My first night out!

[Guest]

On the evening of 31st March I eagerly took my Sky-Watcher Skyliner 200P outside... the weather was breezy and the cloud coverage not too bad, with some decent breaks in the sky.

This was only the second time I had ever looked through a telescope! The first time was only a few days before hand when I visited our local Astronomy club during an open evening.. I was hooked!

So I honed in on the moon... obvious target for a newbie then I viewed Jupiter and Vega before I froze to death... I need to dress even warmer next time!

I managed to take a few photos with my iPhone.. I know it's not award winning photography but at least I have a record of my sightings and its nice to look back at... I'm looking to borrow my Dad's SLR  Also, I guess I need to upgrade the stock eyepieces at some point?

Can't wait to get out again!

[ghostdance]

Good stuff! Hope your stargazing journey is a long and rewarding one

Always a pleasure to read an enthusiastic first light, and your photos are really nice too (great focus on the Moon for handheld - these iPhone cameras seem to be pretty good). Makes me wonder what my Galaxy 3 would be like...

Lovely looking scope too. One day I'll get me one of them, if we ever move to a bigger place.

Thanks for posting.

[Qualia]

Cracking stuff, Galactic and great to hear you're not only having fun but getting a few clear nights

Give yourself just a little bit more time before purchasing eyepieces to get a feel for different objects viewed and what may be required and more technical aspects like exit pupil, magnification, field of view etc. In that way you'll be able to make a much more informed decision when you decide to upgrade.

With that said, I imagine it is the stock 10mm you'd want to move on from first. If I had an 8" f5, I'd be looking at two medium power eyepieces, preferably of quality and widefield. One at around 90x and the other around 120x, or so. If you also had a Barlow you'd have a working range of something like: 41, 82, 90, 120, 180, 240. This should cover you for most DSO, Lunar and Double star work.

Look forward to hearing how you get along on your next clear night

[Charic]

Another satisfied Skyliner user! I first upgraded the stock 10mm in favour of testing the BST 8mm, the rest is history. At f/6 eyepiece selection is non critical, you wont need to spend a fortune to achieve some very good views, weather and seeing conditions permitting.

As for the DSLR, its possible, but as the Skyliner does not track, you soon reach the limits for exposure and image blur? Ive attached my Nikon and have taken a few snaps, but the images are just as good as the Android! Give it a try though, you will need a camera specific T-Ring to attach to the DSLR, the T-Adaptor is half the 1.25" eyepiece holder, it should unscrew into two parts, make sure your not using the 2" adaptor otherwise you may not achieve focus? I may just look for a simple phone adaptor that could hold the phone to the focuser?

[purdo]

Hi  & Welcome to SGL.  I have the same scope, great photos with your iPhone. The first item I bought for the scope was a RACI, a right angled erecting finderscope.  It gives a upright image of what you are viewing through the finder scope. It is a big help.  If you do a search on the forums here there is plenty of information on them.  Search key it on the top right of the page.

[cotterless45]

Neat ! Your enthusiasm is infectious. If you can get to a local group, you'll meet loads of knowledgeable helpful folk, Nick.

[bish]

They are great scopes. There is plenty for you to see with it, stellarium or the Sky and Telescope pocket star atlas would be a good starting point. Good luck with it,

[Paul M]

Real nice.

I do like pictures taken through the eyepiece with a phone. 

I took some very similar ones last week. The moon and Jupiter looked just like yours but all 4 Galilean moons were on display. 5 moons in one night!  

Ok, so we won't win any awards, but we're having fun anyway!

[astromackem]

On the evening of 31st March I eagerly took my Sky-Watcher Skyliner 200P outside... the weather was breezy and the cloud coverage not too bad, with some decent breaks in the sky.

This was only the second time I had ever looked through a telescope! The first time was only a few days before hand when I visited our local Astronomy club during an open evening.. I was hooked!

So I honed in on the moon... obvious target for a newbie then I viewed Jupiter and Vega before I froze to death... I need to dress even warmer next time!

I managed to take a few photos with my iPhone.. I know it's not award winning photography but at least I have a record of my sightings and its nice to look back at... I'm looking to borrow my Dad's SLR  Also, I guess I need to upgrade the stock eyepieces at some point?

Can't wait to get out again!

Looking good!

I've just ordered the very same scope. It will be interesting to hear more thoughts on it. Any tips on set up etc?

How did you get those photos? Basically just holding the camera lens up to the eyepiece? Didn't think you'd be able to see much that way.

[damnut]

Thats a good effort. Can only echo comments above about upgrades and replacing ep's. Take some time to enjoy the hobby.

There are good guides to eyepieces one is by the Warthog :-- http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/43171-eyepieces-the-very-least-you-need/ and by R Wilkey :-- http://www.swindonstargazers.com/beginners/eyepieces.htm  both good reads!.

[AstroAdam]

I actually used the stock EPs for the first ten years or so of owning one of these...  Its only in recent times I've gone about upgrading, since my range of scopes has improved somewhat.  Enjoy what you have and do a bit of reading around.  I found that the BST star guiders were a good choice for these scopes.  Not too expensive, but a good upgrade from the stock EPs.

[Guest]

Thanks for all the great responses!

I will certainly read up on the eyepieces. I came across the 5mm BST Explorer ''Starguider'' on eBay is that's worth getting?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-25-5mm-BST-Explorer-Dual-ED-eyepiece-Branded-Starguider-/380679674710

I have some ideas about holding the iPhone to the EP... might involve a small clamp and some foam... probably have a look in my kids craft box!

@astromackem - yes I literally held the iphone lense over the eye piece until the image filled the screen... next time I will use my bluetooth shutter button to prevent moving the phone when taking the photo

[astromackem]

Thanks for all the great responses!

I will certainly read up on the eyepieces. I came across the 5mm BST Explorer ''Starguider'' on eBay is that's worth getting?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-25-5mm-BST-Explorer-Dual-ED-eyepiece-Branded-Starguider-/380679674710

I have some ideas about holding the iPhone to the EP... might involve a small clamp and some foam... probably have a look in my kids craft box!

@astromackem - yes I literally held the iphone lense over the eye piece until the image filled the screen... next time I will use my bluetooth shutter button to prevent moving the phone when taking the photo

I'm quite impressed how clear an image you got actually.

Is the scope difficult to set up and get started?

[Charic]

Thanks for all the great responses!

I will certainly read up on the eyepieces. I came across the 5mm BST Explorer ''Starguider'' on eBay is that's worth getting?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-25-5mm-BST-Explorer-Dual-ED-eyepiece-Branded-Starguider-/380679674710

I have some ideas about holding the iPhone to the EP... might involve a small clamp and some foam... probably have a look in my kids craft box!

@astromackem - yes I literally held the iphone lense over the eye piece until the image filled the screen... next time I will use my bluetooth shutter button to prevent moving the phone when taking the photo

The 5mm is ok, but a 6mm matches the skyliner much better,  providing the 200x that the Skyliner is capable of, but as there are no 6mm Starguiders yet!  its a good choice either side of the 6mm format. The 8mm is a great EP too giving 150x power and 60° afov. The 5mm at 240x and the 3.2.. at 375x will both work, but with their higher magnifications, your  targets won't  stay put in the field of view for long, and  you will need to keep pushing the scope to stay on target, but that's easy enough to accomplish. The 8mm and 18mm were my first choices in the BST range.  I would suggest try the 8mm first. The WO SPL 6mm is a good choice for the 6mm, if you can find one second hand, even better. If you can find any of the BST Starguiders on the second hand  market, they work well with the Skyliner. Only your eyes and conditions can asses the end result. 

[Astro Imp]

Terrific start to this great hobby, and the piccies provide a nice record of the start of your journey.

Good luck and keep enjoying your time under the stars.

[Guest]

I'm quite impressed how clear an image you got actually.

Is the scope difficult to set up and get started?

The scope was relatively simple to set up. The time is taken up mainly by the base construction but I managed to do it all single-handedly. I had a few hiccups in that one of the side panels was cracked and a defective screw head, although swiftly replaced by Wex in two days.

I place the scope out on the patio, with a mat underneath it. I have a stool that is just right to be able to use the eyepiece without breaking my back.

I have not looked through any other scope than this one so I can't make comparisons but for what I see I am really pleased, its a great scope to jump into. Friends and family are in awe of it when they see it in the corner of our living room, great talking point!

[astromackem]

The scope was relatively simple to set up. The time is taken up mainly by the base construction but I managed to do it all single-handedly. I had a few hiccups in that one of the side panels was cracked and a defective screw head, although swiftly replaced by Wex in two days.

I place the scope out on the patio, with a mat underneath it. I have a stool that is just right to be able to use the eyepiece without breaking my back.

I have not looked through any other scope than this one so I can't make comparisons but for what I see I am really pleased, its a great scope to jump into. Friends and family are in awe of it when they see it in the corner of our living room, great talking point!

Thanks for that Galactic... I'd absolutely love to have it set up in the living room but I have two young children who'd be swinging off it within 5 minutes!

Regarding the position- I could do exactly what you do and put it on the patio over a mat but ideally i'd like to have it further up the garden, for a wider range of the sky, but i have an uneven half dug up path/uneven turf- could be tricky.

[Guest]

Thanks for that Galactic... I'd absolutely love to have it set up in the living room but I have two young children who'd be swinging off it within 5 minutes!

Regarding the position- I could do exactly what you do and put it on the patio over a mat but ideally i'd like to have it further up the garden, for a wider range of the sky, but i have an uneven half dug up path/uneven turf- could be tricky.

I have three kids aged 4, 9 & 11 and they've been read the riot act... haha but actually they are very good when it comes to 'Dads' stuff, so no chance of them using the telescope as a storage tin for lego!

[astromackem]

I have three kids aged 4, 9 & 11 and they've been read the riot act... haha but actually they are very good when it comes to 'Dads' stuff, so no chance of them using the telescope as a storage tin for lego!

My 4 year old may be OK- but my 2 year old rules the house and does what she wants!

Anyway- due to the cooldown factor I'll probably opt for the garage. But in summer the garage gets hotter than the house!

[graemlourens]

My 1.5 year old always wants to make a phonecall with the synscan remote of my azeq6 ..... nobody ever answers strangely