Meade Lightbridge

[apad03]

i just got my first telescope a meade lightbridge 8".

I took it outside at around 9pm for first light and i put the 26mm qx wide angle eyepiece, point it at a pretty bright star and nothing shows up in the eyepiece. am i doing something wrong?

i tried different spots and nothing. the weird thing is when i use the other eyepiece i got the 14mm 5000 series plossl and i see stars.

also the focus seems wrong. i have to extend it all the way out to see clearly. that doesnt seem right either.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

[redshifter]

Silly question, but you have removed the lens caps from the eyepeice before inserting it into the focuser, right?

[Hornblower]

It appears that your finder is misaligned, and that you lucked out on the focus with the 14mm eyepiece.

Try sweeping back and forth, while moving the scope up or down a bit for each sweep, until something appears. Then you can focus. I would then try sweeping up Polaris and adjusting the finder.

You could try a distant building in the daytime and adjust the finder on it. That should make it easier to find Polaris at night and make the final adjustment.

[apad03]

yea i swept the sky with the 26mm and all you see is like a fuzzy white light everywhere. no blackness. but with the 14mm no problem.

[ctcoker]

Well yes, you need to focus the telescope for that eyepiece (i.e., I doubt your eyepieces are parfocal). If you don't see anything but a whitish-gray glow, you are waaayyy out of focus. Try racking the focuser all the way in, put the 26mm in, and point in some random direction, any time of night. You will see stars in an 8" for any random field of view. Rack out the focuser until sharp star images appear. Meade wouldn't supply a starter eyepiece with a telescope if the scope couldn't reach focus with it.

[Casus_belli]

Dont put the eye piece all the way in, then try focusing. I had the same trouble.

[apad03]

thanks everyone thats good advice. i'll give it a try tonight.

casus belli how far out did you leave the eyepiece?

[Casus_belli]

Doesnt need a lot just as long as it isnt all the way in.

[apad03]

great thanks i'll give that try.

how did you find the finderscope, troublesome? I think its in a bad spot, you have to almost get behind and crotch down to look thru it, could be in a better place on the scope i think.

[Casus_belli]

I've got the red dot finder which is a lot easier to use than a normal finder scope but yes it could be better sited. Its the 10" lightbridge I have so I probably dont have to bend down quite as far as you.

However that said I've had some brilliant views with this scope. I've had for 9 months now and despite a 4 weeks on 4 weeks off work rota and the joys of scottish weather (It rains all the time) I must have seen over a 100 galaxies.

Saturn has been a good target and I've seen surface detail on Mars. Mars does require almost perfect colimination though. Jupiter is too far south for me to see atm.

Nebulae are another good target for the lightbridge and I do like the 26mm ep that came with it. I use it for finding my faint fuzzies then switch to a 13mm pentax. I also use a cheap 40mm ep for star clusters and sweeping the skies. I need a high mag ep and am thinking about a 5mm or a 8mm Hyperion.

Let me know how you get on and any problems feel free to pm me

Happy viewing!

[apad03]

Im sorry, yea i meant the red dot finder that came with the deluxe model. its a pain to bend down that much.

oh man i cant wait to see some galaxies. im trying to get as much viewing as possible before the rains come. i have about another two or three weeks before it starts to rain every day. plus the heat and humidity makes the nights muggy around this swamp city they call Miami.

thanks again for the help.

Happy viewing!

[ctcoker]

Casus belli,

Is there some reason why racking the focuser all the way in doesn't work? Is there some mechanical trouble with the scope? I'm not trying to accuse you of something, just curious. Racking the focuser all the way in just seems like good sense, as it covers every possible focal point, and I always start the night with my Orion Dob like that; I have never had any problems with it.

[Madam Captain]

To Casus belli,

Ive got the 10" aswell and Im having trouble figuring out the red dot finderscope. I can't get the red dot to appear. The instruction manual was a bit vague aswell, the pictures weren't very clear either.

[Casus_belli]

The 26mm ep is a 2". All my other ep's are 1.25" The 1.25"s work fine but you need the 2" to be away from the stop by just a hairs breadth. Design fault or something Im doing wrong? I dont know Im fairly new to this but it works.

MC check your own post and apoligies for not spotting it earlier.

[apad03]

casus- u where right. not putting the eyepiece all the way in worked perfectly.

racking the focuser all the way in plus not putting the eyepiece all the way in and then focusing worked perfectly.

the eyepiece has like a grove around it. thats how far in it went.

[apad03]

i had a great night of viewing last night. im calling it first light cause of the problems and cloudness of the first night.

amazing how many stars you can see. in all directions. you just have to point the scope in any direction and you'll see stars.

i tried looking for faint fuzzies but didnt see any. i can see that finding galaxies and clusters and such is going to be difficult. any suggestions? i know i know i need a good star chart (i was using clear sky clock's star map that they have) but theres much more to it than just a star chart.

i cant wait to take this scope to a dark site.

[Casus_belli]

Have you tried stellarium. Its free and easy to use and can be set to your location. It doesnt show everything that your scope will be able to see but it does give you a good start. Use your mouse scroll button to zoom in and out.

Available at

stellarium.org

Theres also google sky which while much more detailed I dont like so much, its not so user friendly but again is free (which is important to a Scotsman) I sometimes stumble across a faint fuzzy that isnt on stellarium and its google sky I go to to identify it.

On a wind free night I used to take the sky scene section of Astronomy now magazine out with me which under a red torch was very handy for finding my way about and it taught me a lot about the sky. I dare say on your side of the pond there are similar publications. An excellent book for a beginner is "Turn left at Orion"

Faint fuzzies need dark skies. If the moon is up I dont bother too much with them and look for double stars of star clusters instead so a lot depends on how dark your sky is. Light pollution is my enemy.

This scope has taught me a lot. Not only where things are but how to look through the scope (Adverted vision) and the weather conditions. I've learned that a cold night is normally better than a warm night as theres less water vapor in the air. (A problem that you will suffer from in Miami) I use M51 as a guide to viewing. The better I can see it the more faint fuzzies I can see. I use this simply because I have no problem finding it and because I've seen it in all conditions and from memory I know what to expect.

Do try the Orion Nebulae. Its the middle star in orions sword (not the belt) In my more northerly sky its never very high up but even here its a stunning sight. From where you are it should be spectacular.

[apad03]

thanks i'll give that stellarium.org a try.

got you on the free thing a must for me as well. just got the scope and that was costly enough for now. plus my car was totalled today when a prissy up class girl ran a red light and plowed into my car. can u believe i pulled her out of her car and she tells the cop the light was green for her. whata SOB!!

I dont much like the google sky. dont get me wrong its really nice and cool with lots of information but its a bit more confusing i think for using it as a star map.

i have a good amount of light pollution. its pretty sprawled out here in Miami. its like one large city from Miami up past ft.lauderdale and west palm. its about 100 miles id say of city after city.

tonight looks like its going to be a wonderful night. no clouds and the humidity is down. im taking my scope out to a dark site tonight. i'll take your advise and start with Orion and work my way from there.

Peace and have beer for me!

[Dave Mitsky]

You might want to get a star atlas. See this thread for more on the topic.

Cartes du Ciel is another freeware planetarium that is quite good. It does take a bit of study to become familiar with CdC, however.

Monthly calendars/charts and object lists are available here.

Dave Mitsky

[Madam Captain]

We get a great magazine here called 'Australia Sky and Telescope'. There's one for the Northern Hemisphere aswell, I think that one is just called 'Sky and Telescope'. I subscribed to AS&T and its very handy because I don't have to remember to buy it every month. It has star charts for the Southern Hemisphere which I have found to be quite useful.

Another good book is called 'Skywatching'. I found this great for finding stuff in the sky but also for advice on how to use telescopes properly (its ideal for beginners).

[Dave Mitsky]

The single best book for a novice is widely acknowledged to be Terrence Dickinson's Nightwatch. Turn Left at Orion is another excellent book for a beggining observer. Phil Harrington's Star Watch also comes highly recommended.

Dave Mitsky

[Madam Captain]

Ive got another question: What other accessories have you got with your Lightbridge?? Did you purchase any additional eye pieces or filters? I got 1 eye piece with my Lightbridge. Ive already got several eye pieces and coloured filters that came with my 6" dob so Im going to use those aswell. Is it worth also getting a light pollution filter or any other filters? I guess you could get a bit carried away with unnecessary accessories. Ive seen covers for trusses available but mine are already covered by my light shroud so Im not getting those. Im more interested in optics and filters than anything else.

[Dave Mitsky]

Madam Captain,

I suggesting getting a narrowband nebula filter such as the DGM Optics NPB, the Lumicon UHC, or the Orion UltraBlock.

http://www.prairieastronomyclub.org/filters.htm

http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=1578

As far as colored planetary filters are concerned, I find the Wratten #21 (orange) and 80A (light blue) to be the most useful in general.

Having a 2" long focal length, wide-field ocular to maximize your true field of view wouldn't be a bad idea either. Since your telescope has a focal ratio of f/5, and you probably don't want an exit pupil greater than 7mm, a 35mm focal length or less would be ideal. (OTOH, you could "waste" a bit of aperture for even more true field by getting a 40mm.) Most inexpensive wide-fields exhibit field edge astigmatism at f/5 so unless you want to shell out for a well-corrected eyepiece like the 35mm Tele Vue Panoptic expect to see some misshapen stars near the edge of the field.

Do you have a Barlow lens?

Dave Mitsky

[Madam Captain]

Yes Ive got a barlow lens and Ive also got a range of different coloured filters. Ive got orange, yellow, blue, red, green, dark green and a moon filter. Do I need to purchase different ones for the Lightbridge or are those ones ok to use? I got them with my 6" dob, aswell as a few other eye pieces (plus the barlow lens) and they fit in my Lightbridge. I have only used the moon filter, not the coloured ones in the Lightbridge as yet.

Which nebula filters do you own? How many other eye pieces would I need? I might wait a few months before getting these, as Im a bit broke after buying the Lightbridge ; )

[Casus_belli]

I rarely use filters, prefering to do my observing "au naturale" (I hope thats the right expression )

I have the bog standard colour filters and a nebula filter but my own feeling is that you need a really good dark sky site to get the best out of it.

The 26 mm 2" ep that came with the scope is one I use a lot. I also got a 13 mm pentax for xmas which is a cracker but very expensive (It was second hand) And I use a 40mm plossl for sweeping the heavens and open star clusters. The view through the 40mm is fantastic. The plossl is of the cheap and chearful variety.

Those are the 3 ep's that I take out with me. I do occasionaly use some high-powered ep's when observing the moon but their quality isnt that great.

I do need a decent high-powered ep. Im thinking about an 8mm hyperion

[Dave Mitsky]

Yes Ive got a barlow lens and Ive also got a range of different coloured filters. Ive got orange, yellow, blue, red, green, dark green and a moon filter. Do I need to purchase different ones for the Lightbridge or are those ones ok to use? I got them with my 6" dob, aswell as a few other eye pieces (plus the barlow lens) and they fit in my Lightbridge. I have only used the moon filter, not the coloured ones in the Lightbridge as yet.

Which nebula filters do you own? How many other eye pieces would I need? I might wait a few months before getting these, as Im a bit broke after buying the Lightbridge ; )

The color filters should work with the LightBridge as well. Here are two articles by two well-known and respected observers that explain the rationale behind using color filters for planetary observing.

http://jeff.medkeff.com/astro/observ...lter/index.htm

http://alpo-astronomy.org/mars/articles/FILTERS1.HTM

There's more on filters of all kinds at http://sciastro.net/portia/advice/filters.htm

I own an Orion Skyglow filter (for photography), an Orion UltraBlock narrowband filter, and a Lumicon OIII filter.

You need to list what focal lengths and eyepiece designs that you already own before a meaningful answer can be supplied. Knowing how much you want to spend is also necessary.

Dave Mitsky