Astronomy for Beginners

[pawnhead]

Well I just had my telescope delivered, and it took me half an hour to sort out where all the nuts and bolts, and bits and pieces go. Damn Chinese. They can put together a cheap but fancy looking telescope that seems to work alright, but they can't hire anyone who actually speaks English to write their instruction manuals : - "please see the next paragraph where you may know how much powers whichever eyepiece attains". At least they got the spelling right in that sentence. I bought it on ebay for $23.70 pp, brand new.
Anyway, I'm a bit disappointed that it's overcast and raining at the moment, so I might as well brush up on my (non existent) astronomy skills so I know where to point the thing. The moon is a pretty easy target, but there must be something else interesting that I can see with this thing.
As far as I know, it's a 76mmX700mm Newtonian with : -
3X Barlow lens (That website says 2X Barlow, but mine says 3X)
1.5X Erecting piece
H 20mm eyepiece
H 12.5mm eyepiece, and
SR 4mm eyepiece
Now I've just got to work out what all that means.

Does anyone have any recommendations on a good astronomy website for beginners?

[ozwinner]

The Orion nebula is a good look in the Orion Belt, easy to pick out as the belt has 3 stars like this, ***.

There used to be a star map/calender put out for Oz/southern skys, not sure if you can still get it?

Al

[masoth]

I've often wondered over the fantasy of the stars. http://www.southernstars.com/skychart/index.html

soth

[Wood Butcher]

There used to be a star map/calender put out for Oz/southern skys, not sure if you can still get it?

I saw something like that at the National Geographic store in town.Maybe worth googling to see if the have a mail order??

[ozwinner]

I saw something like that at the National Geographic store in town.Maybe worth googling to see if the have a mail order??

I dont have a scope any more.

If I was to get into it again I would buy the biggest, as in front optic X magnification, binoculars you can get.
Set them up in a mount to stop shake, and look.....ewwwhhhhh, arhhhhhhhh.

I had a 10" reflector and I was mildly disappointed to say the least.

Al

[craigb]

I hope you are on the outskirts of Sydney otherwise you'll see bugger all of the sky due to the glare of the city lights.

[outback]

A 10 incher, that's a light bucket, I only wish.

PAwnhead, may I suggest you ditch the erecting eyepice, its main use is for terrestial viewing, and I think may add errors to what you are viewing. Ice in Space forums were a great source of info when I used to dabble.

[ozwinner]

A 10 incher, that's a light bucket, I only wish.

.

I bought it many, many years ago from a junk shop, he thought it was a flue?

I looked down the "flue" and there was this really, really ugly bloke looking back at me.
Cost me $35.
I had it re mirrored and made a mount for it.
I was told by the re mirror mob that the mirror alone was worth $600.

Al

[pawnhead]

I've often wondered over the fantasy of the stars. http://www.southernstars.com/skychart/index.html

Looks like a good product, but I just found a free sky map

I dont have a scope any more.

If I was to get into it again I would buy the biggest, as in front optic X magnification, binoculars you can get.
Set them up in a mount to stop shake, and look.....ewwwhhhhh, arhhhhhhhh.

Yeh, that’s what started me off. Someone gave me a pair of nocs for Christmas and from my room at the front of the house, whilst sitting at my computer, I’ve been perving at people walking up and down the street. They’d probably freak out if they looked up and saw me. You can stare in a lot of my neighbours windows from where I sit as well. But when I stared at the moon one night I got a bit hooked on the idea so I checked out ebay for scopes and I didn’t really pay that much for it, so I suppose I could get most of my money back if it’s a dud and I decide to sell it. It works alright as a terrestrial, staring at trees in the distance, but it’s a bit wobbly at high magnification. It’s certainly not a precision instrument. More of a kids toy, but if I enjoy mucking around with it then it might convince me to search for a better one.
I’ve always wanted to do a bit of stargazing, and nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I had a 10" reflector and I was mildly disappointed to say the least.

That's a huge scope. A bargain for $35 even if you had to spend a bit on the mirror. Why the disappointment? Did the ugly bloke inside it put you off?

I hope you are on the outskirts of Sydney otherwise you'll see bugger all of the sky due to the glare of the city lights.

I’m near Manly so there’s a bit of light pollution here, but I might take it up to my mates farm up near Taree when I go for a break there shortly.

PAwnhead, may I suggest you ditch the erecting eyepice, its main use is for terrestial viewing, and I think may add errors to what you are viewing. Ice in Space forums were a great source of info when I used to dabble.

Thanks for the info. I’ll check it out, and I’ll muck around with all of the bits and pieces if these clouds lift.

Again, thanks for all the replies guys.

[goat]

i used to have a very powerfull telescope till the court ordered me to dispose of it after that little incident with the next doors 19 year old daughters pool party but thats another story

[Terry B]

Take a look at this forum.
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/
It has lots of good info.

[Iain]

I have a 6" reflector which I should set up again one day, I don't like the Barlow, it is just a multiplier between the eyepiece and the mirror, pull out the eyepiece, plug in Barlow and refit the eyepiece on the end.
If you want to look at the moon be aware that it can cause eye damage just like looking at the sun, there is a moon filter but a decent polarizing filter should work as well.
With the eyepieces you have, generally the smaller the lens on the 'eye' end, the greater the magnification.
I use 'heavensabove' as a guide, just put in your location and it will give you accurate bearings and times for planets, stars and iridium flares.
http://www.heavens-above.com/

[Malibu]

I use 'heavensabove' as a guide, just put in your location and it will give you accurate bearings and times for planets, stars and iridium flares.

Try downloading one called Starry Night. It's a great little program that gives similar data as Iain's suggestion.
There's two versions: SN Backyard, which I think is a freebie, and SN Pro, which costs.
Sorry I don't have a web address, but search for it and you'll find it easy enough

Ok, here's the website http://www.starrynight.com/

[snowyskiesau]

I have a copy of Starry Night Pro and it's very good, but does cost.
If you're looking free astronomy software, here are a couple to try:

Cartes du Ciel : http://www.stargazing.net/astropc/

Stellarium: http://www.stellarium.org/

I've got both of these installed and do use them. I mainly use Starry Night as it allows me the drive the motors on the telescope mount.

[pawnhead]

i used to have a very powerfull telescope till the court ordered me to dispose of it after that little incident with the next doors 19 year old daughters pool party but thats another story

I suppose I’d better put my nocs back in the box unless I’m staring at the stars then.

Take a look at this forum.
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/
It has lots of good info.

Thanks. I’ve been reading up a bit there since you posted last night. It looks like a good resource and I might even sign up if I start taking this seriously.

If you want to look at the moon be aware that it can cause eye damage just like looking at the sun, there is a moon filter but a decent polarizing filter should work as well.

I wasn’t aware of that. Thanks for the tip.

I use 'heavensabove' as a guide, just put in your location and it will give you accurate bearings and times for planets, stars and iridium flares.
http://www.heavens-above.com/

That looks good. I’ll check it out.

Try downloading one called Starry Night. It's a great little program that gives similar data as Iain's suggestion. Ok, here's the website http://www.starrynight.com/

I’ll check that out too thanks.

I have a copy of Starry Night Pro and it's very good, but does cost.
If you're looking free astronomy software, here are a couple to try:

Cartes du Ciel : http://www.stargazing.net/astropc/

Stellarium: http://www.stellarium.org/

I've got both of these installed and do use them. I mainly use Starry Night as it allows me the drive the motors on the telescope mount.

Wow. Lots of sites for me to check out there guys. I didn’t expect this kind of attention from a woodwork forum.
Thanks heaps.
It looks like there might be a break in the clouds tonight too.