I recently came into possession of a new little gadget.
It's an Astromaster 114 EQ by Celestron, a dinky 114mm Newtonian reflector.
Anyone who knows about telescopes, as I do as I still own a 6 inch reflector that hasn't been used in a long time, knows that these aren't the greatest things in existence. But, it was gifted with kindness so I'm determined to enjoy it.
I certainly enjoy being able to move it around easily, as my old telescope weighs about 16 tons.
The mount is tricky to use in practice, but not impossible, and thanks to my old decent quality eyepieces, I have been able to see some interesting objects already. I'd forgotten how difficult astronomy is though, finding these interesting objects has been a struggle.
But, I have seen the great Orion nebula, a subtle complex glow of star making gas and dust, filaments teasing the eye, and the Trapezium quadruple star theta Orionis that causes it to glow.
I found the open cluster Messier 37 in Auriga, the salt and pepper cluster, tiny stars glittering in a messy clump against the darkness. After two nights of unsuccessful peering, I found the Perseus double cluster, slightly disappointing - I need a wider field eyepiece!
I als observed the double star gamma Andromedae, a beautiful gold primary star, with a fainter duck egg blue companion.
There's plenty more to see and enjoy, even from an urban garden with a narrow view and a security light I have to throw a coat over. The moon and Jupiter for example, hopefully on the next clear night.
Si
All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 19.01.26
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