a n00b and his light bucket

[somerandomguy]

Hi guys. Long time lurker, first time poster.

I just got a telescope today, one I purchased off eBay (please, withhold derisive laughter).

Anyway, I knew going in that this was gonna be a rather cheap knockoff; indeed, it's a "made in China" generic-brand Newtonian. No worries. (And no reason for anyone here to get jealous. K.)

So, this being my first foray into stargazing (I'm a LONG way from claiming to do "astronomy") since junior high, I come to you in humble supplication. This gizmo is a 76mm-aperture Newtonian, nothing to get too excited about, but I'm told it requires something called "collimation." I checked out a book at the library that details the process, and it seems deceptively simple. Is this something a clumsy layman such as myself can do? Am I running the risk of destroying what bargain-basement optics I do possess? What are the pitfalls to avoid? How can I keep from breaking my new toy the day it arrived?

Second, and if anyone has time, do you all have any suggestions as to what I oughta gaze at through my 76/700 Newt? I want to show the moon and possibly Jupiter to my friend's kids later tonight. Is there anything else dazzlingly cool that a rookie can stumble upon in that big sky?

Thanks in advance for all your help. I love you all.

[gethen]

Welcome to the BABB.
I've had my scope since Christmas, and if I can collimate, you can collimate. It's not that hard, if you have some sort of collimating eyepiece or laser collimator (I do.) I think that the directions you get for collimating by eyeball will probably not get as good a resolution as the scope may be capable of. Be brave. I ended up taking the primary mirror out of my scope to mark it, even though I could find no instructions for doing so, and it was no big deal.

What to look at? Try M13 in Hercules, a lovely globular cluster, visible as a faint fuzz to the naked eye under dark skies. And certainly try the Great Galaxy in Andromeda, although it will probably rise pretty late from your loacation.

Above all, enjoy.

[ChesleyFan]

Collimation is easy to do once you know what you're doing. I'd suggest buying a collimating eyepiece like this one from Orion if you want to get the best out of your scope. And don't bother with the laser version-- I have one and it does a poor job with collimating my 8-inch.

I second M13 as one of the objects to look out for. Albireo, an orange-blue double star in Cygnus, is also a must-see-- beautiful color contrast. You'll probably want to get a copy of "Turn Left at Orion" , which is written especially for small scope users (I use it though, too).

And a Chinese-made scope isn't something to laugh at: most commercially available scopes today are made in Asia, with the exception of the Celestron/Meade SCTs and premium (read: expensive) apo refractors.

[Charlie in Dayton]

Hi guys. Long time lurker, first time poster.

I just got a telescope today, one I purchased off eBay (please, withhold derisive laughter).

Anyway, I knew going in that this was gonna be a rather cheap knockoff; indeed, it's a "made in China" generic-brand Newtonian. No worries. (And no reason for anyone here to get jealous. K.)

So, this being my first foray into stargazing (I'm a LONG way from claiming to do "astronomy") since junior high, I come to you in humble supplication. This gizmo is a 76mm-aperture Newtonian, nothing to get too excited about, but I'm told it requires something called "collimation." I checked out a book at the library that details the process, and it seems deceptively simple. Is this something a clumsy layman such as myself can do? Am I running the risk of destroying what bargain-basement optics I do possess? What are the pitfalls to avoid? How can I keep from breaking my new toy the day it arrived?

Second, and if anyone has time, do you all have any suggestions as to what I oughta gaze at through my 76/700 Newt? I want to show the moon and possibly Jupiter to my friend's kids later tonight. Is there anything else dazzlingly cool that a rookie can stumble upon in that big sky?

Thanks in advance for all your help. I love you all.

As long as the optics are of decent quality, and the mount is sturdy enough to be steady, you're ready to go.

Something to help collimate is nice, be it eyepiece or laser. This will ensure that the focus point of the collected light is where it ought to be. Otherwise, things just won't focus correctly.

Go to Orion's site and check out their books. Something simple for beginners to learn the night sky. I've been doing this for about a year now, so the green is just barely beginning to wear off. You'll find hundreds of things to look at. This summer, Mars is gonna be a big hit.

Just remember this:

The human eye is not a long-exposure device. No matter what you're looking at, no matter what you're looking at it with, IT NEVER LOOKS LIKE THE PICTURES!!!

Now, after you're done bemoaning that previous statement, go find some Messier objects...

By the way -- your 76/700 (same specs as mine) come out to be an F9.2. That's not the best for widefield views -- more suited for deep sky work. For those extremely wide rich starfield views, something more along the lines of an F5 or less is better. Yours will do quite nicely to get you started and to whet your appetite for spending more money, though.

But don't they all seem to do that?...sigh...

[RichField]

Just a few quick comments:

First, with collimation. There's lots of sites that describe the process and even provide pictures of what you should see while you're going through the steps. It's not a process where you can really ruin anything irreparably. If you do find you're having trouble, it would be a great opportunity to get to a local club. Sometimes there's nothing like hands on help. They might not only be able to help with collimation but might provide a boost in finding some other things to look at.

Gethen mentioned M13, a good suggestion, but it's up early enough to be an evening object, about 9:30 - 10 PM. Since it's not dark much earlier than that it's not all that late. [Though if I'm not mistaken, she's on the far western end of the Eastern Time Zone, so it wouldn't be visible or viewable until later.]

For Jupiter, get it while it lasts. It's about 25 degrees above the horizon at twilight and sinking daily. I caught that last night, even through a thick haze the views were still good. The moon is really a late night object right now as it approaches new. Early next week it should be a nice crescent in the western sky.

I'd also suggest Albireo, it's a bright double star between Vega and Altair, currently in the east in the early evening. It's very striking because both stars are distinctly colored. The brighter one is a golden yellow and the other is bright blue.

Finally, back to collimating. I found that you can get pretty close by making sure things are centered and then looking into the focuser with no eyepiece until you can see the reflection of your eyeball. It worked for me well enough to see detail on Jupiter. For a cheap tool, take a 35 mm film canister and punch or drill a hole in the end. Hold it over the focuser and repeat the above steps. It makes sure that your eye is actually centered to begin with.

Clear skies and enjoy your scope.
Rich

[Fixed error in reasoning]

[somerandomguy]

Thanks a bunch, guys. Observing was delayed due to scheduling conflicts, so we'll give it another shot tonight. I've got a good astronomy textbook to get me through, and I think I know my way around this scope reasonably well now. The only trick is keeping the youngin settled long enough to drive to some dark sky (I live in the middle of downtown).

Anyway, you all rock, as I knew you did, and I very much appreciate your help.

[RichField]

As far as keeping the kid(s) settled, you don't need dark skies for the moon or Jupiter. You might consider finding a place with good western views nearby. Both will show a good amount of detail and are fairly easy to understand. Once hooked on the brighter stuff, it may be all you need to generate the patience for a trip to a darker site. Just a thought.

Also, at f9 the collimation is not as critical.

ChesleyFan: Re: Albireo, sorry for the double-up, I missed your suggestion the first time through.

[Kaptain K]

Also, check out Epsilon Lyrae - the "double double". With binoculars, it looks like two (equally bright) white stars. With more magnification, each of the stars resolves into two.

[The Supreme Canuck]

"Double double"? Is that near the coffee nebula?

[Kaptain K]

No. It is in the toil and trouble asterism. You're thinking of the double latte.

[somerandomguy]

Would you believe we tried again, and a storm system 400 miles wide appeared out of nowhere and parked over our heads?

I'm cursed.

[Russ]

Would you believe we tried again, and a storm system 400 miles wide appeared out of nowhere and parked over our heads?

I'm cursed.

No, you're about typical. Rules of the universe:

1) If you get a new telescope (actually any new astronomical device) it will cloud up and rain for one week for each $100 (or equivalent) you spend on the device.

2) It will be clear as chrystal until you get some spare time to observe. It will cloud up within 30 minutes of you setting up and stay that way until you are asleep.

Rules of the BABB:

1) If you buy a new telescope, or trinkett for said scope, you are required to tell us all about it, in full. This must include, but not be limited to , Make, Model, aperture, type (refrac, dob, cat, newt, etc.), and so on.

Now get out dere 'n start luk'n.

[GarethB]

Does that mean I have to confess too?

[imagine a group therapy setting]

Hi, my name is Gareth and I have an aperture addiction. It started out with a chinese 80mm x 400mm refractor on a camera tripod and a couple of cheap plossl ep's (10mm + 25mm). I was happy for a while, but only for a while. That's when I saw "it" and realised "I need more". I didn't realise what "more" was at first, but "it" was Saturn, it's rings actually. So tiny through that little scope. As soon as I could, I was out roaming the streets, going from one astro store to another, looking for my "more". That's when I found my "more", or so I foolishly thought at the time. A new eyepiece, something to give me more maginification. I wanted bigger, I wanted brighter, I wanted "MORE". A 6mm Vixen LV eyepiece later, and it still wasn't enough, this wasn't the "MORE" I wanted, even if the new eyepiece had cost almost half as much as the OTA I was using it in. This wasn't the "MORE" I needed. This wasn't the "MORE" that whispered to the back of my mind so seductively. A 15mm ep and a 2x barlow were also bought to see if more choices in ep views would be enough. "MORE" still danced it's voluptuous jig through the back of my mind.

Bigger! Bigger is better! Or so I convinced myself at the time. That's when I ordered a chinese 127mm f11 Mak-Cas, equatorial mount and stand. "This will be it" I kept telling myself, over and over, waiting for it to be delivered. More aperture, more focal length, more magnification, no false colour, a real equatorial mount (or at least a reasonable imitation of one). It arrived, I put it together. I laughed, I cried. Would this be my "MORE"? It's a marked improvement but it's not my "MORE". Still, that little 80mm f5 achro gets pulled out, camera tripod and all. It's usually seen in the company of a budget 32mm plossl ep just for it's wide field views, but I already have designs on replacing it with a 120mm f5 achro.

Well, that's my story anyway [shuffles back to chair and sits down].

[Kaptain K]

That 80mm scope would make a dandy finder for a bigger scope.

[AstroSmurf]

... I was out roaming the streets, going from one astro store to another ...

Stores? STORES? You have them in plural!?

(Imagine contact ad)
Well-behaved Swedish male looking for some reflective company during long cloudless nights, preferably a Dobson, 100mm or larger. Will pay money or make blood sacrifices as required. Answer to: Scope-less in Gothenburg.

[Glom]

You have an astro store at all?

[gethen]

Does anyone really have an astro store? I think there's a place about 90 minutes from here that has carries a moderate selection of scopes along with a bunch of bird feeders. I thought that was as good as it gets.

[GarethB]

Well, I'm in Melbourne, Australia. There are three astro stores here that I've been to, but I've heard there are one or two more I haven't been to. They're all very small, but they're not dept or camera stores, they specialise in astro supplies and binos. Actually, I mail ordered the Mak-Cas from interstate, and I'll probably do the same for the 120mm achro.

The ep's on the other hand, I'd prefer to buy in person. At this stage I'll probably get the Vixen LV 8-24mm zoom and the 30mm and see how I go with that as my basic set of ep's. Hmmm, I just did a bit of digging around. A camera store near me is a stockist for a Vixen distributor here in Aust. I might just see if I can beat him down on ep prices compared to the astro stores which stock them.