K-Tec

What's your name? Introduce yourself to IFAS!

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11 years 4 months ago #95664 by paullyie
Hey Everyone,

My name is Paul and just recently signed up to the forums,
Some great information on here - big thumbs up to all the contributors

I’ve had an interest in astronomy for a few years now, but never had a scope
Received one for my birthday last month...but am a novice....

I live in south Kildare area in a big housing estate, but my back garden is enclosed and can get good views on a clear night (i.e. tonight)

My scope is the National Geographic 525x Mag Newtonian Reflector 76mm
Focal 700mm - Eyepieces (4mm/12.5mm/20mm) - 3 x Barlow - 1.5x image erector

Realistically what can I expect to see with this scope?
What is the best combination of Eyepiece & Barlow etc. should I use?

From the few views I have done over the past few weeks, I can use the 20mm & 12.5mm ok but the 4mm appears to give me little or nothing.
The eyepieces included I’m not sure are the best, even online other users say I should really replace them with better quality eyepieces.

I can get some nice close-ups of the moon
Tonight I could see Jupiter and 3 of its moons, now Jupiter is small but I can just about make out two grey bands/belts across it

I eventually would like to get some shots of the views, if I can find a suitable camera mount.
Any advice/tips/pointers would be much appreciated

Looking forward to getting some valuable info from the forums, and hopefully go to a meet up in the future.
Thanks in advance
Paul

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11 years 4 months ago #95665 by wbean
Hey Paul, welcome to the forum!
We all start somewhere, telescope wise. I haven't had any experience
With The national geographic scopes. A barlow lens might compliment it well though.

If you have a simple digital stills camera or smartphone you could do some afocal astrophotography through your scope. Only planetary work, but that's how I started too.

Will

www.skelligstarparty.com
Live each week like it's space week!

OTA: WO 72mm Megrez, Skymax 127
Mount: HEQ5 Pro w/ EQMOD

BLOG: astronomybox.blogspot.com/

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11 years 4 months ago #95666 by Keith g
Hi Paul, welcome along to the forums :) I too started out with a similar scope all those years ago. Realistically you will see the brightest of planets and star clusters. Jupiter is really good right now, and try starting with the 'double cluster' in Perseus. Don't expect that the 4mm will perform well as the magnification is very high.

Will has said a lot already regarding the photography and you can throw the moon in as well, especially this week as there are lots of craters and other features on the moon to see.

Get a good starmap to learn your way around the sky, and i'd also recommend a pair of 10x50mm Binoculars, you could get a decent pair for about 50-100 Euros, invaluable when starting out.

And also...this day and age is all about apps on your mobile phone. There are so many available, and many for free too B)

Keith.

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11 years 4 months ago #95670 by RandomPillars
Replied by RandomPillars on topic Re: Introductions! - Welcome to IrishAstronomy.org!
Welcome to the website Paul.

I haven't had any experience with the N.G. telescopes. Buy yes, open clusters (Pleiades & double cluster are good starts). Keith is right too about the phone apps. Some really good ones out there. Moon globe (for telling you what you are looking at on the moon) and stars (for giving you a starter on the constellations) are good free ones. If you want to spend about €3, Star Walk is spectacularly good. Gives you a but of everything.

Good to have you on board and the people here are very good at arranging meet-ups, so make sure you check for one close to you.

Sean

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10 years 3 months ago - 10 years 3 months ago #99425 by cianoregan
My name is Cian O'Regan, I am 17 years old, and I am from Cork City.

From a very young age I developed a keen interest in space. I had always had a fascination with space exploration and astronomy, but I only got hooked back in 2011 at the end of the Shuttle era.

When space shuttle Atlantis landed at the Kennedy Space Center on STS-135, I decided that I wanted to get more involved in space exploration. I began attending events in Blackrock Castle. At first I started collecting autographs of astronauts, cosmonauts and mission controllers, a hobby I still enjoy today. For anyone interested you can see my collection here.

I bought my first telescope back in October 2012. A Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ. I am a very amateur astronomer!

However, space exploration is my first love.

I went to an event including a Skype call with NASA Astronaut Dan Tani in the castle. I got to ask him some questions and he gave some really great answers. I figured I got such a buzz from doing something like this that I said "Why not try and be a science journalist when I'm older?"

I immediately got to work, setting up my own blog dedicated to space exploration. The name of the blog- "Irish Space Blog" Simple, I know, but it works. I began contacting people involved in this field. People like Leo Enright(who was on the other end of the Skype call in Galway), RTE Science/Technology correspondent Will Goodbody, NASA Public Affairs officers at Johnson Space Center, and Science Week Co-ordinator Donna McCabe have all given me great advice on how I can get a kick-start on my goal.

Thanks to Donna, I was able to interview ESA astronaut(and crew mate to Tani on STS-120), Paolo Nespoli for Science Week and science.ie. It was an incredible experience for me! Now, I interview astronauts all the time through social media outlets, Google+ hangouts and Skype. I use the answers I receive from them for my blog. I have interviewed quite a lot of interesting people, ranging from Chris Hadfield to Jerry Carr.

Basically, that's all about me. I recently started using this wonderful forum and can't wait to interact with some great people. Thanks!

Cian

"To realise that our greatest error is not to have tried and failed, but that in trying, we did not give our best efforts.!
-Gene Kranz, Apollo 11 Flight Director

Visit my blog: www.irishspaceblog.blogspot.com
Twitter: @irishspaceblog
flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/cianoregan1/
Facebook:...
Last edit: 10 years 3 months ago by cianoregan.

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10 years 3 months ago #99427 by wbean
hey Cian,
welcome to the forum! We should totally get out for an observing session some time. I'm in cork too. By the way I'm SpaceDinosaurX and astronomyBox. We've chatted on twitter!

www.skelligstarparty.com
Live each week like it's space week!

OTA: WO 72mm Megrez, Skymax 127
Mount: HEQ5 Pro w/ EQMOD

BLOG: astronomybox.blogspot.com/
The following user(s) said Thank You: cianoregan

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