Re: Got a Telescope, Now What?

"Lauren the Ravishing" <lauren_the_ravishing@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Hi, I'm just getting started in astronomy. I recently received a
Celestron PowerSeeker 127 EQ as a gift, I'm taking an intro to
astronomy class in college, and my textbook came with SkyGazer
software.

I suggest a meeting with the instructor of your astronomy class.
There's a reasonably chance he/she could either provide direct
assistance or direct you to a club or individual who can.

What I'm missing is a practical guide to using the telescope. The local
bookstore doesn't have much. On-line searches have given me some
basics, like how the lenses work, but not much else. The Celestron
manual was only for assembly instructions.

I did a quick search on your scope. One source mentioned that the
finder could not be adjusted and the counter weight was not heavy
enough to balance the scope. If that information is accurate, those
conditions *can* (and should) be remedied.

- What are recommended books, websites, or software for finding things
in the sky - things that I can acually see with my level of telescope?

Others seem to be doing well in answering that question . . .

- What lenses should I buy first, if any. What about filters?

Assuming your telescope came with a 20mm and a 4mm eyepiece, the 20mm
eyepiece is usable; but the 4mm eyepiece may not be a practical
option.

Eyepieces (which are best not referred to as "lenses") come in a wide
variety of designs and prices. A reasonable compromise for starting
out with are the Expanse eyepieces available from oriontelescopes.com
(and other sources). It *might* be worthwhile to purchase a 9mm
Expanse eyepiece *after* you've gotten the telescope to perform
reasonably well with the included 20mm eyepiece.

I suggest forgetting about filters -- at least until you've gained
more experience and become more comfortable in using your telescope.

- Should I buy the lens attachment that corrects the up/down,
left/right orientation?

No! In astronomy hardly anyone is concerned with the image
orientation in their telescopes. The main exception lies with the
finder scope (for some observers).

- Should I replace the existing finder scope with something better?

From the limited information I discovered about your telescope, this
looks like an area in which there's definite room for improvement.
Some form of 1x red dot finder would probably be a good idea
(available from Orion and numerous other sources).

- What other accessories are helpful?

A planisphere *might* prove useful. A red flashlight of adjustable
brightness is usually good to have. A printed star atlas such as
"Norton's Star Atlas and Reference Handbook" or "The Cambridge Star
Atlas" or some other atlas should prove to be extremely useful in
finding your way around the night sky. The two atlases mentioned
above have charts that cover large areas of sky. Such charts tend to
be easier to start out with.

- Is it even worth it to buy accessories for my level of scope?

Yes, provided you start with those accessories most needed -- such as
a usable finder (if the one your scope comes with is indeed unusable).

If the counter weight is too light to balance your telescope you
should be able to improvise some way of adding weight until balance is
achieved.

After these issues have been taken care of, subsequent accessories
tend to become increasingly less critical.

I haven't had much of a chance to use the thing since I got it
(weather, and busy evenings), but I'd like to get started and avoid
wasting my time by being unprepared.

The moon, when visible, is an excellent target to start out with!

A good exercise is to practice pointing the telescope at the brighter
stars in the night sky. The skills you learn from this can later be
applied when seeking out more interesting celestial objects. You
might even stumble across a planet!

As time goes by and you have more specific questions the people here
should be able to provide more helpful answers. Good Luck!

Willie R. Meghar
http://meghar.blogspot.com/
.

Relevant Pages

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