Hello from SE Missouri USA.

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KLA58 United States of America
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Hello from SE Missouri USA.

#1

Post by KLA58 »

I am new to this and will have tons of questions. So, please be patient with me. My wife and I live in the St. Francois Mountain Range, a part of the Ozark Mountains. I purchased a Celestron 130SLT this past Black Friday and have yet to use it. Spent December and a good part of January studying and learning. Once I felt like I was comfortable with the 130 and was ready to give it a go, it's been cloudy every night. So, that's me in a nutshell. Looking forward to many nights of stargazing.
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Re: Hello from SE Missouri USA.

#2

Post by KingClinton »

Hi and welcome to the forums!
Eyeballs, binoculars, sketch box, Scopes n stuff.
Some people don't understand why I love astronomy so much, I cannot understand why they do not!

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Re: Hello from SE Missouri USA.

#3

Post by Bigzmey »

Welcome to TSS KLA58!
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
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Re: Hello from SE Missouri USA.

#4

Post by Thefatkitty »

Hi KLA58 and welcome to TSS :D Questions are always welcomed, and as for the weather, I hear you and so do a lot of others!

Hope it clears up for you and all the best,
Mark

"The Hankmeister" Celestron 8SE, orange tube Vixen made C80, CG4, AZ-EQ5 and SolarQuest mounts.
Too much Towa glass/mirrors.

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Re: Hello from SE Missouri USA.

#5

Post by Graeme1858 »

Hello KLA58

Welcome to the forum.

Regards

Graeme
______________________________________________
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Re: Hello from SE Missouri USA.

#6

Post by Juno16 »

Hi KLA58 and welcome to TSS!

Looking forward to your experiences with the 130SLT.
The 130SLT was my first telescope and I had an absolutely great time with it for years. Still use it every now and then (maybe 1-2x/year) to check out double stars (my favorite visual targets).
I used it to view 91 Messier objects from my Bortle 7 backyard, several comets, and a few nebulae.
SLT is quite capable as a goto mount and usually puts me very close to the selected target. It is very light and easy to transport, but is also very prone to vibration, so it would help to dangle a weighed bag or object from the hook underneath the accessories tray. Just be patient and allow things to settle after focusing and it will allow good views.
The tube is pretty nice and I have viewed some very tough targets with it especially when mounted on my EQ mount.

You will want to invest in a good illuminated reticle eyepiece (for alignment) and a collimation tool.

Best of success and looking forward to your posts!
Jim

Scopes: Explore Scientific ED102 APO, Sharpstar 61 EDPH II APO, Samyang 135 F2 (still on the Nikon).
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro with Rowan Belt Mod
Stuff: ASI EAF Focus Motor (x2), ZWO OAG, ZWO 30 mm Guide Scope, ASI 220mm min, ASI 120mm mini, Stellarview 0.8 FR/FF, Sharpstar 0.8 FR/FF, Mele Overloock 3C.
Camera/Filters/Software: ASI 533 mc pro, ASI 120mm mini, ASI 220mm mini , IDAS LPS D-1, Optolong L-Enhance, ZWO UV/IR Cut, N.I.N.A., Green Swamp Server, PHD2, Adobe Photoshop CC, Pixinsight.
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Re: Hello from SE Missouri USA.

#7

Post by AstroBee »

Welcome to the forum.
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Scopes: Celestron EdgeHD14", Explore Scientific ED152CF & ED127 APO's, StellarVue SV70T, Classic Orange-Tube C-8, Lunt 80mm Ha double-stack solar scope.
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Re: Hello from SE Missouri USA.

#8

Post by smp »

Hi KLA58, and welcome here to the Forum!

smp
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Re: Hello from SE Missouri USA.

#9

Post by JayTee »

Hello and welcome to TSS. Glad you joined us.
Cheers,
∞ Primary Scopes: #1: Celestron CPC1100 #2: 8" f/7.5 Dob #3: CR150HD f/8 6" frac
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Re: Hello from SE Missouri USA.

#10

Post by messier 111 »

welcome in .
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Re: Hello from SE Missouri USA.

#11

Post by helicon »

Welcome to the forums KLA58
-Michael
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
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KLA58 United States of America
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Re: Hello from SE Missouri USA.

#12

Post by KLA58 »

Thanks Juno. I don't fully understand the collimation process or why I need a tool and illuminated eyepiece. Maybe you can explain a little.
Juno16 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 13, 2024 9:31 pm Hi KLA58 and welcome to TSS!

Looking forward to your experiences with the 130SLT.
The 130SLT was my first telescope and I had an absolutely great time with it for years. Still use it every now and then (maybe 1-2x/year) to check out double stars (my favorite visual targets).
I used it to view 91 Messier objects from my Bortle 7 backyard, several comets, and a few nebulae.
SLT is quite capable as a goto mount and usually puts me very close to the selected target. It is very light and easy to transport, but is also very prone to vibration, so it would help to dangle a weighed bag or object from the hook underneath the accessories tray. Just be patient and allow things to settle after focusing and it will allow good views.
The tube is pretty nice and I have viewed some very tough targets with it especially when mounted on my EQ mount.

You will want to invest in a good illuminated reticle eyepiece (for alignment) and a collimation tool.

Best of success and looking forward to your posts!
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Re: Hello from SE Missouri USA.

#13

Post by Juno16 »

When you do a star alignment, you find bright stars that are widely separated in your sky view. When you manually slew to the star and center it in the finder, you then locate the star in the scope eyepiece. If you cannot find the star in the eyepiece, you will need to manually scan around to find it, then use the screws on the finder to align it in the finder also so that they are pointing the same.
Then you center the star in the eyepiece. If you don't have a reference in the eyepiece to center the star, you will have to guess. Another way is to defocus the star until it becomes a large ring (donut) and you will be able to reasonably center it more accurately. I used the defocus method for awhile, but the illuminated reticle is much easier and faster to use.
Or, you can get an inexpensive illuminated reticle eyepiece. It will have cross hairs and variable illumination (to see the cross hairs easily). With a reticle eyepiece, you can accurately center the stars that you use for alignment. It is much faster and accurate than the defocused star method of centering the star.

As far as collimation, this article gives you some information: https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-r ... telescope/
I use a very simple Cheshire eyepiece.

I am an imager and rarely do visual (even though I really enjoy it when I do it!), so maybe some visual guys will have better suggestions.

Have fun!
Jim

Scopes: Explore Scientific ED102 APO, Sharpstar 61 EDPH II APO, Samyang 135 F2 (still on the Nikon).
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro with Rowan Belt Mod
Stuff: ASI EAF Focus Motor (x2), ZWO OAG, ZWO 30 mm Guide Scope, ASI 220mm min, ASI 120mm mini, Stellarview 0.8 FR/FF, Sharpstar 0.8 FR/FF, Mele Overloock 3C.
Camera/Filters/Software: ASI 533 mc pro, ASI 120mm mini, ASI 220mm mini , IDAS LPS D-1, Optolong L-Enhance, ZWO UV/IR Cut, N.I.N.A., Green Swamp Server, PHD2, Adobe Photoshop CC, Pixinsight.
Dog and best bud: Jack
Sky: Bortle 6-7
My Astrobin: https://www.astrobin.com/users/Juno16/
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Re: Hello from SE Missouri USA.

#14

Post by jrkirkham »

Welcome to TSS. We will look forward to reading any observing reports you may post.
Rob
Telescopes: 50mm refractor, ED80 triplet, 90mm makcass, 10" dob, 8"SCT, 11"SCT
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Re: Hello from SE Missouri USA.

#15

Post by OzEclipse »

Welcome and I hope you enjoy the challenges that lie ahead exploring the night skies.

Joe
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Re: Hello from SE Missouri USA.

#16

Post by Richard »

Welcome to TSS
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Re: Hello from SE Missouri USA.

#17

Post by Mike Q »

Welcome from cloudy Ohio.
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