My dads gone and bought a monster telescope, couple of probs
Discussion
My dads always wanted a telescope and recently he got one,to me, someone who knows nothing about telescopes itt looks like something from NASA :BIGLAUGH:
Its a meade lx200 goto.
Its not too easy to use or understand, for a start its meant to be possible for one person to set up, you try telling me that after myself and my 72 year old dad after the main telescope part fell off the tripod and used my head as its cushion OUCH! I think my neighbours possibly didn't like my choice of words late last night...
Anyway.
Just a couple of questions. You will have to bear with my poor telescopey type terms as i really know nothing, and although he likes to think he does neither does my dad.
When you look through the eyepiece everthing is upside down, is that right? surely not? Its quite hard to move it about as left and right and up and down are opposites.
Its a real bugger to focus, even when you point it at things directly in the sky its very difficult to see much, yes i have got it in focus a couple of times but its quite hard.
Does anyone have any tips with this sort of equipment?
All we have looked at so far is stars as we haven't had the chance to see any planets yet, we missed the moon by about half hour last night before it dropped away which was gutting as it was really large and clear in the sky. My dad says it won't enlarge stars because they are so far away, its really for looking at planets and the moon, however it also appears planets are rarely visible.
The scope does have this goto thing which although sounds easy isn't if you dont know what the hell your looking for.
The instructions require a degree in physics which although my dad has i don't
Its a meade lx200 goto.
Its not too easy to use or understand, for a start its meant to be possible for one person to set up, you try telling me that after myself and my 72 year old dad after the main telescope part fell off the tripod and used my head as its cushion OUCH! I think my neighbours possibly didn't like my choice of words late last night...
Anyway.
Just a couple of questions. You will have to bear with my poor telescopey type terms as i really know nothing, and although he likes to think he does neither does my dad.
When you look through the eyepiece everthing is upside down, is that right? surely not? Its quite hard to move it about as left and right and up and down are opposites.
Its a real bugger to focus, even when you point it at things directly in the sky its very difficult to see much, yes i have got it in focus a couple of times but its quite hard.
Does anyone have any tips with this sort of equipment?
All we have looked at so far is stars as we haven't had the chance to see any planets yet, we missed the moon by about half hour last night before it dropped away which was gutting as it was really large and clear in the sky. My dad says it won't enlarge stars because they are so far away, its really for looking at planets and the moon, however it also appears planets are rarely visible.
The scope does have this goto thing which although sounds easy isn't if you dont know what the hell your looking for.
The instructions require a degree in physics which although my dad has i don't
Before the goto will work, you will need to align the scope. You must be extremely accurate while you do the alignment.
You also might want to ask the mods to move this thread to "Boats, Planes and Trains". There are a few astronomers there, and maybe one of them has a fork mounted like yours.
Another thing, a large scope like yours needs to be set up in good light. It is also useful to set it up at least an hour before you want to use it. This gives the mirror a chance to cool down and eliminates thermal currents inside the tube.
After you have done the alignment, use the longest fl eyepiece that you have when you are trying to find an object.20mm would be good, but 30mm would be better.
I'll post some more later if nobody with more knowledge comes along.
Don
--
You also might want to ask the mods to move this thread to "Boats, Planes and Trains". There are a few astronomers there, and maybe one of them has a fork mounted like yours.
Another thing, a large scope like yours needs to be set up in good light. It is also useful to set it up at least an hour before you want to use it. This gives the mirror a chance to cool down and eliminates thermal currents inside the tube.
After you have done the alignment, use the longest fl eyepiece that you have when you are trying to find an object.20mm would be good, but 30mm would be better.
I'll post some more later if nobody with more knowledge comes along.
Don
--
I am no means an expert (or even a competent beginner) but for seeing planets I found a rough alignment on the north star to be good enough to get the GOTO to within sight.
Or if the moon is available then use that. Beware though, the moon is very bright and can destroy your night vision. You can get moon filters to reduce the brightness and increase the resolution of the craters etc.
Lots of practice and you will have it setup in no time.
However, it's another hobby that can eat all your spare time and cash though!
Or if the moon is available then use that. Beware though, the moon is very bright and can destroy your night vision. You can get moon filters to reduce the brightness and increase the resolution of the craters etc.
Lots of practice and you will have it setup in no time.
However, it's another hobby that can eat all your spare time and cash though!
I have set it up in my garden ready for tonight so hopefully it may be clear enough to see the moon at least.
It came with about 3 different eye pieces, or at least i assume thats what they are but they dont seem to fit , maybe they have to fit into another piece perhaps.
I think my dad needs to read the instructions properly as he is more likely to understand them than me, i had a quick flick through and i'll happily admit its beyond me
Its sad really though as my dad bought it for me and him to use and then for him to 'pass it onto me to use with my kids' (when i have some one day). As hes getting on now, although hes 72 going on 40 and doing very well for his age. Its nice to be able to do something with him.
Plus point is my garden has a better view of the sky than his as his is surrounded by other houses so it looks like i have inherited it early
It came with about 3 different eye pieces, or at least i assume thats what they are but they dont seem to fit , maybe they have to fit into another piece perhaps.
I think my dad needs to read the instructions properly as he is more likely to understand them than me, i had a quick flick through and i'll happily admit its beyond me
Its sad really though as my dad bought it for me and him to use and then for him to 'pass it onto me to use with my kids' (when i have some one day). As hes getting on now, although hes 72 going on 40 and doing very well for his age. Its nice to be able to do something with him.
Plus point is my garden has a better view of the sky than his as his is surrounded by other houses so it looks like i have inherited it early
Caruso said:
That's a very nice telescope you've got there. Setting them up for your location is not always as easy as the sales literature makes it sound. Try googling some setup tips or ask on specialist astronomy forums.
Yep. What size is it?.
What mount is it on? Equatorial [German equatorial to be correct] or atl-az with optional wedge [or not]??
Both can be a bit much for novices to get to grips with, imo, is there an astronomy club local [ish] that you could join and get first hand advise???
you will need to line up the mount facing North, but the manual should help you get over this.
DON'T power up the scope to slew it as you have to "mechanically" or "physically" align the mount first.
If all this is a bit daunting then by-pass ^^this^^, loosen the clutches, use a MODERATE sized eyepiece and have a shufti at the moon-Remember that despite the tech there is nothing worse than a scope left unused.
Depending on the SIZE [mm] of the eyepiece you will have a given level of magnification, the LARGER the eyepiece the LESSER the magnification, as daft as this sounds LESSER magnification is actually your FRIEND as it will, in human terms, optically reduce the seen effect of atmospheric distortion [called seeing] and with a non tracking scope you will stay on target a bit longer.
Software
http://arnholm.org/astro/polar_alignment/index.htm... Basics of how to.
http://www.weasner.com/etx/ref_guides/polar_align.... * Good stuff for alt-az.
http://myastroimages.com/Polar_FinderScope_by_Jaso... OK, you are looking to OFFSET polaris to roughly align with the NCP [north celestial pole see* above]
make sure you select the correct viewing mode for the polar finder program above. ie "telescope" for using the finder scope on an alt az mount OR "not" telescope for aligning through the bore of the scope with a EQ mount [don't tell me it's got a polar scope fitted (and if it has is it illuminated??)!!]
Any queries shout out or pm.
Most of all remember it's just a telescope and you fit an eyepiece to look at stuff, all the tech comes after that.
cheers
Mo.
A standard answer for a thread of this type is to download the free and excellent Stellarium. It will show you what is up in the sky and when from your location.
Also, get yourself registered on Stargazers Lounge, plenty of information on there and a VERY friendly and helpful forum.
You will probably find your technical questions regarding the telescope already answered on there if you use the search facility.
Also, get yourself registered on Stargazers Lounge, plenty of information on there and a VERY friendly and helpful forum.
You will probably find your technical questions regarding the telescope already answered on there if you use the search facility.
Wow thanks!
Its a 10" lens, i am not sure what type of mount it is but i will have a look. I suppose that it needs to be aligned so the goto will work its magic. I'm sure it wont be too hard to get it aligned.
I'll also look at this stargazer thing too as that would be a great help to see whats out and when.
Thanks very much
Its a 10" lens, i am not sure what type of mount it is but i will have a look. I suppose that it needs to be aligned so the goto will work its magic. I'm sure it wont be too hard to get it aligned.
I'll also look at this stargazer thing too as that would be a great help to see whats out and when.
Thanks very much
nellyleelephant said:
A standard answer for a thread of this type is to download the free and excellent Stellarium. It will show you what is up in the sky and when from your location.
Stellarium is amazing. I have it as an app on my iPhone too. The display changes according to exactly which direction I'm pointing my iPhone in. It certainly knows exactly where the moon is, so I feel safe in thinking that everything else it illustrates is accurate too.MitchT said:
Stellarium is amazing. I have it as an app on my iPhone too. The display changes according to exactly which direction I'm pointing my iPhone in. It certainly knows exactly where the moon is, so I feel safe in thinking that everything else it illustrates is accurate too.
That sounds awesome, going to get it right now i think.Have had to bring it in for tonight as sadly its cloudy and just started raining
Your dad has bought a wonderful scope.
However, it is a tool of remarkable precision. It really needs some skill to operate it correctly. Unfortunately, Meade's advertising suggests that anybody can take Hubble style photos on their first night. This is utter b
ks.
It will take a couple of nights to get it to work as advertised. It isn't as easy as the Meade advertising suggests.
You really need to master the alignment process.
You should also spend some time making sure that the finderscope is actually aligned with the telescope. This is important. This is really important.
Don
--
However, it is a tool of remarkable precision. It really needs some skill to operate it correctly. Unfortunately, Meade's advertising suggests that anybody can take Hubble style photos on their first night. This is utter b
ks.It will take a couple of nights to get it to work as advertised. It isn't as easy as the Meade advertising suggests.
You really need to master the alignment process.
You should also spend some time making sure that the finderscope is actually aligned with the telescope. This is important. This is really important.
Don
--
Cracking piece of kit- but your Dad just went out and bought a high performance sports car for shopping trips! Your having trouble because the knowledge base for setup and simple use on one of these is considerable and you've got more capability and adjustment than you know what to do with! :-)
That said- sit down and read the manual through and get the scope setup properly, it'll then work much easier.
With a 'scope you can't beat good setup and alignment.
That said- sit down and read the manual through and get the scope setup properly, it'll then work much easier.
With a 'scope you can't beat good setup and alignment.
the father in law has a 20" Newtonian telescope imported from the states that costs a fair amount of cash- you have to stand on a stepladder to get to teh eyepiece!
He uses it a lot, but gets the most out of it by going to a local astronomical society
http://www.guildfordas.org/
He uses it a lot, but gets the most out of it by going to a local astronomical society
http://www.guildfordas.org/
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