new telescope xlt 150

[andyman]

Hi.. i posted in wrong place at first best i ask her as im new

Im just looking for some advice i just bought a omni xlt 150
and a celestron eyepiece kit
as im just starting i cant seem to find info on what size EP will see what
and what i use it for..

i was planing on buying this after i learnt more but saw a bargin and could not resist

can anyone point me the right way even a web page with
these are the lens i have

Plössl Eyepieces - 4mm,6mm, 9mm, 15mm, and 32mm.
and barlowx2 lens


sorry guys but im very new and just want to learn

[Matty P (Matt)]

Hi Andy,

I have the exact same EP kit as you. It came with my telescope and I am very happy with them.

As a general guide. The wider eyepiece (32mm) will give a wider FOV and the others will give you a higher magnification when looking at Planets and other objects.

Hope this helps.

[Jarrod]

heey, and welcome to IIS.

i dont know how much you know already, so i apolagise if i over simplify (or go too fast)

ok. eyepieces. divide the focal length of the telescope by the focal length of the eyepiece. lets just say the focal length of your scope is 1000mm, and you chuck in a 20mm eyepiece. 1000/20= 50. therefor: 50x magnification.

the 2x barlow fits between your telescope and your eyepiece. it doubles the magifiction of the eyepiece you use it with: with the 20mm eyepiece at 50x, the barlow doubles that to 100x magnification.

when looking for an object, always start with your lowest magnification eyepiece (the one with the highest focal length). once you've found an object, you can switch to a smaller eyepiece to get a more magnified view.

generally DSO's (deep space objects), such as galaxies and nebula, require low magnification, as they are rather faint and cover a larger area. high magnification is best for the moon and planets.

first thing to do with your telescope (if you havnt tried it already) is to look at the moon. its a nice easy-to-find object that allows you to get the hang of using your telescope, and experiment with differant eyepieces. then you can have a go at finding some of the brighter planets, but you best download some free sky mapping software for your computer before you tackle that.

Jarrod.

[andyman]

That is a great help thanks...
ive just decided to take time off work and plan to use this alot
i just want to start with the moon and maybe a planet or 2..
so you info was a great help.to be honest any info you give is good for me

my scope has Aperture 150mm and FL 750mm
and my EP,s

do you think this will be good for viewing the moon and planets
im worried might not be powerfull enough...
as i dont know to much and cant try it as we got bad weather all week
(my luck)lol

[Jeff]

Hi Andyman,

I belive the Focal Length of your scope is 750mm.

My starting out advice would be"

1. Use your low powered EPs (eg. 32mm=23x magnification, 15mm=50x mag) for panning around to locater stuff, or to view very large objects which won't fit into the Field of View of shorter Focal Length EPs
   => large open star clusters (eg. Pleiades http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_45)
   => large nebulas (eg. Eta Cerina http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_3372)
2. Medium powers (9mm=83x) are good for closer examination of many objects (most open star clusters, globular clsuters, most nebulas, and for the whole moon ... with a moon filter to dim it down)
3. High powers (6mm=125x, 4mm=187.5x) for closer views of the moon & planets, or for "splitting" binary/multiple stars (eg. Sirius, Alpha Centauri, Rigel, Procyon, Hadar, Acrux, Antares)

Hope this helps ... I'm sure other more experienced folks will have some good suggestions too. Also helps to have access to some star charts of PC planetarium program to help locate/idenfy stuff. If you don't already have something, the downloading a basic sky may from SkyMaps.com might be handy.
http://www.skymaps.com/skymaps/tesms0805.pdf

Cheers.

[Jarrod]

oh yeah, your eyepieces are fine.

there is a limit to high magnification. there is a point when the magnification is so high that the image quality starts to degrade due to the earths atmosphere.

it varies from night to night, and the size of the telescope, but generally you'll rarely go over 200x magnification. 150x or so will be the highest you'll go on most nights, which is still fine for your viewing needs.

J

[andyman]

Do you think i will be able to see things like large open star clusters
nebulas other than just the moon and planets with this type of scope?
dont get me wrong happy to start with moon just curious what my scope could see if its there?
and thanks for all this help ive tried every where with no luck
until i found this place

[Jarrod]

dont worry, your telescope will allow you to view plenty.

the moon, all the planets (except pluto, although technically not a planet anyway. ), the occasional bright comet, and countless star clusters, nebulae and galaxies.

trust me, you'll be kept busy for a long time to come.

J

[andyman]

Thanks thats what i hoped thought better to spend a little extra and by
something well rated than to by a cheapy and then upgrade as i always do..lol
I see my self becomin addicted to this ive had a bug in me for the stars a long time
but now i can do it

[Starkler (Geoff)]

To make it simple, start by using the longest focal length eyepiece...25 or 30mm to help find your targets as they will show a bigger field, then zoom in on them with the shorter ones to get a closer view.

Magnification = scope focal length (750mm) divided by eyepiece focal length. ie a 10mm will give 75x magnification.

Dont panic if views look a little fuzzy with the 10mm or shorter. It may be due to atmospheric conditions (poor seeing) which you cant control, or scope collimation or thermal issues, which you can control (and are the subject of numerous threads in this forum).

Enjoy your new scope and welcome to the learning curve

edit: oops what Jeff said too

[andyman]

Thanks alot guys all this stuff is great exactly what i need to know

i think im ready to go now i just have to wait for nice weather...lol

btw i will be back here this place is great and best alot of local people to me

[Starkler (Geoff)]

Originally Posted by andyman

Thanks alot guys all this stuff is great exactly what i need to know

i think im ready to go now i just have to wait for nice weather...lol

btw i will be back here this place is great and best alot of local people to me

Living in Frankston there's an Astronomical society nearby in Mornington with regular public viewing nights and a semi dark sky observing site at the Briars in Mornington. I try to get down there every new moon period.

http://www.mpas.asn.au/

[andyman]

I know where it is as a kid i used to go there..

Guess that is a prime place as its would be so dark there

in the future i will head down there

thanks again ive learnt alot more than the shop keeper could even tell me
about the product i purchased...so thanks again all
thank god for the internet!

[csb (Craig)]

Here's a site I like to visit.

http://www.geocities.com/the_150mm_reflector/

It doesn't have many pics but hundreds of observation posts by people with 150mm scopes.

It has posts listed by categories eg Nebulas, Galaxies, Globular Clusters, etc.

The site is specifically to let us know what can be seen with this size scope - esp SCT & reflector.

[andyman]

thats a good site thanks...

i did not think i would even be able to see the moon that well
anymore is a bonus i can live this i know i wont see colour and stuff
i only got to look at planets all the rest just a bonus

btw just curious is everything black and white with this scope?

[Jarrod]

most DSO (deep space objects) will be B&W. but you will see colour in the planets jupiter and saturn (pale brown, orangy-yellow), and uranus and neptune will appear greenish/bluish. some nebulae, called planetary nebula, also show faint blues and greens.

J

[Starkler (Geoff)]

Originally Posted by Jarrod

most DSO (deep space objects) will be B&W. but you will see colour in the planets jupiter and saturn (pale brown, orangy-yellow), and uranus and neptune will appear greenish/bluish. some nebulae, called planetary nebula, also show faint blues and greens.

J

Dont forget the humunculus (nebula surrounding eta carina), which is unique amongst DSO's in showing up a nice amber colour in the eyepiece

[andyman]

Hi again
can some one tell me if i need a celestron Collimation ep
for this xlt i50 or if i can get one from elswhere?


I think i will need to learn the art of this Collimation i keep reading nightmare
posts about it...tis making my nooB ass nervous i dont like touching
expensive things...lol

Btw.. im still yet to have clear weather to try my scope. soon i hope to!
thats why i think best to think ahead with the EP
so far the Collimation seems ok according to the guide i got with it.

[Glenhuon (Bill)]

Hi Andyman
There's a good guide to collimation in the Articles section here on IIS. You don't need the tools from the telescope maker as these are pretty standard for every Newtonian, so look for the best deal. I started off with a cheshire as advised in the article, but eventually bought a laser collimator, which I find much easier.

Cheers
Bill

[andyman]

At last i have a clear night

I took the heavy baby out side and pointed straight for the moon
man it looked good...tried all the EP,s very good detail

Then i moved to the right i little and looked at saturn i could see the rings
i could see it better than i thought i would.. (was very bright orange/yellow)

Then i tried some other bright stars was a little blurry i could not seem to focus maybe just the weather or bright frankston lights..


So anyways im very happy

But i think it will work better in a more dark location and when im not so sleepy...


BTW can someone tell me if jupiter will look bigger than saturn?
(prob the dumbest question you guys have ever heard)