New to Telscopes

[scotiajsl]

Hey there, <br /><br />My wife recently puchased a Celstron StarSeeker 1300mm telescope for me. We have put this together and already been out looking at the stars and planets.<br />Here is my question, we are both very new to this, we use the standard 10mm and 25mm lenses that were provided from Celestron. We see all these pretty pictures and the like of Mars etc but when we look at it throught the telescope we can see it looks red but it is so far away and so small it is impossible to see any detail.<br /><br />I would love to hear from you folks who have experience with things like this, or are we being unrealistic in what we should be expecting to see?<br /><br />Thanks in advance, <br /><br />-Scotia

 

[newtonian]

Scotia - Hi! or Hey! (the variant greeting here in SE Louisiana]<br /><br />Congratulations - I have yet to purchase a telescope.<br /><br />So, I can't actually answer your questions, except to point you to Jencan's thread below, who also recently purchased a telescope.<br /><br />Happy viewing! <br /><br />Oh, btw, you won't see as much as the Hubble space telescope - but a friend of mine who also recently purchased a telescope enjoys the views - and that is an understatement!<br /><br />

 

[steviep187]

I can tell you this. All the pictures of the Red, blue, purple, etc. nebulas you will not be able to see. They show up on film or digital pictures. Your eyes will let you see them in a gray or sometimes a faint green hue. The best deep sky objects are viewed at low power with big apeture (diameter) telescopes. The best time to view the moon is 1st and last quarters, you want to focus on the line that seperates the light from the dark. It will show the most terrain detail. A filter set is a must too. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="6" color="#0000ff"><strong><em><br /><img id="7841257c-c435-495d-9b40-a4a2ae809e40" src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/Content/images/store/8/11/7841257c-c435-495d-9b40-a4a2ae809e40.Large.jpg" alt="blog post photo" /><br /></em></strong></font></p> </div>

 

[toothferry]

The only images that actually look better through a telescope than in print are from the Moon at the "terminator" edge, that bright area with lots of shadows, just besides the dark area not receiving any daylight, the entire visible side of the moon has a visible terminator edge crossing its path at sometime during the month.. That being said, its still amazing to see the planets, clusters and nebula in real life and real time, through a telescope.<br /><br />You need to get a barlow lenses to double magnification and view through at a location with excellant seeing conditions to be able to see surface detail on Mars, this month. Out in the desert west on top of a dry mountain peak would be perfect. <img src="/images/icons/cool.gif" />

 

[BReif]

Very true. Even with a 10" Dob, its tough to see any details on Mars below 200x, but as your eye gets used to what you're seeing, the details start to become apparent. It just takes some time at the eyepiece, and patience, and some subtle details will emerge.

 

[scotiajsl]

Thanks folks for all the replies. <br /><br />Crazyeddie, the telescope details says highest useful magnification 306X so would that not allow it to bring me into the ranges you mention?<br /><br />I really have no idea if I even set this thing up right. Is it possible not to have? <br /><br />I just thought I might be able to see mars and the like a lot closer than the same detail I can when looking at it without the telescope <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" />

 

[scotiajsl]

Update - Bought a "shorty barlow 2x lens" hope this helps<br /><br />