OK Apricot

Thanks for the input. So with a refractor, a decent one anyway, I'd probably be looking at similar money for a good mount to put it on. HEQ5 or similar. A lot of Maks I've seen come either fork or single arm mounted already. Something to think about I guess. Say your budget is... £700... What would you do and why? 

Hey guys, 

My mind has been wandering today, thinking how I've got my light bucket, now I need something laser sharp for the solar system. 

As I understand it, SCTs and Maks are most suitable for this kind of visual astronomy due to the large focal ratio and use of a corrector plate, especially SCTs as they tend to be larger in aperture. OTOH I've read good refractors like to eat up magnification, have no central obstruction and due to the generally smaller aperture, are less affected by atmospheric turbulence. 

I like the idea of something relatively small, grab-and-go, and something to compliment the 200P bringing its own strengths to the game. 

What would you chose and why? 

Cheers! 

Today I received my humble StellaLyra Superview 30mm and 15mm EPs along with a Cheshire collimation tool. Can't wait to try them out and see the improvement over the standard 25 & 10mm EPs supplied with the 200P 😁

I'll definitely have a look into the Lunar 100, sounds like a good way to learn and navigate around the surface. 

I haven't asked the council anything as yet,  but it is on my list of things to action this year. Saying that, I'm not too fussed as it's not the ideal observing location even under the darkest of skies. I get a greater sense of adventure and reward from going to a more suitable spot, where I can really relax and get properly dark adapted. 

Hello ladies and gents, hope everyone is well.

I had the pleasantly surprising opportunity earlier to get the 200P out of the lounge tonight - the clouds had broken, albeit leaving a trace of wispy high haze. This was much to the joy of the Mrs who, as yet, has had something to say about our new lounge-piece (the Atom Bomb) every night since its arrival last week. The excitement that my first light brought had not worn off, so I was out the back door with a trail of smoke behind me.

I wasn't too fussed about letting the scope cool - the moon, coupled with high hazy cloud meant that seeing wasn't going to be great, and leaving the scope for 20 mins beforehand was just a waste of 20 mins observing. So, without further ado, it was off to the Moon, and on with the Moon mask.

Immediately obvious was Tycho with its thousand mile long streaks and rays racing away in all directions. A gorgeous sight indeed. I was drawn to the lower left quarter with its craters and mountains like a huge panorama of the badlands, with a dull grey sea of maria at the foreground. A truly amazing sight with crater edges towering above shadows cast from the opposite side, creating the illusion of gigantic bridges spanning hundreds of miles - a humbling image granted to me through the 10mm EP. I am getting the impression that visiting the Moon is never going to get old!

Next, it was south in the direction of Orion. M42 was hiding behind some trees, but Betelguese was shining confidently and invitingly. I nudged the 200P in it's direction and was somewhat confused, disappointed almost. A dull orange disk-like object... until I realised, like a numpty, that I'd forgotten to take off the Moon mask! Having rectified the situation, taking centre stage at 48x magnification, she revealed a brilliant yellow/orange, the diffraction spikes giving a tangible impression of the impending violent end. 600+ light years distant and will still be visible in daylight when she goes boom... an amazing sight.

By the time I'd done with Betelgeuse, the Great Orion Nebula had come out from behind the trees. Sitting comfortably in my chair, this time I picked up a lot more detail despite the proximity and brightness of the moon. A much more pronounced and vivid green was immediately apparent, as well as a more "bowl" like shape to compliment the swooping dust cloud and sweeping wings. I was curious of the settings on my phone, so had a fiddle with the ISO and exposure time and actually produced a readable image! Very exciting for me, as at some point i'd like to get into some small scale astrophotography. I note the blue/red colour and the reach of the nebula.

Next up was the double cluster. The 25mm was my only option here due to the wider FOV, and it was a pleasant sight. The scattered stars reminded me of the light of rural dwellings from cruising height on a plane at night. It was like looking back through my memories. Noting the colour of a few of the more prominent stars being a deeper yellow/white colour, the wider field view was like watching two rivals ready to engage in a stellar scrum. 

Last up was Polaris, as i knew it was a relatively easy double. At 48x, there was a tantalising glimpse of a companion, easily missed by the magnificent bright blue/white of the main star. At 120x, I split it without issue. A definite double in the eyepiece, the companion with hints of blue.

Again, absolutely astounded at what this bad boy is capable of, even with the supplied equipment and not properly collimated! I do have a couple of StellaLyra superview EPs coming tomorrow as well as a cheshire to get things lined up properly. I can't wait for the wider field of view, the crisper and darker images these will provide, and a clear, steady dark night at a dark location wouldn't go amiss! Here is my viewing area. 

Thank you for reading, and I appreciate having the platform to share my experiences!

J.

Thanks for taking the time - a very useful bit of info there Louis. OIII sounds like a good shout. 

Typically around Bortle 7, dropping to 6 on the better nights. That's all I could tell you. I'm a full on sucker for deep sky objects though, particularly galaxies and globular clusters. 

Specifically for visual observing, what are the benefits of these different types of filters you can get? I feel like I'm missing out on observing potential from what I've read, but I don't understand why? 

Sorry if a silly question, but very keen to spend some money 🤷

All I would say to anyone considering it or umming and arring is just do it - get one. I've also had an ETX105 in the past (2005-6) not bad but not great in my opinion, also had a Meade DS2102? 4" refractor, 150mm evostar etc. For the price, ease of use, portability, performance, just do it! I promise you won't be disappointed 😁

Welcome 'jackz. Keep your wits about you - we will have you spending money in no time. 

Well, it's a thread revival but another new owner wants to post another picture - pointed in this direction from a comment on my first light report 😁

The 200P, which my Mrs refers to as......... The Atom Bomb.... ??? Kinda like it actually! In bed with my Celestron 12x70s 🤭

Yeah, it's not a great time of year for planets. I am 90% sure I found Uranus a few nights ago with my Celestron 12x70's, but I expect more of a challenge star hopping to that again at a higher magnification - it is definitely on my list though! 

If I get home from work at a good time, and it's not gym day, I could probably catch jupiter for a few minutes, but being low over the town I doubt I'd be blown away. On the other side of the night there's Venus shining brilliantly on my morning commutes down the M1 around 7am, but that's just it, I'm working! What I can't see now, I can see another day - keeps the mind happy and looking forward 🙂

Thanks guys, I just wanted to try to share that buzz that I'd felt, I'm glad it came through. 

I see a long future with the 200P. What better scope to learn to star hop with? It's a doddle, apart from the finder of course. As I said, I'd have loved the SL as it has the RACI finder already, but hey ho, make do for now and use the time to come up with a story to satisfy the better half? 

I won't let my eyes go to waste, definitely not. I'm very careful with my eyesight, helps with things like this indeed. 

I used to have a 150mm frac which, to be quite fair, was very close to the 200P, at least to my inexperienced eyes. It couldn't be beat on the moon, planets and double stars even with 2" less aperture. 

Next stop, "show us your dob" 😁

Hey ladies and gents! After a little advice earlier on about aperture, I settled on an 8" dob. There were many recommendations for the StellaLyra but patience isn't my best quality, and with these being out of stock everywhere I picked up a good old 200P at a great price from Tring Astronomy Centre before the weekend. 

I popped outside earlier to take some rubbish out and to my surprise, saw a lovely clear sky. I went straight outside with the scope, and was quite surprised at how... bulky this thing is - they never look that big in the pictures and you think "yeah I can handle that easy". As a 29yo field engineer in the gym 4 times a week, I definitely underestimated it, not too bad but not a cake walk either. The skies in my garden are not great at all, with bright street lights pointing in, trees and roof tops obstructing the line of sight, and being in a town, I'd estimate Bortle 6-7 at best. 

I pointed at the moon as I wanted something easy to crudely line up the finder. This took a while though as the sight of the moon through the supplied 25mm EP was absolutely breathtaking. I couldn't get away from the EP! With the moon around 50% illuminated, there was a minefield of highly contrasting craters among the Maria, with bright peaks, rough edges and streaking rays emanating from the centre. I was completely glued to the EP, sitting comfortably in a camping chair letting my eyes soak up the detail. I bumped up to the supplied 10mm EP, and noting a loss of brightness, enjoyed the close up, picking out similar details scanning up and down the Moon's terminator. Very rusty so I can't name craters, but off the top of my head, Tycho and Ptolmaeus(sp?). At this point I had butterflies at the thought of what M42 would look like. 

I turned to the Orion Nebula with the 25mm back in and was stunned. I saw a huge patch of glowing grey/green fuzz amongst the backdrop of white and blue stars, with obvious dark regions framing some structure of this hugely popular target. At 120x the trapezium was easily resolved and sat centre stage in the cloud, as if lighting the whole thing up from inside out. It was just surreal! With the wider field and lower magnification of the 25mm EP I could make out the Running Man nebula (catalogue IDs rusty but i remember some names!) sat quietly above, though no detail other than a definite fuzzy patch. 

Taurus was well positioned so I thought I'd have a go at finding M1, however my star hopping skills did not allow. M45 was a beautiful alternative, filling the EP with jewel like dots scattered across the FOV. 

Before getting back to reality and having to finish some house jobs, I tried to put M81 & M82 in view, and after a determined but uncomfortable 10 minutes through the 9x50 finder, landed two distinct fuzzy clouds, one more of a "chubby line" and another an imitation of Andromeda. Sky quality just wasn't there so no more than a bright core fading to the edges, but a lovely sight before an abrupt end to an impromptu first light. 

I'm amazed at the image quality from the standard kit with the 200P. I honestly was not expecting much, and was sweating at the thought of having to acquire some serious high end EPs but to my almost Virgin eyes, these will absolutely do for the foreseeable. I will even note that collimation is slightly out, confirmed by the out-of-focus star images, so things can, and will, get so much better yet!

Once again, absolutely taken aback by the heavens, and can't wait for the next break in the clouds, hopefully from a more suitable viewing location next time. 

Thanks for reading and letting me share my excitement. 

A fine example of sods law. I feel like this a lot when it comes to nuts and bolts at work. At least you know what bits to add to your odds and ends bag 😉

Welcome back! Same story here my friend, only not managed to inherit any equipment 😔

Why worry about portability when you can just drive your scope where you're going 🤣

Loving that base and strut 😎

Will most likely go the 8" route - though it may be the regular 200p over the StellaLyra as they aren't in stock for a while. This is one of my best qualities - impatience. 

This is true. I guess I'm trying to compare the two with sky quality as the control. Reading and reading I'm more inclined to stretch to the 8", and very tempted by the StellaLyra indeed. 

My first taste of SGL peer pressure! 

Thanks. Of course - I'll need to get a collimation tool. Something else to consider. What's M42, M45 like with your 150? What eyepieces are you using? 

Thanks for pointing that out John. Definitely makes sense. Reading more about them currently and I'm getting butterflies. Maybe I should increase my budget slightly! 

The StellaLyra 8" seems to be a few Bob more than the SW - I may have missed it but what makes this brand worth the extra? 

Cajen2 - what's impressed you most about the 6"? Could you give me an idea of what you're seeing? 

Thanks for the input ladies and gents. 

Thank you.

I remember having a 200p and 150 refractor on an HEQ5 pro so that's where I'm getting this toss up from - if 6 is "enough" for now. The views were pretty similar from what I remember but the 200p definitely had the edge on the DSOs. Portability not so much of an issue. 

Hey guys, really itching now, I need a telescope. For the time being budget is reasonably low £350 ideally but would stretch to the 8" dob if really worth it. 

My question is for starting back up, is the extra 2" aperture worth it? Am I going to see that much more? My favourite targets were globular clusters, definitely prefer deep sky to lunar/planetary. 

Sorry if it's a silly question - it's been a good few years! 

Welcome back bud, newly back here myself after some years 👍