I thoroughly recommend that.

Good luck and clear skies!
Bartman

[Chancellor]

Mornin' all
After a few months of lurking on the IIS forums I thought it is time to say a proper hello.
I was introduced to astronomy a few months ago by a friend, and have not turned back. Since looking at the moon through his 8" dob there have been many moments that can only be described as "damn that's pretty".

So far my main interest has been astrophotography, so I guess I have started in the deeper end especially considering never really using a camera before. I actually bought a camera with the main intention of pointing it at the sky causing the guy at camerahouse to look at me a little odd. (Tip: Before going out with a brand new camera, read the manual and learn the camera, especially if it's a new moon and you can't see what you are doing.)
Since then I have purchased an ED100, EQ6Pro and a few of the accessories associated. It's a steep learning curve, but a fun one. Plus, with the images posted on the ISS forums, there is an endless source of inspiration.
Hopefully in the coming months I'll be looking at a nice dob, however until then I'm very happy with what I have and will continue to curse the seemingly endless clouds.

[LittleBloke]

Gday, newbie from Brisbane. Gr8 site.

[Cosmic]

G'day all,

I'm 25 and new to everything related to space and astronomy. I live in Darwin and I am a night-shift worker from time to time. I believe this is where my interest has first stemed from and this is where it will hopefully continue! As a family man im very busy and spare time is getting more and more important to me. I have been told a goto telescope is a good option for viewing multiple points in a short time, so this maybe what im after?? I honestly don't know.

Once I have done and obtained the necessary research on telescopes, ill be purchasing one asap...I just cant wait lol Well my budget is $1000...ish lol it never turns out under budget :) I do plan to record and connect a laptop to the scope....but is my budget going to allow me to do that. I'm very interest to see how far these retail telescopes reach out there in the great beyond.

My apologizes for all these questions, I know I could of google half of them, as everyone dose these days lol. But hearing it from enthusiasts sounds more like a sensible.

Cheers,

Cos

[BorisM]

Hi all, just a quick intro: Joined an Astronomical Society at the beginning of the year (Macarthur Astronomical Society). Bought a Celestron NexStar 6SE with the neximage software. Finally got back into astronomy after a long absence (20 years) you know work, kids etc.....
Astronomy as you know, you learn something every day which is great. I get my kids involved aswell and the added bonus they are enjoying the wonders and distances that can bee seen. Just recently I've tried some planetary photogrophy ad managed to some images of Jupiter (I'll post them on here once I have the opportunity).
Have to recommend the ICEInSpace 2009 compendium Very nice book and very imformative with the equipment used per photos, well done.
Anyway I could go on and on.....lol
Boris

[sirius0]

Hi all. Just joined, have had you all pop up a few times when googling and thought it was time I joined.
Be back soon..

[Kevnool]

Gday to Jeff / Litte Bloke / Daniel / Boris and Chris.
Welcome to IIS enjoy your stay here with us.
Ask some questions and tell us some yarns.
Most of all participate.

Clear skies to you all which ever way you want to go as in Astro photography or casually observe the wonders of the night sky.

Cheers Kev.

[Trixie]

Hi, I have just joined up after lurking for a while on the beginners forums. I am a total newbie but everyone here seems so nice and polite that I have decided to delurk.

I dont yet have a telescope but am looking to buy one. I have been reading everything I can find on purchasing a telescope and that is how I found this site. I have found so many helpful posts on here and as a result have almost made up my mind to buy an 8 inch Dobsonian but still have about 20 pages of this thread to read through and I still dont quite have my head around eyepieces!

I have always had an interest in space and as my work often had me stuck out in the middle of the desert or the ocean (and much of the time working at night) I enjoyed many nights watching the stars.

Last year I was outside with my then 3 year old looking at the stars and he kept asking me questions about the stars and moon then he spotted Mars and wanted to know what the "orange star" was. I had no idea and had to look it up. Ever since then I have been trying to learn the constellations and now I want to see more!

At the moment I have some ancient old binoculars and, a star chart and a couple of books. So far I have mostly been learning the constellations and havent had much chance to even use my binoculars.

Anyway, I just popped in to say what a great site this is and I have already found answers to most of my newbie questions.

I look forward to spending more time on here!

[jjjnettie]

Welcome to IIS Carey. The 8" dob is a great choice. You'll get many years of enjoyment out it. They usually throw in a few eyepieces with the scope to get you started.

[mental4astro]

Hi Carey,

:welcome: to IIS!

Binoculars are a fantastic instrument for astronomy! Believe it or not, there are some objects in the sky that are so large that binoculars and not a telescope are the best way to observe the entire object.

In the 'Oberservational and visual astronomy' forum, there is a monthly Challenge. It is not a competition but a resource for new comers to have somewhere to start finding objects, and for old dogs to either reaquaint themselves with old fav's or help with ideas for planning sessions.

I've got a thread running in the 'beginners talk' forum with links to the monthly Challenges, with a little blurb relating to each month's focus objects.

This month's in particular has emphasis on binoculars.

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=58900

Or you can go directly to the 'observational and visual astronomy' forum and have a look through the various topics raised. It is also a good place to ask questions for tips on looking for particular targets.

Before you purchase a scope though, I'd suggest you go to an astro club or some other 'star party' to have a look at what these scopes both look like and perform like. You might be surprised at just how big an 8" dob can be if you've never seen one before. I realise that it might be tricky with a 3 year old, but they might surprise you with their enthusiasm and excitment. The astro clubs are most welcoming places and you can stay as short or as long as you like. You will find many listed under the "Our Community" heading in the top left margin of the IIS pages. You can also start a thread asking for a local get-together either here in the Beginners forum or even in the Star Parties forum.

[Trixie]

Thanks for the link. I havent been to look at that forum yet so will certainly have a go at this months challenge.

Yes going to a Astro club is certainly what I should do but the idea of turning up all by myself is just too scary for me, especially given how little I know about the subject just yet. I have a hard enough time posting on online forums!

I am not in a hurry as I have been enjoying using my binoculars at the moment, so I have plenty of time to read up on it all.

[mental4astro]

Carey, please don't feel intimidated. Star Parties are informal gatherings, and everyone will be most impressed that you should have a go. And if you take your binos, even more so, and they will be able to point out little treasures to chase down.

Just don't bug the imaging boys and girls, they are rather precious folks, :rolleyes: :screwy: :shrug: :prey: :bashcomp: :prey2: :tasdevil: :P :lol:

[buddinseeker]

Been a while since my mind turned seriously to getting telescope but recently I have been reading alot recently and the choice doesn't get any easier.

Go cheap and cheerful to see if it turns into flash in the pan and struggle with frustrations of poor equipment, invest in good gear for it to gather dust or regret the purchase when it takes off and find the initial investment lost and need to start save up from new again...

My desire to enjoy the hobby and share it with my young son is the main drive, ultimately I wouldn't mind getting into astrophotgraphy so ultimately I would like the scope to be versitile enough to turn to this much further down the track.

I have spoken to a few suppliers and looks like I am heading the way of a dobsonian with most suggestion it would be a good place to start, am reading through options and upgradability but not ruling out other options yet.

I must admit reading through these beginner threads are very informative keep up the good work ! I got a lot of deciding to do...

[iceman]

Hi buddinseeker.

It's a difficult balance, where you want a telescope that's great for a newbie, great for kids, and yet versatile enough to be able to be used for astrophotography later on.
Astrophotography really is a whole other ball game and can require a much larger investment in gear, and time!

How old is your son?

A dobsonian is certainly a recommended way to go for newbies, and 6-8" or 10" dobs are good for kids too as they're fairly low to the ground and depending on how old the kids are, might be able to get by with a small step ladder or crate.

An 8" dob is really the ideal starting size, because it's big enough to be able to see excellent detail on the planets, moon and see galaxies and nebulas, while still being small enough and cheap enough to be a first telescope and portable.

Stay away from small, cheap refractors because they're really only good for looking at the moon.

As always, if you can, try to get along to an astro society meet neet you (not sure where Wanneroo is!?) and have a look at and through some of the different sized telescopes you'll see there. It'll help you refine your decision process.

Good luck!

[buddinseeker]

Thanks for the info, my son is a very tall for his age 5.

Spent a little time out in Malaga at BOTW and got to see a few actual telescopes. One thing that surprised me was the size of these Dobsonians, their huge, the pictures in magazines do not do them justice. Was a bit cloudy and the sky pretty star free but the very helpful and informative guy in the shop pulled a 10inch outside to give me a little run through driving it. Upclose and personal with the moon and a first ever real life glimpse of Saturn has me very interested.

I guess now I am chewing on 8 or 10 and what accesories might help enhance the experience as a first time user.

The models I am considering is the Skywatcher collapsible Dobsonian. Just to big otherwise. Anything things I should be aware of with these ones, any drawbacks?

Any must have accesories. I believe these scopes come with 2 eye pieces. (high power and low power)

Finally my thanks to BOTW Malaga, they made a beginner feel very welcome and answered all my questions.

[that_guy]

heyy buddinseeker, invest in a telrad finder, its great and i wont be without it on me dob. i use it more often then the finderscope. easy to align and no fiddling with the focusing cos its 0x magnification. Its illuminiated circles makes it real easy to star hop, from memeory i think it was 2 degrees circle, 5 degrees and 20 degrees... tho i could be wrong.. anyhow its a great tool to star hop and learn your way around the sky

[lozza000]

Hey all, I am a beginner, and I was just wondering what a beginner should start off looking at?

[buddinseeker]

Cheers for all the help :)

Will post a further slew of questions in the appropriate forums as I realise I have to ask them. Will post back once I make the final decision on the scope though, think the decision will be between to 8" and 10" dob and if it will fit in my car to get a little mobile

[Kevnool]

Hi Lauren and welcome :welcome: .
If i was in your shoes i would go and get a planisphere from a quality bookshop or astro shop learn how it works get a bananna lounge and lay out under the stars and look up at the constellations.

Check out the bright stars on the planisphere and at the moment just look straight up at the brightest thing in the sky besides the moon and you will see Jupiter.

Take some binoculars with you for starters and lay back and enjoy until you decide totake the next step (beyond the stars and planets).

Cheers Kev.

[Allan_L]

Hi Lauren, :welcome:
welcome to IIS.

This question would depend greatly on what you intend to use to look with?
Eyes
Binos
Small telescope
etc.

The best thing for beginners is to start with easy to find objects.

The elephant in the room, of course, is the Moon.
You will be amazed the detail you can see with simple equipment.
the best time is when it is less than half illuminated. Then look along the line where light goes to dark (the terminator) for so much more detail is seen due to the angle of the sun creating shadows that highlight the lunar profile.

Next would generally be the two larger planets.
Saturn is always stunning, but at the moment is probably setting to early to see.
but Jupiter is at a good position. The four larger moons are always a treat.

Maybe next would be some star clusters.
The jewel box near the second bright star in the southern cross.
Tuc47 near the small magellenic cloud.
Omega Centauri again near the cross and the pointers.

Then perhaps Nebula.
the great Orion nebula is easy to find (the second "star" in the sword of Orion) and beautiful.
Then look for Eta Carinae, again in the southern sky not far from the Cross.

After that, you will be enthusiastic enough to obtain star charts with objects and locations.

The Messier objects are a good place to move to then (although some are Northern Hemisphere. Caldwell objects are often overlooked but like Messier, the list is not to long, they are fairly easy to see, and many are Southern hemisphere.

Sometimes I enjoy just panning the milky way from the cross with binos, and discovering the many beautiful objects in that belt.

Have a look at the monthly challenge in Observational Astronomy thread.
Plenty of threads discus whats on.

finally, I like to look in th Aust Sky and Telescope mag for what is on at the moment, and the curent month star chart.

Enjoy.
And feel free to ask many questions.
We all started as you did.
Keep the enthusiasm going by sharing with people as on this forum.
And if you are ever over in the Eastern State, look us up.

[buddinseeker]

Just to finish of my story.

now the owner of a Skywatcher 10" Dobsonian (collapsable)

I plumped for the 10 in the end and with a little luck I will try it out tonight it is all assembled though must say the instructions are a little vague in places with how tight to make things....

[lozza000]

Great! Thanks for the help :D

[Kevnool]

Your welcome glad i could help
Cheers Kev.

[Trixie]

I was going to take my time but couldnt resist it and bought my telescope today (Skywatcher 8" dobsonian). By the time I got home the clouds had rolled in. If anyone in the Adelaide region was planning on looking at the sky tonight Im sorry, its probably my fault!

[mental4astro]

Congrats Trixie!

Bad luck Adelaide, :P ! 8"= 8 weeks cloud cover!:rofl:

[Trixie]

Well I went out and set it up to look at Jupiter and waited for a gap in the clouds. This was the first time I have looked at anything through a telescope so I was pretty blown away by the view! Cant wait for a clear night now. Until then I will probably bore everyone to death talking about my first view of Jupiter :)

[Kevnool]

Great stuff Carey.
You wont bore people with Jupiter cause thats all the buzz here at the moment.

Every 6 months i pay the city of churches a visit and most times there i look up in despair at the intense skyglow and cloud.

Cheers
Kev

[skitzottarius]

Hiya all!

Thought I better stop in & say hi before I start posting a whole slew of new (yet I dare say repeated!), newbie questions!

I'm a complete, unadulterated amateur. No doubt in my mind & happy to say so. I've been gazing at the skies my entire life, & I'm able to spot a few constellations without refering to a chart or book. For example I'm ok with the more 'well known' such as Orion, Crux, etc...the Zodiacs of course (well, mostly). I can easily point out some other stuff (like the Pleiades), & for the most part, can spot a planet if it's up....
Got my first 'scope last year - a Saxon 1300 x 900 Reflector - a trifling toy compared to some, I know, but it's my first baby! hehehe

I'm yet to get as far as astrophotography - would need a beter camera then the one I've got anyhoo. And I'm also without any motorised tracking...but I'm working towards it!
I'm located just outside of Newcastle, in NSW & am lucky enough to be 'suburban' but with very little local light pollution....mostly. ;o)

Feel free to drop me a line of intro or some hints/tips/etc - I'll be sure to dig through all the forum listings for any topic I've got in mind before posting a fresh one up!
Anyhoo, as stated, just wanted to say hi & introduce myself..which I see I am yet to do...Hi all, I'm Skitzottarius aka: Greg!

Right then, off to scroll through the forums I go! Happy hunting folks!

Skitz

[iceman]

Hi Greg, :welcome: to IIS!

Great to have another novacastrian. Are you a member of the NAS? They're a great bunch!

Feel free to ask plenty of questions! :)

[skitzottarius]

Hiya Mike! Thanks for the warm welcome, much appreciated.
By NAS I take it that's Newcastle Astronomy Society (or somthin' like that)? I'm yet to look any local groups up, but will be doing so over the next few weeks...
I'm seriously looking forward to advancing my level of skills & am always looking at future options when it comes to new 'scopes....not in the market yet, but always nice to know what's out there! I am very keen to locate the correct motorised tracking for my scope (I always go the wrong direction by hand! :lol:), & am pricing things as I type (nice that Melbourne Cup day has slowed work to the point I can google things!).

Anyhoo, thanks again for the greets!

Skitz/Greg

[nataura]

i got my telescope last week, braved myself it fix it. took it to my condo apartment terrace. managed to get a glimpse of moon and Jupiter. the telescope keeps shifting and is not steady. i guess, i have a long way to go

[erick]

Be patient, and work carefully Nat. Try to tighten the mount up so it is stable and wobbles as little as possible. Shorten the legs if that helps. You should be able to get views of the Moon and Jupiter with care.

[blasterchief]

Hi everyone,

I'm really keen to get into just doing astronomy as a hobby, and I've been doing a reasonable bit of research about what kind of scope to start out with.

So just thought I'd introduce myself, I think I might post a thread in the equipment area for a bit of advice.

Cheers,

Dilan

[erick]

Howdy Dilan!:welcome:

[astroron]

:hi:Nat and:welcome: please give us some information on your scope ?
such as Tripod /mount, size, type of scope ect we may be able to give you some tips as to make your observing more enjoyable :astron::)
Cheers

[jenchris]

Hi, I'm Jenny and it's been 47 days since I last looked through my scope
Clap Clap Clap..... (actually it was only last week, but it was for about 45 mins and it got cloudy again, so I'm not counting it)

I've been pretending to be an AA since last year this time when I bought my lx90 - I was hoping to get an lx200 but the price beat me.

However I am very happy with my little blue tube and it points like a hunting hound so I'm happy with that since I'm kinda vague about the points of light inthe sky
Who can blame me, They've not been visible for more than a minute this year... and my memory ain't what it used to be.

I'm a member of the Southern Astronomical Society and they foolishly asked me to be a committee member this year so I'm already rising like cream to the top (or is that scum?:sadeyes:)

I have a T shirt now that has SAS on the front... which is almost as bad as having "I am a bomb disposal expert, if you see me running, try to keep up" on the back....

[that_guy]

hmm i think i remember you from SAS meeting jenny.... im the quite korean kid who doesnt say much :lol:

[jenchris]

ah yes i think I do!
I'm the wrinkly old dowager with too much enthusiasm!:rofl:

[Bryce]

hi, i'm Bryce,
i'm hoping for a telescope this xmas year but right now i've got really,really..... bad binoculars


Bryce

[Ric]

Welcome to IIS Bryce.

I hope Santa is kind to you and brings you that scope.

Cheers

[jenchris]

Victorians don't deserve nice stuff...... :D
Except astronomers and they deserve government sponsored 14" Meades

[Suzy]

:lol::lol::lol: You have great humour, Jennifer.
Hi Jennifer :hi:. I hope we hear a lot more from you. ;):) The weather has indeed been "mean" to us Brissie people.


I was at the SAS meeting a couple of months ago, I wonder if I saw you :question:. I noticed two ladies sitting on the right hand side of the hall, I wonder if you were one of them :question:. I wonder if you remember me :question: IceAxe (Joe) picked me out easily from my avatar, so I guess I wouldn't have been too hard to pick out. :question: Oh wait.. if you heard "stomp stomp stomp" on the wooden floorboards? Hubby got mad at me because my heels kept echoing through the hall so I ended up tip toeing like a clumsy ballerina. 'tw'sn't easy. :screwy::lol:. Tony said he's very easily :lol:.

[that_guy]

I heard my name.... :|

[jenchris]

I'm hard to miss, I'm 6 foot tall!
Probably wearing a white SAS shirt

[DSO dude]

yello every body just thought i'd say hi :D and introduce myself before i start getting more into it:lol:

I am looking forward to writing some posts and helping some people out! :hi::hi::hi::hi::hi::hi:

[johnsy123]

hey i am new to astronomy. And i am thinking about getting a telescope in a few weeks. As a beginner what is the the most convenient for me?

[jenchris]

johnsy - hi
The best scope is the one you'll use - all the time.
I'd need some details before I could advise you.
Budget, place you'll be viewing from, your knowledge of the sky, physical fitness, strength, enthusiasm, size of your car.

so it would stretch from an oldie with a crook back or heart and a Suzuki Mighty Boy with no prior knowledge of the sky, to a Capped National Athlete with a bank roll and a degree in astronomy and a passion for phtography

[keni]

Hi Ken here just introducing myself.
A mate has recently got interested in astronomy and dragged me along for the ride.We went to a couple of public nights here in Brisbane and that only sucked us further in.
We borrowed a couple of smaller scopes to play with while we decided what to get.This explains the atrocious weather we've been having. Needing something larger we bought a 2nd hand 10" Dob between us to tide us over for awhile.
My long term plan is to get into astrophotography so I plan to use the tube on an EQ mount next year and my mate is planning to buy a larger full goto Dob.
So now we sit watching the rotten weather.....:(

[that_guy]

heyy ken.. a 10" Dob OTA is pretty heavy so youd be looking for something like a EQ6 or a G11 haha.. a bit pricey and all, also, you got to make sure DSLR or CCD camera can come in to focus on your dob, usually theres not enough in focus to allow prime focus photography, i bought my 10" with the mirror already moved up... :/ hope this helps :thumbsup:

clear skies
tony

[jenchris]

Yes Tony you're absolutely right, there's a lot fall foul and get a long T thread and find no focus left - add a barlow as well and you're going to have to jack your mirror up about an inch and a half - at least!
As a thought, doesn't that mean you spill some light off the secondary mirror?

[that_guy]

yeah, sometimes, they usually change the secondary to a larger mirrors to stop them photons from escaping :lol:

[keni]

Hi Tony,
I thought it might be a little heavy after doing some more web searching.Thanks for the tips too.I have a DSLR so when I do jump in I'll be hitting the Astrophoto forum hard and low.For now we're just going get familiar with the sky if it ever returns.I'm sure getting sick of observing fluffy gray things.

Ken

[keni]

Hi Jenny,
Thanks also for your tips.It may be easier to get one of the OTAs that are made for Astro Photography.Anyway that's at least 6 months away.Plenty of time for me to get thoroughly confused......and poorer.

Ken

[jenchris]

A nice start is something like a newtonian 8" with an f/7 or f/8 speed - that will allow for good camera speed but also be useful for visual.
An EQ5 mount and you have a decent start.
Keep you eyes on the for sale listings.
Most of the stuff that sells is people moving up to the next level and the stuff is well looked after or someone who lost interest and it's unused.
It is seldom worn out.
The Newtonian is light enough but you may have to be an acrobat to look into the eyepiece sometimes if you're doing visual - what sort of DSLR is it?
Canon 1D? :D
If it has live view and laptop control, you're well on the way.
Are you north or south brisbane?

[keni]

Yes an 8" looks much more manageable and the mount will be a bit cheaper too then.
I've been watching the For Sale listings too waiting...watching...waiting...

I have a Canon 20D standard DSLR not the "modded for what I want now" model.
It doesn't have live view but I think I can hook it up to a Lapdog.
Will have to consult the manual and see.
I live in Ashgrove so inner westy north kindoff.

Ken.

[that_guy]

if you want to to astrophotography, an EQ5 is usually not stable enough for 8" Newt.. you might want to consider Wide Field Refractors like an ED80, they sell second hand about the same price as you buy a 8" newt new... and they give a very very very good result... and its lighter and more portable.. so you can wack it on the EQ5 with out a worry :)

[keni]

Thanks Tony,
More options/suggestions are good..especially if they're cheaper.
I have just been checking out those refractors on the magic web and they look very interesting and popular for astropics.
I'll keep a close eye on the for sale section here although it'll be at least 6 months before I want to start.

Ken.

[Winter Wolf]

Hi Folks, summer is here and I am ready to get back into astronomy. The eyepieces are covered in dust and the sheet is over the Dobsonian.
I promised myself that I will get off my lazy butt during the holidays.

Too bad that I've forgotten the location of everything :(.....oh, well, now where did I put that Uranometria 2000??

Fingers crossed for good weather over the next few months and clouds from NSW and QLD disappear. Sounds like the flood waters are causing many problems. Hope everything is okay for you guys and girls.

Cheers.

Wolf.

[Jessica]

Hello All!

I'm brand new to astronomy - I'm an avid space dork, but I haven't really had the cash to buy myself a telescope until now. I figured I'd say hi, and promise not to ask any stupid questions before reading as much as possible.

Cheers,

Jess!

[erick]

Hi there Jess! Enjoy your reading - then buy that scope! :)

[Ric]

Hi Jess & Wolf

Welcome to IIS and I hope you both have a great time here.

Cheers

[Space Dog]

Welcome Jess, no such thing as a "Stupid Question" if it increases your knowledge about Astronomy or any other subject.

Cheers, Ric.:welcome:

[jenchris]

The only stupid question is the one you didn't ask.
Ask away and we'll try not to swat you too often

[Binca]

I need some opinions. Around April this year I bought myself my first telescope, a Celestron 130 EQ. It is quite nice, and I would use it a lot if I actually had a sky that wasn't loaded with clouds all the time.

But I do have a dodgy back. I can carry a reasonable amount of weight, especially with mum helping me carry stuff, but my back will hurt when I spend ages fiddling with my telescope trying to find stuff. I have never managed to use the finderscope properly.

So anyway, I am planning on buying a motorised telescope, because I think that might be easier on my back if I don't have to find everything myself. Well, that is the impression I get anyway. I am in no hurry to buy, I need to save first anyway, although mum has promised $2000 towards it when we sell our holiday house. My overall price range is probably around $4000 max. Although naturally I wont object to cheaper.

I generally view from my front or backyard, although there are nearby places I can go for slightly better viewing. If I do go somewhere else, my car is small (Hyundi Excel or however you spell it :P) and my mum's isn't much bigger (Ford Fiesta I think.)

When it comes to carrying a telescope, I know you can generally take it apart a bit. I can carry a suprisingly large amount of weight considering my build, gender, weight, height and whatnot, but my mum is pretty weak. As in very. But she can help a bit.

So the whole point of my story is, any suggestions as to what to get? :P

[jenchris]

It's not only what to get, it's also a matter of posture.
If you set up a scope so that the eyepiece is at the level of your eye, you don't have to bend to look into it- The diagonal on the focuser revolves to accomodate small differences in height when you look from a horizontal image to one higher up, so that you only have to look down or across, never have to bend over the lens.

So whatever you buy, will only have to be moved from the house to the car and then to a place of comfort!-or even just into the backyard.
make it easy on yourself by having a trolley that will accomodate your toy as well - there are several on the market that fold up - but it means you'll only have to lift it, never carry it.

[erick]

Feed Mum some red meat?

Before you spend some thousands of dollars :eyepop:you need to get a good look at various types of scopes and try observing through them and aligning them with finderscope etc. Try to get to a starcamp or other gathering of folks with various scopes.

[Winter Wolf]

The best advice for astronomy is- buy the telescope that you shall use the most.
Most people go for large aperture and a high-tech rig, only to find that it becomes too much of a chore to set up after the 'love' begins to fade. I would only recommend spending a large amount of money if you are positive that you know that you'll get outside a lot.

Those who are new to astronomy should start with something that is small and easy to carry. My first telescope was only 4 inch Vixen, but I still have many great memories using it.

I prefer to put money into good eyepieces that give a wide field view. They are more valuable than a high tech rig, IMO.

[0tt0maddox]

Hi,

My name's Simon and I live in Canberra. I'm pretty new to astronomy. I've been meaning to join this site for a while, and now I've finally gotten around to it.

I've recently been given a basic reflector scope on an incredibly dodgy mount, and when I say dodgy, I mean it would probably move if you were to accidentally breath near it. However as a courtesy to the person who bought it for me I don't want to buy a new one right away.

I have a good pair of binoculars and I've been mapping stars to try and familiarize myself with the sky. Other than that I've just been tearing through as many informative books as possible.

My main problem (other than having to live in a place like Canberra) is that I'm getting a bit lost amongst all of the information. Does anybody have any tips on what aspects of information I should be learning as a priority, i.e. learning moon phases, constellations, how to read bearings etc.? Also If anyone knows of any amateur communities in the ACT that I might be able to join?

I would appreciate any help.

[Ric]

Hi Simon and welcome to IIS

A good place to start in regards to club is the Canberra Astronomical Society. They have beginners meetings each month before the main meeting and a lot of great people you can chat with.

http://www.mso.anu.edu.au/cas/

Of course there is a wealth of info as well right here on this great site.

Cheers

[erick]

Hi Simon. Look through what is available on the IIS site, eg. in the "Projects & Articles":-

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/projects.html

[0tt0maddox]

:) Thanks guys!

Both links were just what I'm after.

[Binca]

Simon, I can't pretend to be an expert, I am a bit of a beginner myself. But when it comes to learning stuff, I would advise you to start with whatever you are most interested in, because you will find it quicker and easier to learn that way :) Well, I know I do anyway. Good luck!

[Nettie]

Hello there everyone!
I'm extremely new to astronomy, and know next to nothing. For Christmas this year I bought my hubby a Celestron Astomaster 70EQ and we've played with it once, last night. Had a blast even though we had a heap of trouble using the star finder. We stumbled upon Jupiter and it's moons I think which was a complete fluke as we didn't have a star map or anything lol.
We live in Perth so we headed up to a place near Mundaring Weir so there'd be less light pollution, unfortunately there are a lot of trees though but we managed to get a pretty good view of the sky.
Anyways, just wanted to introduce myself and say hi. I love the fact that everyone here seems so friendly and helpful, I wasn't going to join a forum but I'm glad I did!

[astroron]

:hi:Annie and :welcome: to iceinspace
I am glad you enjoyed your first night with your scope :)
You will find lots of help here, no question is considered stupid so ask away:thumbsup:
There are quite a few members in Perth so in the future you may get together with some of them who will be able to help you further
Cheers

[that_guy]

haha heyy nettie, it seems jjj has a bit of competition

[Leeroy]

G'day All

I am new to astronomy and have just found this forum.. WOW..
My wife brought me a celestron 70EQ for my Birthday and i am hooked..
I did a little viewing while in high school astronomy class in the early 90's and have always had an interest, but not enough time or money to spend on a serious scope.
So last night during a much welcomed break in the weather i set it up and despite the light pollution from Brisbane, was stunned and delighted to see a clear view of Jupiter and its 4 moons ! :eyepop:.

So where to from here? I will continue with this scope for a while but will be looking to upgrade to a larger reflector telescope. I have no idea about Brands or prices so where is the best place to start? I would like to eventualy be able to take some photos as well..


Cheers
Leeroy

[jjjnettie]

Welcome to IIS Lee,
Where abouts in Brisbane are you?
There are regular get togethers here in the South East. Just check out the Star Parties and Community Events section here. http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=16
The next open night at Cambroon Observatory near Kenilworth is next Saturday night. (weather permitting) It's a great social event where you can meet up with other IIS members and get a chance to look through other types of scopes and ask those questions.

[Leeroy]

Hi jjjnettie.. Thanks for the warm welcome.. I am in Carina on the southside. I am a little busy this time of year but will definatly try and get to one of the community events very soon.
The family and i were invited to a friends place in Springbrook for new years eve and i took some time to have a good look arround the sky without all the light pollution.. I was looking arround Orion for the Horse head nebula (wasn't expecting much so wasn't dissapointed when i couldn't see anything) but i did find and was delighted to see in much detail M43 Nebula. I am hooked! :D
I do have one question though.. I was also looking at Jupiter again and in particular the position of the moons. I have a copy of The SkyX First light Edition which is great for a newbe like me.. I shows the moons of jupiter but not in the positions that i was observing. I checked the date and time and location details in the software and they were correct and i also womndered if my telescope was fliping the image but no it's the right way up.. So what gives, is the software wrong?

Cheers
Lee

[Kevnool]

Hi Lee search google for Jupiter2 it is free software that plots the positions of the moons in real time or put a time in it to see the GRS when it spins around.

It is good software.

Cheers Kev.

[Leeroy]

Thanks Kev.. I found a ciopy of the software and low and behold discovered that my computer was out by one day in it's date and time.. DUH... Dunno why i didn't see it before.. :screwy:
So now jupiter's moons look like they are supposed to..

Manny thanks..

Cheers
Lee

[Huuuda]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this field of science but it thrills me to the bone. It's gonna be a challenge for me because of a slight language barrier (I'm Czech, moved to Sydney in June 2010) but hey, who wouldn't love challenges right?

I'm about to buy a nice piece of hardware, such as Meade LX200 - I'd like to go for the 14" one but if you - more professional amateurs - say there's no big difference between let's say 10" or 12", I'll accept your wisdom and save a few bucks...

Anyway, this forum has been a source of few precious advices for me already so I don't doubt the time I'll spend here will be a time well spent!

I wish you a successful and healthy new year and clear skies of course!

Petr

[erick]

Hi Petr! Welcome.

14" would be nice, but............. how are your muscles? That is a big and heavy tube unit.

[barx1963]

Hi Petr and :welcome:
Agree with Erick, I have helped someone move a 14" lx90 (lighter than the Lx200) and it was heavy! Took 2 of us to get it off the tripod!
To be honest I would look at a Collapsible dob or a lightbridge unless you are go to permanently install in an obs, these big SCTs are not the sort of thing you just grab for a quick look. Suggest you go and look at one in the shops or get along to an observing night or star party to compare scope before spending a big wad of $$$!!
Remember, the best scope is the one you are going to use, and if it is to hard to get it out, its just won't be used!

Malcolm

[mangrovedutch]

G'day Everyone, I am extremely new to Astrophotography, and decided to join this forum for some advice and general information. Once I get a scope, I hope to be posting some great photos. I am currently looking at a Celestron Ultima 2000 8" (quite old), with wedge, that has been offered to me at a pretty good price. I'm not sure if this is suitable for photography, though I have been assured that it is great for photography.
I live south of Brisbane, away from light pollution, so once I get a scope and learn how to use it, I should hopefully be able to produce some nice work. I currently own a gripped 550D and also a gripped 400D with lenses ranging from 10-20mm Sigma to a 150-500mm Sigma Bigmos as well as a Kenko 2xTC and also a full set of Kenko Tubes. I will be running CS5 photoshop and I am currently investigating a variety of stacking programs. I am also looking at joining an Astronomy club soon, most probably the SAS at Ormeau, which is closest to me.
Anyway, hi to all, I hope that everyone enjoys the new year and that we shall see some clear skies soon. It has been raining here for what seems to be an eternity.

Regards, Dutch

[Huuuda]

Thank you, barx & erick, for your replies. I will do as you advised - I would love to attend a star party!

[spaceguy]

:welcome: Hi Dutch, welcome to this site. Yeah I am basically new on here too. Hope you are ok in all the floods and rain up there. I live in southern NSW, in the mountains, and it's dry here, We had our floods about 2 monyhs ago. I hope you go ok with the purchasing of equipment - I'm not really up with all that, but my son bought me a Celestron scope last year, it's a Power Seeker 127, with equatorial mount. It's a reflecting scope with a mirror. Hard to get used of all things upside down. My first great view was Saturn and the rings. :)

I should check if a club around here too.

I have never put a note on here before, so here goes.

Have a good new year Dutch. Happy viewing. Cheers. Ken

[bluemeanie]

Hey hello, im just getting into astronomy. I have a 114 mm Newtonian at the moment but am seriously thinking of upgrading. Even with the limited scope i have, i just cant stop looking into the damn thing =).

Looking forward to sharing that with you all, and for any advice.

Thanks to Octane, for directing me here.

Cheers

[Octane]

Welcome, babez. :D

H

[jjjnettie]

Welcome to all the new members!
Great to have you aboard.

[Dennis G]

Just out of warranty and the LX90 HBX fails to light up! Checked all connections and powe,r but no go. Has any one experienced this problem and if so I'd appreciate any advice and comments.
Also if there's a working HBX suitable for the Meade LX90. I'm interested to purchase or any advice as to where one can be purchased, in Australia preferrably.
Dennis G

[mangrovedutch]

G'day Dennis, I have no experience with a lot of this gear, but when I was researching scopes and mounts, I was told Meade has a tendency to fry mother boards. Not saying it is, but it might help to narrow down the problem. I hope it is something simple. :shrug:

Regards, Dutch

[astroron]

Hi Dennis,I suggest you put this enquiry in the Equipment Discussions Forum, I think you will get more help there:help:.:thumbsup:

[gpb]

Hi All, Astronomy has always been fascinating to me but now I'm going to take it to the next level. Being very new to this forum it has already provided me with heaps of knowledge and it is changing me from purchasing a SCT to a Dob, mind you this will be my first ever telescope. I know it will take a few months before I decide on which one exactly because now I'm weighing up whether it would be beneficial if I went GoTo.

[erick]

Looks like you are asking yourself the right questions, Chris! :thumbsup:

[Ric]

Welcome to IIS Chris.

Research is a wonderful thing, I know I spent quite a few months researching my scope.

I trick I used was to download the manuals if possible, they will give you a lot of insight to the scope. I think I knew the full in's & out's of mine before I'd even purchased it. :lol:

Cheers

[PaPPy]

Hello

I am fairly new to star gazing and have enjoyed a great read in this forum and have just joined up since it has given me a lot of information and all the members here seem really knowledgeable and helpful indeed.

I have recently purchased an 8" skywatcher dob and have immediately fallen in love with it..I know, I know, I gotta get out more :P anyways, it's been an absolute breeze locating Jupiter, the Moon (ofcourse), Saturn and even a very bright glimpse of venus...albeit having to stay up until around 5am and battle those bloomin' mozzies. I am using EP's supplied ie..10mm and 25mm and also have a 2x barlow. I have enjoyed some great views, but am now at the point where i want to 'add to the fleet' so to speak.
I apologise for if this has been explained multiple times, however, I am unsure what the coloured filters will help with, what each colour will provide in viewing experience and also recommended filters for viewing nebulae and galaxies and why?
Finally, due to premium EP's costing over $300AUS, are there any 'higher range' EP's (compared to the standard $30 jobs) that are great quality and worth purchasing that may cost around $100 or so, or do i just keep saving the pennies for the premium EP's?

any input would be greatly appreciated...and sorry for the novel :D

PaPPy

[barx1963]

Hey Con
Welcome to IIS. Well done on the 8" dob the ideal starter scope!
With filters try this link
http://www.lumicon.com/astronomy-accessories.php?cid=1&cn=Filters
It gives a rundown on the various filters and what they do. Straight coloured filters are used primarily for planets to improve contrast of certain features. I use an UHC neb filter to try and improve contrast in faint nebs and an OIII to help with planetary nebs. Find them useful.
Unfortunately with EPs you really get what you pay for. Having said that I observed for 2 years using just a 25mm plossl and was quite happy.
I am a big fan of the 24mm Televue Panoptic but that is still a $300+ ep. If you see one second hand - grab it.
Televue make plossls that would have a better build quality than the $30 jobs, but cannot comment on the views.

Malcolm

[PaPPy]

Hi Malcolm,

thanks so much for your great reply..that information was exactly what i was looking for...much appreciated.

i think i will hold out before buying any EP's as i expected the response would be to save the pennies for something like a panoptic or nagler. i am very happy using the 10mm and 25mm EP's..i've had great images. i will, however, consider purchasing some filters for planetary detail and higher contrast for viewing nebulae.

thanks again for your very helpful information.

cheers

[barx1963]

Glad it was of help Con.
With EPs many have found going to a club night or star party a great way to check out the various options. Most obervers are happy to show of their EPs and what they can do if you ask politely.

Once you have a really nice one you'll never look back, but having said that I nailed most of the Messier objects (80+) using just a 25mm plossl in an 8" dob.

Malcolm

[mr bruess]

I'd buy a big dobsonian
big apeture and good superior value for money.:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P:P

[andyroo]

HI THERE..

Can Anyone tell me why the forums are upside down? I've seen many a forum but this one it's back to front its really quite annoying, is there any particular reason for this?

[erick]

Andrew, do you mean the order of the posts - whether latest at top or first at top? If so, there is a parameter in the User CP that will swap them.

[andyroo]

^^^ Yes I did and thanks all good now :)

[erick]

In that case you need to turn your "^^^" upside down to point to my post :D

[cavemaster]

Hello All from the state of Indiana!
45 years in the hobby. Building my first observatory w/o
my DAD. Well I am in to Cave/Astrola's. And trying to understand CCD
Astro-Photgraphy. I sure hope you all are okay we always liked Australia
and our prayers go out to you/hurry and dry out.
v/r
Danny

[The_bluester]

Hi all from Kilmore (Victoria) australia.

Just returning to the hobby. I was always keen on it when I was at school and have had a small reflector (Meade 4500) for years but several years on the coast really damaged the mirrors which put me off for ages.

I recently lashed out and bought a Celestron CPC 9.25 (Last scope I will get to buy for years so I wanted something nice) and it really does provide some wow factor compared to the little old Meade.

I am really looking forward to getting some more use out of the Celestron but it has been cloudy almost every night since I picked it up!

[spaceguy]

Hi Paul, happy viewing from now on. The scope you bought seems a beauty. Powerful I think. I have a celeston 127mm reflector, which has given me about 4 years of good viewing. I might up date one day. It's been cloudy here too in NSW. Not a really good summer for viewing this one. Take care. Cheers. Ken. :)

[The_bluester]

I have had a few niggles getting the alignment right so it tracks properly, but reading I have done seems to indicate that the scope is "Frozen" so to speak until you complete the entire alignment process so the longer you take the worse the alignment. I have been trying to use stars as far apart as possible. I may be better off using closer stars to begin with and then replacing them in the alignment later in the night.

The times I have had it right it has tracked rock solid for hours. Centre Jupiter in the EP at a fairly high power then walk away for half an hour and there is is still in view. The first view really was something special compared to the old Meade. In particular I love being able to actually get right up to the EP and even use the eye cup without worrying about bumping the scope as it stays rock steady where at high power you could not afford to touch the old one at all.

I am hoping that he weather is good next weekend as I am planning on going to the ASV Messier star party if it looks at all reasonable. It is under an hours drive for me.

[Dash8]

Hi,

I am hopefully (then I won't have to keep researching) on the verge of buying my first telescope - for the family, not just me.

I was was going to get a SkyWatcher 10" Dobsonian (collapsable) but it wasn't available at the time. Subsequently I have been considering the Guan Sheng GS-630 SDX from Andrews Communcations. I realise the latter has less aperture but it seems to me to have the advantages of right angle finder, 10:1 fine focussing and easier tracking with the equatorial mount. If anyone can give any advice or direct me to any reviews or comments about the GS-630 SDX, it would be appreciated.

Thought I might as well ask before I buy.
Thanks

[The_bluester]

I would have to say that for a keen but relatively inexperienced person like me and perhaps worth considering yourself if you can afford it the best thing about the new scope I have is the goto mount. Not even so much for the goto function (Although that is nice while I am relearning my way around the night sky) but the tracking component of the mount is just brilliant and makes light work of what used to be one of my frustrations, less time spent twiddling with the mount to keep things in view means more time at the eyepiece! As a relatively advanced newcomer (Through earlier interest) I am not sure if an equatorial mount would not be a recipie for frustration. I liked the idea of an equatorial mount but the ease and speed of setup of the alt-az goto has really converted me now that I have one. If I ever want to do serious imaging I will buy a wedge for it.

Further to my last post, The sky (All to briefly) cleared up last night so I got the scope out and tried my alignment on three objects much closer together than I had previously been doing to speed up the alignment process. Firstly the alignment was a lot quicker as I was not slewing over half of the sky and secondly it pointed quite accurately and tracked nicely straight off the bat. Later on in the night I replaced one of the alignment stars with Saturn as when it became visible the scope was maybe 1 degree off when slewing to it (My big frustration, it clouded over then and I got all of about 10 seconds of clear'ish viewing of Saturn when I wanted to try out a new eyepiece on it, an 11mm Nagler, even through a Nagler, clouds are boring!)

I gave up then and took it all inside at about 11PM, should have stayed up, my two hear old was crook and we ended up awake for half the night, at midnight when he first woke us it was a beautiful clear sky and it stayed that way until morning!

[AstroGuy]

I'm thinking steam, pure distilled water derived steam baby! ;) like from one of those portable hand steam cleaners. Does not touch the mirror and gets rid of the grime. Obviously you would not hold the steam gun right up close to it for fear of cracking damaging the mirror from heat etc... If you stand a few feet away and gently let the vapour condense enough to spray it off with even strokes, It should do the trick. If you're not confident I would not try it. Pyrex mirrors would be the safest to use this method on.

[KenNo2658]

Not quite sure how many other Ken's are here but there seems to be quite a few so thought I'd play it safe!! :lol:

Been having a look around here for a while, since I found this site coming up all the time when I did Google searches.

Pretty much a Newbie. Got a Nexstar 80 with a mount that rarely seems to want to Goto. Got a couple of photos of the Moon and Saturn. I'm interested in Astrophotography and have a Cannon 450d EOS, (not bought for Astrophotography, unless you include the Belle Nebula!!) I am firmly convinced that the Belle Nebula is the center of the Universe, and will never be persuaded otherwise! ;) (She's my Granddaughter!)
Only decided to register when I spotted a thread where my input might be useful. May not be but it brought me out of the closet!

I'll stick around for a while if you want me to, but been on forums before. If I get abused for honest mistakes, or for making comments that "The Powers That Be" don't agree with, I'll be gone faster than my internet connection!! (Not that that is real fast!)

Sorry to be a downer, but I'm here to learn and help if I can, not to fight.

Ken

[guggle]

Hi all,

My name is Michael and I live in Dingley, Melbourne.

I bought a Saxxon 8" collapsible reflector with a dob mount after we went on holidays to Swan Hill about 18 months ago and visited a privately run observatory just out of town.

I got it out the other night after not using it for a while and remembered how much fun it was. I realised that I don't know enough hence joining this forum to help learn some more.

I was also a little saddened the other day when Discovery landed for the last time - the beginning of the end of an era.

What a great site this is - I don't know how iceman can afford all the time supporting it!!

Cheers, Michael.

[AstroGuy]

Hi Michael,

Good to have you around.

Mike's got a sweatshop full of chimpanzee's in his garage typing away at keyboards, and mice running on treadmills powering the server! :)

:computer: :computer::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol: :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:



Regards...

[Suzy]

Aye, aye. :lol: I'm one of the humble servants :computer::computer::computer::comp uter: When's the last time I had a holiday or a sicky?! Sheeez!
:welcome: Welcome Michael, and enjoy your stay. If we can be of any help, don't ever be afraid to ask. ;):)

[kryo]

Hello All,

My name is Ben, i've just signed up here after doing some reading online

i have been given what's described here as a 'supermarket telescope' as a gift, after reading through the forums here...i tried to get my hands on a reciept, to no avail.

so after spending about half an hour assembling a equitorial mount, i took the thing outside and it dawned on me that i have absolutely no idea what i'm doing.

i managed to get a 'decent' view of the moon with the 50x magnification, dark patches, craters, basic terrain - so i put in the extra 83x? lense and all i could see was bright white with some lines and dark patches, more like a petrie dish under a microscope than a moon.

i spent another hour or so playing with it, with some success with the 50x lense...being able to see the white dots of stars that i can't see with my naked eye, but absolutely no success with the 83x lense (however, i'm probably not doing something right in addition to a bargain basement telescope)

i downloaded stellarium, and managed to spot saturn i think with my naked eye..but alas the telescope couldn't be adjusted to view that high in the horizon (around 1am this morning)

aside from buy a new telescope/binoculars (mortgages are wonderful aren't they?)....any advice, suggestions, starting points that may be useful to see something apart from the moon?

Perhaps down the track, if interest persists... i'll look at spending $1-$1.5G on something a little better.

the telescope i was given, has the following specs (i'm sure this will make more sense to you, than to me):

127mm aperture, 1000mm focal length newtonian reflector, german equitorial mount

2 x eyepieces - 1.25", H20mm (50x) and H12mm (83x)

I'm in South-Eastern Melbourne by the way.

[barx1963]

Hi Ben and welcome to IIS :welcome:
The scope you have is very similar to my first scope. Don't be too concerned about having trouble with the 12mm eyepiece. My first scope had a 10mm EP that gave 90x and I couldn't see much with that. Just use the 20mm as it will give the best views. Having said that, if you do use higher power on the moon, try to observe the terminator which is the boundary between dark and light sides.
Does it have a finder? If it does take scope out in daylight, slip in the low power EP (MAKE SURE YOU ARE NOT POINTING ANYWHERE NEAR THE SUN!) and get the main scope to focus on any ditant object eg top of a light pole, a branch etc. Then line up the finder using its adjustment screws. Once this is done the finder becomes your helper to locate objects.
Equatorial mounts can be very daunting at first. Have you attempted to polar align? Even a rough polar alignment makes using it a little easier. If you are in South East Melbourne I would suggest linking with a club, 2 that spring to mind are the Astronomical Society of Vic and the Mornington Peninsular Astronomical Society. The ASV have a loan scheme which once you are a member allows you to borrow an 8" Dob scope for 3 months, really worthwhile!

Malcolm

[JLycett]

Hello everyone,

My first experience looking at the moon with a Telescope was over 30 years ago which I found fabulous. As my kids where getting older I purchased a Saxon AZ1 Reflector scope a few years ago making the mistake of not researching scopes prior to purchasing. So attempted to use it numerous times got frustrated and put it away. I got it out yesterday as my kids wanted to look at the moon and we had a go. I couldn't get the moon to focus and it could be I am clueless at what I am doing but I have a number of EP that came with it SR 4mm, H12.5 mm and H20mm. As well as the EP it has a Barlow lens 2X and a Erecting Eyepiece 1.5x. We can see the moon but it is just a big light in the Telescope.

Today I have used the aligned the finding scope with the telescope to make it easier to try again tonight.

Any suggestions on what will give me the best view of the night sky with what I currently I have available would be greatly appreciated.

Frustrated Beginner

JL

[erick]

Jeff, just concentrate on using that 20mm eyepiece and see what you can achieve with that. That will give you the best opportunity to get the Moon in the field of view and focussed. The magnification should be enough to give a view of the surface.

If that doesn't work, then we need to look at issues such as collimation of the mirrors.

Once you get the 20mm working orioerly, then you can try the 12.5mm and its higher magnification (but duller image). The 4mm is not likely to be very useful.

Full Moon isn't the best time to look at the Moon. If you wait several days until the terminator (the line dividing light and shadow) has moved across the surface, then you can see the craters and mountains close to the terminator lit from the side and casting shadows.

[JLycett]

Thanks Erick,

That is what I did the kids thought it was great will have a go after the rain comes through later in the week. Thanks for the advice

JL

[erick]

Check back in here as you go, Jeff. I'm sure there will be lots of useful suggestions to get you up and working at your telescope's capacity and looking at interesting objects. After the Moon, you have Saturn farrly well positioned late in the evening. Then the Jewel Box cluster in the Southern Cross. And the globular cluster, Omega Centauri.

[MishMich]

Hi, introducing myself. I live in NZ, and moved here with my Kiwi partner in September. I built up a modest rig while in the UK, an HEQ5, Meade 120 refractor, Celestron SLT mount & a Celestron ED80.

I did some imaging in the UK, but LP was bad. A Canon EOS 1000D for DSO & QHY5 (with a filter wheel). I have started to put the rig back together, but am limited where we are at the moment to the Celestron mount & ED80 - which isn't really workable for planetary (even with a X5 barlow) or DSO imaging. Still, I got a nice shot of the recent 4-planet conjunction, and will see what I can achieve with the Milky Way for now (rare site in the LP-UK - awesome here!).

I have yet to find my way around the sky here, which seems very different, so I am a beginner in this context, and my experience was limited in the UK as well.

I have a couple of challenges - when I do get to set up the HEQ5 (which I upgraded to synscan), getting to figure out how to do a polar alignment without Polaris (which my polar scope is set up for). Trying to get as much as possible working under Linux (as I only have a netbook running XP). I have managed to get most things in place, but have hit a bit of a wall with the QHY5. Cannot get an image in Linux. In XP, while getting images, and getting scope control working in Stellarium or other software, I am trying to get Phd working with the SLT mount via ASCOM. Upgraded the firmware on the HC to NXT - and Phd finds it, but won't make it active because there is no pulse control.

This may gives an impression that I am more interested in the equipment than actually observing - and that would probably be correct.

[ZeroID]

Hi Mish, :welcome: to NZ. What part of the country are you in ?
Sounds like you know what you are doing with the technical stuff which is a big help. I'm up in Auckland where the LP is probably worst but still workable. I have several sites around my house ( view direction dependent) and I did several solar noon lines and E-W 'T's for the EQ6 to sit on and an inclinometer to set the polar axis.
A wee tweak with drift align and I'm all good to go. :thumbsup:

You are going to enjoy our southern skies when you get familiar with them. Plenty to see. Have fun and keep in touch on here, plenty of help and advice should you ever need it.

Cheers
Brent

[MishMich]

Thanks Brent. I am in the Waikato, not far from Hamilton.

[oosh]

Hi all

I'm Jason from Brisbane, and I wouldn't even class myself a NEWBIE astronomer! - I don't have a scope (i've looked through one once), binos, or much knowledge of the stars, constellations, globular clusters, galaxies, or anything really. BUT, I love space, the universe in all it's vastness and the wonder that comes with being apart of it.

I joined this forum after lurking for a long time, not really knowing much of what I've been reading, but being intrigued nonetheless. I happen to be user Shelltree's (Shelley) partner which is also the reason for my joining. We share the hobby of photography (just the regular kind so far ;)) which is is my main love, so it was only logical for me to eventually cross over and dabble in a little bit of astronomy too :)

We've been lucky to have Ron invite us to an astro night he's holding this weekend, so I look forward to meeting some new people and learning some new things up that way, as well as reading the forum here and doing a whole bunch of reading and learning everywhere :D

I won't bore you by rambling on anymore in my first post - just saying hi for now :) Thanks for reading.

[jjjnettie]

:D Hi Jason.
I reckon we'll be getting to know each other pretty well then.
Looking forward to meeting you soon.

[oosh]

Is that Jeanette? Shell has spoken of you - look forward to meeting :)

[jjjnettie]

Aye, that's me alright. :D

[astroron]

:hi:Jason:welcome: and catch up with you on Saturday:thumbsup:
Cheers

[shelltree]

Postman shell rings the bell ;) :D

[oosh]

Cheers Ron - appreciate the invitation mate!

[jjjnettie]

JJJ rings the bell. :D

[Jen]

:hi::hi::hi:
:welcome:
Welcome to IIS Jason :D
Im guessing Shelley has turned you into an astro geek too :rofl::rofl:
Nice work Shelley :thumbsup::thumbsup:
Be careful of being with that Brissy lot they will drag you over to the dark side :lol::lol:
:P

[oosh]

Haha she just might :) At the very least I'm intrigued! Thanks for the welcome Jen

(PS I second your motion of moving to Pandora) :D

[shelltree]

:rofl:I couldn't help it! Was bound to happen sooner or later :P

Plus the dark side has J's chocolate cup cakes, how can I resist :D

[Octane]

Welcome aboard, Jason. :)

H

[oosh]

Thanks for the warm welcome H :) Nice sounding kit in your sig mate, at least the bits towards the bottom that make sense to me :D (and oh how I adore the hdr hole graph)

[Octane]

I'm a staunch member of the anti-HDR alliance. I give PSA's every now and then. Ask Shelley. :P

And, yeah, nice gear. I like to think I make the most of it, too. :)

Look forward to chatting photography over in the terrestrial imaging section -- I spam there quite a bit. :)

Cheers.

H

[oosh]

Awesome mate - I'll be kicking about there too :)

[Ric]

Hi Jason

I was just having a browse through your website, awesome stuff indeed.

Cheers

[oosh]

Thanks for taking a look Ric :) Who knows, maybe in a few years I'll have some astro stuff too add :D

[erick]

Waterfalls, Jason :thumbsup: You've won me! Nice images. Eric

[oosh]

Cheers Eric, really appreciate it. Got more waterfall images to add from our Viccy trip when I get around to it :)

[lone77star]

Howdy! I'm new to the forum, but not new to astronomy.

To introduce myself, I've been star gazing and wondering about what's out there since the mid-50's. I love space and star talk.

I've been a space artist even producing background art for a Hollywood short film (Quest, 1984, Saul Bass & Ray Bradbury). I have a bachelor's degree summa cum laude in computer information technology and my one claim to fame there is producing 3D astronomy software, "Stars in the NeighborHood." I had been wanting to visualize our neighborhood of stars for years, first producing interstellar distance tables on my TI-64 programmable calculator.

I've also published a novel on space travel, "Touch the Stars: Emergence" (Tor Books, 1983, co-authored by John Dalmas).

I love to discuss, planets (especially the possibility of Earth-like worlds), astrophysics, observational astronomy, and exobiology. I also like science fiction, especially the interstellar travel kind.

[Jen]

:hi::hi: gday Carl nice work you do there buddy :D

:welcome: to IIS its a lovely place these forums :thumbsup:

[Ric]

Welcome to IIS Carl

Hope you have a great time here with us.

[Kevnool]

Welcome Carl to IIS.

Yep all them topics you mention will get a lot of discussion happening.

Enjoy your stay and put your feet up.

Cheers Kev.

[Ray?]

As a new member, I'd just like to say hi to all. I don't want to babble on too much about myself, other than to say that I've mainly pursued general photography as a full/part-time professional (not my main job now), and recently decided to tackle my long time interest in the universe, space and the like, by acquiring some simple gear with which to photograph the former.

Thanks to the exceptional exchange rate, I was able to buy the latest Meade Coronado Goto Telescope Mount with Autostar 497 controller, at what I consider to be a bargain basement price delivered from the US. Now I know that's not the greatest device in the world, but it has given me the impetus to really get into astrophotography with its impressive database and I'm hoping to learn as much as I can from the forum on how to get the best out what I have available.

I don't have a telescope as such, but I will be using a Perkin-Elmer built Vivitar Series 1 600mm solid cat lens (small Hubble telescope on the ground :)), with tele-extenders and DSLR, to record what I can of near and (not so) far objects. Hopefully I can keep things reasonably under control and take small steps at a time.

I look forward to participating in the forum.

Cheers

Ray

[Currumbin sky]

Hi to everyone, to be honest I feel a tad humble amongst such knowledgeable people here on the forums.
I was a UFO believer way back in the 70's and used to scan the night sky with my trusty tasco 70mm or was that 60mm?
It had wobbly eight or so inch tripod legs, which I mounted on the plastic garden table.
Iam a few years older now and have bought a 8inch saxon dobsonian with 25mm and 10mm plossal eyepiece and a 8* 50 finderscope.
First try last night at approx 4 in the morning ,25mm eyepiece was giving clear views of stars, but when I switched to 10mm, the view was terrible.
As well as being dimmer the view was blurry and very dissapointing...mars through the 25mm eyepiece was very indistinct and far away, but through the 10mm it was worse.
I checked the collamation with a out of focus star test and it seemed ok, but why would the 10mm eyepiece be so out of focus ..if 25mm was ok?
This is the biggest scope i have ever viewed through, the stars with the 25mm piece were good, though i have nothing to compare it with except my 10 * 50 pentax binoculars, which seemed to be brighter thaan the 10mm eyepiece and must sharper.
Any help on this would be appreciated, as Iam thinking I may have got a dud eyepiece.
The overall experience though through the 25mm, was like finding a lost true friend after decades.

[Allan_L]

Hi Dave, :welcome:
It is very common for a big jump from a 25 to a 10 eyepiece to produce crap results.
Even happens with my TeleVue Nagler 9mm often.
Reason is generally due to "poor seeing" conditions, atmospheric disturbances are magnified so much, especially if low in the sky.

Simply means you should try another eyepiece in between, or perhaps a barlow lens on the 25.
Also you could try observing objects when they are close to zenith.
Alternatively, wait for better conditions :shrug:

[barx1963]

Hi Dave
I used an 8" dob for a few months before moving to the 12". Using the same 2 eyepieces I would estimate that i had the 10mm in the focuser less than 5% of the time. With the plossls that come with these scopes anything shorter than 15mm is very hard to use and needs perfect conditions.
In my 12" I have a 13mm TV Nagler and a 24mm TV Panoptic which are both magnificent eyepieces, although a significant step up from the plossls, even the 13mm needs pretty good conditions to give nice views.
There almost certainly isn't anything wrong with the EP, just persevere with the 25mm, I did almost the entire Messier list with one in the 8"!

Malcolm

[Currumbin sky]

Thanks from a newcomer for advice given by members on the eyepiece problems.
I'm going to set the scope up again tonight, there are clear skys and a interesting moon I have been told.
Hopefully the viewing conditions will see an improvement in the 10mm eyepiece.
Regardless Iam hooked once again after a long parting.
Bring on the night.

[hewitt12]

Hello everyone. It's so nice to have the opportunity to join this community.

[Allan_L]

Hi Tony,
Let me be the first to say Its a pleasure to welcome you to this community. :welcome:
Feel free to ask questions and join us at an observing night near you soon.

[deejayvee]

Hi everybody,

After years with just a general interest in space, I'm beginning my journey towards a more active interest in astronomy. I picked up a good pair of binoculars last weekend, as well as some books on the subject. And this week I'll be starting the SASPAC course at Sutherland.

Looking forward to getting deeper into my new hobby! :)

David

[Jo41]

Hi I'M new to the iceinspace community though i have been looking at the site for a few months now. Its really cool that there is somewhere I can go for advice and info on a hobby I have only recently discovered. I seem to have become obsessed with astronomy actually, much to the annoyance of my family. I do hope I haven't posted this in the wrong place and if I have I am very sorry.
Any way, cheers everyone and keep up the good work!:hi:

[stopusinmyid]

Hi Jo,
:welcome: to the family :lol:. The people on IIS are really good and very helpful. No question is a stupid question, they answer any questions you have. If you don't already have it Stellarium is a good program to download. I'd be lost without it. We use it as a guide to find things when we are out playing with the telescope.
You probably should of started a new thread to introduce yourself, but hey, doesn't matter :thumbsup:.

[jjjnettie]

:D Welcome to all the new members.
I hope you enjoy your time here on IIS.
Any questions....ask away.

[Jen]

:hi::hi: gday Jo :welcome: to IIS :thumbsup:
Welocme to the dark side :lol: i drive my family crazy with my astro obsession too so i know how you feel :lol::lol: At least the IIS members here put up with me :lol:

[Ric]

Welcome Jo, it's a great place here.

What sort of equipment do you have?

[Jenn]

Hi, another newbie here. logged in tonight in the hope that someone may be able to point me in the direction of some information on why the moon is setting in the south west tonight, please. I had noticed it setting in the north west a while ago then the west, where i thought it should. Now the south west and this is freaking me out? Especially since the earth axis wobble theories started after the indonesian tsunami. Any one able to help please? :question:

[erick]

And we hoped no-one would notice,Jenn, that we were adjusting the Earth's axis! Just joking. If you watch every night, Jenn, you'll see everything is as it should be. The Moon is where it has been predicted to be from well before any recent earthquake or tsunami. Huge masses in motion will follow well understood physical laws for as long as you and I are here.

If you download and run this prediction program and you'll see that the Moon, Sun and planets are just where the laws of motion predict them to be.

http://www.stellarium.org/

Or here is an online one:-

http://neave.com/planetarium/

It shows that the Moon set WSW about 1:45am this morning (Sydney)

[Rick Petrie]

Hi Jenn and a big :welcome:to IIS.
It is true that the moon appears to traverse the sky in varying locations as it orbits the Earth, but the moon doesn't just orbit directly over and in line with the equator, so its position varies from day to day.
The moon's gravitational effect on the Earth actually helps to stabilize the rotational axis.
If the moon wasn't there, our existence here on Earth would be quite chaotic.
Hope this helps?:thumbsup:

[Jenn]

Thank you for the replies. I can stop panicking and stay put hey? lol, and i (romantic fool) thought i checked that lunar mass quite regularly.

Thank you also for the links. Learn something new everyday hey.

Kind Regards,
Jenn

[Jo41]

hi Jen, Tahnks for your reply to my massage from a while ago. thanks for the welcome as well! Cheers

[Jo41]

Hi Ric,
I am a bit embarrassed about my equipment actually. I Have a 60mm refractor that i seem to be getting good results with, especially since i got some better lenses, and a great pair of 10 x 50 binoculars that i would be lost without. I am in the process of working out what sort of telescope I should get next, the bigger the better I reckon but I just can't make up my mind. I start looking at them all in the shop and just think "WOW" I'd love em all!:shrug:

[astroron]

Hi Jo and :welcome: Dont be embarrassed about your 60mm refractor :ashamed:,
I started of with the same sized scope 26 years ago and still have it, but it's main use now seems to be as a a hat rack :screwy::lol:
but does still get dragged out now and again just to bring me down to earth sort of thing.;)
I have gratuated to over the years to a 20cm (8") SCT and and now have a 40cm (16") dob to keep me off the streets and under a dark sky:D
So as you can see most of us start small and gradualy get to the size scope we want after learning where we want to go in Astronomy.
So if you have any questions :question: don't be afraid to ask, as there is sure to be some one who will answer it for you :)
Cheers :thumbsup:
PS welcome to all the Newbies I haven't greeted :)

[theycallmesash]

Hi all,

Im new here, Got a meade LX90 8" last week and I snapped some pics of Jupiter and 4 moons for the first time! I'm from South Australia, not much luck with clouds this week though :/

Great fun :)

[torana68]

new huh? or just a very naughty boy? so can we see the pickies?

[Mliss]

:lol: Ron!

and a big :hi: from me too. It's great to see such a lively thread.

It's truely a great place to hang out and there's so much to learn here!!

oh, and i second Roger, where are the pics?? :P

[linda009]

Hi Guys this is Linda. I just joined this forum. have a nice day to all of you.
:)

[Mliss]

Hi Linda :) welcome to the forum. :hi:

where are you from? have you got a scope?

hope you stick around, there are so many gorgeous people here and they love to help :)

i say 'they' coz i'm a total noob and just like hanging around smart people :P :lol:

[Ric]

Hi Linda and welcome to IIS, I hope you have a great time here with us.

Cheers

[theycallmesash]

Sure Can :)

I used my crappy digital camera/ mobile phone for these. Took a lot of fiddling to get even that :/

[Cupp@]

Hi :hi:everybody, I cannot express the relief I felt in finding an online resource like iceinspace when I first started looking into beginners telescopes last week! :)
My 9yo son wants a telescope for his 10th birthday and so after reading various guides from various countries, I bit the bullet a few days ago and bought a 6" Dobsonian (SkyWatcher) from Bintel. This was in part due to reading posts from members here that recommended Dobs?! Hope I got the right thing!! :question:

I got it home and built it last night (it was a beautiful clear night) but it was after midnight by the time I had it assembled...... thanks kids :D So I thought I'd wait until tonight to align the finder scope and test it out. Its like the cloudiest night we've had in weeks!! :sadeyes:

Will I need to get a neutral filter for this scope to get a good eyefull of moon? There's not much of a moon to see atm is there?

Paul

[barx1963]

Well done Paul! A 6" dob is probably about right, big enough to show heaps of objects, yet not so much money that if it is a passing phase, you will not feel too bad. Hopefully get you hooked as well.
A neutral (or ND filter) is not essential to view the moon but it can help a bit to reduce glare and make it a bit easier. One thing you can do is have a look at your scope cover. It may have a removeable bit so you can turn your 6" into a 2" (or thereabouts!) drastically reducing glare at no cost.
May I suggest getting a good planisphere and basic star charts (see here http://www.bintel.com.au/Accessories/Books--Charts-and-Software/Star-Chart-Laminated---CD-ROM/655/productview.aspx or here http://www.bintel.com.au/Accessories/Planispheres/52/catmenu.aspx ) to help locate stuff.
Congratulations on a great buy, let us know how your son gets on with it.

Malcolm

[Huginn]

Greetings IIS,

I've been looking around here for the past week since this place was suggested to me by people from the Macathur Astronomical Society, and I must say it's a good community you all have going on here.

So I've taken a break from studying to say hello and to introduce myself. I hope that when my exams are finished I'll be able to contribute a bit more.

:)

I do have one little question through. Is there an option to verse the order of posts? I'm not use to reading them backwards. Feels awkward :P

[Cupp@]

Thanks for the encouragement Malcolm! I'll definitely get a star chart as I've got no idea what's what up there. I lined the scope up on the brightest star I was able to see outside the garage and the scope focused on it quite well.:thumbsup:

The star still looked tiny in the scope but looked like it had a couple of lines running through the middle of it. Hard to tell, it was a bit hazy. There were 3 much tinier stars next to it, one in the top left corner and two down the bottom right corner.:confused2:

I'm thinking I should get a Barlow lens and perhaps a better eyepiece as well, everyone seems to talk about Plossl EP's ?

[erick]

You were looking at Jupiter and three of its major moons! :thumbsup:

[erick]

Sure, that can be done. Search through the options in the "User CP". It is there somewhere. I'm set for latest post in each thread at the top. :)

[barx1963]

Paul, that is definitely Jupiter and its moons. A lovely sight! If you revisit it an hour or so later you will see that the moons will move as they orbit the planet. It's fascinating watching them if they are close to the planet as they move in front or behind it.
Plossl eyepieces are almost certainly the ones that came with the scope.
They are inexpensive basic EPs with a moderate field of view but can be hard to use at shorter focal lengths. You probably have a 25mm EP with the scope? If so that is the best one to use for most purposes to start with.

Malcolm

[Cupp@]

The EP's that came with the scope are described on the SkyWatcher website as a Super 25 and Super 10, modified achromatic design. Is this a plossl? It doesn't seem to mention plossl anywhere, the only markings on the EP's are the Super -- mark on the top of EP.

Nice nice, I thought it might have been Jupiter after downloading a program called 'Stellarium' and having a look at that - that's not really cheating is it!:D

So tempted to get the scope out again tonight but as its my sons birthday present (not happening for about two weeks) I'm trying to resist! Not sure how the wife will take it but I'm seriously considering getting my own scope now. Maybe a nice simple 8" Dob....:lol:

On another angle.... how do all of you stargazers manage to look at the stars for long without doing your back in??? After a half hour of looking the other night my back hated me!

[barx1963]

Paul
The 25 and 10 will be plossls. You will notice that when you pop the 10mm in, the image will be larger, but it will be harder to see the image as eye relief is smaller (you have to get your eye closer to the EP) and the exit pupil is smaller. Also it will be a lot finickier (is that a word?) to focus.
When I had the 8" dob I used the 10mm about 6 times in 6 months, the 25 will do most things.
Try to get yourself to a club observing night or Star Party so you can see different EPs and how they work. You can easily match the money paid for a scope when buying EPs, I know my collection is easily worth nearly twice what I paid for my scope now! So you need good info to make the correct decisions.
Having said that, the 25mm you have is usually a pretty good one considering it is essentially a giveaway by the scope maker, so use it and enjoy the night sky.
If you are serious an 8" is the perfect starter scope, you will immediately notice that deep space objects are much easier to see and there are 100 Messier objects and lots og NGC objects easily seen with an 8.

Malcolm

[Cupp@]

That was quick Malcolm! Thanks for that, I was quite unsure about the EP's but feel a bit better now. :)

IIS is a fantastic resource and yes, I fully intend on trying to get to an observing night. Canberra's gotta be a good spot vs. most other cities in Oz, we don't have that many lights on at night.

[Poita]

You could also consider one of these:
http://www.optcorp.com/product.aspx?pid=30-718-78-11589

It zooms from 8mm to 24mm by rotating the top of the eyepiece, I have one and it is better quality than the celestron plossls I have, and you get such a range of magnification in a single eyepiece.
I find it absolutely great for the kids as they can find things easily at 24mm then click and zoom in on the object without having to change eyepieces.

[Cupp@]

They sound like a neat idea Peter, bit on the exy side to begin with but the way my fascination seems to be growing, no doubt in the future I'll look at pieces like that! Thanks for the tip. :)

[Blakout]

Hi everyone , I'm a noob that just ordered a skywatcher 8" DOB . I'm keenly reading up on these super informative forums to help me to enjoy my new toy , look fwd to reading all your post .

[erick]

Hi Jan - welcome!

[Cupp@]

Hi everyone,

Well, gave my son his telescope for his birthday last night and I'd have to say its one of the most successful presents to date. He was outside with it for almost two hours just switching between Jupiter and the Moon.

How long does it take from nightfall for the heat haze to diminish ?

:thanx:

[barx1963]

Hi Paul, glad it was successful.
By heat haze I assume you are talking about shimmering images, especially when viewing bright objects such as Jupiter and the Moon? If so it is more likely to be poor seeing rather than heat haze as such. Poor seeing is not specifically related to temperature as it can occur regardless of the temperature on the ground.
Essentially it is instability in the atmosphere and is what causes stars to twinkle. It is present on most nights and can vary, there are very few nights where is is not there and not many more where it is minimal. The good news is that for visual purposes, DSO observing is less affected than planetary or lunar.
The key to beating poor seeing is patience. Keep watching and you will get little windows of clarity that will take your breath away.
Another cause may be tube currents, or warm air moving in the scope itself. This occurs if the scope has been indoors, the mirror is quite warm and causes them in the tube once it is taken outside. Thses usually settle down after about 30 minutes outside. I always take my 12' out 30 minutes to an hour before I plan to start observing to help the mirror cool down.

Hope this helps.

Malcolm

[Johan]

Hello everyone!
I am new to Astronomy and IceInSpace so I guess I'll take the newbie route and ask a lot of questions straight off the bat :)

I have done a lot of research in the last few months on telescopes, equipment, astronomy clubs, software, astro photography, eye pieces etc. etc. NOW...I would be very grateful for any feedback om my choice of telescope...-I have decided to go for a 16" GOTO Skywatcher Dobsonian, I was quoted $3199 in a shop in Perth and I haven't been able to find a cheaper price. My budget is around $3500-$4000 so I was looking at getting some decent eye pieces and a laser collimator as well.

I was considering astro photography and was looking at Meade SCT's but it seems a little bit complicated with cameras, and all the computer software and I figured there is plenty to learn already.....so I decided to go for viewing for now.

Is this a good choice of Telescope or am I locking myself in for DSO's?
Can I get one that is a better allrounder (good with planets and DSO's) in the same price range?
(Size/Transportation is not an issue)

Any feedback would be much appreciated.

Johan

[barx1963]

Hi Johan
The 16" Dob is a fantastic scope, and if you can afford to get the Go To version, so much the better.
Couple of words of warning. These a BIG and I mean big scopes. I have a 12" GSO solid tube and if I wasn't a pretty dedicated observer, it would be a real drag getting it out of the house to setup, so a 16" is even more so. Even though the OTA is collapsible, the base usit is really large. If you are planning to take it away with you, you will probably need a larger car preferabbly a wagon or 4WD or use a trailer. I just manage to fit the base of my dob in the back of my Astra wagon.
For big scopes, try and see one in the flesh so you understand what you are getting, pictures just don't convey the size of these things!:eyepop:
Also,the larger the scope the more critical the collimation. Try to learn collimation without the laser and just use the laser as a final check. By all means get the laser collimator, but understand it is not the key to good alignment.

Please do not let my comments discourage you from jumping in the deep end, just be aware of what it is you are getting, if you have your heart set on the 16", go for it!

Malcolm

[barx1963]

Oh I didn't really answer your query!
A 16" dob is a fantastic DSO scope, you will never run out of objects to observe and will be able to spend hours every night nabbing faint fuzzies to your hearts content. They will give pretty good views of planets also. My 12" gives some nice views, but planets are not really my thing. There are really only 3 (Jupiter, Saturn and Mars) with any interest and Neptune, Uranus, Venus, Mercury and Pluto are only blobs, so nice to nab for the records.
But thats just my opinion, there are lots of dedicated planetary observers out there who will howl me down no doubt.
So the scope in summary is excellent for DSO and pretty good for planets, so still an all rounder scope.

[Johan]

Hello Malcolm,

Thank you for your answer!

I have seen the 14" in real life but not the 16" as it was too big for the shop floor :), -so I have a reasonable idea of the size. :/
I have a 'good sized' back yard with a insulated/gyprocked/painted/carpeted 6X6 shed with approximately 20m2 of level pavers outside the main doors and I had planned to put the 16" DOB on a trolley and wheel it in and out of the shed. I'm in suburbia but it does get very dark around here.
Thank you for the comment on the planets as that was exactly the info I was after (referring to 3 main ones the rest blobs) :) I hope I don't offend anyone with that comment (I realize there is lots to learn/see/appreciate with planets but I was mainly interested in DSO.
After reading countless blogs and checking a large number of internet telescope shops I decided on the 16" mainly because most say "get a 12" so I thought "overkill" -yes that should do it. :D

Again,

Thanks a lot for your advice.

Johan

[rainwatcher]

Hello all this is my first post, just joined. Been observing for a while but never joined a forum. Hope this goes in the right place as it seems i may be replying to a thread rather than just posting. You may be wondering about my nom-de-plume: i live in Melbourne, that should explain it all.

[Jen]

:hi::hi:

:welcome:
Welcome to IIS Peter
:D you picked an awsome forum to join ENJOY :thumbsup:

[ballaratdragons]

G'day Peter,

yep, you posted your message in the right place.

This thread is for any new folk to pop in and say g'day without starting another thread to say hi, or there would be literally thousands of threads saying 'Hi, I'm new' :lol:

Yes, your Username is very apt lately :thumbsup:

[rainwatcher]

Hi all how do i get my picture to appear on my posts and how do i get my equipment to appear at the bottom of my posts, surely i dont have to add it each time ?.

[scagman]

Hi Peter,

Just to the right of the IceInSpace Menu, click on UserCP.
In there you can upload your pic and create your sig.

[reillym]

Hi All,
My first post! My wife has just given me a Meade LT8 ACF for my 50th birthday (what a woman!). It is reigniting a passion for astronomy that I had back in the 70s and 80s. It all started when a total solar eclipse went thru my hometown of Ballarat in 1976...
Anyway I have moved to Brisbane and once I have figured out how the heck to set up my new scope (I guess I'll follow the instructions) I'll be out there somewhere.
Cheers

[barx1963]

Indeed what a woman!
They are nice scopes so you should have many enjoyable nights. Try to get out of the city to really enjoy though. Lots of club nights and camps in your general area!

[Sammy3934]

Hi Jen,

Where the hell is pandora??? In Aus?

[Sammy3934]

Hi All,

New to this here fun, I think you guys are all very keen, I suppose that is not a bad thing

[Sammy3934]

Hi All,

recently I bought a 10" Bintel Dobsoian. Is that okay???

[Sammy3934]

Hi All,

How often do I have to check this site for replies???

[jjjnettie]

:D Check in many times a day Sam. Most of us do.
Congrats on the new scope btw.
I had a 10" dob myself ages ago. I loved it to bits, until I crossed over to the dark side and started imaging.

Welcome to IIS!

[JC]

Hi everyone;
I read a lot here and bought a focuser as well but never actually said hi...so hi..
Its a great site with plenty to learn and some very very knowledgable members who help. Whenevr I need to know something astronomy related this site is the 1st place I look... and I usually blow an hr or so completely sidetracked...:rofl:Oh well..
I own a 200mm newt and some smaller 60, 80 and 90mm refractors, all works in progress. I like repairing and using older japanese scopes but am new at this also.
Glad to see the clouds have finally started to clear in NSW...
Cheers...Jules
:)

[Dazza12]

Hello Everyone,
I purchased a telescope for my wife last christmas and after weeks of trying to work out how to set it up we finally gave up, Now after a visit to the perth observatory we would really like to get it set up and working so we can gaze. So i was wondering if anyone would be able to tell me where we would be able to have it looked at and hopefully set up? We are in Mandurah Wa. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

[barx1963]

Hi Sammy. A 10" is a great scope! Congratulations. Have you had much of a chance to use it yet? Any questions the folks here will be sure to at least attempt an answer, and let us know what you are seeing.

Malcolm

[barx1963]

Hi Darren. What type of scope is it?

Malcolm

[Dazza12]

Hi Malcolm,
It is a Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ-MD. I have set it up on it's tripod and we have had it out in the yard but even pointing it at a full moon it only seemed to lighten a bit, otherwise it is all black. We are literally beginners and have no idea but know that we should see something :lol:.

[barx1963]

Darren
OK, by the sound of it we need a bit more detail as to what the issues are. When you say "it only seemed to lighten a bit" I assume that means you could see that the view was brighter but couldn't see any detail?
Have you used the scope in daylight? Try to see it you can achieve an image in daylight hours (with the proviso of NEVER POINT IT ANYWHERE NEAR THE SUN!!!!) as it is much easier than trying to use in the dark. Try and see if you can focus on a distant object, tree branch, TV aeriel, chimney or whatever.
Which eyepiece are you using? Use the lowest one you have, beginners sometimes get confused but the lowest power is the longest length one. Many of these class of scope will come with a 25mm and a 10mm. Don't use anything shorter than the 25mm to start with (or whichever is the longest one you have.)
This may seem obvious but have you properly removed the entire cap from the end of the scope? I know a very good observer that spent a month frustrated with a new scope because they had anly removed the small cap in the middle of the large cap.

These are just a couple of ideas that spring to mind, but if you can provide as much detail as to issues as youi see them, that would help.

Malcolm

[erick]

Darren, stick with it. We should be able to get that scope working giving nice views. There are just a few things to be sorted out. I suspect you aren't reaching focus. Try Malcolm's suggestions re testing it out in daylight.

[Jen]

:lol::lol: LOL Sammy im talking about Pandora from the movie Avatar :D

[Torry]

Hi all, Im new here and do tons of astro photography. Im still in the process of getting some better optics (Telescope) that I take pictures from. You can view my photos on my face book page just look up (Torrey Spinelli)

Thank you,

Torrey:D

[ad602000]

Hi All,
Have been a member for just over 2 years, my first post, have been sort of intrigued by astronomy for a long time, but did nothing about it. I purchased a second hand meade lx50 8" with a swag of extras the other day. So i will have to learn now. If nothing else it will be interesting

cheers
Pete

[Ric]

Welcome aboard Pete.

Better late than never, enjoy your new scope.

Cheers

[Kevnool]

Welcome Pete.
2 years in and one post your doing really well.
Enjoy your astronomy.
Cheers Kev.

[iceman]

:welcome: Torrey, I look forward to seeing some of your images posted here.


Hi Pete, better late than never! :)

[Astral_82]

Hi Everyone!

I have always been interested in Astronomy, but other than looking up items of interest on Google and watching documentaries, I haven't really done anything.

This Christmas, I received a telescope as a gift! Now, as I am astronomy & telescope illiterate, and to give you more seasoned astronomers a giggle, I think it is the following:

Foco D=114 mm F=900 mm

My housemate is going to help me assemble it tomorrow. I would love to have a peep at the planets firstly, and if the telescope is strong enough, maybe some nebulas? But I have no idea how I know where to point it! Are there any books or web pages that can help with that sort of stuff?

Any and all info & tips would be great! I think there is a Tassie Astronomy group which I am going to look into joining (I am from QLD originally) but would love to start looking sooner!

Many thanks,

[erick]

Hi Nathan

Yes, get it together and then experiment during the day by pointing it at distant hills. (NOT THE SUN!) Yes, the view will be upside down or whatever, but you can experience finding where focus is on distant objects.

Then you should try for Jupiter, which is the brightest "star" high up in the northern sky in the evenings, at present. In a couple of days, you'll have a nice crescent Moon in the west to look at, soon after sunset.

Get up early and you can try for Saturn which is a bright "star" low in the East before sunrise.

Also up in the East and high in the sky through the night is the constellation of Orion. The middle "star" of the belt is where the Orion nebula is to be found. See the image.

Good luck and tell us how it goes.
Eric

[Astral_82]

Hi Eric

Thanks for your reply! Alas to say I was called into work today and didn't get to set it up - but it is cloudy outside so I don't think I would have seen much.

So everything is upside down? I thought it would only be like that in the little "scope" but I guess I wouldn't know if the planet was upside down or not!

Have just discovered another Beginners thread with books & websites to look at, so will have to poke around in there.

Thanks heaps for your help, and when I eventually do get it a) set up and b) a clear sky, will let you know!

Nathan

[wood88]

Hi all,

Me and the rest of the family just got my dad a telescope. Both him and I have always been interested in astronomy. But we are having a few problems setting up his scope.

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=84760

Hopefully my dad and i will be able to learn a lot from this forum.

Cheers

[Bailey]

Hi, I have absolutely no idea what to do with my telescope. I have worked out how to look at the moon and all, and it's really good, but as for planets, stars, nebula(If i can actually see them with my telescope) etc I'm hopeless. Any ideas for help? And how do you work out the altitudes? In my book it has all these degrees for stars and planets but I don't know how to find it. My telescope is a Saxon 3" Reflector Telescope, if that's of any use. By the way, the reason I'm pretty hopeless at this is because I'm 13. Could i please have some help or tips or something? Thanks.