First semi-proper session

[ulfp]

I was a dark and stormy night....

Well, perhaps not, but I think I hit most of the cliches wrt horrible viewing conditions.

I'd used Astroplanner to plan out some star-hopping practice in Hercules, but:

1. The time was 00:52-01:20 CET (May 20/21), Aarhus, Denmark (56/10 lat/long)

2. The LP was terrible, like looking into headlights

3. Neighbor decided to leave all lights on

4. Clouds, oh my, the amount of cloud cover. You had to scramble just to find the gaps

5. Wind. Way to much.

6. It'd been raining on and off all day

Equipment:

Skywatcher Heritage 130p Dobsonian mount, 130/650mm F5

Standard eyepieces, 25 & 10mm. Max magnification 65x

I'd just planned to go from one star to another, to get used to the equipment. Didn't expect much, and I wasn't disappointed.

After jumping around a bit, getting used to the 'reverse' feeling (up is down, left is right) of a dob, I was ready to declare the evening a partial success.

However, decided to look at Saturn, just on a whim.

Oh my..... there she was. Even at 26x I could distinguish the rings from the planet. At 65x she zoomed across the FOV (I can't wait to get my Baader eyepieces + Barlow). I imagined that I could resolve structures in the rings, but that's just imagination. The rings were solid, but could be resolved apart from the planet.

I then decided to press my luck. I decided to go for Jupiter. I could naked eye see it without problems, but I had to look between two buildings, a couple of street lights, you know.

Anyway, I slewed the telescope around, plopped in the 25mm and... What! I could distinguish the bands. OK, only three of them, but given the conditions it was a glorious view. Using the 10mm helped a bit, but the conditions dictated against any further real resolution.

Verdict: Fantastic experience, way above expectations. I saw more than I could ever have wished for in those conditions.

Very pleased with the equipment (even the eyepieces, although...), except for the fact that I really have to get used to the helical focuser. It 'feels' slightly off, but I guess I'll get used to it.

Excellent first session.

Clear skies

/ulf

[Psychology]

Sounds fantastic! I am a beginner so am just about to order the same scope.

[Paul73]

A surprise Saturn & Jupiter on the first night!!

Fantastic.

Paul

[damnut]

That's a great report Ulf. Just spend more time on each object, let your eye get as dark adapted as you can, and detail will appear.Congrats

[Pondus]

Great report.

Some of the Heritage owners, including me, use ptfe tape around the focuser threads (3 layers maybe).

It helps a bit (or I imagine so..)

Rune

[Astro Imp]

Great to read you're more than happy with your new scope.

BTW light pollution won't spoil planetary and luna viewing but it really messes up the hunt for those faint fuzzies.

Good luck and and keep enjoying this  great hobby.

[Warped Drive]

+1 on the plumbers PTFE tape. I find it lasts longer if you wrap it counter clockwise then when you screw the ep holder back in it doesn't strip the tape off straight away. Also if there is a black patch in you FOV where there should be stars then that's probably the tape having peeled off ad dangling down in front of the secondary, had me puzzled the first time for about 5 minutes.

[laudropb]

Great first light report. Jupiter and Saturn at your first attempt. Well done.

[ulfp]

Thanks for all the encouragement. Since then the seeing has been..... not too good.

Also thanks for the pointers about ptfe tape--hadn't thought of that. Great idea. I must admit it had been bugging me a bit.

I did manage to look at Saturn again last night, but gave up after clouds seemed like they were speeding up until they successfully covered Saturn after which they lingered :/, or so it felt, at least.

/ulf