dweller25

Eyepiece drawing of Jupiter, 19:35, Mewlon 180, x180, AII Had to dress up warm for this one as it was -4’C, worth it though as the seeing was quite good again - unusual for my location. The NEB got wider towards the following limb and once again several festoons hanging off the lower edge.

Looks good, you caught the GRS, what scope did you use ?

Hell @ptrduffy and welcome to SGL. The 8” Starsense Dobsonian would be an excellent choice, not too heavy but very capable optically. A 16 year old should have no problems moving it as the main optical tube assembly separates from the base. Saturns rings, detail within the rings and the major belts on the planet surface will be visible. Jupiter will show a wealth of detail, Mars too not to mention the Moon. The brighter DSO’s will look good, but fainter ones will look like dull grey smudges. Also the optical tube assembly can be mounted on a motorised GOTO mount at a later date if you wish. 8” Newtonians are excellent all rounders 👍

Excellent drawings, I was out at 20:30 with the 4” and was just about to start drawing when it clouded over ! so thanks for sharing your sketches 👍

Io will start to transit across the GRS tonight at 17:00 By 18:20 Io and it’s shadow will sit either side of the GRS

What a shame these seem to have gone out of production in favour of the flat top version which I don’t find as easy to use for some reason. I have one but am trying to find another one to make up a bino pair so I have put up an ad in the wanted section. If anyone wants to part with theirs please let me know 🙂

That sourdough makes all the difference 👍🤪

I want some of what you are taking 🤣

Hello @Dkoea and welcome to SGL. As others have said a 6” or 8” Dobsonian is the way to go. This is a new 6” - it’s above your budget though…… https://www.firstlightoptics.com/ursa-major-telescopes/ursa-major-6-f8-planetary-dobsonian.html This is a used 8” on UKastrobuysell……. https://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=207635 Good luck in your search

Great image @Nigella Bryant was that taken 25/11/23 around 19:45 ?

Got the pencils and pad out tonight and drew Jupiter under unusually good skies for my location. The NEB was very disrupted with several festoons hanging off the bottom. There was a very noticeable shade change of the SEB either side of the GRS. I have not drawn for a long time and am a bit rusty but thoroughly enjoyed it 🙂

You get a real sense of 3D

Stunning 👍

olly with his serious head on

It looks bad but it will have very little effect visually or imaging wise as it’s so far out of focus Resale price is affected but I would buy it if the price was right

Hello @Sirico and welcome to SGL. You have chosen an excellent telescope. Top tips….. Learn how to collimate it Cool it down before use Download Stellarium - free planetarium software Enjoy

Well @The60mmKid started the “Telescope Monogomy” thread which he has now conceded is impossible 🤪 So, more realistically 🙂 what two scopes could you settle with ? My choice would be a 4” Refractor and a 7” Reflector.

As the thread starter that’s scandalous 🤣 But cannot blame you as those are two great scopes 👍

It could be aperture related

It’s worth getting collimation as good as possible to get the best out of the optics. Have you checked the collimation at high power (x300+) at perfect focus ? If the scope is fully cooled and seeing is good you should be aiming to see a perfect airy disk.

Yes. Your secondary needs to move towards the primary and slightly in the North/South direction. Is there any wiggle room in the spider, secondary mount or trusses ?

Those DZ’s are nice scopes @johnturley Especially with a Binoviewer 👍

Here is how it should and should not look, the problem could be that your secondary is not correctly positioned under the focuser - as in the “incorrect” image below.

Here is an image of the secondary support in the ES Dob, it’s not standard !

It looks like the secondary is offset away from the primary mirror but you say you cannot adjust it, which is unusual.