Astronomical observations
The first observations with the new telescope should be performed during dusk, so that you get familiar with your new telescope
quickly. Always remember never to look at or near the sun! Choose a object that is easy to find and far away
– a mountain top,
a lighthouse or suchlike. Roughly point the telescope on the object. Now look through the finder scope and move the telescope
until the red dot of light appears centered onto the object. If your are looking through a eyepiece with low magnification, you
should now be able to see the object in the telescope. Focus the image carefully, center it in the field of view and fine tune the
alignment of the finder if necessary. Now that you are getting more familiar with the telescope you can try to watch the moon (if
visible); it should be possible to use the telescope without additional light now without problems. The moon is can be observed
best during the periods where less than 50% of its surface are bright. So you can see the detailed shadows that the sun is
causing when the light hits the craters from the side angle
– creating a 3D-like experience. We recommend using a neutral
density filter for the moon that reduces the glare. During full moon the surface appears evenly bright without contrast and
prominent structures.
If you are spending a few successive nights watching the moon you will notice the change in the appearance of the mountains,
craters and marea due to the change of the phase of the moon
– a very interesting effect!
The planets
During their orbit around the sun the planets are continuously changing their position on the sky. You can find the actual position
of the planets in astronomy circulars and soon on the information center of the Explore Scientific homepage. The following
planets are especially suited for observations with your telescope:
Venus:
The diameter of Venus is about 9/10 the diameter of the earth. When Venus is orbiting the sun the astronomer can observe the
change of the light phases of Venus during this orbit: Sickle, half Venus, full Venus
– very much like the phases of the moon.
The planetary disc of Venus appears white because the sunlight is reflected by a compact layer of clouds that covers all surface
details. Venus is only visible before dawn and shortly after dusk in the vicinity of the sun, so be careful not to look into the sun.
Mars:
The diameter of mars is about half the earths diameter. In a telescope Mars appears as a tiny red-orange disk. Maybe you will
see a tiny white patch when you look at the polar regions that are covered in ice. About every two years, when Mars and Eearth
reach their smallest distance you can discover new features.
Jupiter:
The biggest planet in our solar system is Jupiter with about 11 times bigger equatorial diameter than the earth. The Planet
appears as a disk that is covered in dark lines. Those lines are cloud bands in the atmosphere of Jupiter. Even with low
magnification 4 of the 67 moons of Jupiter are visible
– the so called Galilean moons (Io, Ganymed, Europa and Callisto).
Because those moons are orbiting Jupiter the visible number and position changes. Sometimes a moon passes above the
planetary disc of Jupiter
– then the shadow of the moon can be spotted on the planet as a sharp dark spot.
Saturn:
Saturn has a diameter about 9 times the earths diameter and appears as small roundish disc. You can see the rings of Saturn
on both sides of the planetary disc. Galilei, who was the first human observer of this planet in 1610 couldn´t know that the planet
had rings
– he described that Saturn had „ears“. The rings of Saturn mainly consist of billions of icy particles – from tiniest dust
up to the size of a house. The biggest division in the rings, the so called “Cassini division” should be easily seen with your
telescope in nights of steady air. The biggest of the 62 moons of Saturn, Titan, is also visible as a bright, starlike object in the
vicinity of the planet. Up to 6 moons can be detected in your telescope.
Deep-Sky-Objects
To locate constellations, stars or
„deep-sky-objects“, it makes sense to use a star chart. We will list a selection of deep sky
objects here:
Stars
are giant objects that mainly consist of gas. Due to the nuclear fusion in their core they radiate energy and shine. The
stars are extremely far away. Because of this vast distance they appear as tiny spots of light in your telescope, despite their size
– no matter how big your telescope is.
Nebulae
are giant interstellar clouds of gas and dust. Within those clouds new stars are born. The premier nebula on the
northern hemisphere is the Great Orion Nebula, a diffuse nebula that looks like a fuzzy patch of light. M42 is 1600 light years
away from earth.
A
open cluster
is a group of young stars that were born in a single diffuse nebula not too long ago (on an astronomical time
scale…). The Plejades are a open cluster in a distance of about 410 light years. You can see several hundred stars in the
telescope.
Constellations
are big patterns of stars that were believed tob e celestial representations of men, gods and objects by the old
civilizations. Those patterns are too big to be observed at a single glance through a telescope. If you want to become familiar
with the constellations, start with a pattern that is easy to find, like the Big Dipper in the constellation Ursa Major. Try to locate
the other constellations in the neighborhood of this constellation in the second step and move on to even more distant patterns.
Galaxies are gigantic accumulations of stars, nebulae and clusterst hat are held together by gravity. Most galaxies have a spiral
shape (like for example our own galaxy, the milky way), but there are also galaxies with elliptical or irregular shapes. The
closest spiral galaxy is the Andromeda-Galaxy (M31). The core of M31 looks like a bright patch of light in your telescope
–
under dark clear skies you will be able to detect features in this object with your telescope.
