Readiness

The Milky Way Galaxy

Readiness

Have a plan before you go outside. Try everything first.

Here's an example of an unexpected glitch:

I go outside and have carefully set the parafocal rings on my 9mm eyepiece and on the DSI. The DSI doesn't like slipping onto the eyepiece tube of the cold telescope, telescope alignment is lost - then realign the telescope, track to object, and then again try - I think it took three tries to get the DSI on without loosing alignment. Make sure all items are easy to put together, that you can recognize them in the dark and feel comfortable with the plan you have created.

Determine which easy to spot deep sky objects will be visible when you plan to observe. Make sure they are easily seen from where your telescope will be placed - trees, houses, street lights, etc. Many of the Messier Objects are good candidates - M51, M81, M104, M42, M13, etc. I would stay away from planets and the moon with the DSI for initial observations.

Don't forget power, a heavy duty 15 amp or larger with either a built in three way or a power strip. You'll need power for the DSI and the laptop. Also, you may consider some sort of red lamp to aid in working in the dark with all this equipment that will need to be plugged into each other in the dark.

Preload and try all software. Try to see your way around them. Setup your telescope in the day, like everyone suggests, and make sure you can get in-focus images in the software from the DSI.

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