I have finally made it out to use my new telescope a bit. The skies cleared and everyone is healthy again. I have had limited success with the “three star alignment” from Celestron. I am getting better at it each time I try but I have yet to have complete success with it yet.
My first target was the moon. I ran through all the eye pieces I have and the 2x barlow also. I was very impressed with the sharpness and the detail I was getting. The 2″ eyepiece upgrade would seem to be well worth it.
Next I tried Mars. I was happy to see the distinctive orange dot in my eyepiece. However I was expecting to see some detail. I am not sure if it is because of my location, eyepiece power or something I need to do better. Or perhaps I was expecting too much. I was using a 26mm eyepiece with a 2x barlow.
I also had a look at the Pleadies. I was absolutely amazed at what I saw. The sheer amount of stars the NexStar was able to see blew my socks off.
I have yet to see a Nebula or a Galaxy but I have been also going with out star charts or any type a plan as of yet. This weekend I think I am going to explore Orion and see what I can find.
No pictures yet. But my camera adapter shipped on Tuesday so I should be getting it soon.
Hi Phil,glad that you are feeling better!!!.Looking at the night sky through a bigger scope makes a big difference.Mars through the eye piece will typically be quite small through a 26mm lens,even with a barlow.If I may suggest why not give your filters a try.The brightness of the red planet might be washing out any features?!.
Seeing conditions and light pollution play a big part of seeing this object clearly.I have a 10″ Meade but,because of light pollution,I only get a red disc with very little features.A camera will help out a lot!.
Comment by Andrew — January 16, 2008 @ 1:41 pm
Thanks Andrew,
I will give that a try
Comment by Phil — January 16, 2008 @ 2:36 pm
For Mars (and other planets), I’m getting a 5X Barlow to use with my smaller eyepieces. I’ve been using eyepiece projection to get bigger images of Mars for the camera, but that’s got some issues and I’m hoping the more powerful Barlow will help with that.
For visual viewing, the Pleiades are hard to beat. It’s not just the number of stars, but the brightness of the 7 sisters (and parents) and the faint blue tinge around them. I’d also suggest checking out some globular clusters as well as other open clusters. For my money – they’re some of the best targets for visual observation.
Definitely check out M42-The Great Orion Nebula. It’s particularly good with a long exposure photo, but is also good with the scope.
Comment by Ed — January 16, 2008 @ 2:47 pm