I recieved an Edmund Scientific Astroscan telescope Today.?

Question

Why are the eye peices threaded when there is nowhere to screw them on to?
On another note, after quick discouragement, i read that stars look no bigger in a telescope than with the naked eye.
Very true, so is the anything worth looking at with this thing?

Answer 1

You can see a lot more stars and galaxies. Not to mention being able to see planets better, plus moon sights.

Answer 2

Well it's a bit small, but yes, there are pleanty of things to look at.
First off though, your telescope is a richest field newtonian reflector. These are a little different from run of the mill newtonians. They are designed to provide a wide field of view and so are excellent for viewing large star clusters and the band of the milky way visible this time of year.

You should also be able to see when they are out...
Some detail on Jupiter
Saturn and it's rings.
Mars and some detail on it
The ring nebula
The Helix nebula
The Orion nebula
The Andromeda Galaxy
Galaxy M33
A few more of the brighter galaxies and nebula
And many many star clusters

You should buy a sky map book or program which show the location of these objects and also tells you about them, such as the magnitude. You should be able to see things as faint as 6th magnitude from areas with a moderate amount of light pollution, and things much fainter under dark skies.

You will find that the lower powered eyepieces generally offer better quality views. Planets are what you'd want to work up to higher powered eyepieces on, but before you do, let the telescope sit out for a while to "cool" because this allows the telescope to reach thermal equilibrium with the environment. This is important because things tend to expand when warm and contract when cool so it distrupts the optical system as the dimentions of the telescope are changing, resulting in poor views. You may also have trouble using high power if there's a lot of turbulence in the atmosphere.

Answer 3

This is a wonderful little telescope. Do you mean the thread on the inside of the eyepiece barrel? That's to attach filters. No telescope is capable of showing stars as anything other than points of light, because they're so far away. What astronomers look at are the Moon, the planets (Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn currently), double stars, star clusters, nebulae and galaxies, all of which are visible in your Astroscan once you know where to look.

I'd recommend a good book to help you find interesting things in the sky: NightWatch by Terence Dickinson (Firefly).

Answer 4

Hi. The threads allow you to focus. Look for the planets Jupiter, Saturn, and if you look soon, Venus. The Moon is also a good target. Stars all look the same, single points of light, when focused properly, just brighter. That is a nice portable scope! Try this free program for what to see and where. http://www.stellarium.com/

Answer 5

Look at the moon. You'll have to wait about 10 days before it comes out in the evening though.