22 May 2023

As long as I'm using this as a general astronomy journal, not just an observing log, I want to mention some things I bought to hopefully help me out.

The first item is one that I mentioned before, "The NexStar Users Guide II". by Michael Swanson. This book has much more detailed information than the Celestron users guide that comes with the telescope. I credit this book for being able to have a successful night on May 6. It is part of the "Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series".

More purchases were made that should help. First is an Astro-Tech 24mm illuminated reticle eyepiece, from Astronomics (https://www.astronomics.com/astro-tech-24mm-illuminated-reticle-eyepiece.html). This should help me center the alignment target stars more accurately. I also considered the Celestron 13mm eyepiece with dual crosshairs, creating a small box in the center (https://www.celestron.com/products/crossaim-reticle-eyepiece). I decided on the Astro-Tech because of the wider field of view.

Second was an Astro-Zap dew shield from. Dew hasn't been an issue so far, but is certain to do so at some point. It also acts as a light shield blocking sources such as neighbors lights, etc.

Up until now, my primary paper atlas has been a copy of "Nortons 2000 Star Atlas and Reference" that I have owned for close to 30 years. The third purchase was a copy of "Turn Left At Orion".This is another purchase that I went back and forth over, but finally decided it was exactly what I needed to be more accurate and effective in my sessions. It is a large spiral bound book made to be opened flat and used at the telescope. I was right, this is one of the best tools I have bought. Just as an aside, one of the reasons I went back and forth on whether to purchase this is that there are many really good atlas and reference books out there.

Fourth item is a Celestron piggy-back mount so I can mount a DSLR camera on top of the telescope. This will allow me to take images with the telescope mount providing the tracking for a camera and lens so I can attempt some basic astrophotography. Our daughter Cindy bought me "Astrophotography Is Easy" by Gregory L. Redfern. This is another book in the Patrick Moore series. There is also a web page that talks about astrophotography with the Celestron NexStar 8 SE. This blog post ( amazingly, called "Astrophotography with the NexStar 8SE") was also really helpful.

My primary interest remains visual astronomy. I am going to start trying to do sketches to improve my observation skills. However, it would be nice to have some fairly decent images to occasionally share with family and friends. 
 
 

Astrophotography is Easy!: Basics for Beginners





 

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