fullmoon

On 07/04/2023 at 12:12, StevieDvd said:

What if the astronomer wears glasses 😀

As long as they're not double glazed, should be fine 😉

Amazing photo!

So, I think you've all answered my question haha. And tbh I probably knew that was coming. Think I'll reposition my scope to the kitchen so it's easier to get out of the patio doors and out into the garden. 

Thanks all.

Hi all, so as the title states.  Can you observe through glass? Or can you without it effecting what you see through your scope too much? So my scope is set up in my bay window which is pretty much west. And it's been generally a good position for moon, Jupiter, Mars, Venus and orion lately. Well not the last 4 weeks due to cloud. But generally  I get quite a good range from South to West through my lounge window. And it saves me lugging my setup outside. Probably won't mind so much in the summer, but when I look out and it's 10.30pm and I get a brief chance of clear sky, I quickly set up my scope and view what I can. So will viewing through the glass really impact what I'm seeing through my scope too much, or is it not that big of a deal? Cheers

Rich

Amazing photos, love these! Especially the cat haha

Very grateful for this in depth review, thank you.

6 hours ago, IB20 said:

If it’s the same as the 10mm I got with Skywatcher then it’s a real dog. The 10mm BCO would be a real upgrade. How do you find Jupiter through the 8mm BST? That should get you a really nice magnification of 112x for Jupiter.

It's just showing as a bright star, but this could be the collimation of my scope and also viewing  conditions.  I've attached a quick snap I took after a viewing session the other night.

5 hours ago, Zermelo said:

  There will be times when you want more magnification, but if you're trying to decide between the BCO 10mm and 6mm, I'd go for the 10mm and pick up a Barlow later on.

 

This is what my thinking is. I think grab the 10mm then a decent Barlow down the line. I was somewhat reluctant to get a Barlow, but maybe I will have to try for myself and see what I prefer.

18 minutes ago, badhex said:

Another vote here for the 10mm BCO, it's an excellent EP and barlows very well.

I wrote a bit about the 10mm BCO and Barlow combo (in a 102mm ED doublet) last year, the first time I managed to spot Rhea, if you're interested:

 

That's some dedication to be out at 02.30am, very interesting read, thanks.

So, it looks like the 10mm BSO is the standout recommendation. Thank you all for taking the time to reply, appreciate it. 

1 hour ago, IB20 said:

What eyepieces are you using where you don’t think you are seeing any colour? It might be a brightness issue or collimation?

Hi, I'm currently using the 8mm BST and the standard SW 10mm and 25mm that came with the scope. Collimation was mentioned to me in my previous post, along with possible viewing conditions. So that does need to be addressed by me. Probably should have done that before posting this actually and then test again. 

1 hour ago, jetstream said:

I vote for the 10mm BCO.

Reasons include the deep rich colours it provides on Jupiter, very high transmission- on par with the best of the best, on axis sharpness that meets or exceeds extremely expensive eyepieces ie Delos/Docter and the fact that it is very affordable- ridiculously so IMHO. It also barlows very well.

The 10 BCO is a lifetime eyepiece IMHO and for this reason and those above I cast the vote for it.

Gerry

 

I never even thought about the 10mm if I'm completely honest. I had in mind the 6mm. But now you've got me questioning that. I don't necessarily want a view as close as I can possibly get. It's more about clarity and sharpness of the view. 

So after some great advice in the beginner section, and PM's with Ed. I did a bit of research on some EP's and have narrowed it down to 4. Hopefully you guys with experience can help me to decide which 1 to go for.

So my main objective is to be able to view planets. Now my expectations are managed, so I know I'm not going to get a massive detailed close up of Jupiter but I would like to see maybe a touch of colour or detail which I have yet to accomplish.  Anyway here are my choices within what I'm prepared to spend.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/stellalyra-eyepieces/stellalyra-5mm-125-ler-eyepiece.html

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/baader-planetarium/baader-classic-ortho-bco-eyepiece.html

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces/bst-starguider-60-5mm-ed-eyepiece.html

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-eyepieces/skywatcher-uwa-planetary-eyepieces.html

1. Stellalyra 5mm

2. Baader Ortho 6mm

3. BST Starguider 5mm

4. Skywatcher UWA 5/6mm

I already own the BST starguider 8mm. 

Let me know your thoughts. 

Thanks

Rich

Thanks everyone for all your replies, you've all been really helpful. 

Will take a look at that collimation guide, thanks Stephan👍.

8 minutes ago, jetstream said:

 

What was happening was very poor seeing and when its very bad nothing is going to punch through it.

@fullmoon I think one of the things degrading your view could have been poor seeing and possibly the scope wasnt temp equalized either. Throw a hint of miscollimation in there and all you would see is a blurry seething mess.

I think you're probably right, there was a thin slither of low cloud, virtually transparent but cloud nonetheless. 

And also I don't know if its collimated correctly. (Another 1 for me to research ha)

1 hour ago, Littleguy80 said:

Hi. I had that scope as my first telescope. I was able to see the GRS on Jupiter with it using both the 8mm BST and a 6mm Baader Genuine Ortho. Orthos are fantastic planetary eyepieces but have short eye relief (not suitable if you wear glasses to observe) and quite a small field of view. I think the 6mm Baader Classic Ortho quite often comes up second hand for around £30-£40. The Baader Neodymium Moon and Skyglow filter can help with Jupiter too. 

Thanks for the recommendation,  I will definitely look those up. 

1 hour ago, Nyctimene said:

Your Skywatcher Explorer 130 is, IMO, well suited for both target groups - planetary/moon and DSO's. Most important is, that it comes with a parabolic primary mirror. I'm owning the Skywatcher Heritage 130 P Flextube (same aperture, but shorter focal length of 650 mm), and can make out a lot of planetary detail with it, e.g. Jupiter's Great Red Spot (as Neil already mentioned above), several  cloud bands and zones, sometimes with details, shadow transits of the moons. The Cassini division of Saturn's ring is obvious; three moons should be in reach. And you will, under a dark sky, spot a lot of DSO's. All the Messier and Caldwell objects will be accessible, as well as many NGC ones; the aperture is large enough.

I'm using the 130 P with the same 8-24 mmf zoom (Seben clone) as Justin, which is astonishingly good, and crank up the magnification with the Baader Turret 2.25x Barlow (a shorty Barlow) up to 183x without problems. Have a look:

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p5503_Baader-1-25--Q-Turret-Barlow-and-photo-converter---2-25x-und-1-3x.html

The supplied standard Barlow often seems to be the weak point. The Baader Orthos always get excellent reviews; so the choice will depend on your preferences and budget.

Just looked up your location Congleton here; there seem to exist some smaller dark areas 20 kms to the W; and ,of course, Wales, not too far away:

https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/#zoom=8.48&lat=53.0173&lon=-1.9697&layers=B0FFFFFFTFFFFFFFFFFFF

Enjoy the journey, and keep asking and reporting!

Stephan

Thanks Stephan, unfortunately mine doesn't have the parabolic mirror. But you have all given me hope, that I will see better detail. I'm torn between a zoom eyepiece or maybe a 6mm as mentioned by Neil. And I definitely think you're right about the standard Barlow!

22 minutes ago, Stu said:

I can only agree with Neil and Stephan, your scope should be more than capable of showing you some enjoyable detail on planets.

I shan’t give any advice as you’ve already received some great stuff from them. Just to say that I’ve owned a Heritage 130p and seen very good detail on Jupiter and Mars with it. Get the collimation and cooling right, and when the skies are nice and stable the detail will come. If you are only seeing the same through your scope as your pictures then don’t worry, there is much more to see.

 

Thanks for the examples Stu, I will be over the moon if I can get close to them views. And yeah, what the pictures show is exactly what I'm seeing. 

Should I try a filter maybe?

Also how often do I collimate? The scope is only a few weeks old. Although it has bounced off a few door frames transporting to and from outside to the lounge window.

9 hours ago, Justin richens said:

I brought a celestron 8-24mm zoom and I find myself not using anything else as its so easy to work with

That's been mentioned to me before actually and is a really good point. Cheers

3 hours ago, malc-c said:

Rich, Justin has made a good suggestion.  There are some excellent tools on the internet that can give you some idea of the field of view for any telescope aperture, and focal length when used with various objects  Here's one for example  Now you may not see the detail in the image it uses, but you will get some idea of how much an object might fill the view.

One thing that often disappoints newcomers is that they see a picture of a distant galaxy in a magazine or book that has all the dust lanes in and lots of colour, and then when they look through a scope at the same galaxy all they see is a faint, slightly smudged thing with a slightly brighter centre, and sometimes have to use averted vision (looking to the left or right, top or bottom of the view) so the eye can pick out some detail....  Again a lot depends on your location.  In a dark site away from light pollution, and with good seeing conditions you'll see more than from a garden in a town.   

Thanks for that resource link, it was super helpful. Think I may opt for a zoom lens..... for now. Just so many to choose from.

All of my viewing so far has either been from my back garden or lounge window. And to add we are pretty low down, Venus is out of view by 7pm. Would love to get it to a dark site.

6 hours ago, malc-c said:

You might be expecting too much.  To view planets in great detail you need a long focal length scope, short focal length eyepiece and aperture.  Magnification is a product of  the scopes focal length divided by the eyepiece focal length.  Assuming you had a decent 4mm eyepiece the max magnification for your scope would be 225x... but at that magnification the image will be very dark and grainy as the aperture of the 130 is small at around 5".  Using barlow lenses does effectively double the magnification, but also dims the image further.

It's for these reasons that people opt for large, long focal length scopes like Cassergrain Schmitt telescopes, or similar, where you have 8" or more aperture and a 2000mm + focal length. 

You're scope is more suited for some of the brighter DSO's, where a wider field of view with the low magnification eyepiece (the 25mm for example) could show a nice defined smudge of say the Andromeda galaxy, or the Orion Nebula.  Under really dark skies and with good seeing you should be able to see quite a lot of the globular clusters and open clusters.

Hope that helps 

Thank you so much. That's really helpful. 1, to manage my expectations and 2 to give me targets to focus on. 

With that in mind, you said my scope would be more suited to bright DSO's. Is there an eyepiece that I would benefit from? Or do you think the wide 25mm that came with the scope would be sufficient?

I also would like to emit the Barlow lense. So not sure if that would effect my choice.

Thanks again

Rich

I've had a quick look back through my posts and can't see that I've asked this. So as the title says really. Is there an EP recommended for viewing planets that might help me see some detail? I'm Specifically drawn to Jupiter right now. And when I look at it through my scope, I am amazed and love it. But I do crave a bit of detail or more focus.

So I was hoping that someone could advise me on which EP would be best suited. And also, can I change the focuser on this scope?

I've had a play around with my current eyepieces. I've got the standard 10mm and 25mm that came with the scope and I've also purchased an 8mm starguider.

I did a bit of observing tonight and at the end of it I snapped a few shots with just my phone held up to the EP, just to show you what results I'm currently getting(of Jupiter). Personally, I actually prefer the 10mm view. But I would love to see some shading of the planets.

Is that even possible with my scope?

Look forward to your input.

Oh, 1 last thing. Is my scope good enough to be able to see the galaxies or is that a bit beyond it?

Cheers

Rich

 I tried to find it, but wasn't 100% sure how. Also Venus has just dropped behind the houses above me now and have a bit of cloud cover. Hope others were more successful. 

Amazing detail in these pics! Awesome!

16 hours ago, Zermelo said:

Have a look here:

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/376745-a-record-of-the-accuracy-of-my-local-cloud-forecasts/

I have 5 or 6 that I consult. Actually, it helps to have an odd number, because they usually disagree, and you'd then have a majority decision.

Wow, thanks. That post was very informative and the OP must have dedicated some serious time to that research!

I think the general message I'm getting is to use a few. I'm still using clear outside alongside the met office and of course I keep looking outside lol.

52 minutes ago, dweller25 said:

Well done,

You caught the phase and the white polar cap 

Mars is very small now and past its best so this is about right 👍

Thanks dweller. Not sure what you mean "the phase and white polar cap" as I just see blur, but I'm gonna look that up now. 

Thanks it's just reassuring to know everything's as it should be really. I tried to be so careful focusing but it's impossible I suppose at that magnification. Kinda learning as I go. Thanks again. 

Rich

Basically, as the title says. Is this what I should expect to see through my SW explorer 130/f900. I thought it was actually amazing, and to top it off whilst I was looking at Mars, a comet flew through my eyepiece! Awesome! I was out there freezing for nearly an hour before the cloud cover got too bad. It was a bit hazey with cloud but not too bad. First time I've managed to follow a planet successfully. Its not just the view I wanted your thoughts on, also the motion of Mars when I tried to adjust the focus at the end of the video, I was being really delicate. Also anything you think I can do to improve my view or technique. 

So the first part of the video is at 2x zoom on my phone, (galaxy s10) then it goes to 1x zoom (which I preferred) and then back to 2x and that's when I tried to focus.

I suppose what I'm asking is, is everything OK and all as it should be. As I've never looked through another scope.... ever. So I have nothing to compare it to. I just did the video quick so I could capture what I had been looking at.

Also I was using an 8mm BST starguider with the standard 2x Barlow that came with the scope.

Thanks

Rich

Here's 1 from the other night. Played around a bit with contrast and brightness in the phones generic photo thingy.

Bought an 8 quid mount off amazon out of curiosity really.

Not too bad for an old phone.

Great pics. Last pic is my fave, 👌 

Looks like there might be some clear sky's later on! I'll probably fall asleep though 😂.

Hi all, just downloaded the clear outside app after watching some of small optics YouTube videos. Does this mean it's going to be clear at 11pm? 

Thanks

Rich

4 hours ago, 900SL said:

Magnetic and true (or celestial) north do not necessarily align, it varies depending where you are. I am about 10 degrees east here, so have to adjust

 

By that I mean that my compass north is ten degrees away from Polaris

No idea how many degrees I am off true north. Will probably Google when these clouds clear that seem to have not moved for the last 4 days!