My new baby

[risingmoon]

I just recently bought a Celestron SE8 and when I eventually get it aligned I am going to have a ball.
I used all my new AA"s in a very short time so invested in a power pack 7 so I hope this time I can spend more time looking to the stars and beond.
It is so frustrating aligning up the 3 bright stars especially on a cloudy night. It took me all my time to get the first alignment and then the batteries let me down.:shrug:

[traveller]

Tpyeah, the mount chews up batteries. Go to Jaycar or Dick Smiths and see if you can find a 240AC to 12DC power supply. From memory, it's 3.5mm jack, tip positive.
:welcome:
Bo

[Allan_L]

Ahh, an SE8, nice piece of equipment that! :thumbsup:
YES the current spate of cloudy skies has been frustrating.
The portable power pack is a better way to go than AA's, most people here buy a cheapie power pack from Supercheap (17ah -17 amp-hours).
I bought a Waeco power pack (33ah) but that was over $300.
You will need that extra capacity if/when you find you need to run a dew heater to keep the front corrector plate clear.

Make sure you do not drain it too low or that will shorten the life of the battery, and recharge ASAP after each use.

Keep at it - once you are aligned, life will be much easier. To get the best alignment, make sure your tripod is level and you scope is balanced for the eyepiece and diagonal etc you will be using. Any questions --> ask :welcome:

[kustard]

Hi Sandra,

A battery pack will definitely improve your observing time and as Allan pointed out, if you end up getting some dew removal accessories, a portable battery power pack is the way to go.

The three star alignment is not really necessary, the third star is just a confirmation that you have chosen the first and second stars correctly. Once you get to know the sky better you can use the "two star" or "two star auto" alignment procedure.

There are iphone apps and computer programs that help to determine the best stars for alignment but if you follow these couple of rules then you should get very good alignment procedure results.

1) Choose two stars that have a wide angular separation, i.e. are as far apart from each other as possible. You don't, however want ones that are too close to the horizon, anything below 10-15 degrees from the horizon isn't very good.
2) Try and pick the two stars so that a line drawn from one to the other passes as close as possible to the zenith (the point in the sky directly above you).
3) Try not to pick any star that is near the zenith, stars about 10 degrees or less from the zenith can affect the way the software has to calculate position due to how the encoders work.
4) I often find that choosing two stars that cross over the celestial equator can be beneficial to prolonging alignment, though your mileage may vary.

Hope this helps,
Simon