ICEINSPACE
Moon Phase
CURRENT MOON
Waning Crescent 29.5%
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06-01-2012, 06:20 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Adelaide Australia
Posts: 7
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Hi newbie here, just having a look around trying to educate myself a little before I purchase my new toy
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06-01-2012, 10:18 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Monto
Posts: 16,741
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Hi Karli, Welcome to IIS.
If you have any questions at all, ask away. There's plenty of folks here who will help you spend your hard earned $$$.
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06-01-2012, 10:37 PM
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Supernova Searcher
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Cambroon Queensland Australia
Posts: 9,318
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Karli and
I hope you enjoy your stay on iceinspace
Ask away we are all here to help the best we can
Cheers
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15-01-2012, 12:14 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Adelaide Australia
Posts: 7
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First scope
Thanks for the warm welcome So after looking around I have almost made my mind up on a SW450 Skywatcher, have read a few reviews and it seems like a good scope to start with. Also I have seen a secondhand Celestron Astromaster 130 what I should look out for If considering a secondhand one, or play it safe and go brand new??
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15-01-2012, 12:35 PM
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Bright the hawk's flight
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Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Mt Duneed Vic
Posts: 3,982
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Hi Karli.
Can you give us a link to the SW450 scope you are talking about so we can see exactly which one you are talking about?
Second hand is usually safe but always ask to see photos of the actual scope to give you an idea of its condition and try to pick up in person so if it is not up to scratch you can still pull out. Generally most sellers here on IIS are OK.
The Astromaster 130 is a small EQ mounted Newt. Nothing specifically wrong with them but EQ mounts can be tricky for new users and the scope is on the smaller side, so will give dimmer views than larger ones. What are your interests in astronomy at this stage?
Malcolm
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15-01-2012, 01:04 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Adelaide Australia
Posts: 7
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Hey malcolm At this stage total beginner, want to look at the stars and moon and a planet or two. I have seen this scope in shop http://www.ozscopes.com.au/skywatche...telescope.html
the guy reckoned it was a good one to start with...not overly hard to use?
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15-01-2012, 09:02 PM
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Bright the hawk's flight
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Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Mt Duneed Vic
Posts: 3,982
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Karli
Sorry I have been out today so took a while to reply. In my opinion these scopes are not easy to use. They are on an EQ mount. This means that once you have an object in the field of view they can track it. The problem is getting it into the field of view as the movement of the scope is not intuitive. It will have the same problem as the 130 scope you mentioned. It is not the scope itself but the mounting that makes it hard for beginners. An alt az mounted scope such as a dobsonion simply moves up and down and side to side make navigating much easier.
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16-01-2012, 12:52 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Adelaide Australia
Posts: 7
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Thanks...will do some more research
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17-01-2012, 05:04 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Perth, WA
Posts: 316
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Hey people!
Been a member of this site for a while now so i figured I'd make myself known My first ever scope was the tiny desktop 76mm Dob. I recently purchased my first serious scope, a SW 8" Dob, just a few weeks ago and had the chance to head down to some nice dark skies in the SW of WA for my gf had never seen the Milky Way as she was from ye old London town. Unfortunately the bright Moon ruined that for her, but i still managed to see Orions nebulae, and the Pleiades for the first time Even managed to see M79 which was almost directly above me, although it killed my neck trying to line it up in the finder!
Anyways thanks for reading, and i look forward to many more sleepless nights ahead.
Chris
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17-01-2012, 05:19 PM
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Fast Scope & Fast Engine
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Broken Hill N.S.W
Posts: 3,305
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris85
Hey people!
Been a member of this site for a while now so i figured I'd make myself known My first ever scope was the tiny desktop 76mm Dob. I recently purchased my first serious scope, a SW 8" Dob, just a few weeks ago and had the chance to head down to some nice dark skies in the SW of WA for my gf had never seen the Milky Way as she was from ye old London town. Unfortunately the bright Moon ruined that for her, but i still managed to see Orions nebulae, and the Pleiades for the first time Even managed to see M79 which was almost directly above me, although it killed my neck trying to line it up in the finder!
Anyways thanks for reading, and i look forward to many more sleepless nights ahead.
Chris
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Welcome Chris
Did you get a chance to view the moon as well or was you zipping around the sky as fast as you can while the viewing is great.
I seem to do that.
Anyway sleepless nights seem to be the norm around here.
Cheers Kev.
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17-01-2012, 05:35 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Perth, WA
Posts: 316
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Hey Kev
Yeah mostly zipping around as I was getting a bit excited and wanted to see as much before heading back to the city. I did have a look at the moon but it was far to bright, and i even tried with my sunnies on but found that to be rather awkward. A filter set is close to the top of my wish list
Chris
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18-01-2012, 04:39 PM
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Make it so! - Capt.Picard
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 1,982
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Hello!
I forgot to introduce myself here haha.
My name is Stefan and joined I think a few days ago. I have been into astronomy all my life and bought my first telescope mid last year.
Was on a budget and bought the Celestron 60AZ just to begin with to see if I like stargazing, turned out I LOVED IT!!!
A month or so ago upgraded to the Celestron 130SLT which is a great scope! I am still a beginner and getting to know the night sky, can identify a few objects which is good .
Hoping to get some great advice from everyone here on the forum from equipment purchases to using my scope!
See you around!!
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19-01-2012, 03:40 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 2
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Wow, the stellarium is great-just what i needed. The only problem now is trying to figure out how to find planets and such. I keep trying to find Venus with my telescope, but it's so hard(it's in the early evening sky) If i do manage to find it, by a fluke, then all that i can see is a circle of light, and in the middle of that i can see the reflecting mirror. So, i was wondering if maybe i could get some tips on how to find objects in my telescope? And, what lens should i use to view venus and saturn? I can only seem to see the moon properly. Thanks!
PS: Is anyone on this forum part of the Hervey Bay Astronomical Society?
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19-01-2012, 04:22 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Kinglake West
Posts: 717
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Hi Bailey, and welcome to IIS.
The easiest way to locate an object is to use the little finder scope attached to the main scope, but first you need to have the finder and main scope lined up and pointing at the same object so when the object is in the centre of the finder scope it should be in the centre of the main scope(or close to it). To line the 2 up its easier to do this during the day, point your main scope at a tree/lamp post or anything really doesn't matter (EXCEPT THE SUN), a few hundred meters away or more is better, then using the little screws on the finder scope, move it around till you can see the same object in both scopes. That should aleast make it easier to locate objects at night.
With regards to what you will see it the view depends on the size of your telescope, the EP your using and the actual seeing conditions. If you can tell us what size scope you have some of the more smarter people on here will be able to give you some better advice re this matter than I could.
All the best
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19-01-2012, 10:58 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Dandenong Ranges
Posts: 265
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bailey
And, what lens should i use to view venus and saturn? I can only seem to see the moon properly.
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Welcome Bailey!
Your comment raises a really interesting point. I remember confronting this when I first used a telescope. It looks nothing like the pictures you see posted around.
It does take practice to train your eyes to be able to see the details. Do a search for "averted vision" as that might give you a few tips to explore.
The planets are really quite far away. The most you're likely to see of Venus is a bright circle and maybe a little more in a massive scope. Saturn is spectacular though as you can often easily see the rings. Jupiter is good too - on a good night and with a decent scope you can see the coloured banding and often 4 of its moons.
If it doesn't already exist, a thread where people can post images from cameras and images of what you're likely to see with your own eyes might be useful.
Cheers,
Af.
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23-01-2012, 09:12 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Sadleir, Liverpool NSW Australia
Posts: 77
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You are lucky even to have found the moon. I haven't seen it for goodness how long. When I look out there and try to find something I can sometimes see more with my own eyes. I keep getting told that I have to be patient so I am waiting for the big moment. To actually see a planet and the details on it. I have a Celestron SE 8 and believe it to be a good one.
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23-01-2012, 09:18 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Sadleir, Liverpool NSW Australia
Posts: 77
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Hi, I am a newbee too so welcome to the club. I have my baby but now just need to find my way around the sky. I get excited just looking at some of the scopes people have here. WOW. Have you looked on the other links there are some amaizing photos so if others can see that just wonder what we will eventually get to see.
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28-01-2012, 10:34 AM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Ulverstone Tas
Posts: 733
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Hello everyone like a lot of people been watching the site for a while, thought better say g_day from NW Tas
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30-01-2012, 08:45 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 7
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hey all
hey there people...
i have taken the plunge and joined here after a few weeks of looking!
im matt from brisbane. i have had a celestron powerseeker 127eq for a few years now and have finally decided to start seeing the galaxy with it. hope to pick up heaps of tips from the site!! is this a good telescope??
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03-02-2012, 01:24 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Central Coast, NSW
Posts: 32
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Hi all
Just a quick intro as I've just joined this website after looking for a while.
I'm just getting back into Astronomy as a hobby having been an avid enthusiast in my formative years (used to own an 8.5" reflector) - but had lapsed into other interests over the past 30 years or so (whilst always continuing to look up!!).
Now I'm looking to get back into the hobby (having moved from the Northern hemisphere to the south about 15 years ago) and have acquired a 70mm refractor as a starting point, and have started experimenting with photography using a compact digital.
Hope to continue to find great advice here
best wishes
JD (Dave)
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