XULYKS - New Member

Hi there everyone

My name is Greg,

Well after a quick search of Astronomy Forums with a mainly Irish community, I think I've stumbled upon a good one!


I bought a Bresser Skylux Refractor from Lidl yesterday for €69.99. I thought it would be a good one to start me off. So I brought it home, and after a quick and easy assembly, I was eager to start observing! I brought it outside at about 10pm and started looking for mars about a half hour later. It was a perfectly clear night, and I could see more stars than I have in recent days. I had a fair idea of where it was in relation to Orion so I found it quite quickly. I tried taking a couple of photos simply using my 5mp digital camera and holding it up to the eyepiece (will have to invest in a clamp to hold it in place, also a better camera ).

Here are some of the shots I came up with.
*Note this is the first time I've ever used a telescope, let alone use a camera with one, and I havn't edited the images at all, so go easy on me :lol:

So I have a few questions in regard to my first viewings. The thing that stands out at me most is the darker blobs that appear to be on the surface. I have a funny feeling these are not actually on the surface, but rather some form of dirt that has already got on the eyepiece. The dark patches seem to move throughout the images, hence my assumption.

In regard to focusing and such. I was concerned that when I focused properly on the planet all I was seeing was "image 3", and as I 'zoomed' in if you like, all that seemed to happen was the planet went out of focus therefore making it look like a big unfocused blob, as can be seen in "image 4". The thing that concerned me most was after zooming in on it to see the planet bigger... I zoomed out. And the same thing happened when zooming out, the image got bigger and less focused. I now wasn't sure if I was looking at a planet at all. As if I did this with any star in the sky, I got the same result. Long story short, I saw no real difference between using the 20mm/12mm/4mm eyepieces. As all of them focued to view Mars as a fullstop size image, but when zooming in, all the eyepieces turned the planet into a dimmed blob.

I'm also interest in viewing a nebula, or even another solar system. But alas, I fear I will have no such luck with this scope. Or will I? I tried briefly viewing Orion, and I couldn't make out anything other than the main stars that you can see with the naked eye. One of which puzzled me. Just to the bottom left of Orion, I saw a shimmering star. I tried zooming in on it, but all I got was the same result as the Mars images, except for the shimmering effect. Am I right in thinking it was Sirius? I've attached a simple image of where I saw it.

Ok, so I know it's my first scope, and I shoudn't really have the high expectations I have at the moment, but I'm worried I'll find it difficult to locate Saturn ( My goal before the New Year ). I'm just wondering is this normal, or am I doing something wrong? Any push in the right direction would be greatly appreciated!


Thanks for taking the time to read this, hopefully future posts won't be so long and riddled with questions


Hope to learn alot here!





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Glad to see you are enjoying your new scope.

Mars alway appears fairly small in any eyepiece so I would suspect that image three is the focused Mars. The bigger images when is "zoom in and out" is in fact an out of focus Mars.

But you are right about Sirius as it is a shimmering star just to the lower left of Orion.

DB

Greg.
Welcome again to the boards.
It's great to see new people joining.
As far as I'm concerned, IFAS is THE online astronomy hub in Ireland!

The scope you bought is a great starter scope and with the right set up
great for astrophotography, but also you have to appreciate it's limitations.

Eyepiece projection is a great first step into astrophotography but Mars through that scope is a really tall order.
Mars is a tiny disc at the best of times and you really need a bigger aperature scope to see any detail. The dark areas you are seeing are 'dust bunnies' on the eyepiece.

You can get some surprisingly good shots through that scope of the Moon.
Try later in the month when the moon will be waxing to full.
Try it when its just before half full as it wont be too bright and
you may get some crater detail along the terminator (the dividing line between the lit part and the shadow on the edge)

It's tricky to get an image that isn't blurred due to hand shake but
you can get brackets that hold the camera in place
(google it and you'll see what I mean)

As for seeing a Nebula, well, your in luck, the Orion Nebula
is your man.
You seem to know your way around the sky so do a little digging on google and you will see what I mean.
Dont expect colour though those images are taken by long exposure.

The Orion nebula is easily naked eye and you may have seen it as a star before. It's good in Binoculars and great in a good scope.
Have a look for it and let us know how you got on!

The shimmerig effect you mention is actually the atmosphere makng the starlight wobble (similar to a heat shimmer you see on the roof of a car on a hot summers day) all astronomical objects are better observed higher up.
If you use a planitarum programme like the free one Stellarium you can see what is what and even plan ahead.

Google stellarium to find it

Best of luck.

If you use a planitarum programme like the free one Stellarium you can see what is what and even plan ahead.

Google stellarium to find it

www.stellarium.org

Thanks for the warm welcome!

Viewing the Orion Nebula will be my first objective on the next clear night

Also Stellarium looks great. I got a simple program called "Cartes Du Ciel" with the Skylux, but to be honest, it's quite simplified, and doesn't always do what you want it to do


Thanks again

Welcome to the Boards Greg
You'll enjoy yourself here.