Telescope - Help Topic

[bentley]

A new introduction to my hobbies is...star gazing, every night depending on the weather I grab a seat on the patio and just wonder away in the night skies. I enjoy it so much that SO went out and got me a telescope ...
The Celeston Astromaster 70AZ (for the beginner)
Specs:
Optical Design - refractor
Aperture - 70mm
Focal length / ratio - 900mm / f/13
Std. field view - 1.1deg.
Highest magnification - 165x
Light gathering - 100x
Stellar magnitude - 11.7
Finder scope - Star point

What is your flavour(brand), class, what stage(beginner, intermediate, pro) and the specs ?

[Sawubona]

I bought myself a secondhand Tasco Telescope recently, to look at the stars etc.

I have no experience whatsoever, but something seems strange to me.

When I look through it during daytime, all objects seems to appear upside down

I changed the lens with some others I got with the deal, but still, no improvement.??

Can anyone explain why this is, or does it have to be like that?

Thank you,

Feeling really

[Shidzidzii]

Astronomical telescopes don't have prisms to invert and reverse the image as do binoks and spotting scopes . Astronomers just learn/adjust their brains , to see the heavens reversed as do the star charts .

BTW your mirror also has a reversed image (but not inverted) , and you have learned to shave and brush your hair (but not read) from this image .

A basic physical science textbook on optics will explain all this .

[Timepilot]

It might sound boring but try looking at a couple of the planets first especially with a new instrument.
Most good telescopes will give you jupiters rings and some of the moons.

There is some decent software on the net that allows you to plug in your co-ords and provides you with the night sky at different times.
Once you find what you are looking for with the naked eye then use the spotting scope to line up, have a quick drink to get rid of the jitters and then hopefully you'll have a star in your sights.

Any area with light pollution makes it tough, so the darker the better.
I was working up north on one of the mine sites and there was an OP set up about 2 kms from the mine / living quarters - what a difference when there is absolutely no light pollution.

[Vexander]

Hello all,

VERY much a n00b to astronomy. I have my first telescope and now I want to get it set up and start star gazing.

I have search the web for "how to align an equatorial mounted telescope" only problem is that all the articles are written by people in the Northern Hemisphere, so when it comes to setting the Polar alignment, they just say point it at the north star, that particular bit of advice does not really help me at all.

So I would like to know how do I set the polar alignment in the southern hemisphere?

Regards

[NightOwl]

It is tricky in the Southern Hemisphere...

You have to start by pointing it at the "Celestial South Pole"

You can find this by extending the the Long side of the Southern Cross 4 times.

Then take a 90degree line from the two pointer stars and where it intersects the Southern Cross line is the Celestial South...

This is all Eyball method and not very accurate. With my equatorial mount I start this way, then when I use the "Goto" handset with the first star, I reset the mount exactly on that star and then start all over from landing position...

[Fatcat]

Hi guys, just received an early Christmas present, always wanted one, but have no clue on how to start . It included an amazing program called"the skyX first Light edition", that looks amazing. I put the telescope together as per the instruction manual, but it has a little focus gadget stuck to the side on top, that I don't know what to do with? I took it outside the other night and saw zero!! Am I supposed to focus with it? I AM COMLPLETELY CLUELESS AS TO HOW TO START WITH THIS THING, PUT IT WHERE? POINT IT WHERE? HOW TO FOCUS?? HEEEELLLPPP PLEASE???

[lee lewis]

OK, here goes - just checking - you should have also received a little box containing lenses.
Mark says to attach the 20 mm lens first (to see if you can make out anything)
Also use the sighting scope (mounted on top of the 'barrel' AND VERY SENSITIVE) - the purpose of the sighting scope is to give you a rough indication where in the universe you are aiming at.

Please feel free to contact us if you battle. I will get him to phone you and talk you through if needed.

Good Luck!!!

lee

[bambazonke]

Am supposed to be coming to Kruger November/December 2011, love night sky , so question do I really need a telescope or will my birding binoculars do?

[Josh of the Bushveld]

I suppose it depends on how seriously you take it and what you want to look at. For example, I'm still learning about basic constellations and astronomy, so even if I had a telescope I wouldn't how to use it or what to look at.

I imagine you can go quite far with just binoculars.

[DuQues]

I think a long lens (400 mm or more) would be more usefull?
You can take photos with you then, to peruse later, and you will need that lens for birds and animals further away anyway.
A canon 100-400 only weighs 1.6 kilo, so that should not stop you.

[starman0955]

Probably not a great idea to take a telescope to the KNP in summer.
At that time of the year you will have 99% cloudy skies at night and you will get all frustrated.
Of course because I have put this in writing the week that you go will have the most fantastic clear skies ever. Or maybe not.
Also, lugging a telescope around on bumpy roads will probably put the optical collimation out and you will need to fix that before you can observe.
Rather leave it at home and use the binocs to do some star gazing if it is clear.
And get yourself a copy of the Sky Guide Africa South for 2011 from the park or some good local book shop as it contains everything you need regarding whats in the sky for us this year.