Hi Noob here - please help me

[aloshan (Australia)]

My first post may have come out as childish, I apologise. I have been interested in space and the world around us as long as I can remember. I'm not a wide eyed high school student , seeing Hubble , buying a telescope and thinking I could get amazing views of nebulae and galaxies and then ends up disappointed when I don't. Ive researched this telescope and know what its capable of , what Im supposed to be able to see with the kind of light pollution I have in my area and the location I am in. This isn't a passing phase or a simple hobby - if anyone does devote their time to me it is something I will stick with for the rest of my life.

Originally Posted by skfboiler

The videos from this guy from Illinois are second to none. This guy shows you how to align the EQ mount, use the EQ mount and how to get around the sky in general.



[url]

Thanks man , will take a look

Originally Posted by OzStarGazer

Hi and welcome! We all share a wonderful passion for astronomy here.

Is your problem finding objects with your telescope (pointing at them) or focussing?

Finding them. All I see is the night sky , with some pinpoints of light here and there. I didn't think it would be as easy as point and see , ive read all I can about how to set it up with the rotation of the earth , where to look etc..... but I feel as if im such a noob at this that Im retarded at it. therefore I thought the only way is to have a person who has done this before with me, to show me what to do so I can learn and not repeat mistakes. Once I have that I can grow on my own

Its quite disappointing , I wait for days to have a cloudless night , rush outside , try to see , spend 45 min seeing nothing and getting bitten by mosquitoes and then carrying my scope back inside It's chipping away at my love for space little by little and every time i hear about how the ancients saw the planets using the rudimentary telescopes of the day , I think about how I cant see anything but the moon using a telescope made decades later.

[OzStarGazer]

Hi and welcome! We all share a wonderful passion for astronomy here.

Is your problem finding objects with your telescope (pointing at them) or focussing?

[skfboiler]

The videos from this guy from Illinois are second to none. This guy shows you how to align the EQ mount, use the EQ mount and how to get around the sky in general.

https://www.youtube.com/user/eyesontheskyDOTcom

[aloshan (Australia)]

FYI contacted the "Sutherland Astronomical Society Inc" hopefully they can be off some help as well.

[noeyedeer (Matt)]

hi and welcome aloshan.
this article helped me when I had an eq mount. it's well written and very easy to understand.
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/index.p...63,498,0,0,1,0

matt

[aloshan (Australia)]

Originally Posted by noeyedeer

hi and welcome aloshan.
this article helped me when I had an eq mount. it's well written and very easy to understand.


matt

Thanks Matt!

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Hi Aloshan
This thread appears a little disjointed! Maybe I am missing something but what sort of scope do you have?

Malcolm

[OzStarGazer]

Originally Posted by barx1963

Hi Aloshan
This thread appears a little disjointed! Maybe I am missing something but what sort of scope do you have?

Malcolm

I think he had said he has a Celestron Astromaster 130EQ Reflector in his original post... Same specs as mine apart from the mount.

[OzStarGazer]

Re light pollution you could buy a LPR/UHC filter. I just bought a Celestron one. It works fine also with 5" scopes like ours because it lets in a bit more light than other UHC filters. I could see whole constellations on a very dark background, although the stars were a bit dimmer of course.

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Thanks Oz!
Aloshan
An EQ mount does take a little work to use successfully. I normally recommend beginners go for a dobsonian scope first so they can learn how a scope works, learn their way around the sky etc before taking on the challenge of the EQ mount. But in this case the main thing is you have a scope and the thing we want is to help you get the best out of it!

Have you been able to polar align it at all? If so the main advantage of an EQ is at your call which is the ability to track objects as they move across the sky.

Malcolm

[aloshan (Australia)]

Originally Posted by OzStarGazer

I think he had said he has a Celestron Astromaster 130EQ Reflector in his original post... Same specs as mine apart from the mount.

Yes this is what I have

Originally Posted by OzStarGazer

Re light pollution you could buy a LPR/UHC filter. I just bought a Celestron one. It works fine also with 5" scopes like ours because it lets in a bit more light than other UHC filters. I could see whole constellations on a very dark background, although the stars were a bit dimmer of course.

Ive seen those but didnt want to invest anymore as I dont even know how to use it yet

Originally Posted by barx1963

Thanks Oz!
Aloshan
An EQ mount does take a little work to use successfully. I normally recommend beginners go for a dobsonian scope first so they can learn how a scope works, learn their way around the sky etc before taking on the challenge of the EQ mount. But in this case the main thing is you have a scope and the thing we want is to help you get the best out of it!

Have you been able to polar align it at all? If so the main advantage of an EQ is at your call which is the ability to track objects as they move across the sky.

Malcolm

I attempted to Polar align but had no idea what I was doing
I know that through time (a very long time) I could figure it out , but if I could get someone to physically be there and explain things to be , i know id pick it up quite fast. Therefore im attempting to join a few Astronomy Clubs

[OzStarGazer]

If you join an astronomy club and have a car you should be able to go there with your telescope and I am sure somebody will be able to tell you how to use it.
I did buy a dob two months ago and have been able to see a lot of objects.

The moon is big of course, but if you want to look at something smaller it is usually better to start with the 25mm eyepiece to find an object and focus and then change it once you have found the object - at least with a dob, but I think it is a general rule.

[aloshan (Australia)]

Originally Posted by OzStarGazer

If you join an astronomy club and have a car you should be able to go there with your telescope and I am sure somebody will be able to tell you how to use it.
I did buy a dob two months ago and have been able to see a lot of objects.

The moon is big of course, but if you want to look at something smaller it is usually better to start with the 25mm eyepiece to find an object and focus and then change it once you have found the object - at least with a dob, but I think it is a general rule.

Yes I have a car and can travel. Thanks for your help.

[CarlJoseph (Carl)]

I would second the astro club ideas. You'll get heaps of great hands on help from the people there.

What type of mount do you have, is it computerised or manual? Don't stress too much about polar aligning. At this early stage, as long as you are reasonably close then you should be fine for the most part. You can then learn to slowly polar align better over time (it takes some practice).