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Post by philip123 on Dec 16, 2007 18:38:56 GMT
Well firstly thanks for accepting me into your forum. I've recently taken the plunge and bought the Meade ETX 70 AT in Lidl after a long time considering things and wanting to pursue my interest in Astronomy further.
I have a few quick questions about aligning the scope using Autostar...I've just been pointing the scope at things like the Pleaides and thinking about how good they look.
Main question being, which is the best star to use at this time of year to align it I'm guessing Sirius but I have school and don't have time to stay up late most of the time. I usually try to get out between 8 and 10 pm if it's clear.
Thanks in advance, Philip
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Post by nemesis on Dec 16, 2007 19:30:56 GMT
Welcome to the forum , Philip. Any bright star will do, so Sirius is OK although it's a bit low in the early evening. Capella's almost overhead. Procyon, Vega, Aldebaran or Rigel will all do the job, being visible and not too low in the evening.
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Post by philip123 on Dec 16, 2007 19:40:32 GMT
Thanks nemesis I'll give that a try, I think it's to be clear tomorrow night. Hopefully Mars will be good because I want a good look at it.
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Post by stevie on Dec 16, 2007 22:58:57 GMT
Welcome to the forum Philip. Good luck with your scope and let us know how you get on with it.
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Post by philip123 on Dec 16, 2007 23:06:02 GMT
I certainly will let you guys know and thanks for the warm welcome, I might try to make it up to a meeting sometime if I can get there.
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Post by Veronica on Dec 17, 2007 8:51:51 GMT
Hi Philip and welcome! Do let us know how you get on with the new scope! And ENJOY!!
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Post by philip123 on Dec 17, 2007 22:21:09 GMT
Well folks I got out for a good look around tonight. The half moon was amazing, I must have spent an hour just looking up and down at all the craters. The thing that surprised me the most was how much clearer the moon looks through a telescope compared with my Dad's trusty old binoculars!!! Tried looking at Mars but my attempt was spoiled by some clouds coming in and blocking it before I got it in view. Can wait to get out again and see some more. I'd really love to take photos but I don't know how yet....I hear webcams are good but I'll need to research more. Does any of you have any experience in that line? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again
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Post by garyr on Dec 19, 2007 16:38:16 GMT
I would also like to thank you all for accepting me into your goldmine of information. I would definitely put myself in the beginner category and have had a Lidl Skylux for a few months and see some nice views of the planets.
I was also tempting into buying the ETX 70AT last week for the autostar functionality but on the few nights I have taken it out I cannot get it aligned at all ..... I have followed every tutorial and instruction but when I look for my alignment star I cannot see any star which sticks out more than any other star .... and therefore never get it aligned. It tries to align with Cappella and my question really is, is this star significantly brighter than everything around it ... or am I looking too hard?
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Post by philip123 on Dec 19, 2007 19:06:33 GMT
garyr I had the same problem to begin with. I used Capella tonight just 10 mins ago along with Vega in the two star alignment. It will be out a good bit but Vega definitely is the brightest in it's region. Capella is the 2nd brightest object, the brightest is Mars the reddy bright one below a very bright star, Capella. Don't worry you'll get there, I did and I saw the Andromeda Galaxy tonight!!!
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Post by phoenix on Dec 19, 2007 20:54:37 GMT
Welcome Guys. Autostar will auto select the brightest stars to align on but this will depend on how well you set up the scope for north. Remember that mag north and true north are different so if you roughly align the scope with the pole star and then do the auto align using stars around 40 degrees either side of the pole star they should be close to the centre of view. Vega is probably the easiest one but depending on the time autostar may not default to it. Sirius will be way outside the field of view due to the amount of sky the scope has to track across with rough alignment. If you pick some of the stars in the Plough then it should get easier. Just remember that after alignment, when you slew to a new object and centre it in the eyepiece, then press and hold the enter key for a few seconds. When you release it you will here a beep then press enter and the scope will be aligned to objects in that part of the sky.
Kieran
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