Grey_Skies
member
Reged: 08/26/08
Posts: 11
Loc: Washington
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I am very new to astronomy and was looking into buying a dob Newtonian, but looking at it has me a little confused, how do you know how to “steer” it towards your target by mapping if you don’t have any guidance, is it only by the “star hoping” technique? Thanks
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TexBiker
super member
Reged: 12/18/07
Posts: 130
Loc: North Texas
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There are some "go-to" or "push-to" systems available for Dobs. The Orion Intelliscopes are the most common.
However, most are simply used via star hopping. My Orion Intelliscope will find the objects for me, but I enjoy finding my targets manually most of the time.
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Michael
Dallas, TX
Orion 127mm Mak-Cass
Orion 10" Dob
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Grey_Skies
member
Reged: 08/26/08
Posts: 11
Loc: Washington
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Ah,
That’s what i thought, i was looking into a starblast 6, and couldn’t figure out how to steer the thing, so do i need to learn the star hopping way for a telescope like this? If so do you have any suggestive websites that might help me hone my skills at this?
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Joe Lalumia
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/24/07
Posts: 2573
Loc: Rockwall, Texas, USA
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I own an Orion XT10i. It is a PUSHTO scope with a hand controller. You can use it without the computer just by PUSHING it to your target. I have a Telrad and a right angle finder mounted on the telescope.
There are many Telrad star charts available on the internet for free-- just Google "Telrad Chart".
www.flickr.com/boatman1 picture of scope here
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LX90 8" LNT, SV Nighthawk & TelePOD, SV 80/9D & M4 mount, ETX 90, Orion XT10i, 20x80 binoculars, SV-BV3s.
"The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax." - Albert Einstein
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TexBiker
super member
Reged: 12/18/07
Posts: 130
Loc: North Texas
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I just got my scopes a couple of months ago, so I'm still learning myself, but it's not very difficult. Pick up a star chart when you order your scope or just go to the "Sky and Telescope" magazine website and download a current chart. Once you figure out a few of the major stars/constellations, you'll find it's pretty easy to find what you're looking for...assuming your skies are dark enough to find them.
Also, your scope should come with a copy of "Starry Night" software that will show you exactly where everything is located.
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Michael
Dallas, TX
Orion 127mm Mak-Cass
Orion 10" Dob
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stevek
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 04/16/06
Posts: 1229
Loc: west michigan
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FWIW slick_rick & I use a different method than most to guide our manual DOBs. Ya gotta know your constellations and the general area you want to find a target in first...a laptop with Cartes du Ciel or Stellarium, or a good chart help too. but We both have green lasers. He built a magnetic mount for his - I hold mine in my hand. When I shine it thru the spotting scope, the green beam is readily visible and perfectly aligned with the spotter. I push the scope until the beam points where I want it and move over to the spotter and EP from there. Literally takes seconds. Much more preferable to a straight-thru spotter or red-dot finder... for me anyway... not sure if this is info type you were looking for but thought I'd try...
clear skies
steve
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DSO 8" f6 DOB w/ 8x50 RACI & 2"Crayford
1958 Sears Discoverer 76mm Refractor
GSO SV 30mm 2",21mm Hyp,13mm Strat,BO/TMB ver2-6mm & 4mm
1.25"Filters: DGM-NPB, 25%ND
1.25" plossls: 25mm,20mm,15mm,9mm
Orion 2X Shorty Barlow
Garrett Gemini LW 11x56mm binocs
BTG-10 4.0mW green laser pointer
"What is that burning in the sky? Tell me y'all..." Jeff Beck/Jan Hammer
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dgs©
Postmaster
Reged: 03/29/04
Posts: 13915
Loc: West Monroe, Louisiana
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You might find this thread an interesting alternative. 
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- david
8"Ø Newtonian on SVP, Moonlite CR2, Telrad
PST Oberwerk Ultra 15x70 Orion Ultraview 10×50
Hand-me-down Sears Refractor (Discoverer) 60mm×900mm
"What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world, remains and is immortal." --Albert Pike
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Jim Rosenstock
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/14/05
Posts: 2408
Loc: MD, south of the DC Nebula
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Many of us quickly find that it's easy and intuitive to steer a Dob, once you get the hang of it....kind of like riding a bike. If you're a "Dob person", you'll love it.
You can add computerized object locators and even tracking accessories to a dob, but at its heart it's a simple machine that wants to be piloted manually. Great fun!
Clear skies,
Jim
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Lard Greystoke
sage
Reged: 07/27/08
Posts: 202
Loc: Ohio
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Quote:
I am very new to astronomy and was looking into buying a dob Newtonian, but looking at it has me a little confused, how do you know how to “steer” it towards your target by mapping if you don’t have any guidance, is it only by the “star hoping” technique? Thanks
Steering a telescope is not easy until you get the hang of it. First thing to do is be patient until you get experience. Hurry up by slowing down. Some things to do:
1) First off, concentrate on where the image in the eyepiece goes when you push the telescope. Some finders have an erecting image: when you push right, the image moves to the right. But some finders and almost all main scopes have a reversing image: when you push right, the image seems to move to the left. If you don't know already, find out by practice.
2. In addition to which way to push, you need to know how far: to get from one place to another, do you go one eyepiece-width, two, forty? Select some stars that look close together in the sky and see how far apart, and how bright, they look in the eyepiece. Or check the moon, which is half a degree in diameter. See how much of it fits in the eyepiece. For star-hopping, use your lowest-power eyepiece.
Star hopping is not easy at first and does require experience. You should get better at it fairly quickly, so when you get discouraged take a deep breath, try to figure out where you went wrong, and do it again. Astronomy is a participator sport.
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Lard Greystoke
10" Odyssey Compact
"With Tantor, the elephant, he made friends. How? Ask me not."
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Bubbinski
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 06/18/05
Posts: 850
Loc: 40.56 N 111.96 W - Utah
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I used a pair of binoculars and a planisphere as well as a star map to help me get familiar with the constellations, and I also used a right angle correct image finder to save my neck....it worked out great on my Mak.
And starhopping is very easy for me with the Dob and a 9x50 right angle correct image (RACI) finder as well as a Rigel QuickFinder, which helps me make sure the Dob is pointed at the right place in the sky. Good luck!
Justin
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Orion Skyquest XT 4.5, 90 mm Mak, ST 80, 11x56 Garrett Geminis
5/6/9/10/12.5/15/17/20/25/30/32 mm EP's (TMB, Highlight, Expanse, Sirius, Paul Rini), 2x Shorty Plus, 3x Tri-Mag barlows
106 Messiers Observed Since Spring 2005
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FirstSight
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/26/05
Posts: 2517
Loc: Raleigh, NC
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Get a TELRAD for your dob (look it up using Google), a dobsonian scope owner's best friend. You'll get some intuitive experience steering a dob while initially aligning your Telrad to your optical tube during daytime to the top of some distant rooftop, lone tree, or other obvious landmark. [Align using the three adjustment knobs on the Telrad so it points to the same place you see in an eyepiece in the scope].
Now take the scope out at night, pick some obvious naked-eye stellar target (or the moon) and try to maneuver the scope until the Telrad bullseye is centered right over the desired target.
NOTICE I DIDN'T GIVE YOU ANY SPECIFIC DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO "STEER" THE DOB. THAT'S RIGHT - how you steer a dob will within three or four minutes become intuitively self-explainatory, moving the scope around to align objects to the Telrad bullseye.
WHY START LEARNING TO "STEER" WITH A TELRAD (instead of through they eyepiece? BECAUSE the view is inverted in the eyepiece of a dob, and that makes the basic mechanics of maneuvering the dob seem much more formidable than it is. Once you get the "feel" of how to mechanically maneuver a dob, it will be easier to get the hang of moving it with images inverted through the telescope eyepiece.
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Chris M., aka "First Sight"
Orion XT12i Dob with Moonlite CR-2 focuser
WO Megrez 90 refractor on UniStar Light mount
Nikon 10x50 Binoculars
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Grey_Skies
member
Reged: 08/26/08
Posts: 11
Loc: Washington
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Thanks for all the advice!
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Crusader
sage
Reged: 08/14/05
Posts: 402
Loc: Karoo, South Africa
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Being a relatively new dob owner myself I can tell you that it is very easy to get the hang of. I never used any other telescope before I got my dob and it took a couple of minutes to figure out. It's so easy that in my first viewing session I managed to clock up around 30 objects!
The only thing that I'm not completely used to is trying to use the view from the EP to star hop. Luckily the finderscope is all you need in most situations.
A Telrad is a definite must have. If you can't get a Telrad then a normal Red Dot Finder will also help. I only used a normal finder and it was quite easy to get "lost", not knowing exactly where the scope was pointed (which gave cause to some humorous misidentification - e.g thinking Mars was Venus and trying like heck to find Mercury close to Venus without success!).
I got a RDF this week and it helps immensely. It's now much easier to move and align the scope with the brighter stars, and use to finderscope to navigate from there. An added bonus is that once you have located an object you can look through the RDF and see with the naked eye where they are located... also good if you want to show someone where they are looking at.
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Orion Skyquest XT10 10" dob.
Skywatcher Evostar 90mm F/10 Refractor on AZ3 mount.
25mm and 10mm Sirius Plossl eyepieces, Skywatcher 8-24mm Zoom EP. Orion O-III filter & Shorty Plus Barlow.
Spacewallpapers.net - The Ultimate Free Space wallpapers
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Jim Haley
sage
Reged: 07/04/07
Posts: 281
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Almost any introductory to astronomy book tells you how to "star hop". Usually they say "how to navigate around the night sky" which is the same thing.
We just start with something we recognize (big dipper/ursa major for example) and then use the stars there to point us to the next constellation and then that new constellation to take us to the next one and on and on. Use just your eyes first, then perhaps a binocular, and only then the telescope.
Here is a good free monthly map.
http://skymaps.com/
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Jim Haley
12.5" f6 Starsplitter Dob
Orion 8" XTi (with computerized object locator)
Orion 114EQ reflector
80mm f6 refractor
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smasraum
sage
Reged: 01/13/08
Posts: 492
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A binocular and a chart of some sort (printed or electronic) are key for me. Figure out where the object is supposed to be, find it in the binocular and then using the surrounding stars as seen through the binocular, find your way there through the RACI. At some point, I'll be looking for darker stuff that is difficult to see through the binocular, and at that point, I'll have to go to just star charts and hopping or the manual setting circles as referenced in the extra thread above. I've got them printed out for my scope, and I have a digital angle finder, but I haven't tried either yet.
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Steve
Houston (Friendswood), TX
 Space Center Houston
8" Zhumell Dob - Woo Hoo!!
Celestron C102 f/5 - Thanks Tim!
21mm, 13mm Hyperion
2.5x TV Powermate
Canon Rebel XT
Nikon 7x35
Bushnell 10x50
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pops
sage
Reged: 12/22/07
Posts: 337
Loc: Cadiz, Kentucky
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A star chart, telrad and your grasp on the front of the scope is all you need. It's really very easy to "steer" a dob. Have fun.
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Golden Pond Kentucky
10" Zhumell
Sky Commander
Celestron 114EQ
Telrad
Stratus 21mm
Stratus 13mm
Stratus 5mm
"If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got."
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imjeffp
Senior Space Cadet
Reged: 09/30/03
Posts: 4433
Loc: Cedar Park, Texas
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Looking through the eyepiece, push the scope the direction you want the stars to move.
("Star hoping: Where you point the scope at a star and hope you see something.")
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Blog
ST80 • AT80EDT/LXD650
ETX-90/DS-2000 • 10" LX200 Classic ("The Quarter-Meter Telescope at the Heritage Park Observatory")
SPC900NC • DMK21AF04 • Digital Rebel XT
  
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bconley
super member
Reged: 05/28/08
Posts: 183
Loc: New Boston, New Hampshire
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Grey Skies - Nice to meet you...
I'm a newbie as well and only got my first Dob in June. I too was a bit hesitant in getting a Dob because I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy trying to "find" things at night - I've got to tell you though, it's been the best...By not spending globs of money on a gps scope or expensive "go-to" setups, I was able to afford more aperture and got a 10" scope. 2. I thought for sure it was going to be difficult to find things...at first, yeah, I was a little overwhelmed..I live in a fairly dark part of NH and the number of stars was amazing...even the light ones seemed as bright as the bright stars...However, after time, you really start to figure out where everything is in the sky and learn to move from marker to marker to find the object you're looking for...TO BOOT...when you do find that first DSO, you will find it INCREDIBLY rewarding...I remember the first time I was skimming around Lyra and found M57 - The Ring Nebula the first time...I couldn't have been happier knowing I did it myself. Don't have fears of how to locate things - a few good maps, some patience and frequent visits to this website will have you finding a lot of amazing things in no time. Enjoy!
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Now the proud owner of an Orion XT10 Intelliscope!
I set a course just east of Lyra
And Northwest of Pegasus
Flew into the light of Deneb
Sailed across the Milky Way
On my ship the Rocinante
Wheeling through the Galaxy
Headed for the heart of Cygnus
Headlong into mystery!
Rush, Cygnus X-1, 1977
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dgs©
Postmaster
Reged: 03/29/04
Posts: 13915
Loc: West Monroe, Louisiana
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Quote:
Looking through the eyepiece, push the scope the direction you want the stars to move.
A valuable tip from Jeff. 
He beat me to it. 
Then spend as much time as you can just using the thing.
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- david
8"Ø Newtonian on SVP, Moonlite CR2, Telrad
PST Oberwerk Ultra 15x70 Orion Ultraview 10×50
Hand-me-down Sears Refractor (Discoverer) 60mm×900mm
"What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world, remains and is immortal." --Albert Pike
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Grey_Skies
member
Reged: 08/26/08
Posts: 11
Loc: Washington
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Thanks for the vote of confidence bconley, you have put it into a better perspective for me and i am feeling a little less weary about learning this way now.
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