bought xt6 classic

[michasma]

Hi all,<br />I bought a skyquest xt6 classic for my husband for xmas...well it seems I am enjoying it more than him! I wanted to know if with this telescope am I able to see nebulas and messier objects, and if so, do I need certain lenses to see these things?

 

[kyle_baron]

You can probably see these in your new scope:<br /><br />1. M-31 Andromeda Galaxy<br />2. M-42 Great Orion Nebula<br />3. M-13? Hercules Globular Cluster<br />4. M-57 Ring Nebula<br />5. M-8 Lagoon Nebula<br />6. Any Open Star Clusters, there are many.<br />7. Many double, triple, and quadruple star systems.<br /><br />The eyepieces that came with the telescope should be adequate for your purposes. I wouldn't invest in any more eyepieces, other than a good barlow lens, because of the limited aperature, of this beginner scope. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="4"><strong></strong></font></p> </div>

 

[adrenalynn]

Congrats! The XT6 is a nice beginners scope.<br /><br />Where do you live/how dark is your sky?<br /><br />Under nice dark skies, you should be able to observe most of the Messier catalog with that scope. And keep coming back to it as you learn more about observing, things like using your peripheral vision (which is more light sensitive) will improve the detail you capture on dark objects.<br /><br />For nebula, the first place you should probably start looking is The Great Nebula in Orion. On a good dark night, I can observe the beginnings of nebulosity with just the naked eye with averted vision. And hey, you just have to point an Orion scope at Orion, don't you? <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br /><br />How well do you know the sky, and do you have planetarium software? I believe a limited version of Starry Night should have come with your scope, correct?<br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>.</p><p><font size="3">bipartisan</font>  (<span style="color:blue" class="pointer"><span class="pron"><font face="Lucida Sans Unicode" size="2">bī-pär'tĭ-zən, -sən</font></span></span>) [Adj.]  Maintaining the ability to blame republications when your stimulus plan proves to be a devastating failure.</p><p><strong><font color="#ff0000"><font color="#ff0000">IMPE</font><font color="#c0c0c0">ACH</font> <font color="#0000ff"><font color="#c0c0c0">O</font>BAMA</font>!</font></strong></p> </div>

 

[michasma]

Thank you. I wish I had bought a better scope, but that is the one that was recommended to me when I called Orion.

 

[michasma]

Thank you. <br /><br />I live in South Florida and it's not really dark, something I never noticed until I went to use the scope!!<br /><br />Orion was the first constellation I recognized and I did see The Great Nebula. I didn't realize I was looking at it until the third or fourth time I saw it, because it didn't look anything like it does in pictures! <br /><br />I don't know much about the sky...I never really was interested in it before. The only software I have is the Starry Night one that came with the scope. I also have a book called Florida Starwatch that has star maps of each month. Do you have any recommendations of books or software that I should get? Thanks for your help.

 

[MeteorWayne]

And once again, subscribe to either Astronomy or Sky and Telecope. <br />It will be money well spent. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[heyscottie]

The XT6 is an excellent beginner scope, so don't worry about your purchase. You'll undoubtably want to upgrade someday, but you can get a lot of mileage out of this one!

 

[Testing]

What is nice about Starry Night is the ability to plan an observing session days in advance or longer. I have a clear view from NW to E but my horizon is at 30 degrees but this is thirty feet from the house. I live in a canyon. If I go a half mile East I'm out of the trees but still in the canyon. A friend has an orchard 2 hours away but the airport beacon is annoying. Three hours away in SE Sierra at 7000' there are no restrictions beyond how warm you can dress. Just tell the program where you will be and when, it will thell you where to look. Register and it will update every time you use it. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[michasma]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I am going to go get those books and magazines and see if they help me. <br /><br />I was wondering, why don't alot of astronomers like the scopes with the computers on them? I would think they would be alot easier to use.

 

[adrenalynn]

It's also nice that you can tour and learn the sky during cloudy weather or the day time. Maximize the experience...<br /><br />You can also set Starry Night to display stars/objects to some limiting magnitude, so you can tailor it to see only what you see when you look at the night sky from your neighborhood... <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>.</p><p><font size="3">bipartisan</font>  (<span style="color:blue" class="pointer"><span class="pron"><font face="Lucida Sans Unicode" size="2">bī-pär'tĭ-zən, -sən</font></span></span>) [Adj.]  Maintaining the ability to blame republications when your stimulus plan proves to be a devastating failure.</p><p><strong><font color="#ff0000"><font color="#ff0000">IMPE</font><font color="#c0c0c0">ACH</font> <font color="#0000ff"><font color="#c0c0c0">O</font>BAMA</font>!</font></strong></p> </div>

 

[adrenalynn]

I think that's a religious question. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br /><br />Some contend that they inhibit people learning the sky. Others (myself, for example) contend that they can assist in learning the sky.<br /><br />Some don't like them, others do. But everyone's got an opinion and will often try to cram it down someone's throat. [shrug]<br /><br />Go with what you feel is best for you.<br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>.</p><p><font size="3">bipartisan</font>  (<span style="color:blue" class="pointer"><span class="pron"><font face="Lucida Sans Unicode" size="2">bī-pär'tĭ-zən, -sən</font></span></span>) [Adj.]  Maintaining the ability to blame republications when your stimulus plan proves to be a devastating failure.</p><p><strong><font color="#ff0000"><font color="#ff0000">IMPE</font><font color="#c0c0c0">ACH</font> <font color="#0000ff"><font color="#c0c0c0">O</font>BAMA</font>!</font></strong></p> </div>

 

[michasma]

You can also set Starry Night to display stars/objects to some limiting magnitude, so you can tailor it to see only what you see when you look at the night sky from your neighborhood... <br /><br />How would I do this? <br /> <br /><br />

 

[michasma]

Oops! Didn't realize it was like a religious question.

 

[adrenalynn]

I don't have the limited version, oh, wait, I think I have Backyard on an old computer...<br /><br />It appears that really fine granularity might be limited to Pro/Pro Plus.<br /><br />In backyard, I can only set "no light polluion", "small city light pollution", and "large city light pollution".<br /><br />You might start by looking there, then go on to your manual and see if your version 6 LE has more granularity.<br /><br />In Pro, it's under Options <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>.</p><p><font size="3">bipartisan</font>  (<span style="color:blue" class="pointer"><span class="pron"><font face="Lucida Sans Unicode" size="2">bī-pär'tĭ-zən, -sən</font></span></span>) [Adj.]  Maintaining the ability to blame republications when your stimulus plan proves to be a devastating failure.</p><p><strong><font color="#ff0000"><font color="#ff0000">IMPE</font><font color="#c0c0c0">ACH</font> <font color="#0000ff"><font color="#c0c0c0">O</font>BAMA</font>!</font></strong></p> </div>

 

[Testing]

Open the software, go to Help, select Companion Book. 192 page PDF, or you can get Online help. Another option would be to identify an object and progressivly hop to dimmer objects (magnitude) to see where you are not pleased with what you see. Mousing over an object on the sky display will give you the apparent magnitude for comparison. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>