My name is Michael and i just got a telescope for christmas about 6 hours ago, just put it together and used it, after about 10 mins trying to find a star that i randomly selected that i could see from the backyard i managed to see it.
Telescope is: Celestron 70AZ Telescope
Im using the 20mm eye piece that came with it.
I am located in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Australia.
I basically have no idea what im doing, i managed to see the star by pure luck and after 10 mins and about 10 mozzy bites i decided to come in for the night
I find the red dot on it is difficult to use, read the instruction manual but find the red dot really hard to use, book says keep both eyes open and look through it but i was struggling to line up the star.
Any pointers or advise ? The telescope i have is it a good entry level one or is it too advanced for a noobie like me ?
Im very keen to see stuff but ill wait to tomorrow after i buy some decent aeroguard lol
I'd give you some advice but right now my head isn't in the right place because I spent all last night and the morning chasing comets, and I'm just about ready to shutdown for at least....long enough to recover!!!
I'm sure someone will pipe up and give you plenty of good advice. There are very many knowledgeable people in this forum who are more than willing to help out
One quick warning Michael, be careful with Aerogard around optics. Use roll on only, put it on a few minutes before heading out and make sure none gets on eyepieces or lenses, it can quickly destroy optical coatings!
Yes you do need to keep both eyes open with the red dot finders. When I have used them or a Telrad I find it easiest to keep both eyes open looking at the area I want to point to then guide the scope over to the area rather than trying to look through the finder.
The scope you have is a fairly basic beginners refractor, not a lot of light grasp at 70mm but will give reasonable views of Jupiter, Saturn, open clusters and globs so lots to explore. It is on an Alt Az mount which makes it much easier for a beginner than an eq mount.
Oh and one thing I should have said in my other post. You will hear people say you should have got this scope or that one, and I can be as guilty as anyone, but the important thing is you have a scope and now have the opportunity to use it to open up a whole universe of exploration and wonder. Get out there and use it and enjoy the night skies!
Congrats on the new scope, but how on Earth did you get to see any stars with that massive storm that is going through?
My son and I are still watching all the lightning in Melbourne from up here at Snake Valley!
It was one hell of a storm when it went through here.
Good luck with it.
Being in the western suburbs of Melbourne makes it a bit easier for you to head up this way to our Clubsite if you can't find anyone closer to help you. We are 20 mins west of Ballarat. Come on up
As to your telescope, did you get the Celestron 70az Powerseeker or the Celestron 70az AstroMaster?
Hi Michael and welcome to IIS!!!!
Aswell as what has said above, dont forget to get a free puter program that can guide you to finding some interesting spots in the skies.
eg Stellarium
Have a snoop around the forums and you will find lotsa info to help.....and dont be afraid to ask!
And +1 on the aerogard! use roll on!
Bartman
Point your telescope at the brightest thing you see in the sky tonight about two hours after sunset. That should be the planet Jupiter. See what that looks like.
Thanks for all the reply's, my scope is Celestron 70az AstroMaster , so if i wanted to see further would i need a better lense or eye piece ?
So confused on how to find stuff in the sky, i just point scope at what i see with naked eye and then try find it, like i said having trouble with the red dot when i keep both eyes open and look through it's hard to line up with what im trying to see.
Michael, just continue with what you have for some time until you have a better feel for observing. The Moon will be turning up soon after sunset in the next few days. You should be able to find that easily and that is exciting to observe. Your telescope will do a good job. If you want to get up well before sunrise!, Saturn is getting higher each day in the eastern sky. That will also be a good view. And, as I said before, Jupiter in the evening will be great!
It's not a question of how far away something is, it is a question of how bright it is. So, ultimately it is the aperture (diameter of the light-gathering part of the scope - a lens at the front in your case, or a mirror at the back for reflecting telescopes) that determines whether you can see anything at the eyepiece. Maybe better eyepieces will be a litle bit useful, but I'm quite sure that your 20mm eyepiece will be just fine. The 10mm will be a bit worse.
Your scope should also be useful during the day on terrestrial objects - it has what are called erect image optics in the diagonal (the part your eyepiece goes into). You can also learn a lot more about using your telescope at daytime when you ca see what you are doing. BUT - don't point it at the Sun. Nasty things happen to your eye and to the telescope.
Merry Christmas Micheal and welcome ,
Your 70mm alt , az mounted celestron is a good starter scope , and as been said before its is lots easier than an Equitorial type mount , but more on that when you learn more about scopes and space .
And Micheal thats where it starts mate , learn slowely and learn all you can as this hobby as it is forever growing and changing so much that nobody knows it all .
Fasinating stuff .
I started with a 60mm altaz ( like yours but smaller ) many years ago and over time you will get better at learning your scope and the night sky , be patient and it will happen .
1 more thing did your scope come with a planisphere ? its a plastic or cardboard disc that rotates to show the night sky at any given time or date of the year .
If not get one as these simple devices are the best learning tool avaliable , about $20-$25 at bintel .
Brian.
Thanks for all the reply's, my scope is Celestron 70az AstroMaster , so if i wanted to see further would i need a better lense or eye piece ?
So confused on how to find stuff in the sky, i just point scope at what i see with naked eye and then try find it, like i said having trouble with the red dot when i keep both eyes open and look through it's hard to line up with what im trying to see.
Will keep trying thou.
Thanks again.
Hi Michael,
There is no rush. Just cruise at your own pace. For that scope views will get better the darker the skies. I don't know exactly what the sky is like at your location, but it should allow you to see the brighter sights.
The first skill you should probably have a go at is star-hopping, that is, finding your way to an object by navigating from the bright stars in a constellation. So it follows from that you will be well served if you can pick out the constellations, at least with a reference at your side.
As to the red dot finder, it might not be quite lined up with the telescope. There are alignment thumbwheels on it for that. Find a distant street light or bright star in your telescope eyepiece, centre it, and adjust the finder onto it.
The best eyepieces for you to use at the moment are the wider field ones. These will also have less magnification, but are much easier for you to use. A 20mm eyepiece is a good compromise, and gives you 900/20 = 45x magnification, which is good for general viewing.
A 10mm eyepiece of the same type would give you 90x, but half the field of view, meaning that the object would be harder to find.
I believe the Plossl eyepieces 15mm and more are good value for a beginning observer. Less than 15mm, I think just a bit more money is justified, to get better performance and a wider field of view at the eye, for example
Welcome Michael. +1 to everything below.
You might also want to checkout http://skymaps.com they make a printable chart each month with suitable objects for you to look for.
Still at it, still finding it a little difficult, i dont know if im just that much of a noob or just plain stupid lol but the program Stellarium is damm confusing, i cant make out whats what and where its facing and what i should be looking at, briefly looked at the skymaps, also damm confusing lol !
Yes, it can be frustrating, and still is years into the hobby, but it is all worth it.
We have all been where you are now, and you will get through it!! When I first started, I would go outside and think .... what the heck, stars everywhere, and what is what. I used to draw like a dot to dot of the brightest stars in a specific area, and thats how I found the constellation of Sagittarius.
Stellarium is great so try and be patient and have a play with it. Once you put melbourne in, you can play with the date and time, and in the sky and viewing options (roll your mouse over the left sideof the wondow) you can put in constellation lines and labels.
Here is a pic from Stellarium for tonight at 8.15 ish, tho maybe still a bit light down there. The 'Capture' shows Venus in the west - go out and have a look, and there you will find Venus glowing brilliantly. Have a look at the stars around it, then go back to Stellarium to confirm a couple.
All lots of fun, once things start falling into place!!
Like Liz said, you must make sure your viewing location is set to your latitude and longitude so you see the correct objects on your screen . It would help if you could take the computer outside with you when you observe so you can cross reference whats on the screen with the night sky.
There is nothing you *should* be looking at, just have a play with it, scroll through the menus on the bottom left and left sides of the screen to look at the various settings. there are north, south, east and west indicators on the stellarium screen so you know which way you are looking relevent to the real sceene. zoom in and out by using the page up and page down keyboard buttons, If yo want to know more about an object or to identify an abject you see on the screen, just click on it - the info will apperar in the top left of the screen.
do some research on what the equatorial grid is then use it in stellarium (button down bottom left), this will help you locate objects in the night sky using the Right ascention and declination coordinates.
I'm in Melbourne too, and the one bit of advice I can give you is not to get too disheartened if you can't see as many stars in the sky on your planisphere or planetarium program like Stellarium.
In the west, seeing can be hampered by the bright lights of industry, and nights these last few weeks have been intermittently stormy, or hazy. Most nights, I find I can only see the very brightest stars in the sky, because of my close proximity to the city and the bright lights of docklands and the Westgate Bridge.
Sometimes I just enjoy picking out the different colours of the stars, and looking for the occasional (giant) Messier objects which are bright enough to be seen in my urban sky. Planets are pretty easy too, and I'm still new enough to find the moon a fascinating subject.
+1 to Snake Valley for some gorgeous dark skies and great company, but really, even from the fringes of Melbourne you can get some great views.
Jupiter is pretty close to the Moon all night, so you can identify it,but the Moonglow is pretty bright for you to see many details on the big daddy planet.
The Moon is great to peer at through your scope, so make yourself comfy with a chair, relax and checkout the Moon, and know that Jupiter is nearby too.
Tomorrow night, the Moon rises later , Jupiter may be a bit easier to look at through your scope.
to IIS!! 
