Fraser Coast Newbie

[maggs (Steve)]

Hi All,
I've just taken the plunge into astronomy with the purchase of a used SW 200 mm 1000 mm focal length reflector OTA mounted on a HEQ5 Pro mount. I have Celestron 25 mm and 32 mm Plossl eyepieces.

Last night I fired it up and had a good view of the moon but when it came to checking out some stars I didn't do so good. I'm thinking I'm going to need some more eyepieces to get a better view. I know at 200 mm aperture I'm not going to see really faint or distant objects but with the right eyepieces I'm sure it will get better. My aim here is to get some advice on what I need in the eyepiece/filter department to increase my chances.

i don't have a lot of the folding stuff left after the initial purchase so I need to make sure I only buy what is really needed until the CFO blesses me with more funds. i was thinking of adding a 15 mm and 6 mm eyepieces and maybe a 2x barlow to my arsenal but I am hoping someone will chime in and guide me.

Steve

[ZeroID (Brent)]

Hiya Steve, to IIS. Plenty of free advice in here.
Your 25 mm Ep should give good views but stars will always be bright little pinpoints really. But it will let you find Globular Clusters, the faint dust clouds of Nebulae, possibly galaxies and planets and their moons. Try Jupiter at present, bright in the north and you should find 4 moons quite easily.
You will need more magnification for planet detail and good seeing (stable skies).
My main viewing EPs are GSO Superview 20mm and 15mm ( I have a 10" f5 scope). They are well priced IMHO and worth the money for my purposes. Barlows I am not keen on, they dim and can distort the view some what if you don't buy a good (expensive) one>
I'd also look at a 12mm or 9 or 10mm rather than a barlow and later if your skies are really good maybe a 6 mm.

Get Stellarium loaded onto your PC, free and one of the best astro progams around so you know what to look for. Google will find it.

And to whet your appetite for nebulae and stunning views take a look at Orions Sword and M42 the middle section of it. Probably the brightest Neb around. It will eb dim dust lanes but in good seeing to possible to discern some colour sometimes. Just above Orions three star belt, NE at present in the evening.

[maggs (Steve)]

Thanks Brent. I have already installed Stellarium on my Mac and it's awesome. I figured the barlow wasn't a good option right now so I will look for a good deal on EP's in the 6 - 15 mm range. i'll just get some cheapies to get started.

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Hi Steve and congratulations on your new scope.
As Brent has said, stars will always appear as pinpricks of light, the most you will see is variations in colour or double/triple stars.
A 200mm aperture (or 8") is a great size to start observing DSO's. We are in my opinion heading into one of the best times of year for DSO with Orion high in the sky, Eta Carina, the LMC, Tarantula neb, 47Tuc, the SMC all visible and with the Galaxies around Leo and Virgo coming up later in the night.

Malcolm

[Allan_L (Allan)]

Hi Steve,
Welcome
That is a good size scope you have and you will be able to see plenty of good stuff (technical term) with it.

Just to reiterate what Malcolm and Brent have said ... no matter how big your scope, Stars will always be just one pixel of light, and therefore not any bigger to view.

What we do look at though are Globular Clusters and Open Clusters of Stars, Gas Nebulae, and galaxies. For almost all of these the eps you have are the right size, as these are big objects and you want to fit as much into your ep as possible. (Maybe compliment with a 20 and/or a 15mm is a good idea too as Brent suggested)

What you will use the higher magnification eps (like 9mm or less) will be planets where you want to see up close the detail in Saturn's rings and Jupiters bands, GRS, and moon transits, and our own moon (best viewed in crescent).

So the biggest thing to help you enjoy the DSO's (deep space objects) is how to find them.

A planisphere can be a big help, especially when used in conjunction with Stellarium.

Try and find an observing group near you so you can borrow and see various eyepieces (in your scope), and other advice on how and what to look for,

[maggs (Steve)]

Thanks Allan and Malcolm, i should have said looking at planets and other interesting objects instead of stars. I sure have a lot to learn. As soon as I figure out how to update the Synscan unit I'll have a crack at doing an alignment and try out the goto features. That should speed up the learning curve.

Another reason I got this gear was to try and get my 7 and 8 year olds off the nintendo and tv bandwagon and for them to take an interest in something that might benefit them more. If they don't show any interest that's ok but so far so good. They seem excited to look up into the heavens. If I can get some interesting objects in focus for them then all the better.

steve

[Kunama]

Hello Steve and welcome.
If you PM me your address I will send you a 9.7mm and 15mm plossls next week when I get home. They were given to me by astroboy and I no longer need them.
They are without the eyecups but otherwise fine.

Cheers,

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Further comment.
I wouldm't worry about a barlow as Brent said. I had a Televue one for quite a while. Ended up selling it as it just wasn't being used. The view was always noticeably better without it.
If thinking of a 6mm, if going a plossl they have a really small lense that can make getting a view really hard. And in a scope that size they give 167x which is really pushing an 8" scope unless sky conditions are just about perfect. When I had an 8" dob, even the 10mm was pishing it at 100x.
Try and use low power as much as possible to start off, view are usually better and there is heaps to see at those powers.

Malcolm

[Andy Walters (Andy)]

Hi Steve, your welcome to come along to our observing nights, (Hervey Bay Astronomical Society, hbastro.net), and check out some of our members eyepieces, we have a good range!
Cheers Andy.

[maggs (Steve)]

Originally Posted by Andy Walters

Hi Steve, your welcome to come along to our observing nights, (Hervey Bay Astronomical Society, hbastro.net), and check out some of our members eyepieces, we have a good range!
Cheers Andy.

Hi Andy,
I was planning to come along to the Feb 9 meet. Where is it going to be held?
Steve

[maggs (Steve)]

Originally Posted by Kunama

Hello Steve and welcome.
If you PM me your address I will send you a 9.7mm and 15mm plossls next week when I get home. They were given to me by astroboy and I no longer need them.
They are without the eyecups but otherwise fine.

Cheers,

Thanks Matt. PM sent.

[Andy Walters (Andy)]

Hi Steve,
observing night on the 9th Feb held at Sanctuary Hills Rd, Takura, (it's marked on google maps). We usually set up before dark and have a barbie if the weather is good. I'll get back to you to confirm.
Meetings are at the Hervey bay University. We usually meet out the front about 6.50 pm, look forward to meeting you.
Cheers Andy.

[Andy Walters (Andy)]

PM sent.