Quote:
Originally Posted by Michelle
Aparently I have to set the RA to about -32 degrees for Perth then lock it all in place, but then my scope pointing at the ground
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Not
*negative* 32, that should be
positive 32 degrees above the horizon(and I think Mandurah is actually 33 degrees south). No wonder you're looking at the ground.
The idea is to have the RA axis in parallel with the earth's axis. It needs to be pointing at the south celestial pole,
which the same height above your horizon as the latitude you are at.
Then you need to point the scope south once you've set the latitude. If you have a look at the article above that Mardy links to it has a table for magnetic variation, so if you're trying to use a compass to help you line it up south, you should try to remember this and apply it - and that means you should point the RA axis about 4 degrees to the
east of where the compass says south is.
This should now have you roughly aligned and you should just be able to swing about the sky and investigate the bright stuff or what ever catches your fancy. I wouldn't get too hung up on what you're thinking is the "proper" use of the scope - if you get to meet other people using a similar setup you'll find they don't use it the way you would expect at all!
And don't get hung up on using the setting circles on the side, either. On small scopes like yours they usually aren't acurate. I would encourage you to instead get a feel for the way the scope works, find some star charts that you like the look of and feel you can understand (look in the sticky note section at the top of this sub-forum for some ideas) and start learning where the planets are, some constellations and some well-known bright objects within the constellations. Learn how to star-hop, basically.
Then, once you've got an idea of how the sky works and how your scope works, then come back and try the setting circles, as then you've hopefully got some idea of what might not be working when you try use the circles.
Practice pointing the scope - even finding the moon is hard to start with.
Learn how to see - it takes time and patience to learn how to really look through a telescope and get the most out of it. As an example, Jupiter is high in the evening sky at the moment. A lot of beginners look at it the first time and go "Is that it?!" Yes and no. There is detail on Jupiter, lots of it, but until you train your eye to learn what to expect up there, no, you might not see much. The same goes with faint deep sky objects.
Keep practising. The more you get the scope out (well, at least on a regular basis) the more proficient you'll become with it. We've got no excuse here in the west not to be out observing with all the dry weather we've been having. The heat will affect the seeing a bit, but there's still plenty to see up there.
Good luck!
