11 replies to this topic

[zuluviper]

Hi,

 

My first telescope and I am not having a good time. I plunged for the evostar 72ED as a good starter telescope for astrophotography and for the price the optics are said to be very good. My first shock was that there was no eyepiece, I ordered one from amazon a svbony 2inch 26 mm :

 

https://www.amazon.c...roduct_details 

 

I assumed all EPs such as the one above would be compatible for all refractor telescopes, after many days of England under the cover of grey clouds the skies opened up for 2 hours today and I rushed out for my first light and hmm could not get focus on the eye piece.

 

I tried everything and am left frustrated - that yet again I seemed to have made a mistake of some sort but not sure what! hence why I am here.

 

I would be grateful if someone can point me in the right direction regarding what I have done wrong?

 

this was the setup:

 

(Telescope) + (EP 26mm) = no focus no matter where the focusing tube was. 

 

Thank you for your help.

 

 

[cookjaiii]

Are you using a diagonal?

[zuluviper]

Are you using a diagonal?

No I am not using a diagonal. 

 

I have ordered one and am awaiting delivery from amazon.

 

Surely that cannot be the issue?

[astrokeith]

No I am not using a diagonal. 

 

I have ordered one and am awaiting delivery from amazon.

 

Surely that cannot be the issue?

Sure is.

 

The scope will have a limited amount of focus travel as it expects to have a filter & camera, or a diagonal.

[Bean614]

"Surely that cannot be the issue?".......!!!!

 

Surely it IS(!!!) the issue!  The light-path NEEDS that extra distance to come to focus!

[zuluviper]

Sure is.

 

The scope will have a limited amount of focus travel as it expects to have a filter & camera, or a diagonal.

Thank you for your reply and help

 

Doh! 

 

Just checked amazon and delivery is not due till 8th Feb 2023 - aaagggggh DOH!

 

But once again thank you for your help I really appreciate it.  

[zuluviper]

"Surely that cannot be the issue?".......!!!!

 

Surely it IS(!!!) the issue!  The light-path NEEDS that extra distance to come to focus!

Thank you for explaining - apologies this is all new and it is a very steep learning curve. So much to learn, so little good seeing.

[sevenofnine]

Welcome to C/N! 

 

Trust me, we've all been there. How all this astro equipment works together can be baffling. If you are heading toward AP to start this hobby, know that you are jumping into the deep end of the pool. Before you buy any more equipment, this book is highly recommended "The Deep-Sky Imaging Primer 3rd ed." by Charles Bracken. Best of luck to you! 

Edited by sevenofnine, 30 January 2023 - 06:55 PM.

[Keith Rivich]

Thank you for explaining - apologies this is all new and it is a very steep learning curve. So much to learn, so little good seeing.

Its all part of the fun! When we use the 11" refractor at the George Observatory we have a set of extension tubes for straight through (sans diagonal) viewing. With out the tubes none of the eyepieces will come to focus. 

[NightSkyD]

Welcome to C/N! 

 

Trust me, we've all been there. How all this astro equipment works together can be baffling. If you are heading toward AP to start this hobby, know that you are jumping into the deep end of the pool. Before you buy any more equipment, this book is highly recommended "The Deep-Sky Imaging Primer 3rd ed." by Charles Bracken. Best of luck to you! 

I second that the Charles Brackens book is an excellent read, and a great primer for Astrophotography. Another good book to help learn all that is needed in equipment and other things as well as a brief explanation of imaging is “The Backyard Astronomers Guide” by Terence & Dickinson: 

 

https://www.amazon.c...n/dp/0228103274

 

Since you have so many cloudy nights, these are great initial studies to get you ready for the times when there is good seeing. I live in the north Houston, Texas area and it is cloudy many days of the year here as well and seeing can be poor to good most times and on some days good to average and above average, rarely excellent seeing but it happens. Be prepared to do a lot of learning, research, and reading as you begin to travel down the rabbit hole.

 

Astrophotography is in no way near as easy as landscape or terrestrial photography. But once you start to master the steps needed to take images and message them in post processing, it all comes together and it starts to make sense. When you get to that point, it’s time to slap your forehead and say, why didn’t I see that before? 

[JOEinCO]

....this is all new and it is a very steep learning curve. So much to learn, so little good seeing.

 

 

 

Always something to learn. 

 

Just so you know: "Seeing" only refers to the steadiness of the atmosphere you are looking through, and nothing else. It is not a term describing overall conditions.  

[NightSkyD]

 

Always something to learn. 

 

Just so you know: "Seeing" only refers to the steadiness of the atmosphere you are looking through, and nothing else. It is not a term describing overall conditions.  

This is good to distinguish what seeing describes. When I was describing cloudiness in Texas and then mentioned seeing after that, just so you know, I was not referencing seeing as cloudiness. As Joe mentioned seeing is concerned with the steadiness, i.e., turbulence of the atmosphere so don’t confuse that with cloudiness. Seeing is a separate condition as well as transparency. Transparency affects the overall image quality due to other factors, such as smoke, dust, humidity, etc. that will limit the available image quality and clarity. So you have three conditions cloudiness, transparency, and seeing, that are most important in astronomy that describe what makes a clear image either visually or photographically. I use Astrospheric to give a visual representation for planning days ahead of time. A screenshot shown below: