dweller25

Hello, did this drawing at 18:20UT in between clouds and initially had good steady seeing - AIII. The light coloured gap where the dust storm is at 7 o'clock on the disk was quite clear. Drawing was done with a prism diagonal and binoviewers at x224 in a 4" refractor. CM was 99' By 18:30UT seeing had deteriorated badly so I had been very lucky - for once - LOL. Mars is getting small now so hopefully we will get some more clear nights soon.....

I see a box - so it’s an unboxing 😁 Very nice scope - should be good on Mars 👍

Thanks to all for the comments and likes - it compensates for the freezing fingers I had after I finished 😀

12 years is not old 😀 A new one maybe SLIGHTLY brighter but if yours works ok then maybe just keep using it 👍

Here is a sketch I did in poor seeing of Mars with my 4" refractor. There was a clear gap in the dark terrain between 7 and 8 o'clock on the disk which I believe is where the current dust storm is ? Mars is shrinking rapidly now and there was a clear phase and darkening on the following side of the disk, by contrast the preceding side was very bright - possible dew/mist or haze. The south polar cap remains very small and was quite hard to see during this observation due to the poor seeing which varied between AIII and AII. I used binoviewers - which always give me a better view over cyclops - at magnifications of x179 to x224. Observation time was 18:05UT, CM of Mars was 114'

Yes, this is what I have done for over 30 years.......

Here is my rough drawing I did at the eyepiece at 18:05 in poorish seeing

I think it’s a dust storm in Valles Marineris - brilliant photo 👍👍👍

Yes, the 8” Dobsonian is an excellent visual scope and superb value for money too.

I have directly compared a 5” APO to a C8 with XLT coatings and can also confirm what John and Peter said and what Jeremy tried to say but was too late 😁

Great images 👍

That sounds right to me, here is a photo of the same setup - it appears to show the focuser held onto the OTA with the three small screws.

1. Reassemble the scope with the FT and the diagonal and point it at the Sun, then rack the FT all the way out, then loosen the eyepiece and slowly move that out of the diagonal whilst looking through it. If the Sun starts to get sharper you definitely need an extension tube. 2. There should be a tension screw that you can adjust - also your locking screw seems to be missing - it may have come loose in the packaging ? If in doubt contact starlight instruments for guidance

I edited my post whilst you were typing.... You may need an extension tube to reach focus The slipping FT should have an adjustment screw to allow to increase friction on the drawtube.

I think the three Allen head screws at the rear of the scope have come loose - these secure the feathertouch to the OTA Just slightly undo the three screws to allow you to put the FT back in place and then tighten them up equally - not too much force though 👍 You may then need an extension tube after the focuser to achieve focus. The FT slipping just needs adjusting.

Yes, John makes a good point about the Bressers - I would choose one of those over the Skywatcher equivalent now as they have some better features.

Hello @M40 - I don’t want to hijack the OP’s thread, so a quick answer... I used the Dob OTA on a Vixen GPDX rated at 9kgs and it was fine, your HEQ5 is rated at 15kgs 👍

Nice, very nice 👍

However, there is another slight variation you may want to consider...... I bought the Skywatcher 8” Dobsonian - which is F/6 making it a little kinder on eyepieces and easier to collimate - it’s a very capable scope for little outlay that allows you to dip your toes in the water visually. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-dobsonian.html Eventually I wanted tracking - which is great for both observing the planets and astrophotography so I took the handles and bearings off the OTA, bought some tube rings and a dovetail and it then fitted straight onto my equatorial mount. Voila 😁

The 8” Newt on the EQ6 mount would cover all your requirements. The 10” Bresser on the EQ6 would be even better 😁

@Sluke321 One thing to consider is that you are spending quite a bit of money for Starsense but the apertures being discussed are not going to show much detail. Perhaps It may be better to spend the money on a larger aperture scope that will show more detail ? Bare in mind that even with a 10” scope a lot of deep sky objects look like fuzzy patches visually. You will not SEE anything like the images you find in magazines.

Hello Shel and welcome to SGL. Here is a beginners guide that may help..... https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes.html Be aware that due to Covid telescopes are in short supply. Here is a link to a free planetarium program..... http://stellarium.org/ I would recommend this as it is very capable...... https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-150p-dobsonian.html Good luck PS Mars is in the southern sky at 8:30 for a while - easy naked eye object

Hello and welcome to SGL. Here is a beginners guide that may help..... https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes.html Be aware that due to Covid telescopes are in short supply. Here is a link to a free planetarium program..... http://stellarium.org/ I would recommend this as it is very capable...... https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-150p-dobsonian.html You can get apps for your phone that will guide you around the night sky. Good luck PS Mars is in the southern sky at 8:30PM for a while - easy naked eye object

Thanks Mike but the emoji should have two eyes as I used a binoviewer 😊

No worries, just wondered 🙂