12th February 2011, 23:45 to 02:00 hrs

Was not getting sleep today. Although had not planned any observing session for today, it happened. The telescope was pulled out and planted, polar aligned and i was ready to go. The moon setting at western horizon looked beautiful. Saw Moon, M42 and Saturn today.

Luckily, today camera was able to focus at the eyepieces. So i took a few pictures and few videos. Here they are. The best video was of Saturn. I could clearly make out the rings. See yourself.

In the video it appears slightly blurry. Actually viewing through the eyepiece gives a sharper image. But still its nice that only with the 20mm eyepiece Saturn is visible with its rings. 20mm = 33x magnification in my scope. Planning to get low mm eyepieces. The view will become better.


The moon Video:

Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ with moon setting on western horizon.

This image is taken by mounting camera on the piggyback mount of the telescope. Let me see if you can find out moon in the picture. Huge amount of light pollution.

Moon from Canon SX 120 IS, 10x zoom, ISO 200, Exp:10s, f=5.6, No Post Processing.

M42 Nebula in the Orion. Canon SX 120 IS mounted on Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ no post processing

M42 Orion Nebula. Some post processing on the same picture.

Notice the star in the center sorrounded by a cloudy patch. Thats the M42 Nebula. Which actually looks like the inset image through the telescope. One of the easiest to find nebulae in the sky. Quite bright too.


Moon through 20mm eyepiece. Notice the orange tint of the setting moon.






Few other images of the moon taken today.

Moon through 20mm Eyepiece

Moon through 20mm Eyepiece, Camera zoomed in.

Flowchart | How to choose a telescope.

A picture is worth a thousand words indeed. Check out the latest telescope choosing flowchart.

How to choose a Telescope flowchart

Having problems in viewing ? See high resolution image HERE

Here is a flowchart which i have made after 2-3 months of research going through websites of various manufacturers like Celestron, Meade, Skywatcher, Orion, Bushnell, Canon, Zhumell and others. A thorough comparison was made considering the specifications of each scope. While Celestron firstscope has other alternatives too like the Skywatcher HERITAGE 76 or HERITAGE P130 the Celestron firstscope has been chosen in the particular subcategory of the flowchart as it suits that category best. Also various features of a certain scope are more likeable than the others. The choice placing Celestron Astromaster 130EQ instead of similar others like the Celestron Powerseeker 127EQ was made  after careful analysis. I also went through a lot of reviews reading various customer feedbacks on a certain product and it was considered while making selections. So if you have the questions like "Which telescope should i buy?" or "How to choose first telescope?" or "Celestron or Meade?" "Binocular or telescope?", i feel they will be answered by this flowchart.

And read related text HERE