Edugeek Telescope thread

[Ditto]

Following on from a recent @Dos_Box post, I thought it might be good to have a thread for those of us with a telescope.

 

A few years ago I bought a second hand Celestron NEXSTAR 6SE for a good price from a retired couple who'd moved in to a new flat, only to find a massive street lamp outside their balcony! I'm in a relatively low light pollution area and I am within a few hundred meters of a traditional common with a large expanse of the sky viewable. To be honest I haven't done it justice to date. I have a few different eye-pieces, but haven't managed to set it up to use the electronic motorised 'go to' system.

 

I've had a few really good views of the moon, but I guess a simple ambition would be to the kids to be able see satellite rings on planets. With the prospect of some clear skies, I'd love some inspiration to take things forward another step.

 

It would be great to hear from others, what equipment you have and how you are getting on with viewing the night skies.

[6Foot2]

Link: Free course: Astronomy with an online telescope [Open University]

 

This free course, Astronomy with an online telescope, shows you how to navigate the night sky, and introduces the wide variety of objects it contains. You will develop a hands-on understanding of telescopic observations using the Open University’s own robotic telescope facility COAST sited on the island of Tenerife. Supported by your own measurements we illustrate how stars evolve, and study variable stars.

 

For those new to astronomy and/or the use of robotic telescopes this course provides a practical introduction and will prepare you for further OU study where remotely operable telescopes feature. For those undertaking the GCSE Astronomy course or studying informally the series of structured activities this course contains will allow you to produce a beautiful image of a celestial object of your choice – and analyse the changing magnitude of a variable star over time (one of the approved aided GCSE Astronomy projects)...

 

...Course learning outcomes

 

After studying this course, you should be able to:

 

• understand how the apparent motion of the night sky is caused by the rotation of the Earth and the movement of the Earth in its orbit around the Sun
  
• understand how the human eye adapts to dark conditions and how to use dark adapted vision to its best effect when observing the night sky
  
• have an understanding of the different types of telescopes and the advantages of an observatory location at a remote site such as Tenerife
  
• understand how the positions of celestial objects are specified and be able to use this knowledge to predict when a given object will be visible in order to plan observations and make and collect images from the COAST telescope in Tenerife
  
• understand the processes by which stars shine and how they evolve and the causes of variability in stars.