Well last night, hubby and I felt the cloud was clear enough to get a view of the moon and we did and it was wonderful (and he now GETS my obsession with it!).
I have attached a pic of the lenses I have but they are:
SR4mm
Super 10mm
Super 25mm Wide Angle
Barlow Lens
We used the Wide Angle lens - it was the only one we had any success seeing the moon with. However, I'd like a closer view if I can (especially once I get going and start with the photography side of things) but I couldn't see anything with the 4mm.
Am I doing something wrong?
I have to admit, although I understand the basics of the lenses, once there's any complications I am easily confused.
I am trying to read what I can and try things out (the best way to learn) but thought I'd defer to some of your expertise in what the best lenses for moon gazing might be. There is a page in the instruction manual about choosing the right eyepiece but honestly, it could be in Greek and I'd understand it no less or more. My eyes are glazing over!!
Cass
Congratulations on getting your partner out and observing with you!!
Firstly, have you tried the 10mm eyepiece? Also what is the focal length and aperture of your scope?
One way to check if your scope can come to focus is to check stars. The moon at high power can just look a blank nearly featureless blur unless you are looking at the terminator (the area where the lit part and the shadow part of the moon meet) where there is more contrast. Stars on the other hand are simple points so pick a star rich area and try to see if you can get focus with those other eyepieces.
Hi Malcolm - I knew you'd ask me a hard question!!
D=130mm
F=900mm
is what it says on the side of my scope. Is that what you mean?
I was able to get quite a bit of detail (craters) with the wide angle but no I dont think we tried the 10mm. Maybe thats one for tonight!
I did set the scope on a star cluster last night in the north - I apologise constellations are not my strength so I have no clue what I was looking at. I could see stars and had it focused (to my dodgy eyesight) but I dont really know if what I was seeing was impressive or not. In this house it is the blind leading the blind!
For me, my main objective is to see as much of the moon as close up as I can.
My experience with powerful eyepieces like 6mm and 4mm is that they are difficult to use. You seem to have to get your eye in just the right spot behind them otherwise they just go black. Start with the 10mm then slip the barlow on the end of it, assuming its a common 2.5x barlow that will give you the same power as the 4mm but with much easier viewing.
Try everything out during the day on some distant object such as a telegraph pole on the horizon. Make a note of the focusing position for each eyepiece. Everything will probably be upside down which is perfectly normal.
Thanks so much for your reply Roger, we will try this out tonight!
(Finally Melbourne has a few clear nights in a row!)
Kass
PS Thanks to everyone in IIS. Over the past few weeks even just observing these forums, it has struck me how friendly and willing to answer questions the folks here are, and welcoming too. It's so refreshing to see a community of like minded people working together without agenda - beyond seeing the beauty in the skies. Kudos to everyone here for being a great group of people to mix with online.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rogerco
My experience with powerful eyepieces like 6mm and 4mm is that they are difficult to use. You seem to have to get your eye in just the right spot behind them otherwise they just go black. Start with the 10mm then slip the barlow on the end of it, assuming its a common 2.5x barlow that will give you the same power as the 4mm but with much easier viewing.
Try everything out during the day on some distant object such as a telegraph pole on the horizon. Make a note of the focusing position for each eyepiece. Everything will probably be upside down which is perfectly normal.
On your telescope, focal length 900mm, the 25mm eyepiece gives a magnification of 900/25 = x36 and the 10mm will give x90 magnification.
A quick rule of thumb, based on general seeing (the atmosphere) conditions is that the max usable magnification is the same number as the size of the telescope - in your case 130mm; that would mean having an eyepiece around 900/130 = 8mm.
(The 4mm eyepiece provided is for the marketing blurb! So the supplier can say - Yeah but it's a x250 telescope!! Rubbish!)
I'd work with the 10mm (x90 mag) eyepiece until you build up some experience - then look for a good s/h 8mm eyepiece here on the forum.
Enjoy!!
(I'm thinking of ditching my law degree studies for Year 7 maths.... which I failed...... )
Kass
Quote:
Originally Posted by Merlin66
On your telescope, focal length 900mm, the 25mm eyepiece gives a magnification of 900/25 = x36 and the 10mm will give x90 magnification.
A quick rule of thumb, based on general seeing (the atmosphere) conditions is that the max usable magnification is the same number as the size of the telescope - in your case 130mm; that would mean having an eyepiece around 900/130 = 8mm.
(The 4mm eyepiece provided is for the marketing blurb! So the supplier can say - Yeah but it's a x250 telescope!! Rubbish!)
I'd work with the 10mm (x90 mag) eyepiece until you build up some experience - then look for a good s/h 8mm eyepiece here on the forum.
Enjoy!!
As others have said, start by looking at the Moon along the terminator (where the light and dark meet), as it is much easier to see detail in this area where there are shadows, rather than the fully-lit part of the Moon, which can just look washed-out and featureless because of the lack of shadows.
The Moon is a very bright target, and can be quite dazzling. Did your telescope come with a Moon filter (a tinted "sunglass" which screws into the bottom of the eyepiece, to make viewing more comfortable and less dazzling)?
Alternatively, does the telescope end cover have a small "porthole" which you can open? If so, try viewing the Moon with the end cap on and the little port open, as this means you will only get a fraction of the light that the uncapped telescope collects.
I have a set of 4 filters which includes a moon filter and that's the next step in the learning curve. Last night I got a very decent view using the 10mm lens and the Barlow, as suggested below and even got a photo with my iPhone (which I have attached and concede was a total fluke!). We are trying new things each time we go out - figure that is the best way to learn (as well as ask the experts here!)
Kass
Quote:
Originally Posted by julianh72
As others have said, start by looking at the Moon along the terminator (where the light and dark meet), as it is much easier to see detail in this area where there are shadows, rather than the fully-lit part of the Moon, which can just look washed-out and featureless because of the lack of shadows.
The Moon is a very bright target, and can be quite dazzling. Did your telescope come with a Moon filter (a tinted "sunglass" which screws into the bottom of the eyepiece, to make viewing more comfortable and less dazzling)?
Alternatively, does the telescope end cover have a small "porthole" which you can open? If so, try viewing the Moon with the end cap on and the little port open, as this means you will only get a fraction of the light that the uncapped telescope collects.
You seem to have to get your eye in just the right spot behind them otherwise they just go black.
Since your a photographer, let me present a different analogy as I have learned it, to how EP's seem to work. I have determined that telescopes are like zoom lenses, but operate slightly differently, instead of increasing the focal length and keeping a constant aperture, the basic focal length remains constant and the effective aperture changes. So as you decrease the EP focal length, the AFoV (Apparent Field of View) gets smaller and smaller, increasing magnification.
So you have to be very attentive when looking into the EP to find the right spot. It's like looking through a long tube at a bright light, if you are not pointed straight at the light, you can't see it.
Hope that helps as you try the different EP's again.
Thanks for this - I think on my little iPhone experiment last night you're totally right. Waiting on getting the right adapter for my camera to get the DSLR out (can't happen quickly enough....).
I have a notebook I am writing all these clever tips into.
(I promise I won't be quite so over enthusiastic once uni starts back....I go under my rock for a while then!)
Quote:
Originally Posted by sharptrack2
Hi Kass,
Further to Roger's comment...
Since your a photographer, let me present a different analogy as I have learned it, to how EP's seem to work. I have determined that telescopes are like zoom lenses, but operate slightly differently, instead of increasing the focal length and keeping a constant aperture, the basic focal length remains constant and the effective aperture changes. So as you decrease the EP focal length, the AFoV (Apparent Field of View) gets smaller and smaller, increasing magnification.
So you have to be very attentive when looking into the EP to find the right spot. It's like looking through a long tube at a bright light, if you are not pointed straight at the light, you can't see it.
Hope that helps as you try the different EP's again.
In this house it is the blind leading the blind! 
)
