New owner of a Celestron Super C8 Plus!

[drstratton]

Hi all!  My name's Rene' and I'm here to learn.  My husbands aunt just gifted us his late uncle's telescope. He purchased it new in 1986 and we were told that it sat in a corner for the last 30+ years. It is in immaculate condition! My husband used to look through his uncles older telescope when he was a kid over 50 years ago and he had been talking to his aunt about it as they were reminiscing about his uncle.  She called us a couple of weeks later and asked us if we would be interested in having the Super C8 Plus, she wanted to keep it in the family.  We told her we would be thrilled to have it. We just brought it home today and we are complete beginners. I'm hoping there is someone here with knowledge of this particular scope.  The first thing that I want to do is take pictures of the moon.  Thank you!

Edited July 10, 2021 by drstratton

[gabs]

6 hours ago, drstratton said:

Hi all!  My name's Rene' and I'm here to learn.  My husbands aunt just gifted us his late uncle's telescope. He purchased it new in 1986 and we were told that it sat in a corner for the last 30+ years. It is in immaculate condition! My husband used to look through his uncles older telescope when he was a kid over 50 years ago and he had been talking to his aunt about it as they were reminiscing about his uncle.  She called us a couple of weeks later and asked us if we would be interested in having the Super C8 Plus, she wanted to keep it in the family.  We told her we would be thrilled to have it. We just brought it home today and we are complete beginners. I'm hoping there is someone here with knowledge of this particular scope.  The first thing that I want to do is take pictures of the moon.  Thank you!

Great scope and nice guitar ! Look like a Gibson les Paul!

 

welcome here I hope you will enjoy happy to help you with any questions!

 

to take picture of the moon , check the moon phase better do not take picture when the moon when is full , you can see more details when it is at 80-70 % the first or third quarter for example. 
do you have a camera? 

 

clear skies! 

[Carastro]

The telescope is a super instrument, especially for visual and imaging planets and the Moon.  It will be less good for deep sky Astrophotography due to it's "slow" optics, but it has been done.

 

What I am less sure about is what it is sitting on (Mount).   It is difficult to tell from the picture, any chance you can take a photo of the mount at a 90 degree rotated angle so you can see how it is constructed.  It looks like it could be an Equatorial Mount (one set up to match the Earth's axis), but does it have a motor drive?

 

If it has motors that will help with planetary imaging, and visual.  But I have a feeling you may need to replace the mount if you want to do any serious Deep Sky Astrophotogrophy in the future, but one thing at a time.

 

Carole   

 

 

[MarkAR]

Hi Rene, welcome to the forum. Looks like you have a decent set up there. 

Fork Mount and EQ wedge, the wedge means you can track an object and take images without getting image rotation.

First thing to learn is getting it set up and Polar Aligned correctly. 

Edited July 10, 2021 by MarkAR

[Marmot]

Hi and welcome to The Yard.

I had a quick look on the Net and details of the scope are easily available. If you don’t have any paperwork with the scope you can get the instruction manual off the Net by searching on the name of the scope. You will need to read through the instructions to learn how to set it up correctly in order that it is polar aligned. This will be required if you intend to use it for Astro Photography (AP). 

I am not a photographer myself so can not give you any detailed advice on the subject, but I am sure that others here will. 

I would expect that you also intend to also do some observing with your scope. It is capable of respectable magnifications, but this will be affected by the eyepieces you use. Therefore, it would also assist if you stated what eyepieces, if any, came with the scope.

If you need to learn your way around the sky, I can recommend a site called “Stellarium” which will show you what is where in the sky at any given time from your chosen location.

I haven’t been doing this for long myself, but it’s a fascinating pastime with a lot to learn. I hope you enjoy it and it makes you smile 🙂

[drstratton]

13 hours ago, gabs said:

Great scope and nice guitar ! Look like a Gibson les Paul!

 

welcome here I hope you will enjoy happy to help you with any questions!

 

to take picture of the moon , check the moon phase better do not take picture when the moon when is full , you can see more details when it is at 80-70 % the first or third quarter for example. 
do you have a camera? 

 

clear skies! 

Hi and thank you for the welcome!  The guitar belongs to my son and it's a Les Paul!

 

Thank you for the tip on viewing the moon.  It was new here last night, so it will be fun to watch it grow in a way I've never done firsthand before!

 

For now I will be trying to take pictures with my cellphone using a Celestron NexYZ 3-Axis Universal Smartphone Adapter!  Hopefully I will be able to get a camera for it in the near future! I looked through the lens at some of our tree's today and took a freehand picture with my phone camera!

[drstratton]

12 hours ago, Carastro said:

The telescope is a super instrument, especially for visual and imaging planets and the Moon.  It will be less good for deep sky Astrophotography due to it's "slow" optics, but it has been done.

 

What I am less sure about is what it is sitting on (Mount).   It is difficult to tell from the picture, any chance you can take a photo of the mount at a 90 degree rotated angle so you can see how it is constructed.  It looks like it could be an Equatorial Mount (one set up to match the Earth's axis), but does it have a motor drive?

 

If it has motors that will help with planetary imaging, and visual.  But I have a feeling you may need to replace the mount if you want to do any serious Deep Sky Astrophotogrophy in the future, but one thing at a time.

 

Carole   

 

 

It does have a motor, but I haven't gotten that far in the book yet.  Here's an article that I found yesterday.  It tells all about my setup! https://www.chuckhawks.com/celestron_super_C8.htm

I do believe that it is an Equatorial Mount, but again, I haven't gotten that far in the book yet and I'm totally new! Here are pictures of the front, side and back of the mount! It has something called a Deluxe Latitude Adjuster...I still have a lot of reading to get done.  The Astrophotography will definitely be something that I will have to slowly get into.  Thank you!

 

 

 

Edited July 10, 2021 by drstratton

[drstratton]

11 hours ago, MarkAR said:

Hi Rene, welcome to the forum. Looks like you have a decent set up there. 

Fork Mount and EQ wedge, the wedge means you can track an object and take images without getting image rotation.

First thing to learn is getting it set up and Polar Aligned correctly. 

Hi Mark!  Thank you for the welcome!  I think we will get a lot of enjoyment out of it.  Thanks for the info on the wedge.  I definitely have a lot to learn!  I will try and get through the book and learn how to get it aligned, but it will take some time!

[drstratton]

9 hours ago, Marmot said:

Hi and welcome to The Yard.

I had a quick look on the Net and details of the scope are easily available. If you don’t have any paperwork with the scope you can get the instruction manual off the Net by searching on the name of the scope. You will need to read through the instructions to learn how to set it up correctly in order that it is polar aligned. This will be required if you intend to use it for Astro Photography (AP). 

I am not a photographer myself so can not give you any detailed advice on the subject, but I am sure that others here will. 

I would expect that you also intend to also do some observing with your scope. It is capable of respectable magnifications, but this will be affected by the eyepieces you use. Therefore, it would also assist if you stated what eyepieces, if any, came with the scope.

If you need to learn your way around the sky, I can recommend a site called “Stellarium” which will show you what is where in the sky at any given time from your chosen location.

I haven’t been doing this for long myself, but it’s a fascinating pastime with a lot to learn. I hope you enjoy it and it makes you smile 🙂

Hi and thank you for the welcome!  It came with a 26mm and a 7mm eyepiece and a 1.8x Barlow! I have the full package, including the instruction manual, I believe there is another supplemental manual that was extra, I will need to do a search and see if I can find it.   I believe this is going to become an enjoyable pastime!

[gabs]

37 minutes ago, drstratton said:

It does have a motor, but I haven't gotten that far in the book yet.  Here's an article that I found yesterday.  It tells all about my setup! https://www.chuckhawks.com/celestron_super_C8.htm

I do believe that it is an Equatorial Mount, but again, I haven't gotten that far in the book yet and I'm totally new! Here are pictures of the front, side and back of the mount! It has something called a Deluxe Latitude Adjuster...I still have a lot of reading to get done.  The Astrophotography will definitely be something that I will have to slowly get into.  Thank you!

 

 

 

With this mount you are one step ahead respect to my first scope.
Are you able to understand if is a go-to mount so that means you can choose the target you want to observe and the scope is moving automatically until it find the target. 
 

if you are interested in astrophotography or just observing here you will find many people with lots of experience able to assist you at anytime!

 

good luck and enjoy your gear! 

[Marmot]

8 hours ago, drstratton said:

Hi and thank you for the welcome!  The guitar belongs to my son and it's a Les Paul!

 

Thank you for the tip on viewing the moon.  It was new here last night, so it will be fun to watch it grow in a way I've never done firsthand before!

 

For now I will be trying to take pictures with my cellphone using a Celestron NexYZ 3-Axis Universal Smartphone Adapter!  Hopefully I will be able to get a camera for it in the near future! I looked through the lens at some of our tree's today and took a freehand picture with my phone camera!

Starting to play around with your scope in daylight is a great way of learning about its workings. When you start observing, you will be operating it in darkness, so you need to know your way around it.

I do just what you have mentioned, and play around looking at daytime targets whenever I want to try out a new eyepiece or other piece of new kit.

it sounds like you are keen to get it in action ASAP with the moon as your target. Obviously, at the moment it doesn’t get dark till late, but the moon can be comfortably viewed in twilight. That way you don’t have to stay up so late and as there is still some light, you can see more of what you’re doing. It’s easy to search on the net to find the moonrise and moon set times to assess when it’s visible before darkness. Many people assume the moon rises at night, but in reality it’s a target that changes frequently as to its size, brightness and when it’s visible. Sometimes it’s up in the night, sometimes it’s up in the day. It’s a bit of a fickle thing, but it’s a fun target.

As Gabs has touched on, it’s also best as a target when it’s not full. A full moon is very bright and has less contrast in the detail compared to when it’s only partially formed.

youre scope is the kind of thing that many novices could only dream of. It’s really quite a beast and could give you magnificent views of something as clear as the moon. 

Don’t be tempted to immediately use your most powerful eyepiece (7mm) as it’s far easier to locate a target in a low powered piece (26mm) before deciding to increase magnification by swapping the eyepiece (ep).

The idea is not to achieve the highest possible magnification, but rather that which gives the clearest and most pleasing view. Hence the choice available and the reason that most have a selection of EPs to choose from.

It’s cloudy at the moment (at least where I am) so keep messing about with it in daytime, get used to it and gave some fun.

[Marmot]

One other bit of advice: Having obtained a pre owned scope that may have been in storage for a time, you may be tempted to clean it. Leave the optics alone! It’s so easy to cause damage by incorrect cleaning. It takes a lot of dust etc to accumulate before it affects anything adversely and the optics are delicate. If for any reason you feel there are any marks etc then seek advice (on here) before you go near them.

[drstratton]

22 hours ago, gabs said:

With this mount you are one step ahead respect to my first scope.
Are you able to understand if is a go-to mount so that means you can choose the target you want to observe and the scope is moving automatically until it find the target. 
 

if you are interested in astrophotography or just observing here you will find many people with lots of experience able to assist you at anytime!

 

good luck and enjoy your gear! 

Thank you, it's a very nice scope and I'm already having fun with it.  It's not a goto mount...would be cool if it was though!  I hope to eventually get into astrophotography, I will be taking simple pictures of the moon and daylight pictures using my phone camera for now!

 

 

[gabs]

4 minutes ago, drstratton said:

Thank you, it's a very nice scope and I'm already having fun with it.  It's not a goto mount...would be cool if it was though!  I hope to eventually get into astrophotography, I will be taking simple pictures of the moon and daylight pictures using my phone camera for now!

 

 

Feel free to ask any questions here. 
i am beginner astrophotographer it’s a big learning curve but very exciting when you get some result!

[drstratton]

14 hours ago, Marmot said:

Starting to play around with your scope in daylight is a great way of learning about its workings. When you start observing, you will be operating it in darkness, so you need to know your way around it.

I do just what you have mentioned, and play around looking at daytime targets whenever I want to try out a new eyepiece or other piece of new kit.

it sounds like you are keen to get it in action ASAP with the moon as your target. Obviously, at the moment it doesn’t get dark till late, but the moon can be comfortably viewed in twilight. That way you don’t have to stay up so late and as there is still some light, you can see more of what you’re doing. It’s easy to search on the net to find the moonrise and moon set times to assess when it’s visible before darkness. Many people assume the moon rises at night, but in reality it’s a target that changes frequently as to its size, brightness and when it’s visible. Sometimes it’s up in the night, sometimes it’s up in the day. It’s a bit of a fickle thing, but it’s a fun target.

As Gabs has touched on, it’s also best as a target when it’s not full. A full moon is very bright and has less contrast in the detail compared to when it’s only partially formed.

youre scope is the kind of thing that many novices could only dream of. It’s really quite a beast and could give you magnificent views of something as clear as the moon. 

Don’t be tempted to immediately use your most powerful eyepiece (7mm) as it’s far easier to locate a target in a low powered piece (26mm) before deciding to increase magnification by swapping the eyepiece (ep).

The idea is not to achieve the highest possible magnification, but rather that which gives the clearest and most pleasing view. Hence the choice available and the reason that most have a selection of EPs to choose from.

It’s cloudy at the moment (at least where I am) so keep messing about with it in daytime, get used to it and gave some fun.

Thank you, I'm enjoying taking pictures with it! I'll share a couple in my next stand alone post.  I should get my phone adapter tomorrow.  Taking the pictures freehand doesn't yield as good of a result, at least I hope I will get better results with the adapter.  We looked at the stars last night, it was quite enjoyable and definitely different than what you can see with the naked eye! The moon wasn't visible last night, but it will be soon! It will be a while before I purchase any new accessories for it, I need to learn how to use what I have.  Thanks for the heads up on the EP's, I wasn't ready to swap out yet, so your advice cements that! This is certainly not something I ever dreamed of having the privilege to own...it's amazing!

13 hours ago, Marmot said:

One other bit of advice: Having obtained a pre owned scope that may have been in storage for a time, you may be tempted to clean it. Leave the optics alone! It’s so easy to cause damage by incorrect cleaning. It takes a lot of dust etc to accumulate before it affects anything adversely and the optics are delicate. If for any reason you feel there are any marks etc then seek advice (on here) before you go near them.

This is great advice...I believe I read it in my manual, but if I hadn't, I would not have had any idea about it!

[drstratton]

8 minutes ago, gabs said:

Feel free to ask any questions here. 
i am beginner astrophotographer it’s a big learning curve but very exciting when you get some result!

Thank you!  I'm sure I will have a lot of questions! 🙂

[drstratton]

I took a few more daylight pictures yesterday!  Our yard is surrounded by tree's, I'm going to need to take it outside of there perimeter at some point to get some different shots, but for now, I'm having fun in the yard!

 

One of our resident Vulture's!

 

A cluster of Trumpet Vine Flowers!

[gabs]

8 minutes ago, drstratton said:

I took a few more daylight pictures yesterday!  Our yard is surrounded by tree's, I'm going to need to take it outside of there perimeter at some point to get some different shots, but for now, I'm having fun in the yard!

 

One of our resident Vulture's!

 

A cluster of Trumpet Vine Flowers!

There are very nice pictures! Thanks for sharing them!

[Marmot]

7 hours ago, drstratton said:

I took a few more daylight pictures yesterday!  Our yard is surrounded by tree's, I'm going to need to take it outside of there perimeter at some point to get some different shots, but for now, I'm having fun in the yard!

 

One of our resident Vulture's!

 

A cluster of Trumpet Vine Flowers!

A resident vulture! Where on earth are you? 🤔

 

[drstratton]

16 hours ago, gabs said:

There are very nice pictures! Thanks for sharing them!

Thank you!  I can't wait to use the adapter that I ordered.  Hopefully I will be able to take pictures that are more focused!

[drstratton]

12 hours ago, Marmot said:

A resident vulture! Where on earth are you? 🤔

 

😂 We are in Washington state.  We planted tree lines all around our yard, it can be quite windy here.  The tree's have become home to many different birds.  One day the Vultures showed up and decided to live here.  I've seen up to 25 flying above our yard, but they don't all live in our tree's.  They come in the Spring and leave before Winter.  We also have Owls.  I have a picture of one sitting on my deck that I took with my cellphone camera, hopefully I will see one in the tree's and I'll be able to get a better picture using the scope!

[Marmot]

It looks like you’re having fun whilst getting used to your scope. Your daylight images are great and I look forward to seeing your first ones of the moon.

I never realised that Washington State had vultures! I have sparrows in the hedge next to my house😃

[drstratton]

17 minutes ago, Marmot said:

It looks like you’re having fun whilst getting used to your scope. Your daylight images are great and I look forward to seeing your first ones of the moon.

I never realised that Washington State had vultures! I have sparrows in the hedge next to my house😃

I am enjoying it! We have a lot of sparrows, quail, doves, finches....the list goes on! Have you taken pictures of your sparrows?  Cumbria is in the UK?

[drstratton]

I had some more fun with my scope this evening!  I caught a Eurasian Collared Dove preening in a tree! I took a still shot and a short video.

 

https://youtu.be/JKyIM1ykZvw

 

Then I tried to focus in on the flowers of our Mimosa tree, there was a breeze so that made it a bit more difficult, so I took a video and caught a photobomber in it!

 

https://youtu.be/MH3_2TCyM6o

[Marmot]

Sorry, but no pics of my sparrows. I believe that many of the members here are UK based, although there are also a number who are internationally based. It’s a nice mix!

Cumbria is in the UK. It’s the most northerly English county in the west before you enter Scotland. Unfortunately it attracts a lot of cloud due to the mountains in the county. The plus side is that it has large rural areas and has relatively low light pollution.

Glad that you are enjoying you’re scope, even in the day. The other ability that you can practice and get used to in daylight is that of focussing: It requires a delicate touch and small movements can make a big difference.

Its also a useful way to assess the eyepieces you have: Many can suffer from the image not being as sharp toward the edges. By viewing a target in the day, using a subject that fills your view, you will be able to assess how much of an issue this is.