Alex_o0

On 12/09/2020 at 18:36, John said:

Good advice from Craig

Re; your 1st photo - I suppose that is a shadow on your secondary mirror rather than a felt pen line, which it looks a little like ?

 

 

It does look like that doesn't it, thankfully its only a reflection 😅

Thank you 😊 

10 minutes ago, CraigT82 said:

How does the primary collimation look? Is the dot in the donut? 

It’s in the donut yes but it’s does not align with corsair of the Cheshire, is that fine ?

24 minutes ago, CraigT82 said:

You may want to pull it out of the focuser until you can just see the edges of the secondary mirror, can't quite tell if you can or not from the photos? 

Is this what you mean

Hi Friends,

I have just received my  SkyWatcher Newtonian Collimation Eyepiece (Cheshire) in mail and watched I few videos regarding alignment.

My questions are :

1) is the Cheshire inserted and faced the right way ? that wasn't really clear in the videos I watched.

2) Are any further adjustment required in your opinions?

Telescope :skywatcher 150p heritage 

Thank you @Starwatcher2001 and @Pixies for your answers and help!

Does anyone happen to know what the eye relief is for the Eyepieces that came with the scope ? I cant seem to find them anywhere.

The reason I'm asking it because I wear glasses  and want to get a feel for what I have and what the upgrades are (are they below 20mm eye relief example for example)

Eyepiece 1.25″ Super 25mm (26x)
Eyepiece 1.25″ Super 10mm (65x) 

HHahaha thank you @Starwatcher2001 

well said and I have a lot to learn  I’m also gonna need a taller table , there was lot of bending involved 😁

Appreciate all the guidance and help @Bruce Leeroy thank you 😊 

I saw Saturn wow I’m dancing around !!! 
My red dot finder is a little off but finally can make it out with the rings !!! 
thank you !!

I think I can see Jupiter so bright !!! What a sight. My need something to dim it in the future 

Thank you all so far I can see stars I think😁

I don’t know how good collimation is but can see a group of white dotes with 25 Eyepiece. Jupiter  and Saturn are right above me but this being my first telescope experience I will need to have a lot more of play to see them 😊

Thanks @Bruce Leeroy trying it outside I’ll I see it white. What would that suggest ?

Hi friends,

My first telescope arrived today and all the tightening screws on the primary had fallen out. They were lose in the box.

When I look into the scope with it faced to a white wall , I see my eye in the middle but the rest of the image is the back of the scope (behind me). I'm assuming that my secondary is heavily not aligned ?

Am I supposed to see the white wall as the rest if the image ? (example if i wave my hand in front of the primary I see nothing , but behind the secondary I see my hand. (images attached)

Sorry for the noob question,I have telescope compilation cap and little confused about the secondary

Thank you @Alan64 for such a detailed answer and with Australian links  

You are correct Jupiter, Saturn and Mars transit high enough in the sky here in Australia.

Great info around the variable-polariser didn't know they existed until now, sounds like something I must add it my list. The one you mentioned is out of stock is the below a good substitute ?

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SVBONY-1-25inch-Variable-Polarizing-Filters-For-Astronomic-Telescope-Eyepieces-/174413078735?_trksid=p2385738.m4383.l4275.c10

I have already purchased the following 2x barlow  

http://www.astroanarchy.com.au/Accessories/Saxon_Barlow2xT2.html

Hi friends,

I have finally ordered the skywatcher 150p tabletop dobsonian telescope with 2x Barlow (My first scope) And super excited to start when it arrives.

Do these scopes come collimated ?  
Also I have read how easy it is to use a laser collimator, they range in prices and have read that some are actually no accurate, if I headed down this path what would be a good laser collimator ?

Any other tips are welcome too please

Thank you 

Alex 

9 hours ago, Nyctimene said:

Wobbly mount - spherical primary mirror - I'd avoid such a scope at any rate. A Dobsonian telescope will give you a sturdy mount, and, with a parabolic primary, crisp images. I'd suggest the Skywatcher Heritage 150 P Flextube, or an 8". Handling is intuitively, as will be tracking after a short time.

Only my 8" is tracked (EQ platform), all the other scopes are tracked manually, and I'm observing with the 18 " with magnifications from 150 up up to 400+ (Luna) quite regularly and enjoy it.

Stephan

 

Thank you Stephan , I couldn't find the "Heritage 150 P Flextube" in Australia. Is this it under another name?

https://www.ozscopes.com.au/skywatcher-6-collapsible-dobsonian-telescope.html

Thank you all for your help 😊

6 hours ago, Andy38416 said:

Personally I dont think any of the main planets are hard to find in the night sky. I recommend an app called SkyView, you basically hold your phone up to the night sky and it tells you where things are, you can even select a object, like Saturn, and it will tell you to move your phone around till you find it. It also plots a projected path and estimated time where it will be in the sky - so you can see what path of the sky it will be in at roughly what time. I’ve included a screenshot below.

Thank you will definitely get the app  

6 hours ago, Padraic M said:

I started with this scope and was very happy with it for the price - it is excellent value for money. If you're not sure whether you want to invest in astronomy, or don't have the (very significantly more) money to go for a robust goto/tracking mount, this is a very good starting place. You will be able to see many space wonders, but photography will be very basic.

The mount has two slow-motion controls for Dec and Right Ascension. You get into the approximate area of sky with the RA and Dec clutches, and then fine-tune using the slo-mo controls. The Dec slo-mo can be used to track the object manually. The red-dot finder that comes with it is very helpful to find objects initially. Don't forget to switch it off once you're done, or the battery will run down quickly. I wouldn't agree that it is difficult to find objects like Saturn and Jupiter - at least you can see them with the naked eye as bright stars, so once you get used to it it's really quite straightforward to get the scope pointed directly at them.

As mentioned above, the motor drive will not help you find an object. It may help with tracking an object once you find it - I never managed to get the motor drive to work for me, so I don't recommend it. Others have used it successfully.  My issue was that it takes over the Dec slo-mo control point, so you can't manually fine-tune the mount any more, You need to constantly adjust the motor speed up and down to 'catch up' with the object, and to reverse once you 'pass it out'. Personally, I would suggest that you save €50 and not buy the MD version.

On the plus side, objects such as Saturn or Jupiter don't move particularly quickly with wide-angle eyepieces. As you increase the magnification, they will move across the field of view faster. There's no problem following them with the slo-mo Dec control. It really only causes stress if you're showing objects to other people; you will have to adjust the Dec control every ~20 seconds or so at highest magnification, and because you can't see while they're watching, you need to get them out of the way quickly!

I would certainly recommend this scope at that price - you can get a very usable mount and scope with an acceptable level of quality for €300 (aud499). You will definitely be able to see the planets and the brighter nebulae e.g. Orion. I was amazed at what I saw through mine. Just bear in mind that if you want better optical quality, a stable mount and goto/tracking capabilities you will need to spend 5 times this amount. If you want to take pictures that impress your friends, you will need to spend 5-10 times this amount.

Thank you for such a detailed answer 

2 hours ago, Andy38416 said:

I also have had this scope a long time ago and fully agree with Nikolay’s comments. It’s a good little telescope but will not ‘goto’ for you, you would need to find them yourself but with the motors will track.

is goto a ‘nice to have’ or a ‘must have’ for you? Gotos will cost more money. Obviously what you will see will depend on many circumstances, light pollution, atmosphere conditions or often called seeing conditions, but should be able to see the things you mention above.

Thank you for you response , I’ve read that locating something like Saturn is quite difficult and it moves out of sight very quickly. This is based on something I read and not experienced , therefore I thought the GOTO will help in this case. If that is not the case I will definitely be happier saving and skipping on the motor.

38 minutes ago, Nik271 said:

Dear Alex,

I have this scope. The motor tracks the object in view with the movement of the stars but it won't help you to find it initially. For this you need a 'go-to' mount (which are much more expensive).  Its not a bad beginner scope, there are some well documented issues with it (wobbly mounting, spherical instead of parabolic mirror) but for the money it gives you 130mm aperture which is a lot to see many dim objects. I saw the Dumbbell nebula, Orion nebula and Andromeda galaxy with it.

As for planets you will definitely be able to see the moons of Jupiter and its red spot and the main equatorial belts, the rings of Saturn, the phases of Venus with the 10mm eyepiece. At this magnification 65x the images will be small though. The optics are not of sufficient quality for much higher magnification.

I hope this helps,

 

Nikolay

 

 

Thank you Nikolay and thanks for taking the time that does help !!

if you were to recommend any other scope please let me know

Hi friends, 

I’ve been thinking of getting the following scope.

https://www.ozscopes.com.au/reflector-telescope-celestron-astromaster-130eq-motor-drive.html

What appeals to me is that it is motorised and therefore it will make locating a lot easier(I hope). I wanted to get into stargazing a few years ago when I initially joined forum a few years ago, but unfortunately to due to some personal circumstances I was not able to. But things have changed now.

Will this scope allow me to see any plants with the right eyepiece ?

looking forward to reading your thoughts and I am happy for alternative suggestions for around the same price