please help

[Cartsto]

I don't know much on telescopes. My mother just bought my daughter a Meade 114EQ-ASTR F/8.8 4.5" 114mm Equatorial Reflector Telescope, for a first telescope and pretty much mine as well. I have set it up and balanced it. We have looked at the moon alot. When it comes to finding other things I feel very lost. I have star and planet guide books. But I'm not being able to see the things properly, which leads me to think I'm not using the telescope properly. We are suppose to view mars tonight, and I want to get it right so my daughter can see it any tips or pointers that may help. Your help is very appreciated and also it comes with two eyepieces 25mm and 9mm. and what should we be able to view easily with this telescope.

 

[origin]

I don't know much on telescopes. My mother just bought my daughter a Meade 114EQ-ASTR F/8.8 4.5" 114mm Equatorial Reflector Telescope, for a first telescope and pretty much mine as well. I have set it up and balanced it. We have looked at the moon alot. When it comes to finding other things I feel very lost. I have star and planet guide books. But I'm not being able to see the things properly, which leads me to think I'm not using the telescope properly. We are suppose to view mars tonight, and I want to get it right so my daughter can see it any tips or pointers that may help. Your help is very appreciated and also it comes with two eyepieces 25mm and 9mm. and what should we be able to view easily with this telescope.

Welcome to SDC. You've come to the right place. I may not be nearly as much help as others will be but the first thing I am interested in is when you say you cannot see things properly what do you mean?

Do you mean you can't find the object you are looking for?
The objects aren't in focus?
Do you have trouble tracking the objects - they moves out of the field of view?

 

[MeteorWayne]

To me, (and I'm no scope expert) it sounds like you really need to learn more about the sky in order to be able to find other objects. Mars is easily visible (though will be quite unimpressive through a scope that size). It's between the moon and the constellation Gemini tonight. Can you find it? If not, than finding it with the scope will be even more difficult since a telescope has such a small field of view.

I might suggest subscribing to either Astronomy, or Sky and Telescope magazine, since they will give you tips on what's best on view throughout the year.

Did you know Venus is easily visible after sunset low in the west? Or that Saturn rises near sunset and is overhead around 1 AM? If not, then what you need to beef up is your knowledge of the sky. The magazines I suggested will help.

Is there a nearby astronomy club you can visit? Summer might be better for that as Saturn (always an impresssive sight) will be visible earlier each night, so you won't have to stay up as long.

How old is your daughter? That might help suggest other targets.

But the bottom line is that YOU need to learn more about the nighttime sky in order to be able to help!

As far as the eyepieces, it's much easier to find things with the 25mm (since you see a bigger piece of the sky), then once it's aligned switch to the 9mm for higher magnification.

Welcome to Space.com, and feel free to ask more questions.

Meteor Wayne

 

[crazyeddie]

I don't know much on telescopes. My mother just bought my daughter a Meade 114EQ-ASTR F/8.8 4.5" 114mm Equatorial Reflector Telescope, for a first telescope and pretty much mine as well. I have set it up and balanced it. We have looked at the moon alot. When it comes to finding other things I feel very lost. I have star and planet guide books. But I'm not being able to see the things properly, which leads me to think I'm not using the telescope properly. We are suppose to view mars tonight, and I want to get it right so my daughter can see it any tips or pointers that may help. Your help is very appreciated and also it comes with two eyepieces 25mm and 9mm. and what should we be able to view easily with this telescope.

Did you align the finderscope or whatever alignment device this scope comes with? There should be instruction on how to do that. If you already did this, you should be finding bright objects with no problem.

I would not expect much of a view of Mars with this telescope. Mars is a very difficult planet to observe, and it will probably appear as nothing more than a tiny orange ball. You really need a large aperture and excellent optics to see details on the Red Planet. This scope is more suitable for viewing the moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, and open star clusters. It does not have enough aperture to give you good views of faint, deep-sky objects, although the Orion nebula will look pretty in it.

 

[Cartsto]

Thanks for the advice. Yes things are out of focus. MeteorWayne has help with the explaination of the eyepieces and the tip of being by gemini. I did know it was around the moon and to follow the ecliptic line. My daughter is 8. Crazyeddie thanks for let me know some things for easy viewing. I have aligned the finder and I can spot things fairly easy. The focus is the problem. I do agree I need to learn the nighttime sky more. I try to bring charts with us to help find things. There is much to learn. I will be searching for a club. Thanks so much

 

[crazyeddie]

Thanks for the advice. Yes things are out of focus. MeteorWayne has help with the explaination of the eyepieces and the tip of being by gemini. I did know it was around the moon and to follow the ecliptic line. My daughter is 8. Crazyeddie thanks for let me know some things for easy viewing. I have aligned the finder and I can spot things fairly easy. The focus is the problem. I do agree I need to learn the nighttime sky more. I try to bring charts with us to help find things. There is much to learn. I will be searching for a club. Thanks so much

If you cannot focus with the eyepieces provided, then the next most likely explanation is that your scope needs collimation. You can read about how to do this here:

http://www.andysshotglass.com/Collimating.html

If collimation fails to correct the focus problem, then the scope is defective. Take it back to the place it was purchased from and demand a refund.

 

[Fallingstar1971]

Yes Im betting collimation as well.

Saturn's rings, open clusters, galaxies, comets, some asteroids, are all YOURS to see.

Jupiter's cloud bands, the 4 Galileo moons, Venus, soon to be Mercury.......

O and the Great Nebula in Orion. Thats always a crowd pleaser. Find the belt stars, look below them to the left, 3 little faint stars that make the "sword", aim for the one in the middle.

Not too far from Orion, you have the Pleiades in Taurus. The first time out with my son I asked him "How many stars do you see there, in that teeny tiny dipper looking thing?"

"I dunno, 5, maybe 6" He says

I spun my scope on it, "Now how many do you see?"

"Good God", he says, "Maybe 60 or more"

Collimation is something everybody with a descent reflector has to do from time to time. The fist time you do it may take a while, but it gets shorter and shorter every time. Dont rush it, take your time and do it right. The best tip I can give you is that if you have to align the secondary, keep the tube as level as possible. You dont want to drop a tool down the tube and risk hitting the primary.

Have fun. There are many sites. Learn the constellations first. Once you do that planets become easy. They are the stars that dont belong. (Hmmmmm looks like Gemini has an extra brite red star next to it, its either Nova, Supernova, or Planet(in this case its Mars. Look up at Gemini tonight, Mars will be very easy to spot)) Speaking of Gemini, pan around the right foot for a very nice surprise Hmmmmmm There is a whitish, yellow star in between Leo and Virgo thats not showing up on any chart........ta da......its Saturn!

Uranus and Neptune........going to be very faint. True, they are big, but there also very far away. Pluto, not a chance, for you OR me

And as MW said, Venus is the big brite thing in the west right after sunset. Not all that impressive in a scope now, but soon it will be joined by Mercury and will be going through phases, just like the moon.

Enjoy

Star

PS. The Great Galaxy in Andromeda (M31) should be visible to you as well, but it will appear as a fuzzy blob. Most galaxies from my vantage point in New England appear as fuzzy blobs. I need to get a few miles away to some darker skies. But for me, thats not the point. For me, its all about seeing it. I dont care what it looks like, as long as I can see it.

PPS Public Parks ARE nice, but I had the police roll up on me and blast me with that damn search light. Annoyed, yes. Angry, not really. They are just doing there jobs, and once they saw that I was not attempting to shoot down planes with my "bazooka" looking "thing" they left me to my own devices.

 

[origin]

PPS Public Parks ARE nice, but I had the police roll up on me and blast me with that damn search light. Annoyed, yes. Angry, not really. They are just doing there jobs, and once they saw that I was not attempting to shoot down planes with my "bazooka" looking "thing" they left me to my own devices.

:lol: I see this vision of you carefully cultivating your night vision with a faint red flashlight hunched over a star chart when you get blasted by a bazillion candle power search light! :lol:

It is a thankless job being an amateur astronomer, but someone has to do it!

 

[MeteorWayne]

That's one reason I like observing at the NJAA. The Park Police and most local cops know we are there, and know what bad things we say to them if they come in with lights blazing.

 

[kg]

I suggest taking this scope out during the daytime. If your daughter is anything like my own she will get bored quickly looking at little points of light and faint patches of fuzz. Just looking at wildlife will give her practice pointing and focusing as well as give her a good idea of it's field of view and magnification without having to fumble around with the telescope in the dark. When she gets better at using it and what it can do she might feel more comfortable looking at the night sky.
Also Sky and Telescope has suggestions for weekly observing. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observin ... 61677.html
I believe this page is geared to naked eye and low magnification observing.

 

[origin]

I suggest taking this scope out during the daytime. If your daughter is anything like my own she will get bored quickly looking at little points of light and faint patches of fuzz. Just looking at wildlife will give her practice pointing and focusing as well as give her a good idea of it's field of view and magnification without having to fumble around with the telescope in the dark. When she gets better at using it and what it can do she might feel more comfortable looking at the night sky.
Also Sky and Telescope has suggestions for weekly observing. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observin ... 61677.html
I believe this page is geared to naked eye and low magnification observing.

Upside down wildlife is confusing - I would suggest an image inverter. Aslo reflectors are a little unwieldy for terrestrial viewing - at least in my experience (I am somewhat uncoordinated, or so my wife says).

 

[kg]

Upside down wildlife is confusing - I would suggest an image inverter. Aslo reflectors are a little unwieldy for terrestrial viewing - at least in my experience (I am somewhat uncoordinated, or so my wife says).

I guess this was kinda my point. A equatorial mount is a bit cumbersome when you can see the thing and darn near impossible to figure out in the dark. Also it helps to understand that the image is flipped upside down and inside out or er... whatever happens to it. A 4.5 inch apature shouldn't be too unwieldy and might be useful for a variety of things. Now if it were a 13" f11 on a Dobsonian mount bird wathching would be somewhat out of the question!
A image inverter would be helpful. If she gets a good feel for the scope and what it can do she might be more comfortable taking it out at night.

 

[SpaceTas]

Quick test to see if collimation is the problem.

Point at a bright star high in the sky, center the sat, try to focus image. If your best image has a tail on it (tadpole), then collimation is your next step. If the collimation is very bad you'll spot a doubling of the image for the moon. If you have astigmatism in your eyes wear your glasses.

Meade usually makes pretty good optics and mechanically their scopes are generally good. So a dud scope would be rare. If your really get stuck look up their local dealer and have a chat. Might be able to get them to show you how to do the collimation.

:geek: Tip
You can turn a German equatorial mount into Alt-AZ; point the polar axis (without telescope and counter weight) horizontal or vertical.
:geek: Tip
An errecting eyepiece (2 types or a 45deg prism diagonal) will flip your images up the right way. The image may still be mirror reversed.

 

[Jobiwan]

Hi Wayne,

Just watched the film "Knowing". As I'm not an astronomer (maybe only very amateur) could you please tell me if these so called 'super' flares actually exist or could happen? (I tried looking this up on Wikipedia but it came up with nothing)

Thanks

Jo
Email: jobi@live.com.au

 

[MeteorWayne]

Sorry, not familiar with the movie.

 

[origin]

Hi Wayne,

Just watched the film "Knowing". As I'm not an astronomer (maybe only very amateur) could you please tell me if these so called 'super' flares actually exist or could happen? (I tried looking this up on Wikipedia but it came up with nothing)

Thanks

Jo
Email: jobi@live.com.au

I saw the movie and the first part was kind if neat but it got a bit too silly for me near the end. Anyway no there is essentially no chance of a solar flare that would incinerate the earth - it is science fiction. And I don't think the angels in UFOs is real either.