I can see Mars with the naked eye, get it centered in the viewfinder
and in the telescope eye piece: I see a brilliant orange thing, bright
but tiny. So far so good. I crank the eyepiece end of things out and
watch the orange thing get bigger but increasingly blurry until it
fills the eyepiece completely.
Now what? How can I focus the telescope to see any actual detail? Or
am I doomed to see nothing more than the Neanderthals saw the last
time Mars was this close?
It seems to me there should be some more granular controls somewhere,
but other than the knobs that lock and unlock the telescope barrel
from moving, I don't see anything.
here's a picture thay may help, if you need more detail:
http://buy.overstock.com/images/products/L929792.jpg
Thanks for any help.
>>I can see Mars with the naked eye, get it centered in the viewfinder
and in the telescope eye piece: I see a brilliant orange thing, bright
but tiny. So far so good. I crank the eyepiece end of things out and
watch the orange thing get bigger but increasingly blurry until it
fills the eyepiece completely.<<<
When Mars appears as small as you can get it through the telescope then that
would be when it is properly focused. If the image is too small for you at
that point, then you need a more powerful eyepiece. Your eyepieces have
numbers on them. Numbers like: 25mm, 18mm, 12mm, 6mm, and etc. The
smaller the number, the more powerful the eyepiece. On the tube of that
scope somewhere you should see its focal length. . .Something like 480mm,
700mm, 910mm. Divide the number on the eyepiece into the focal length of
the telescope to derive the power of the scope using that eyepiece. Good
luck.
Martin
<snip>
> I can see Mars with the naked eye, get it centered in the viewfinder
> and in the telescope eye piece: I see a brilliant orange thing, bright
> but tiny. So far so good. I crank the eyepiece end of things out and
> watch the orange thing get bigger but increasingly blurry until it
> fills the eyepiece completely.
Most likely it was in focus when it appeared "tiny". I can tell you
that if it fills the entire eyepiece, it is most certainly out of focus.
;-) In focus, it'll probably look the size of a dime from 6 feet
away. (not a scientific measure, just the way I perceive it to look)
> Now what? How can I focus the telescope to see any actual detail? Or
> am I doomed to see nothing more than the Neanderthals saw the last
> time Mars was this close?
You should probably be able to see a fair amount of detail, but it's not
going to look like Hubble. Take some time, focus the image, and stare
at it for a while. You may be able to see the ice cap and some dark
areas on the surface.
> It seems to me there should be some more granular controls somewhere,
> but other than the knobs that lock and unlock the telescope barrel
> from moving, I don't see anything.
Some higher-end telescopes have finer focusing controls. What you've
got is probably adequate though, just focus carefully.
HTH
-Matt
--
Remove 'TINLC' to reply.
>here's a picture thay may help, if you need more detail:
>http://buy.overstock.com/images/products/L929792.jpg
>
>Thanks for any help.
The item I really like is this reflector pictured with the finderscope
pointing the wrong way
http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2.cgi?PAGE=PROFRAME&PROD_ID=305827
Now you can have your chest centered with the back of the mirror at
all times.
G../0
Others have answered your questions. I would only note that you
shouldn't belittle yourself because:
a) You are an amateur like all other amateur astronomers.
b) Your questions are not dumb.
Davoud
--
usenet *at* davidillig dawt com
I found the item directly below it in the right column interesting. It
appears to be some new reflector in a refractor package. We should call
it a "reflactor"!
-Al
A bit of a Heads Up.
The scope is mounted backwards in the photo. The way it is mounted in the
photo it could only be used to 20 degrees elevation. I am quite sure the OP
recognized this when setting up the scope.
jon
> I have been trying to work out how I can actually see
> anything a 6 year old will find interesting.
See other replies, particularly about magnification and focus:
I just wanted to point out that interpreting what he sees on Mars with
this scope may be beyond and therefore uninteresting to a 6 year old -
start with the moon to excite him, go from there. Then by the time Mars
rolls around again in a couple of years he should be primed to check it out.
it really doesn't appear any larger in the viewfinder than to the
naked eye, sadly. Now that I have a better idea what I'm doing, I'll
take a little more time and see what I can see.
Thanks again.
Might I suggest when looking at the Moon, Do so when it is a partial phase
and not as much when Full.
Then look along the terminator, the line where the dark and light meet and
you will see more than you will when looking at a full moon.
Nice thing about doing that is you can also do that during daylight.
Makes it easier to get that 6 year old up for school the next morning 8*)
--
Clear Skies!
========
Tim Longwell
Black River Astronomical Society
http://junior.apk.net/~arstar50/BlackRiver.index.html
Elyria, Ohio
=========
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