Anonymous
Unregistered
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I am a novice and I have a few questions to throw out here -
1. When cooling down my 8"DSH should I remove the cap from the end of the tube or leave it until show time?
2. I have the Celestron Accessory Kit (only on back order for 6 weeks - at $94 including s/h I could wait). The eps all have caps on both ends. The 25mm Astrola that came with the scope has a cap on only the filter end. Do you all use the caps in your storage boxes or leave them off? Should I try to find a second cover for the ep?
3. My dob base is held together with a 2" bolt and washer with a washer and nut on the top end. I haven't had trouble yet but this looks like a disaster waiting to happen. Should I relplace the bolt with a slightly longer one and double nut it so it can't come loose? Or am I just worrying too much?
4. This may be off topic for here but what books do you most reccommend? I have NightWatch (loved it).
Peace
Kevin
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Kevin
Welcome to Cloudy Nights.
For books there are several good ones. Turn Left at Orion is a favorite starter. Also the Cambridge Guide to Stargazing is very good for explaining terms, and some of the more technical stuff about Astronomy Equipment.
I keep all of my EP's capped when not in use. I usually leave one on the scope with a cover over the viewing end. Caps can be purchased through several of the stores online or locally if you have a store near you. Check out the Cloudy Night Sponsor stores on the main Page.
I will let some of the Dob users answer your other questions.
Again, Welcome.
Keith
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Tom L
Reged: 01/07/04
Posts: 31037
Loc: Sunny Oregon
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Hi Kevin. I have the exact same setup. I never understood why the Astrola EPs only have 1 cap. Hardin's only faux paux! I put the Astrola EPs "lens down" in my celestron case when not in use. I take the tube cap off and tilt the scope about 45 degrees (in case a bird or bat decide to take target practice!) to cool and I like to let it cool atleast 30-45 minutes before I use it. I also put my 32mm, 15mm and 9mm EPs in the holder on the dob as it cools so they are at temp also.
If you are worried about loosing the nut on the base, go buy a locknut at home depot. You don't want it really tight, just snug to keep everything in place. Also, cut out a small "washer" from a plastic milk jug and put it between the 2 layers of the base.
You've read the best book for a novice. I would also recommend Dickinson's book "The Backyard Astronomer's Guide", a good star atlas and a planesphere. There are lots of books out there so make sure you visit the Stellar Reading forum here as well to get the best recommendations.
Regards, Tom
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Tom 
Tele Vue 102mm f/8.6 on an EzTouch
Vixen 80mm f/5 A80SSWT on a grab-n-go mount
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Kevin:
Welcome!
I own one of the worst dobs out there, a Meade 10" Starfinder.
The bolts do look cheesy, but trust me, they work. If you add a longer bolt, it may actually inhibit the ability of your scope to point at zenith (straight up).
My eyepieces didn't come with any caps, and the boxes have been used into tatteredness (my new word  ). What I did, was put my eyepieces on my dresser (which protects the bottom part); mind you these are cheapy eyepieces. For top covers, I cut the tops off waterbottles. I then trimmed more off, until the bottle would just fit over the eyepiece. And, viola: you have a kinda easy made bolt case.
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Kevin;
I scond Tom's recomendation for a planisphere. Excellent tool.
Check out this link also. good for planning:
http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/skychart/#
click on "view the skychart". It will ask you a couple of questions about location and time zone. After you fill those out it will give you an image of the sky for whatever time you want.
Keith
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Hi all,
Thanks for the quick responses.
I never thought about the longer bolt messing with the scopes travel at zenith. Thanks for stopping me before I discovered this in the dark (which is where I spend most of my time with or without a scope). I will just relax and stop worrying.
Books - sorry I didn't see the reading forum. I'll head on over there.
Planisphere - I have one! Instead of using it I have been planning out my evening using StarCalc (Free!). I like the sky maps with this software because I can mirror it. East is on the right where my brain says it should be without holding it over my head.
EP covers - I have tried to find them online apparently I haven't figured out where to look. Help?? If I don't locate them I will try the milk jug thing.
Peace
Kevin
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Tom L
Reged: 01/07/04
Posts: 31037
Loc: Sunny Oregon
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The milk jug thing was for your dobsonian mount, not your eyepieces!
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Tom
Tele Vue 102mm f/8.6 on an EzTouch
Vixen 80mm f/5 A80SSWT on a grab-n-go mount
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Peter Argenziano
Watcher of the Skies
Reged: 11/11/03
Posts: 3642
Loc: Desert Southwest
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Hello Kevin,
For eyepiece caps, try ScopeStuff
http://www.scopestuff.com/ss_eye1.htm
As you are probably already aware, the Messier catalog contains some of the brightest and easiest to find objects in the sky. A book I'd recommend is Harvard Pennington's Year Round Messier Marathon Field Guide (ISBN 0-943396-54-9). It's not just for the marathon...
Peter
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Peter
I come from a small town whose population never changed. Each time a woman got pregnant, someone left town.
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Quote:
The milk jug thing was for your dobsonian mount, not your eyepieces!
Oops! I was paying attention, just responding to too many posts at once with my slow brain.
Peace
Kevin
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