Dangermouse Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 Hey people, joined up today in hope to learn more! firstly, I’m seeing a lot of words in which I don’t really understand, mainly when people take photos and say how they captured the image... I know about the lenses etc but it’s the other words people add in. Ive got a Bresser Skylux 70/700, not sure if it’s just me but I don’t think it’s too clear as I’ve been trying to see the moon but it looks just like seeing it from the naked eye, although I didn’t use the Barlow x3 lens (maybe that’s why). Just after advice really really on how to see objects etc and how to get the best image. Also which lens is best to use. The bigger mm mom means less magnified right? As i said... I’m a complete newbie here. Go easy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuckstar Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 (edited) Hi Scott, welcome to the forum. That's an ok scope to start with and should give you some good views of the moon and planets. You may get some red and blue fringing on brighter objects and is to be expected with this scope, it's called Chromatic aberration. Some people don't mind it, personally I can't stand it. Was it yourself I commented on on Facebook, uk astronomy about this? You are correct that the higher the number of the eye piece the lower the mag. That barlow might be a bit much mag for the scope. I assume you have a 25 and a 10 mm eyepiece. So mag is focal length divided by the eyepiece. So for you 700 ÷ 10 = x70mag. The x3 barlow would give you x210 with the 10mm which might be just about doable. Have you come across Stellarium? If not it's a free planetarium software for pc which is great for locating stuff. Personally I use skysafari 6 plus app on my phone, not cheap but very good. Anyway, feel free to join us at one of our darksite meets although I realise these may be a bit far for you, Wymeswold and Belper, but everyone on here is very friendly and willing to help. I'm afraid I'm just a visual monkey, I'll leave it to one of the imagers to talk about taking photos. They all just seem to swear at their kit alot, and out pops a stunning photo. I'm sure that's how it works ? There are some great guides in the beginner section so please have a good browse and remember the only silly questions are the ones you don't ask. Ad Astra. Edited January 16, 2019 by tuckstar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philjay Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 Welcome Scott. thats a good starter scooe and you should be able to see craters and detail nicely with it using the stock eyepieces that come with it. As Andy recommends, leave the barlow out for the moment. Andy has said it all I reckon but feel free to ask us any questions, we all have to start some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottletopburly Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 Welcome , if you’re thinking of imaging of any sort read this book first , it may we’ll save you money in the long run and explain a lot of the terms used and equipment used https://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/making-every-photon-count-steve-richards.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Streetbob Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 Hi Scott I find a very useful book for visual observing is: Stargazing Under Suburban Skies A Star-Hopper's Guide https://www.springer.com/gb/book/9783319901152 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dangermouse Posted January 16, 2019 Author Share Posted January 16, 2019 Thank you guys for the replies. I have joined groups via Facebook to see what knowledge I could receive so it is possible to be honest. I will read via the link provided. I used a H20mm eyepiece with the 1.5x erecting eyepiece but couldn’t see the moon in detail for some reason. I tried the focus but just wouldn’t work. I also tried the 4mm with no success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dangermouse Posted January 16, 2019 Author Share Posted January 16, 2019 Thank you for the link. I’ll have a look into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 Hi Scott and welcome to EMS ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RonC Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 Welcome to EMS Scott.. not sure about using the 1.5 erecting eyepiece. Have you tried using just the 20 mm eyepiece (EP)?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dangermouse Posted January 16, 2019 Author Share Posted January 16, 2019 Thank you for the welcomes! I will try just using the 20mm next clear night and see if it makes any difference. Got anotger question if possible... my other half wants to but me a scope for my birthday in March. It’s come down to 2 scopes but not sure which one to go for. Celestron 22202 AstroFi 102 WiFi Maksutov or Skywatcher Skyhawk 1145p synscanAZ GOTO. Which one one would be best??? Both are around £250-£350 mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post BAZ Posted January 16, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted January 16, 2019 Hi Scott, a warm welcome to the forum. I am going to chuck another scope into the frey for you to have a look at. While the scope you have been looking at are good scopes, they are very limited aperture wise. Aperture is king in visual astronomy and what allows you not to so much increase the magnification, but to get the most light through to your eye. This way you get to see the finer details of what you are looking at. Granted it's a manual, but you are paying for the optics rather than electronics. You'll get to know you way round the sky in no time and there is a real buzz when you find something for the first time. You'll get plenty of help off the folks on here, just ask away. For the money you are looking to invest I would consider one of these, they have a very good reputation and you won't be upgrading in to much of a hurry. All you will need is to start with upgrading is the eyepieces, but the two supplied are perfectly acceptable to get going. If you are handy at a bit of DIY, then you can vastly improve its performance for a small outlay, there are stacks for diy guides both on here and the web, again just ask. Clear skies mate! https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-dobsonian.html Smithysteve, Dangermouse, +RonC and 2 others 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 Welcome to EMS Scott. ? You'll definitely get a lot more bang for your buck with Martyns suggestion above. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dangermouse Posted January 17, 2019 Author Share Posted January 17, 2019 Baz, what did you mean by DIY in regards to doing something to the scope may I ask as I do not follow? I’m great a DIY personally if that helps. Ive been really looking into that scope, it looks amazing but the only thing I’m worrying about is that, what if I can’t find anything with it being manual. I was thinking about the GOTO ones mainly to help me to locate objects as I’m not sure I would be doing it correctly. At the moment, I look through the finder scope first to locate, then look through the main scope and adjust as required. But mine is second hand and I’ve had to correct a lot of things on it so far and also the diagonal is scratched some how. Im loving the response you guys and giving by the way so thank you so much. I normally accel at most things but this has grasped me at a whole new newbie level but I do love to learn! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 (edited) Hi Scott welcome to EMS. You have two ways to go here. 1. Manual dobsonian scope such as the one Baz linked to. Here all the money is in the mirror. Large mirror allows you to see more but the negative is you need to find objects yourself. In my view that is good as you learn the skies. 2. One of the go-to scopes you linked to. All the money is in the electronics so you end up being able to point your scope at the object but because you have a really small mirror or lens you won't see many objects except for the large ones. In my view get a large dob and a map of the skies and learn to star hop. Edited January 17, 2019 by Doc Brantuk and Smithysteve 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dangermouse Posted January 17, 2019 Author Share Posted January 17, 2019 Thank you. Looks like I'm about to learn the skies then! I’ve got the app now so that should help. I’ll get the manual one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuckstar Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 Check out the diy section, and I think Daz type r guide to fitting a setting circle is in the beginners section. I have the 250 (10") dob with setting circles and a digital angle gauge. Just line up with north (polar allign) and use a good app to match up the azimuth (left and right) and altitude (up down) degrees with the numbers on your setting circle and angle guage, coupled with a low power eyepieces, I find most things in the eyepiece or very close by. If you get a dob I would recommend a telrad 0mag finder, and a right angled correct image (raci) finder for when you do use star charts. As Martyn said, more bang for your buck and you won't feel the need to upgrade as soon as you will with those other scopes. And, again as Martyn said, it's really quite satisfying to find objects on your own and you will learn the sky better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz Type-R Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 4 hours ago, tuckstar said: Check out the diy section, and I think Daz type r guide to fitting a setting circle is in the beginners section. I have the 250 (10") dob with setting circles and a digital angle gauge. Just line up with north (polar allign) and use a good app to match up the azimuth (left and right) and altitude (up down) degrees with the numbers on your setting circle and angle guage, coupled with a low power eyepieces, I find most things in the eyepiece or very close by. If you get a dob I would recommend a telrad 0mag finder, and a right angled correct image (raci) finder for when you do use star charts. As Martyn said, more bang for your buck and you won't feel the need to upgrade as soon as you will with those other scopes. And, again as Martyn said, it's really quite satisfying to find objects on your own and you will learn the sky better. Hi Scott, I have the Skywatcher 200P that Baz mentioned above, love it, its been my first scope and it is still my only scope, had it about 7 years now and still going strong, even with all the modifications made to it. The guides I did that Andy (above) is eluding too are not in the DIY section, for some bizarre reason I have put them in the guides and tutorials section, you could argue they could go in both as they are both a guide and a DIY how too. If you are reading this on a PC and have selected in your user options to see other peoples signatures, than all my mods and kit is listed just below this, including 2 links to the guides I have done to make using the scope easier. I will also paste the links here and a list of my kit, just in case your on a phone / tablet with signatures disabled...... https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/forum/50-astronomy-guides-tutorials/ https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/5570-setting-circle-mod-for-dob-bases/ https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/762-lazy-susan-bearing-mod-for-dob-bases/ and here is a list of my kit, dont worry about the focuser and eye pieces ETC, all that will come with time, just gives you an idea of things to get, save for, look at changing ETC ETC..... Skywatcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian (8") Fully flocked. Astrozap dew shield. Modded base plate (lazy susan bearing). Guide here. Setting circle mod. Guide here. Wixey digital angle gauge. Skywatcher right angled correcting finder scope. Telrad - with a 2" riser. Moonlite focuser. Kendrick 2 channel 4 port dew controller. Kendrick Telrad heater, 2 x finder scope heaters, 2" ep heater and home made secondary heater. Baader Laser Collimator Mark III. Cheshire Collimator. 2" Variable Polarising Moon filter. 2" Baader OIII Filter. 2" Baader UHC-S Filter. Televue 21mm Ethos 100° EP. Televue 13mm Ethos 100° EP. Televue 8mm Ethos 100° EP. Televue 2" 2x Power Mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smithysteve Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 Hi Scott, welcome to EMS. ? All the above advice is good, and it comes from people with a lot of knowledge and experience. We were all newbies to this stuff at some point, so we know where you are at. Enjoy the forum, and enjoy your new hobby - cheers! ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dangermouse Posted January 17, 2019 Author Share Posted January 17, 2019 Thank you for the links provided and advice put forward. Thank you for the continued welcomes, it seems like a very nice forum to be apart of and I’ve been made felt very welcomed. Like me you said, everyone starts at some point. BAZ, tuckstar and Smithysteve 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bryand Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 (edited) Welcome to the group Scott. I was in your place this time last year, so I know what it feels like. A couple of useful apps: When to set up:http://clearoutside.com/forecast/52.24/-0.90 What you can expect to see:https://astronomy.tools/calculators/field_of_view/ Also be aware that many astro books are equipment-specific. For example "Make every pixel count" assumes you have a Canon digital single lens reflex (DSLR) camera on the end of an 80 mm refractor telescope. If your kit is different, you may be disappointed in what you gain from the book. Similarly, Steve Tonkin's binocular books (and many others) assume you have 10x50 binoculars. If you don't, the book's usefulness is limited. So have a good look at Amazon's sample pages before you buy. The most useful beginner's book I found was "Turn Left at Orion". But most of all, come out and meet us (we don't bite. Much) and enjoy astronomy. Edited January 24, 2019 by bryand added Orion Smithysteve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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